Stomach Pain After Eating

What Causes Stomach Pains After Eating?

Stomach pain after eating and drinking might happen just because you ate too much, ate too fast, or ate something you shouldn't have. Drinking too much liquid at mealtime or just before is another reason for pain after eating. This is also typical during the holidays. Staying hydrated is important. But digestion often happens more smoothly when you don't fill your stomach with a lot of liquid at the same time you're eating. Excess liquid in your stomach dilutes stomach acid and causes indigestion. Indigestion can lead to stomach pain.

But getting stomach pain after eating can also indicate serious stomach problems. Here are some of the most likely causes of stomach pains after eating and drinking that may require medical attention.

Stomach ulcers - A stomach ulcer can occur in the stomach itself, or in the upper part of the intestine known as the duodenum. If you have chronic stomach pain after eating a meal, it could be that food you've eaten is irritating the ulcer.

Stomach cancer - Sadly if you feel pain in the stomach after eating, it could be a sign that a tumor has formed there. Stomach cancer is relatively rare now in the United States, and incidence has been falling for decades. But it's still a possibility.

Stomach cramps - There's a type of stomach cramp that actually takes place in the muscles of the upper abdomen. If you eat a big meal and you then go jogging, you may give yourself stomach cramps. There's a reason your mother told you never to go swimming right after you eat.

But people sometimes also use the words stomach cramps to mean pain in the abdominal area below the stomach. Pain from diverticulitis is a good example of this type of pain. When you have diverticulitis, small pouches form in the lining of the colon and then become inflamed. It's not unusual for diverticulitis to cause pain after eating.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or spastic colon - This happens when the intestines and colon don't properly absorb fluids from the food that passes through them. Symptoms include stomach pain after eating and bloating.

Gastroenteritis or "stomach flu" - When you have gastroenteritis and you try to eat, your stomach often forces you to vomit. It's nature's way of getting rid of the germs in your stomach. Obviously, it's not unusual to experience some nausea at the same time. Bad stomach pains after eating are also typical when you have the stomach flu.

Chronic mesenteric insufficiency - That's a lot of syllables that basically mean some blood vessels in your stomach are blocked. While we're eating, blood vessels in your digestive tract are more active. If they're blocked for some reason, you'll feel pain. It's basically the same principle as chest pain that occurs when your heart isn't getting enough blood.

Heart trouble - Most people think of chest pain happening during a heart attack. But upper stomach pain after eating is also a symptom (this is called "referred pain" because it's caused in one place, but you feel it in another). Certain types of food raise your blood pressure, which makes you heart work harder. When your heart is working harder, a heart attack is more likely, and so is upper stomach pain after eating.

Gallbladder problems - Typically these cause bad stomach pain after eating, especially if you've just consumed a fatty, high cholesterol meal. When a lot of cholesterol accumulates in the gallbladder, it can become inflamed. You have what's commonly called a gallbladder attack. Gallstones can also cause steady, severe stomach pain below the ribcage. These attacks may last for hours, or just a few minutes, and they often happen just after you've eaten.

Pancreatitis - Pain starts in the upper stomach and spreads to the sides and back. It usually happens 6-12 hours after eating. Other symptoms include nausea, a racing heart, or fever.

Lactose intolerance - When your digestive system has a hard time processing dairy products, you're said to have a "lactose intolerance." Symptoms of this condition include pain after eating, stomach bloating and fewer than three bowel movements in a week.

Food poisoning - There are many, many ways to get food poisonging, and way more often than not, food poisoning causes severe stomach pain after eating. Be careful what you eat.