Usually reflux and usually treatable. But food sticking, weight loss or new indigestion over 55 needs a camera, not a tablet.
Assessed by a GMC-registered GP, not a symptom checker
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Tests and referrals arranged where they are needed
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Care led personally by Dr Khan
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Heart attacks are regularly mistaken for indigestion, and the mistake goes in the dangerous direction. If there is any doubt, treat it as cardiac. Indigestion that comes on with exertion and eases with rest is a particular warning sign.
Acid-suppressing medication can mask an oesophageal or stomach cancer while it grows. That is why we will not treat this picture remotely — it needs a camera first.
Heartburn is a burning sensation behind the breastbone, often rising towards the throat, typically worse after eating, when lying down, or on bending forward. It is caused by stomach acid refluxing into the oesophagus, which has no protective lining against it.
It is extremely common and, for most people, entirely benign and very treatable. Lifestyle measures and acid-suppressing medication resolve or greatly improve the majority.
The reason this page carries a long urgent section is that a small number of people with what looks like ordinary indigestion have something that needs finding early — and acid suppression relieves their symptoms while the underlying problem progresses.
Ibuprofen, naproxen, steroids, amlodipine, doxycycline and bisphosphonates all cause or worsen this. Alternatives sometimes exist, and stopping the cause beats suppressing the symptom.
Do not stay on a proton pump inhibitor indefinitely without review. They are among the most commonly continued-without-review medicines in the UK, and long-term use affects absorption of B12, magnesium, calcium and iron.
And do not use them to push through symptoms you have not had assessed — particularly food sticking.
Full blood count and ferritin to look for iron deficiency, and Helicobacter pylori testing, which should be done at least two weeks off any proton pump inhibitor or the result is unreliable.
We cannot examine your abdomen, and we cannot record an ECG — which matters given how often cardiac pain presents as indigestion.
We will not treat reflux remotely in anyone whose main problem is that food is sticking, or who has new persistent indigestion over 55 with weight loss or anaemia. That needs endoscopy, and we will write the referral instead of the prescription.
Where the picture is straightforward reflux in a younger person with no alarm features, this is a good remote consultation.
If there is any doubt, treat it as cardiac and call 999. Pain brought on by exertion and relieved by rest, or pain with sweating, breathlessness or spreading to the arm or jaw, is cardiac until proven otherwise. Heart attacks are mistaken for indigestion regularly.
Food sticking or difficulty swallowing, at any age. Unexplained weight loss. New persistent indigestion over 55. Iron deficiency anaemia. Persistent vomiting. Any of those means endoscopy rather than tablets.
Most often because of timing. It must be taken 30 to 60 minutes before food — the acid pumps have to be active for it to block them. Taken with or after a meal it works far less well.
Some people need to, but it should be reviewed rather than repeated indefinitely. Long-term use affects absorption of B12, magnesium, calcium and iron. Stepping down to the lowest effective dose, or to on-demand use, is often possible.
No — they bend you at the waist and can make reflux worse. Raise the whole head of the bed, or use a wedge under the mattress.
Worth considering in persistent symptoms. Note that you must be off any proton pump inhibitor for at least two weeks first, or the test is unreliable.
Frequently. Anti-inflammatories are the biggest culprit, along with steroids, amlodipine and doxycycline. Doxycycline in particular should be taken with a full glass of water sitting upright, or it irritates the oesophagus directly.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 30, 2026
On this page
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Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
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20 minutes
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£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
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Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
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