Introduction
Who hasn’t experienced this – after an enjoyable, albeit greasy, meal, you lean back and relax, the taste of the last fork still on your tongue and all of a sudden you are ready to go. If the stomach contracts cramp-like or causes stabbing, pulling pain, this leads to unpleasant abdominal pain in the left upper abdomen. This is usually a harmless symptom caused by the stretching of the stomach wall and fatty foods. Accompanying symptoms can, however, indicate certain clinical pictures.
Causes
A possible cause of abdominal pain caused by fatty food is the so-called reflux disease. The cause is the reduced muscle tension of the lower sphincter muscle of the esophagus, which leads to the reflux of stomach acid into the esophagus. The most common symptom is heartburn, which is characterized by a burning sensation behind the breastbone and acidic belching.
If the heartburn persists for a long period of time, irritation and inflammatory changes of the mucous membrane of the oesophagus may occur. Another possible cause of abdominal pain from fatty foods is ulcer disease. These are defects of the mucous membrane, which occur primarily in the stomach (ulcer ventriculi) and duodenum (ulcer duodeni) and are usually accompanied by nausea, flatulence, a feeling of fullness and loss of appetite.
The most common causes of ulcers are type B gastritis caused by Helicobacter pylori, chronic use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and nicotine and alcohol consumption. The cause of dull, unspecific or colicky abdominal pain after a high-fat meal can be gallstones. In many cases they do not cause any symptoms. In others, they cause severe pain that may radiate to the right shoulder and sometimes be accompanied by fever and vomiting.
Do what?
For the treatment of abdominal pain caused by fatty food, conservative measures often bring success. Increased pressure in the abdomen due to tight clothing and belts as well as hasty eating habits should be avoided. In case of overweight, weight loss counteracts the symptoms.
If a doctor is consulted for existing complaints, he will first rule out a cardiac cause and, if necessary, perform an endoscopic assessment of the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum. Drug treatment can be carried out with proton pump inhibitors such as pantoprazole and H2-receptor antagonists such as ranitidine. They have an inhibitory effect on the production of gastric acid.
Antacids neutralise the acidic pH value in the stomach and attenuate the symptoms that occur. – What should I do if my stomach aches? – What should I do if my stomach aches?
If the stomach pain caused by fatty food is heartburn or pain in the stomach area, you should first of all pay attention to your eating habits. Eating less fatty meals, eating less meat and avoiding sumptuous meals immediately before going to bed counteracts the acidity caused by gastric juice. Causes of increased gastric acid production can also be regular alcohol consumption and smoking.
Avoiding them is another helpful measure to alleviate the symptoms. Certain drugs such as anticholinergics, nitrates and calcium antagonists also promote heartburn. There are various drugs that inhibit the production of gastric acid or neutralize the gastric juice.
Proton pump inhibitors, such as pantoprazole, are the most commonly used. The so-called ulcer ventriculi or stomach ulcer is usually treated with proton pump inhibitors. If an infestation of the stomach mucosa with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori is diagnosed, a triple therapy is performed.
This consists of a proton pump inhibitor and two antibiotics. A follow-up check by means of a breath test is usually carried out six weeks later. If abdominal pain due to gallstones is caused by fatty food, therapy is required.
The therapy of choice for symptomatic gallstones with colicky pain is the minimally invasive removal of the gallbladder. This is a laparoscopic procedure through the abdominal wall.
