Pain after eating

Pain after eating is usually associated with discomfort in the abdomen, but painful symptoms can be localized not only in the epigastric region, but also in the interscapular region, in the head, in the heart region, in the lower back.

Since the pain is associated with food intake, its origin is most often hidden in the organs of the digestive and biliary systems, but there are many possible causes, and only a doctor can accurately diagnose them.

[ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ]

Causes of pain after eating

In fact, the first factor that provokes a pain symptom is food, or more precisely, its composition or volume. Common overeating, excessive passion for spicy or smoked dishes, a sedentary lifestyle, an ineradicable craving for fast food - this is far from a complete list of standard reasons that can give impetus to the development of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, gall bladder, kidneys and ureters.

IBS is an irritable bowel syndrome, which is most often the culprit of pain symptoms that occur after eating in relatively healthy people who do not suffer from chronic gastrointestinal diseases. Irritable bowel syndrome is very similar in clinical manifestations to gastroduodenitis, gastritis, but these are different nosological forms in etiological and pathogenetic parameters. Since the symptoms of IBS are nonspecific, diagnostics are carried out by excluding pathologies with similar clinical pictures. Factors that provoke intestinal irritation are divided into two categories - food and drugs. Products cause increased gas formation, which in turn leads to irritation of the intestinal walls, both small and large.

List of dietary factors associated with IBS:

• Fatty meat foods.
• Vegetables – peppers, all types of cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, radishes, eggplants, potatoes, legumes.
• Fruits – watermelon, apples, melon, citrus fruits, plums, apricots.
• All products made from wholemeal flour are rich in carbohydrates.
• All types of nuts.
• Whole milk products.

The pain appears 40-60 minutes after eating, preceded by a feeling of nausea, belching, and possible heartburn. The stomach swells, flatulence develops, and bowel movements are disturbed. Most often, the pain subsides after defecation, but reappears after the next consumption of food products.

The causes of pain after eating may be associated with GU – gastric ulcer. The pain symptom is felt half an hour after eating and can be either aching, dull in nature, or sharp, radiating to the left side of the chest, to the back. This is typical for erosive processes in the cardia of the stomach, where the production of hydrochloric acid is activated. When food is transported lower, into the intestine, the pain may decrease.

• Proximal (subcardial) gastric ulcer is a disease typical for people aged 45-50 years, which signals itself with rapidly developing pain after eating. The painful symptom is reflected in the left side of the chest and is often confused with cardiac manifestations. Such ulcers are difficult to treat, often perforate and cause complications.
• Erosive damage to the body and angle of the stomach is characterized by a pain symptom that appears literally 10 minutes after eating. The pain is localized in the middle of the chest, in the epigastric region, often accompanied by vomiting, which brings temporary relief. These ulcers are dangerous in terms of frequent relapses and a tendency to malignancy (degeneration into an oncological process).
• Erosive damage to the coloric, narrow canal (junction of the stomach and duodenum). Pain can occur spontaneously, at any time of the day, accompanied by nausea and vomiting, often bleeding, perforation. Eating can have a provoking effect on the exacerbation of the erosive process, but rather food products are a secondary cause of the ulcer.
• Antral ulcer. Pain occurs several hours after ingestion (hunger pains), accompanied by severe heartburn, and sometimes vomiting. These ulcers respond well to therapy and heal without complications.

Duodenal ulcer:

• Ulcer of the duodenal bulb is characterized by pain 2-3 hours after eating (hunger). Symptoms can also develop at night, accompanied by heartburn. The pain is localized in the middle of the abdomen.
• Extrabulbar ulcer of the duodenum manifests itself as pain "on an empty stomach", which quickly goes away after eating.

Pancreatitis, which also occupies one of the leading places among the causes of pain after eating. Painful sensations develop 40-60 minutes after eating fatty, smoked, spicy food, are of a constant nature, often encircling during exacerbation.

Pylorospasm is a spastic tension of the pylorus (the transition of the stomach into the duodenum). The pain is localized in the epigastric region, accompanied by severe vomiting. The disease is closely related to the state of the patient's nervous system.

Cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, biliary dyskinesia, which are characterized by pain in the right abdomen, in the hypochondrium. Symptoms are provoked by the consumption of fried, fatty foods, as well as sweets rich in fats.

Intestinal ischemia (mesenteric) is a disease associated with elevated cholesterol levels, which disrupts normal blood flow in the intestine. Eating provokes physiological blood flow, which cannot be achieved due to ischemic damage to the intestinal arteries, and the following symptoms appear:

• Sudden pain in the abdomen after eating.
• Urge to defecate.
• Nausea, even to the point of vomiting.
• Temperature increase.
• There may be blood in the stool.
• Food allergy, intolerance to certain types of foods, most often to cow's milk protein, foods containing gluten (wheat, rye).

If we systematize and group the causes of pain after eating, we will get the following list:

1. Most often - organic and functional pathologies of the abdominal organs.
2. Toxic infections, food poisoning.
3. Pathologies of the urinary system, kidneys.
4. Diseases associated with disorders of the circulatory system in the abdominal cavity (arterial).
5. Rarely - connective tissue diseases, herpetic diseases, pathologies of the hematopoietic system (splenomegaly), pathologies of the bronchopulmonary system (diaphragmatic pleurisy), cardiac diseases (pericarditis), diabetes mellitus. The pain symptom is primarily associated with the digestive system in one way or another, indirectly with pathologies of other organs.

In order to accurately determine the causes of pain after eating, it is necessary to specify the sensations, clarify the localization of pain manifestations and identify their connection with certain types of products, in a word, collect all the information and symptoms that describe the clinical picture.

[ 4 ], [ 5 ]

Symptoms of pain after eating

Food entering the digestive system interacts with acid, neutralizing it. If the pain symptoms subside after eating, this may indicate a developing ulcer, but this phenomenon is not considered a characteristic sign of erosive processes. Pain may appear several hours after eating, but such pain is not provoked by the food itself, but by intense contraction of the stomach and active gas formation. The most dangerous and unpleasant pain is night pain, which can be a real sign of a stomach ulcer, duodenal ulcer.

In addition, symptoms of pain after eating may be as follows:

• Pain that develops immediately after eating (after 30-40 minutes) is a sign of erosive processes in the stomach. If food is nevertheless transported to the intestines, the production of hydrochloric acid decreases, the pain symptom decreases, usually after 1.5-2 hours. The pain is localized in the peritoneum, shifting to the left, since the upper section is affected - the cardia of the stomach.
• Pain localized on the right, a little deeper behind the sternum, reflected, radiating to the back, may be evidence of a duodenal ulcer.
• Symptoms of pain after eating, appearing after 1-1.5 hours, are characteristic of the ulcerative process in the pyloric canal. Such pains are accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
• With gastritis, pain appears 20-30 minutes after eating, especially if the food is spicy, peppery, sour. A person feels heartburn, nausea, belching, flatulence, and often develops diarrhea.
• Pain under the pit of the stomach, closer to the navel, can be a sign of gastroduodenitis, especially if accompanied by unpleasant belching with a feeling of a “rotten” smell.
• Pain on the right side, often encircling, severe, associated with the consumption of fatty, sweet or fried foods, indicates problems in the gallbladder and bile ducts.
• Dull, sharp, constant, recurring pain, encircling, sometimes causing pain shock - this is a symptom of pancreatitis, chronic or in the acute stage.
• Chronic colitis can be aggravated by eating unprocessed, coarse food - raw vegetables, fruits. The pain is diffuse, diffuse, most often in the lower abdomen, accompanied by bloating, flatulence, a feeling of fullness in the stomach, heaviness.

Abdominal pain after eating

Abdominal pain after eating is associated with poor-quality food or a gross violation of the diet, overeating. Most often, the cause that provokes pain symptoms is a food factor, but the person himself can be considered the culprit, especially if the pain appears with enviable periodicity. Many doctors are convinced that if you follow the norms of rational and healthy nutrition, an active lifestyle and regular medical examinations, abdominal pain after eating in the worst case can be quickly cured by finding out the cause, in the best case - to prevent the disease itself.

