Stomach Pain After Eating

Predominantly Lower Abdominal Pain

Pain in the lower part of the stomach around the belly button or under on either one or both sides most commonly referred to as lower abdominal pain.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a combination of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

• Signs: constant cramps in the abdomen area, diarrhea that gets worse after meals, bloating, nausea; other signs: joint pains, skin rash

Mechanical Bowel Obstruction

• Reasons: adhesions (scar-like bands between intestinal loops) caused after surgery in the abdomen, small intestinal lymphoma, obstipation, also known as severe constipation, pelvic or endometriosis inflammatory disease, inflammatory bowel disease
• Signs: cramps in the stomach area, swelling in the abdomen area, vomiting or nausea that worsens after eating meals; incapability to pass stools or gas

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

• Signs: pain in the abdomen area or bloating, instant diarrhea within one hour after meals. NOTE: Nausea can also cause due to any other connected ailment, but that can’t consider as a general symptom of IBS.
• Useful foods (individually classified): fried and fatty foods, heavy meals, dairy products (mostly cheese), salami, foods rich in insoluble fiber ( such as lentils, grains, and beans), fruits rich in fructose (such as mango, apples, pears), chocolate, plums, drinks containing caffeine (such as tea, coffee, energy drinks, cola), alcohol (wine, beer), drinks and foods containing artificial sweeteners (sorbitol, corn syrup-rich in fructose, xylitol), carbonated beverages
• Other possible causes: emotional stress

Food Intoxication/ Poisoning

• Reasons: bacterial infection in the form of Escherichia coli or Salmonella via improperly contained or cold foods mostly kept at unclean places
• Signs: instant pain in the abdomen area and-and many rounds of diarrhea that begins six hours after meals and stays long for a few days; vomiting, nausea and, at times, fever

Ileus

Pausing or ending of bowel motility, mainly because of recent surgery in the abdomen or consuming medicinal drugs like anticholinergics (biperiden, atropine) or opioids (codeine, morphine) is known as Ileus.

• Signs: dull, mild pain in the abdomen, bloating, vomiting and nausea just after a couple of hours of drinking or eating meals; this condition is extreme and requires immediate medical attention to avoid a rupture in the bowel.

Diverticles

Abnormal pouches situated in the large intestine are known as diverticles.

• Signs: instant extreme pain in the abdomen area, mostly on the left lower or at times on the right lower abdomen, developing after several hours of eating specific foods; whereas diarrhea and fever are caused because of the inflammation of diverticles (diverticulitis).

Upper abdominal pain

Pain in the upper abdomen felt under the lower part of the rib cage.

Acute Pancreatitis

• Signs: instant, monotonous pain, and softness that occurs in some hours, gets extreme and remains for many days; the pain often felt in the upper part of the abdomen, either in the right, left or middle and can spread behind or on the left shoulder blade; the condition gets worse after minutes of drinking or eating and resting and eventually goes away by leaning forward and sitting; other signs are vomiting, jaundice, nausea, fever.

Biliary Colic

Gallstones

• Signs: substantial, continuous pain and softness in the right upper abdominal quadrant, under the right section of the rib cage or lower part of the sternum, occurring many hours after consuming fat meal and remains for 1 to 6 hours; other signs are fever or vomiting, nausea; no other symptoms or pain in between two simultaneous attacks

Biliary Dyskinesia

A motility disorder of the biliary tract that comprises of the sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD) and gallbladder dyskinesia is known as Biliary Dyskinesia. This condition can result in upper right abdominal pain after eating and lasts for at least half an hour.

Stomach Disorders

Acute Gastritis

An inflammation occurring in the stomach lining is known as gastritis.

• Reasons: rigorous stress, excessive alcohol drinking, medicinal drugs (ibuprofen, aspirin, steroids, naproxen), infection caused by the bacteria known as Helicobacter pylori
• Signs: blazing pain in the upper part of the middle abdomen that gets either severe or cures fully with eating, anxiety (dyspepsia), at times, vomiting, nausea, massive belching

Gastric Ulcer

• Reasons: the causes are same as above described for acute gastritis
• Signs: flaming, nibbling pain under the sternum that gets either severe or cures fully by consuming foods and most often arises during the night; antacids can help relieve the pain
• NOTE: Pain was resulting because of Duodenal ulcer gets severe on an empty stomach but reduces after eating.

Hiatal Hernia and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

A hiatal hernia is projected on the stomach on the upper section via the opening in the diaphragm; often, it also connected with the stomach acid reflux (backward flow) into the esophagus.

