What Causes Lower Abdominal Fullness?

Lower abdominal fullness can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'needs attention' to 'generally fatal'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

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Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose lower abdominal fullness, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "lower abdominal fullness" as a symptom. Here are five possibilities:

Fibroids
Intestinal Obstruction
Ovarian Cysts
Ovarian Cancer
Endometriosis

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

occasional unexplained vomiting

late birth of first child

significant abdominal distension

significant red blood in stools

low dairy product consumption

painful menstrual cramps

endometriosis

regular unexplained nausea

significant right iliac pain

recent onset vomiting

frequent bowel movement changes

bulimia

... and more than 40 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of lower abdominal fullness:

Cause	Probability	Status
Intestinal Obstruction	95%	Confirm
Ovarian Cancer	14%	Unlikely
Ovarian Cysts	4%	Ruled out
Endometriosis	3%	Ruled out
Fibroids	3%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate abdominal discomfort, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Do you experience a sense of lower abdominal fullness that is NOT caused by food or gas? In other words do you ever "feel full" when you shouldn't?

Possible responses:

→ It is caused by gas / don't know
→ No, I do not experience lower abdominal fullness
→ Yes, sometimes a little fullness
→ Yes, often a little / sometimes definite fullness
→ Yes, (almost) always a definite fullness

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate no abdominal fullness, slight abdominal fullness, intermittent abdominal fullness or constant abdominal fullness, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Endometriosis

Fibroids

Intestinal Obstruction

Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian Cysts

Fluid in an ovarian cyst can irritate the lining of the abdomen, creating inflammation which in turn can cause bloating or fullness.

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™