The peritoneum includes not only the digestive organs, but also other, no less important systems, all of which can respond to food factors and diet.

The gastrointestinal tract is the esophagus, stomach and intestines (small and large), as well as Caecus - the blind gut, appendix vermiformis - the appendix. In addition, the pancreas (pancreas), liver and gall bladder participate in digestion. The spleen helps the immune system, participates in the hematopoietic system and also reacts to food ingredients no less acutely than the stomach or biliary system.

The urinary and genitourinary system are also located in the lower part of the peritoneum. These are the kidneys, ureter, and bladder, which can react indirectly to food irritants in the form of pain symptoms.

Abdominal pain associated with eating is, on the one hand, a symptom that is diagnosed quite quickly, since gastrointestinal diseases are well studied. On the other hand, it is a signal that a person often tries to neutralize on their own with the help of pharmaceutical drugs, sometimes losing precious time and exposing themselves to the risk of serious complications in the form of ulcer perforation or bile duct obstruction. Thus, pain that develops after eating should not be ignored, it is necessary to promptly find out the etiological cause and begin treatment; at the initial stage, only a diet and compliance with certain dietary restrictions are sufficient.

[ 6 ], [ 7 ], [ 8 ], [ 9 ]

Stomach pain after eating

Most often, stomach pain after eating is caused by gastritis, which, according to doctors, every third person has in one form or another. Symptoms of gastritis are provoked by sour, spicy foods containing coarse fibers, cellulose, and poorly digestible components. Often, recurring pain immediately after eating provokes a person to refuse to eat, weight loss, fatigue, tiredness, and headaches. Gastritis has several types, which are different in etiology and are not always caused by food:

• Acute gastritis caused by a psychogenic factor or severe trauma.
• A bacterial type of gastritis caused by Helicobacter pylori.
• Erosive gastritis is a form that is directly related to food factors (spicy, sour, fried foods, alcohol).
• Eosinophilic gastritis is a food allergy.
• Gastritis associated with atrophy of the stomach wall, atrophic form.
• Gastritis of fungal or viral etiology, developing against the background of immunodeficiency.

Pain in the stomach after eating, occurring in the time interval from one to two hours, may indicate a developing ulcer of the pyloric canal, early pains are characteristic of a cardia ulcer, later symptoms, appearing after two hours, may indicate an ulcer of the duodenum. Night, so-called hunger pains, are not characteristic of an erosive process in the stomach, rather, it is a sign of an ulcerative lesion of the duodenum (duodenum) - duodenitis.

List of food products that can cause, accelerate or reduce pain symptoms:

• Whole milk products, boiled meat, all dishes with a high level of alkaline phosphatase (buffering). These products slow down the development of pain, so it appears hours after eating.
• Canned and pickled foods, plant foods containing fiber, rye bread, and wholemeal flour accelerate the development of pain.
• Pureed foods (potatoes, carrots, etc.), foods containing soda, minced meat or fish, and liquid foods (soups, liquid porridges) can neutralize or reduce the intensity of pain.

Most often, a developing ulcer or gastritis manifests itself as transient pain, but if it becomes constant, directly caused by dietary factors, the clinical picture becomes diagnostically clear and requires immediate therapeutic measures.

In addition to ulcers, stomach pain associated with food factors can be provoked by other reasons:

• Polyps are epithelial growths on the inner wall of the stomach.
• Stomach cancer.
• Overeating.
• Psychogenic factor – stress.
• Food intolerance to certain foods, food allergies.

Pain in the intestines after eating

Pain in the intestines is most often not directly related to food intake, its distinctive feature is that the pain can intensify or subside during defecation. Also, the symptoms are insidious in that they develop spontaneously, at any time of the day, and the characteristics of the pain are determined by the types of intestinal pathology. Thus, pain in the intestines after eating is not a specific symptom, it is not evidence of a specific disease, but it can be associated with the following factors:

• Flatulence or excessive gas accumulation. This phenomenon can be caused by dysbacteriosis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), tumor processes. All factors are closely related to the consumption of certain types of products.
• Adhesive disease of the abdominal cavity, intestines. Most often, adhesions develop after surgery and are localized between intestinal loops, causing acute intestinal obstruction (AIO), which in turn is characterized by a violation of the movement, passage of food ingredients processed by the stomach.
• Colic is a pain of a cramping nature caused by a spasm of the smooth muscles of the small and large intestines. Such pains indicate food intoxication, enteritis.