• Signs: a severe pain in the rear side beneath the breastbone causing heartburn, in the upper back, the throat and dyspepsia that gets bad after eating heavy meals or lying down; the pain remains constant for two hours and can only be relaxed if one stands straight or consumes antacids.; other signs include nausea, wet burping, dry cough, creakiness, an occurrence of a throat lump, bad breath, metallic or sour flavor in the mouth, food regurgitation.
• Useful foods: peppermint, citrus fruits, vinegar, fried or fatty foods, chocolate, tomatoes, spicy foods, onions, garlic, carbonated and alcoholic beverages, coffee. Other causes: lifting heavy things, bending down or over, supplements such as vitamin c, aspirin, ibuprofen)
• Factors that can increase risks: smoking, pregnancy, obesity

Bile Reflux

The rearward flow of bile into the stomach through the duodenum and continuing into the mouth, esophagus, and throat; is known as bile reflux.

• Reasons: gastric bypass surgery for fat loss, gastric ulcers, removing gallbladder, or stomach surgery
• Signs: pain in the upper middle abdominal (epigastric) and severe pain felt in the midst of the chest (heartburn) that gets worse after heavy meals, sensing bitter or sour flavor in mouth, vomiting yellowish-green fluid or nausea; antacids can help ease the pain

Functional Dyspepsia

Indigestion experienced without any known cause often referred to as Functional dyspepsia.

• Signs: antacids can ease pain in the upper abdomen, early satiety, thick belching, vomiting or nausea after eating and sometimes irrelevant to foods but the symptoms
• Active foods are most often similar as mentioned above in GERD

Staph Food Poisoning

• Reason: poisoned by bacterial toxins such as Staphylococcus aureus by consuming uncooked foods store at room temperature like meat cuts, dairy, sandwiches, salads
• Signs: cramps felt in the stomach cramps, vomiting, nausea, at times, diarrhea as a result of ingesting infected food; these symptoms may ease down in some days

Stomach Cancer

Signs: pain in the upper middle abdomen and feeling heavy even after consuming a small quantity of food, black stools, nausea, sudden weight loss

Children and abdominal pain after eating

Abdominal Migraine

Repeated and instant extreme abdominal pain without any known cause that stays for an hour long or even up to 3 days, resulting in vomiting, nausea, paleness and incapacity to eat often referred to as an abdominal migraine.

• As per the anecdotal reports, abdominal migraine can trigger by Chinese food containing MSG (monosodium glutamate), chocolate, processed meats consisting of nitrites such as hot dogs, sausages, salami, cold cuts; other causes include psychological stress. NOTE: an abdominal migraine can also develop for reasons unrelated to meals.

Hereditary Fructose Intolerance

An unusual genetic disorder concerning fructose metabolism is called HFI (Hereditary Fructose Intolerance).

• Effective foods: all supplements, drugs, or foods rich in sucrose, fructose, oligofructose, fructooligosaccharides (FOS), or sorbitol, which comprises of honey, sugar-free chewing gum, fruits, as well as few vegetables such as carrots and beets, in addition to sweetened beverages and other foods
• Signs visible in the order as follows: nausea (in an hour), faintness, craving for food (due to hypoglycemia), extreme pain in the upper abdomen (mostly after 24 hours); other: diarrhea, vomiting, dark, yellow urine.

Abdominal pain linked with specific food/ingredients

Foods Rich in Soluble Fiber

Consuming huge quantity of barley, bananas, oats, rye, peas, lentils, and beans can develop severe pain in the abdomen resulting in flatulence (gas pain) and bloat before several hours of eating and stays for many hours.

Low-Fiber Meals

You may develop sharp abdominal pain that stays for long hours after several hours of eating meals that are low in dietary fiber such as meats, white bread, chocolate, cheese, fast food, sweets, excluding or tiny whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Lactose Intolerance

• Effective foods: a cup (240ml) of milk not likely butter or hard cheese, casein powders and commercial whey; other supplements and drugs rich in lactose
• Signs: cramps in the abdomen area, diarrhea, bloating within hours of digesting lactose

Fructose Malabsorption

• Effective foods:
  • Foods that are rich in fructose more than glucose such as honey, raw fruits or juices (mango, apples, pears), sweetened beverage using fructose-rich corn syrup (HFCS), mostly soda
  • Less sugary foods that are sweetened using sorbitol such as chewing gum, carbonated beverages

Olestra Side Effects

Consuming olestra, a substitute for fat found in snacks such as chips may initiate instant extreme pain in the abdomen area, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea or greasy stools for some people; the symptoms could stay for a day or longer. During a controlled clinical trial in 1999, candidates who consumed olestra didn’t show any different indications than those who consumed placebo without olestra.

Food Allergies

• Signs: an instant pain in the central upper part of the abdomen or chest, vomiting, nausea or diarrhea that develops after some minutes to 2 hours (immediate reaction) or, in certain people, the condition develops in 4-28 hours (late response) after meals even in small quantity; other signs can be itchy throat, lips, and mouth, hives (itchy skin rash, patchy or bumpy red); at times, there’s also swelling of the tongue (angioedema) and face and lack of breath
• Common effective foods in kids: soy, wheat, peanuts, eggs, and cow’s milk; in adults: fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts; NOTE: certain foods are allergic for certain people; however, one individual is most commonly allergic to one or few foods.