Most of the alterations caused by visits to the emergency room occur in the digestive system. There, we can feel various symptoms: diarrhea, vomiting, malaise, nausea, burning, and so on. However, sometimes it is difficult for us to put words to the sensations we have in the body. When digestive problems appear, one of the usual symptoms is the feeling of fullness in the stomach, even when we have eaten little. As strange as it is compared to other more common symptoms such as abdominal pain or diarrhea, many people also worry because they do not know what it is due to.
Do you want to know the causes of the feeling of fullness in the stomach? Keep reading this FastlyHealarticle, and we will explain them to you.
Table of Contents
The feeling of fullness and symptoms of severe indigestion
Indigestion, medically known as dyspepsia, is the most common cause of the feeling of fullness in the stomach and manifests as pain or uncomfortable feeling in the upper area of the abdomen during or after meals. Other symptoms associated with indigestion are the following:
- Pain and burning between the breastbone and the part of the navel.
- Feeling of fullness in the stomach when eating or finishing eating.
- Nausea or vomiting
- Cold sweats
Usually, if it occurs promptly, indigestion does not represent any health problem. Everyone goes through indigestion at some point in their life. Some of the causes that cause dyspepsia in a specific way are:
- Eat a lot.
- Eat very fast.
- Suffering from stress or anxiety.
- Drinking too much alcohol
- Eating foods that are too fatty or spicy.
However, if it happens to us regularly, it is because there is some underlying problem or underlying disease. In this case, when indigestion is often repeated, it is necessary to go to the doctor to make an accurate diagnosis. Some of these diseases that can cause dyspepsia are:
- Gastritis.
- Intestinal ulcers
- Pancreatitis.
- Gallstones
- The intake of medications such as NSAIDs or antibiotics.
In addition, there are a series of symptoms that we must keep in mind and that, if they appear together with those that we have explained previously, can warn us that there is a health problem. We must go immediately to the doctor if there is:
- Presence of blood in the stool or vomit.
- Weightloss.
- Problems with swallowing.
Stomach paralysis and feeling full
As its name implies, gastroparesis means stomach paralysis, and it is a disorder in the digestive system in which there is no abnormal motility. The stomach exerts contractions that crush the food and then carry it to the small intestine in a healthy person. There, the digestive process continues, and nutrients are absorbed from the food. When a person suffers from gastroparesis, the stomach contraction does not exist or is not adequate, which is why food is neither crushed nor taken to the intestine, interrupting the normal process of digestion.
As it cannot be otherwise, if food cannot reach the intestine, it causes a feeling of fullness in the stomach and satiety even when eating very little. Other prominent symptoms of gastroparesis are:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Vomiting of undigested food.
- Abdominal swelling
- Reflux.
- Slimming
- Changes in the sugar level.
Gastroparesis is closely linked to a specific disease, diabetes, and most patients who suffer from this disease are a consequence of it [1]. However, the causes of gastroparesis can also be found in:
- Stomach infections
- Endocrine system problems.
- Scleroderma
- Neuromuscular diseases.
- Cancer.
- People who have had radiation therapy to the chest.
- People who have undergone certain chemotherapies.
- People who have had surgery on the intestinal tract.
- The intake of certain drugs such as narcotics, antidepressants, or calcium channel blockers.
Special mention should be made of those patients who suffer from eating disorders, for example, bulimia or anorexia nervosa. In these cases, gastroparesis can also develop. However, unlike other causes, gastric motility is restored usually when a regular intake is followed at appropriate times.
The feeling of fullness and the urge to vomit: stomach ulcer
Another condition that can cause a feeling of fullness in the stomach and other associated symptoms is a stomach ulcer, also known as a peptic ulcer or gastric ulcer. It is a wound in the tissue that lines the stomach and can have different causes, mainly bacterial infections, poor diet, or the intake of certain drugs.
Although a gastric ulcer does not have to be serious, it is necessary to follow a medical treatment based on antacids to prevent the wound from getting worse and its symptoms. Usually, the symptoms of peptic ulcer are as follows:
- Abdominal stitches, especially when drinking and eating.
- Burning in the pit of the stomach.
- Nausea and vomiting
- Headaches
- Bloody stools: dark and smelly.
All these symptoms tend to worsen at the time of eating or right after. In addition, it can cause loss of appetite, which makes the person start to lose weight constantly.
I was feeling full and wanted to vomit from stomach cancer.
You should not be alarmed since the feeling of fullness in the stomach is most likely due to something else. However, you should know that this is one of the main symptoms of stomach cancer. Stomach cancer is one of the most difficult to detect in the initial stages; only 1 in 5 is detected early, and the reason is that in its early stages, it rarely has symptoms. Symptoms usually appear when the cancer is more widespread and are usually the following:
- Feeling of fullness in the stomach.
- Loss of appetite
- Weightloss.
- Pain in the abdomen.
- Strange discomfort above the navel area.
- Heartburn.
- Vomiting that can be bloody.
- Stomach bloating
- Bloody stools.
If you have any of these symptoms, especially if they do not disappear over time or worsen, you should see a doctor make a diagnosis.
I am feeling fullness and belching due to a closed pylorus.
The pyloric muscles are the ones that connect the lower stomach area with the small intestine. The point is that when these muscles thicken, a condition known as pyloric stenosis prevents the stomach from emptying, causing the feeling of fullness in the stomach. To this day, it is not known what causes pyloric stenosis in children. However, it is known that genetics play an essential role. Although this condition is much more common in babies, especially after six months of life, it can sometimes occur in people of any age. Furthermore, pyloric stenosis is one of the infrequent complications of gastric ulcers [2].
Some of the common symptoms of pyloric stenosis, both in babies and adults, are:
- Feeling of fullness in the stomach after a bit of eating.
- Belching
- Constant feeling of hunger.
- Dehydration
- Diarrhea.
- Weightloss.
- Vomiting
The same happens in the case of closed pylorus syndrome in adults, a condition very similar to the one we have just explained and which is usually derived from other underlying problems. It is the obstruction of this channel causing the symptoms that we have just explained. Some of the causes that can cause a closed pylorus are:
- Gastric mucous membrane perforation.
- Peptic ulcer.
- Tuberculosis.
- Polyps.
- Tumors
- Gastric surgeries.
- Gallstones
- Foreign objects in the stomach.
- Diverticula.
- Crohn’s disease.
This article is merely informative. At FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor if you present any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Feeling of fullness in the stomach: causes, we recommend that you enter our category of Digestive system.
I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.