Hi Nathan. As you mention, there are no other symptoms apart from this discomfort/slight pain. There are a host of possible causes of discomfort/pain as you will see from the article above and on its own pain can be a difficult symptom to diagnose. The only way to know for sure is to run further diagnostic investgations. Do not ignore it. What may be just mild discomfort/slight pain for now can be an early symptom of a host of conditions that may worsen over time as the condition progresses. Speak to your doctor.

Hi Dan, we do not review other websites so we cannot comment on the accuracy of the content. As per our comment guidelines, we do not allow links to other websites (unless it is to one of the trusted sources like WebMD .com) or the use of brand names of drugs. You have mentioned many gastrointestinal symptoms that definitely warrants further investigation.

A hiatal hernia can be diagnosed on a barium X-ray without an upper GI endoscopy. You mention biscuits but not bread or other foods containing flour which may be eaten in larger quantities. If it was gluten intolerance then it is unlikely that you would react to only these biscuits and not other wheat products. Gluten intolerance and IBS are two different conditions and you should not confuse both.

We would rather not comment about home testing for celiac disease. While there are blood tests for celiac disease (that is done in a pathology laboratory), an upper GI endoscopy and colonoscopy would definitely be warranted in your case since you have so many symptoms and the raised liver enzymes would be another cause for concern. Regular use of OTC laxatives in your case would be discouraged as a medical professional needs to assess your condition. Constipation is a symptom and needs to be assessed in conjunction with all your other symptoms.

You need to see a gastroenterologist as soon as possible who can assess your entire condition, proceed with further investigation where necessary and then reach a diagnosis. Our comments and the information in the article above are solely as a guideline and you should not delay medical attention.

Hi CJ

You should see a doctor about this and have it investigated further. Cannot comment on the urgency but bowel disruptions should not be taken lightly given the prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colon cancer these days. This is not to say that you have colon cancer. A more likely cause would be IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) but this should only be diagnosed once other conditions like IBD have been excluded. The fluctuation between constipation and diarhhea, improvement with dietary change and possibly quitting smoking may all be indicative of IBS. Other digestive disorders that may be affecting digestion of fats and so on would also be responsible but this will be confirmed with a stool test. It is advisable to see your doctor as self-medicating could exacerbate the condition and cloud the clinical presentation thereby making it more difficult for your doctor to reach a diagnosis.

Hi OTD

The priority here is to exclude any gynecological and urinary tract conditions. I would advise that you first start with your gynecologist. The lack of symptoms (gastrointestinal and urinary) means that this is not a priority right now but should be followed through after gynecological examination. There is no reason to suspect colon cancer just yet but regular examinations (colonoscopy) would be advisable.