The Symptoms of Simple Dyspepsia, Or Slow Digestion

Sensation of having eaten too much, when only a small amount has been taken; weight and oppression an hour or two after eating; appetite fair, though patient often does not care for food until he begins to eat; flatulence of stomach, with tasteless and odorless eructations; often pain between shoulders or beneath shoulder-blade; in some cases pain in region of heart; palpitation, often occurring in the night; disturbed and unrefreshing sleep; tongue foul in morning and bad taste in mouth; bowels usually constipated; unnatural sleepiness, especially after meals; lack of energy; symptoms all aggravated by a hearty meal.

This affection is often the cause of what is mistaken, even by physicians, for softening of the brain. It may also be mistaken for heart disease, great alarm being not infrequently created by the occurrence of severe palpitation in the night, suddenly awakening the patient from sleep with an impression of impending death. Slow digestion is the most common of all forms of dyspepsia, and many people suffer from it without understanding the real nature of their disease.

The Causes of Simple Dyspepsia, Or Slow Digestion

The disease may be caused by any of the numerous causes of dyspepsia which have been enumerated. It is more common in men than in women, and especially affects sedentary persons and those nervous individuals who eat rapidly, swallowing their food without proper mastication. It is also common in persons whose teeth are defective. Its immediate cause is deficient activity of the muscular walls of the stomach and intestines, and also deficient quantity or quality of gastric juice.

The Treatment of Simple Dyspepsia, Or Slow Digestion

Slow digestion is benefited by the two-meal plan of eating, as by this means the stomach is given more time for its work. Six or seven hours should intervene between the meals. The more closely the patient confines himself to the articles included in the table of foods easy of digestion, the better progress he will make. The special measures of treatment useful are those described as useful to increase the secretion of gastric juice and muscular action in the stomach and bowels.