In addition, pain in the intestines after eating, after 1-1.5 hours, may indicate serious conditions that require emergency care, such as inflammation of the appendix. The pain in this case quickly spreads throughout the epigastric region, accompanied by fever, nausea, and often vomiting.

The most common cause of painful, uncomfortable phenomena in the intestines is considered to be dysbacteriosis, that is, a violation of the normal level, balance of microflora. This condition is quite well controlled by a special diet and the addition of certain types of lacto and bifidobacteria to food, which are populated artificially, restoring the normal microbial balance.

Headache after eating

There are circumstances that can trigger a headache after eating, these include the following factors:

• Malnutrition and too long a break between meals can provoke a decrease in blood glucose levels, hypoglycemia.
• Those who follow a strict diet for weight loss or therapeutic purposes may experience tension headaches due to changes in diet.
• Constipation can provoke general intoxication of the body and be accompanied by headache.
• Food poisoning, consumption of products containing toxic dyes, flavorings, flavor enhancers.

In a diagnostic sense, headache caused by food intake has been well studied and described in a special edition – the International Classification of Headaches, which contains the following criteria for food headaches:

• A. Headache that meets criteria C and D and is also accompanied by the following symptoms:
  • bilateral headache.
  • localization in the frontal-temporal zone.
  • pain that increases with physical activity.
  • throbbing headache.
• B. Headache after eating a minimal dose.
• C. Headache that gets worse within 12 hours after eating.
• D. Headache that develops after a single intake of a certain product and disappears within 3 days.

As a result of many years of clinical observations and laboratory analytical studies, doctors have proven that headaches are most often provoked by dishes containing aspartame, tyramine, and phenylethylamine.

List of products and ingredients that provoke headaches:

• All products that contain sulfites as preservatives – beer, red wine.
• Monosodium glutamate, which is often added to foods to enhance flavor.
• Tyramine – nuts, hard cheeses.
• Nitrites and nitrates – sausages.
• Aspartame - carbonated drinks.
• Biogenic amines – cheeses, mustard, mayonnaise, smoked meats, soy, celery, pineapple, plums.

Headache after eating is divided into typical clinical symptom complexes:

• Hot-dog headache or so-called sausage headache. This is a typical passion for fast food, which is becoming a real disaster in the modern world. Hot dogs, hot sandwiches are made from certain types of sausages containing a lot of preservatives and nitrites. Nitrites provoke a sudden, strong expansion of blood vessels, causing a headache.
• "Chinese restaurant syndrome" or frequent consumption of foods containing sodium glutamate. This is almost all canned food, as well as dishes in which the composition of meat or fish is minimized, it is replaced by soy protein, which is what wei-jing (glutamate) is made from. Headache develops after a strong burning sensation in the chest, a feeling of heaviness, pressure, moving to the head area.
• Excess retinol in food, excessive passion for vitamin A can also provoke headaches, nausea, abdominal cramps. Pain symptoms quickly subside after limiting retinol-containing products.
• Headache associated with cold foods - ice cream, drinks. The pain develops suddenly, increases rapidly and is caused by the circulatory system's reaction to temperature stress.
• Headache caused by alcohol intoxication deserves a separate detailed description, so briefly: the pain develops half an hour or several hours after drinking alcohol, often it appears only in the morning. The pain is associated with damage to the capillary walls, blood vessels by alcohol, can intensify with the slightest movement, can subside with measures aimed at detoxifying the body.
• Headache caused by drinking drinks and products containing caffeine. This factor is interesting because it is not the presence of caffeine, but rather its absence that provokes a severe headache. This is associated with typical signs of withdrawal syndrome, abstinence. The pain is localized in the temples, forehead area, accompanied by a feeling of anxiety, irritation, and often nausea.
• Headache associated with oxygen starvation or elementary malnutrition. Violation of the diet, irregular food intake can cause oxygen starvation of the brain, this condition is accompanied by a deficiency of important microelements (iron, potassium), a decrease in glucose levels and leads to severe, constant headaches.

