When should you see a doctor about persistent indigestion?

Indigestion may involve burning, fullness, belching, nausea, upper abdominal discomfort, or reflux. Causes include reflux disease, food intolerance, medicines, stomach irritation, and Helicobacter pylori infection. Long-standing reflux can be associated with Barrett's Oesophagus. Persistent indigestion is a symptom shared by many conditions; it does not by itself indicate stomach or oesophageal cancer.

A clinician will ask about timing, meals, alcohol, smoking, medicines, swallowing, vomiting, bowel changes, appetite, and weight change. They may review whether symptoms are new, steadily worsening, or different from your usual pattern.

Keep a diary of meals, symptoms, medicines, and night-time reflux. Eat slowly, avoid lying down soon after meals, and notice whether particular foods trigger discomfort. Do not stop prescribed medicine without advice. Bring a list of treatments and any previous stomach tests. Persistent symptoms may need an examination, testing for Helicobacter pylori, or another investigation chosen by your clinician.

Seek urgent care for vomiting blood, black stools, severe or sudden abdominal pain, fainting, chest pain, inability to swallow fluids, repeated vomiting, or rapidly worsening weakness. Arrange prompt assessment for food sticking, painful swallowing, unexplained weight loss, persistent vomiting, or anaemia symptoms. These warning features guide urgency; indigestion alone does not establish a cancer diagnosis.

Ask whether reflux, an infection, a medicine, or another digestive condition could explain the pattern. Ask if testing is needed, how long to try a treatment, and which symptoms should trigger an earlier review. If swallowing or weight changes are present, ask what examination will assess the oesophagus and stomach.