Functional Dyspepsia

Functional Dyspepsia basically is IBS – irritable bowel syndrome – of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Two subcategories of the condition exist: Postprandial Distress Syndrome and Epigastric Pain Syndrome.

Manifestations of functional dyspepsia depend on the subtype. In postprandial distress syndrome complaints include feeling full before finishing a normal sized meal. In epigastric pain syndrome, discomfort, pain and burning occur in the central part of the upper abdomen. This later condition frequently is confused with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or peptic ulcer disease.

Symptoms of functional dyspepsia tend to occur between 15-45 minutes after meals, especially those with moderate amounts of fat. In the less frequent epigastric pain syndrome the correlation with meals may not be as apparent.

Functional dyspepsia occurs as frequently as IBS and may affect between 10-40% of the population. As with IBS, medical evaluation fails to detect any abnormality to account for the symptoms. Functional dyspepsia and IBS may overlap in a significant number of individuals. It also tends to occur among those with fibromyalgia, chronic pelvic pain and interstitial cystitis.

Treatment for functional dyspepsia remain fraught. Doctors tend to prescribe an array of medicines that often fail to address the specific complaints. Neither PPIs such as Prilosec, Prevacid or Protonix nor antihistamines such as Tagamet, Pepcid or Zantac resolve symptoms. The bacteria Helicobacter pylori is not involved in the overwhelming majority of instances.

Some argument exists whether functional dyspepsia actually represents a disease or a variation of normal – perhaps indicating some abnormality of the gut microbiome. Treatment with potentially toxic medicines should be avoided until a specific underlying pathology becomes apparent.