Dyspepsia (cont.)
What is the course of dyspepsia (indigestion)?
Dyspepsia is a chronic disease that usually lasts years, if not a lifetime.
It does, however, display periodicity, which means that the symptoms may be more
frequent or severe for days, weeks, or months and then less frequent or severe
for days, weeks, or months. The reasons for these fluctuations are unknown.
Because of the fluctuations, it is important to judge the effects of treatment
over many weeks or months to be certain that any improvement is due to treatment
and not simply to a natural fluctuation in the frequency or severity of the
disease.
What are the complications of dyspepsia (indigestion)?
The complications of functional diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are
relatively limited. Since symptoms are most often provoked by eating, patients
who alter their diets and reduce their intake of calories may lose weight.
However, loss of weight is unusual in functional diseases. In fact, loss of
weight should suggest the presence of non-functional diseases. Symptoms that
awaken patients from sleep also are more likely to be due to non-functional than
functional disease.
Most commonly, functional diseases interfere with patients' comfort and daily activities. Persons
who develop nausea or pain after eating may skip breakfast or lunch.
Patients also commonly associate symptoms with specific foods (for example, milk,
fat, vegetables). Whether or not the associations are real, these patients will
restrict their diets accordingly. Milk is the most common food that is
eliminated, often unnecessarily, and this can lead to inadequate intake of
calcium
and osteoporosis. The interference with daily activities also can lead to problems
with interpersonal relationships, especially with spouses. Most patients with
functional disease live with their symptoms and infrequently visit physicians
for diagnosis and treatment.
Next: How is dyspepsia (indigestion) diagnosed? »
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