Stomach pain is one of the most common reasons people come to the emergency room — and stomach pain can mean many things.

To help figure out what is wrong and get you to feeling better sooner, here are some tips on how to talk to the doctor:

Be specific about where it hurts. “I always ask patients to point with one finger where it hurts the most,” says Fredrick M. Abrahamian, DO, director of education in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Olive View–UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. And when you’re showing your doctor exactly where it hurts, make sure to indicate if the pain has moved, if it radiates, or if you feel the pain in multiple places.

Tell the doctor if you’re experiencing other symptoms. For example, is the pain associated with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, or urination? Is there blood in your urine or stool?

Let the doctor know if, and when, you’ve had this pain before. If you have, make sure to explain any previous medical care you received for it — including any surgeries. If you’re a woman, it’s important to indicate if the pain comes on every month with menstrual periods or if there’s a possibility you could be pregnant.

Where and how the pain came about could be important, so be sure to explain how fast the pain came on and what you were doing at the time. Also, it’s critical to let the doctor know if the pain is associated with some type of trauma or if you were involved in a car accident or have had a recent injury.

Indicate if there are things that make the pain better or worse. For example, does the pain get worse with movement, breathing, or coughing? If you’ve been taking antacids, have they been helpful?

Make sure to tell the doctor about any prior surgeries. “This is an extremely important piece of information for doctors,” says Dr. Abrahamian. Pain related to the surgery might indicate a recurring problem or an infection.