Diagnosis of pain after eating

Diagnostic criteria for food-related pain symptoms are primarily based on the area of pain localization, in addition, there are conditions that are considered urgent, so rapid diagnosis of pain after eating can literally save a person's life.

Most often, pain associated with food is localized in the abdominal cavity and, in a clinical sense, is differentiated into two categories: somatic and visceral.

Visceral pain is caused by a reaction to an irritant from the nerve endings in the walls of internal organs. Spasmodic pain due to stretching of the stomach walls, ischemia of the intestinal arteries, gallstone disease are typical visceral symptoms in the form of colic, spasms. The pain can be characterized as dull, diffuse, the localization zone is often located outside the pathological focus, that is, the pain is considered radiating.

Somatic pain is also called peritoneal pain, it develops as a consequence of a pathological process in one or another organ, for example, with ulcer perforation. Irritation of the peritoneum is transmitted as an irritant to the spinal nerve endings localized in the abdominal cavity. Such pain is constant, very precisely localized and accompanied by typical tension of the muscular system. The pain symptom is very acute, intensifies with movement, change of the patient's position, coughing or breathing

In addition, the criteria used to diagnose pain after eating may include time parameters:

• The so-called "hunger" pains that develop after a fairly long period after eating, 6-8 hours later, often at night after dinner. The pain may subside after a person eats or drinks milk. Such symptoms may indicate developing gastritis, an erosive process in the intestines.
• A late pain symptom that develops one and a half to two hours after eating. This is a typical sign of pancreatitis at one stage or another of development.
• The night pain symptom is similar to “hunger” pain, but constant night manifestations indicate with a high degree of probability a duodenal ulcer.

The quadrant method is also used in diagnostics, which involves conditionally dividing the abdominal and chest area into sectors. The most typical causes of pain localization may be the following:

• Right upper quadrant – gallbladder, possibly liver, also can be caused by mononucleosis, viral diseases (hepatitis).
• Upper abdomen - acute, radiating pain of a girdle-like nature is characteristic of pancreatitis. Pressure, heartburn, irradiation deep into the sternum, belching and nausea are signs of a diaphragmatic hernia. A burning sensation, distension, diffuse pain, difficulty swallowing food, cough are symptoms of GERD (gastroesophageal reflux).
• Left-sided pain in the lower abdomen - sharp pain, fever, nausea, bowel disorder are symptoms of diverticulitis.
• Pain localized in the lower abdomen in the middle, characterized by an acute, spastic nature, suddenness without nausea and hyperthermia, with a drop in blood pressure, cyanosis of the skin is rarely associated with food intake. In women, such symptoms may indicate an ectopic pregnancy. Pain in the lower abdomen with diarrhea, blood in the stool, and an increase in temperature may indicate a food infection, possibly dysentery.
• Pain on the right side of the lower abdomen usually develops quickly, intensifies and becomes severe, intense, radiates downwards, depends on a change in body position, this list indicates possible inflammation of the appendix. In addition to pain, appendicitis is manifested by elevated body temperature, vomiting. It should be noted that inflammation of the appendix cannot be directly associated with food intake, rather food products are the last, but not the primary, trigger that provokes a pain symptom.

Diagnosis of pain after eating, like any other diagnosis, includes a standard list of procedures:

• Examination and collection of anamnesis, information about the relationship between pain symptoms and food intake.
• Palpation of the abdominal cavity if the pain is localized in this area.
• Complete blood count (CBC) and biochemical blood test.
• Research for the presence of infectious agents, including Helicobacter, analysis for viruses (hepatitis).
• Bacterial culture for dysbacteriosis.
• Ultrasound of abdominal organs.
• Ultrasound of the pelvis.
• X-ray of the digestive tract.
• FGDS - fibrogastroduodenoscopy.

