Symptoms
In many cases, the symptoms that occur in the upper abdomen after eating already indicate the possible cause of the complaints. The most common cause of upper abdominal pain after eating is too fast or too much food intake. In many cases, the symptoms occur a while after eating, usually in connection with a feeling of fullness, discomfort and flatulence.
An inflammation of the mucous membranes of the stomach or a stomach ulcer, on the other hand, is more often accompanied by a painful feeling of pressure over the stomach area, a feeling of fullness with nausea and even nausea. On closer examination, the person affected can often also indicate the foods for which the symptoms occur in particular. In the case of inflammation of the mucous membranes of the stomach, these are usually particularly acidic foods such as coffee, alcohol or carbonated drinks, particularly spicy or hot foods.
If a stomach or duodenal ulcer (ulcer) has already occurred, blood in the stool may also occur (recognizable by dark to black colored stool). If there are additional symptoms such as loss of appetite, nausea, unintentional weight loss and increased sweating (especially at night), a more serious disease such as stomach cancer can cause the discomfort. Complaints in the upper abdomen that occur after eating can manifest themselves in very different ways.Especially in the case of acute, sudden stabbing pain in the upper abdomen or upper abdominal pain that occurs regularly after every meal, a doctor should be consulted in order to rule out a serious illness behind the symptoms and, if possible, to initiate a suitable therapy.
A dull pain may occur, which is usually caused by the stretching of the stomach. Burning pain more often indicates heartburn, i.e. a backflow of acidic gastric juice into the esophagus, where the acid irritates the mucous membrane and causes pain. Cramp-like or stabbing pain is more often associated with illnesses such as inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach (gastritis).
and burning in the stomach. But gallstones also frequently cause stabbing pain in the upper abdomen after eating. Under certain circumstances, more serious diseases such as a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or intestinal obstruction (ileus) can also cause acute, sudden, stabbing pain in the upper abdomen.
Nausea after eating is a common symptom. In most cases the nausea is caused by eating too fast or too much food. However, illnesses such as inflammation of the stomach lining or esophagus are also frequently associated with nausea after eating.
In addition, nausea after eating in connection with flatulence, belching, diarrhoea and upper abdominal pain can be an indication of food intolerance, e.g. of fruit sugar (fructose) or milk sugar (lactose) (see: Lactose intolerance). If, in addition to the nausea, other symptoms such as diarrhea, severe upper abdominal cramps or violent vomiting occur shortly to a few hours after eating, food poisoning, the consumption of poisonous mushrooms or excessive alcohol consumption may be behind the symptoms. Gastrointestinal infections also lead to upper abdominal pain after eating as well as pronounced nausea. In most cases, accompanying symptoms such as headaches and aching limbs, fever and vomiting are observed.
