A person with chronic abdominal pain suffers from similar episodes of abdominal pain that occur over weeks to months.

Women who suffer from recurrent abdominal pain during menstrual periods should see:

• Chronic menstrual pain
• Dysfunctional uterine bleeding

Chronic abdominal pain can be described as:

• Abdominal pain that comes and goes over weeks to months
• The severity of the pain is always the same:
• Mild abdominal pain
• Moderate abdominal pain
• The character of the pain is always the same:
• Cramping pain
• Burning pain
• Pain that travels to the back
• The location of the pain is always the same:
• Upper abdominal pain
• Lower abdominal pain
• Left lower abdominal pain
• Left upper abdominal pain
• Right lower abdominal pain
• Right upper abdominal pain
• Additional symptoms that occur with the pain are always the same, such as:
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite

Chronic abdominal pain becomes acute abdominal pain when:

• Pain does not go away
• Character of the pain changes
• Severity of the pain changes:
• Pain becomes severe
• Location of the pain changes
• Pain occurs with serious symptoms, such as:
• Fever
• Vomiting
• Black stools
• Blood in the stool
• Fainting