[ 10 ], [ 11 ], [ 12 ]

Treatment of pain after eating

How to treat pain after eating, this question is asked by many who suffer from similar sensations, most often making a decision and choosing methods on their own, without a doctor's consultation. Indeed, treatment of pain after eating is possible at home, when the pain manifestations are not intense and occur once or very rarely. In such cases, a two- or three-day diet is enough, eliminating provoking food factors and the condition improves. In all other cases, when painful episodes are repeated with enviable consistency, diagnostics and professional recommendations are required, that is, the presence of a doctor.

Moderate, not intense pains that periodically arise as a temporary physiological reaction to a food product are not a sign of serious pathology. The same applies to severe pain that occurs as a result of overeating. In cases where mild pain does not subside after a gentle diet for 24 hours, you should consult a doctor to determine its true cause.

Treatment of pain after eating in the upper abdomen is associated with the factors that provoke it. First of all, it is necessary to exclude serious pathologies, and only a specialist, a doctor, can do this. If the pain occurs 5-6 hours after eating, it can be considered "hungry". Before visiting a medical institution, you can try to relieve the pain symptom with a small portion of dietary food, but do not drink milk, as many advise. Milk, like plain water, is not able to neutralize the increased acidity of the stomach, rather, it will act as food that fills it. If the pain does not go away within 5-10 minutes after eating, you need to take a drug recommended by a gastroenterologist that reduces irritation. In cases where a person has not yet been examined, the first thing to do is to limit the consumption of provoking foods, eat fractionally, often, chopped food and undergo a comprehensive examination of the abdominal organs as soon as possible. Acute pain with fever, cyanosis of the skin, fainting requires emergency medical care.

Lower abdominal pain after eating should not be treated with over-the-counter pharmaceuticals either. It is also not recommended to take laxatives for constipation accompanied by pain, since such actions provoke an exacerbation of colon pathologies. Unlike constipation, diarrhea can be stopped with "home" remedies using any fixative, this will prevent dehydration. In addition, plenty of fluids and hunger are recommended. Pain and diarrhea after eating that do not stop within 5-6 hours require calling for medical help.

Treatment of pain after eating, associated with a single episode or relatively mild diseases, is most often limited to a diet, which is considered a sure way to improve the functioning of the digestive tract. Diets according to Pevzner are shown, of which there are 15 options, today these are the most effective therapeutic dietary methods for eliminating pain symptoms, tested for many decades and thousands of patients.

Prevention of pain after eating

Avoiding food-related pain symptoms is quite simple, it is enough to follow the rules of healthy, rational nutrition or therapeutic diets in case of diagnosed diseases. Since pain is associated with food, accordingly, the health of the eater will depend on their quality, quantity and composition.

Prevention of pain after eating includes the following recommendations:

1. It is strictly forbidden to eat, especially for children, anything that falls under the category of "fast food". World statistics indicate mass obesity, the development of diseases associated with cholesterol, oncological pathologies, and many other problems that directly depend on the regular consumption of "fast" food.
2. It is preferable to cook food at home, from natural products, and minimize the use of semi-finished products, which contain inevitable preservatives and stabilizers.
3. It is necessary to structure the diet in such a way that food intake is regular in accordance with the functioning of the digestive tract, ideally every 2.5-3 hours.
4. The last meal should be no less than three, and preferably four hours before bedtime.
5. Overeating is a sure way to develop pain, constipation, and stomach overload. In addition, excessive food intake is a signal of neurological disorders and possible development of obesity.
6. During the day, you should adhere to a drinking regimen; you should drink at least 1.5 liters of liquid per day.

Prevention of pain after eating consists of timely visit to a gastroenterologist, therapist, infectious disease specialist in cases where the pain symptom is of a permanent nature. Early diagnostics, complex therapeutic prescriptions can stop the disease at an early stage of development and prevent complications.

The best prevention is a rational diet and a feeling of slight hunger, not a feeling of satiety to the point of burping. A.P. Chekhov, a writer who was also a great doctor, spoke about food and health this way: "If you get up from the table hungry, you are full; if you get up after eating, you have overeaten; if you get up after overeating, you are poisoned."