Maybe when you were a kid or a teenager, you could eat anything you wanted without gaining weight or experiencing digestive problems. You ate cherry Pop Tarts for breakfast, a slice of pizza dripping with grease for lunch, a Milky Way for a snack and nachos heaped with melted neon orange cheese and spicy jalapeños for dinner. But as we age, our bodies tend to change and what we once consumed is no longer an option. Eating and stomach pain can be a sign of intolerance to certain foods, the result of stress or it could be a symptom of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). How can you tell the difference?
Maybe when you were a kid or a teenager, you could eat anything you wanted without gaining weight or experiencing digestive problems. You ate cherry Pop Tarts for breakfast, a slice of pizza dripping with grease for lunch, a Milky Way for a snack and nachos heaped with melted neon orange cheese and spicy jalapenos for dinner. But as we age, our bodies tend to change and what we once consumed is no longer an option. Eating and stomach pain can be a sign of intolerance to certain foods, the result of stress or it could be a symptom of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). How can you tell the difference?
There are many reasons why you could be experiencing stomach pain. Here are a few causes and symptoms for you to review so you can narrow down what’s triggering your discomfort so you can feel better.
GERD - GERD stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease which means that you have frequent heartburn. This is when you feel a burning in your throat and an aching in your upper stomach. Heartburn happens if you eat too much food or if you eat fatty or spicy foods which causes your stomach acids to splash upwards into the esophagus.
Lactose Intolerance - Lactose is a type of sugar found in milk (and therefore in many dairy products) and many people have difficulty digesting it. Lactose intolerance can cause bloating, gas or diarrhea and obviously occurs after you drink milk or eat meals containing cheese, sour cream, cream cheese or other dairy products.
Side Effect of Certain Medications - Many medications report side effects on their labels that pertain to stomach issues. NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen and aspirin can make the lining of your stomach swell which can cause a upset stomach and even ulcers. Antibiotics can cause diarrhea if you take them on an empty stomach. Opioids and blood pressure medications can slow down your gut and allow the food to ferment which can lead you to feel queasy.
Gluten Intolerance - This seems to be getting a lot of attention these days. Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, barley, and rye and can cause damage in the small intestine. Patients who have this disorder (which is called celiac disease) may feel gassy, bloated, tired and can have mild to severe intestinal pain.
Stress and Anxiety - Do you have the demands of a fast-paced job or a full calendar with too much to do and not enough time to do it? Is there too much month and not enough money? I don’t need to list studies or quote doctors for you to know that stress and anxiety can make you run to the nearest bathroom.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) - Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are two common forms of IBD. This is when there is an inflammation in your large or small intestine and is characterized by stomach pain, diarrhea and rectal bleeding. It can come and go in cycles which makes it a bit difficult to diagnose.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) - IBS has a few different categories: IBS-D is with diarrhea, IBS-C is when you’re constipated and IBS-A is when you have an alternating stool pattern (both diarrhea and constipation). The symptoms of IBS are abdominal pain, cramping or bloating and you usually feel better after you pass a bowel movement. IBS affects almost 20% of the population and occurs twice as much in women as compared to men.
Now that you know some of the most common causes of stomach pain after eating, you might want to keep a journal concerning what you eat and if you have abdominal pain after to see if there’s a pattern. Contact your doctor to discuss your concerns if a change in diet or decreased stress fails to help your symptoms.
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