What Causes Severe Abdominal Pain Only After Meals?

Severe abdominal pain only after meals can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'troubling' to 'critical'. 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 severe abdominal pain only after meals, 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 "severe abdominal pain only after meals" as a symptom. Here are eight of many possibilities (more below):

Mesenteric Ischemia
Stomach Ulcers
Crohn's Disease
Atrophic Gastritis
Food Poisoning
Lactose Intolerance
Gastroenteritis
Gallbladder Disease

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:

frequent meal-related bloating

weak appetite

having foamy urine

abdominal pain reduced by eating

meals worsen epigastric pain

Latin / Hispanic ethnicity

regular aspirin use

mild right hypochondriac discomfort

liver/gallbladder cleanses help

significant left iliac pain

black/tarry stools

significant abdominal distension

... and more than 90 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of severe abdominal pain only after meals:

Cause	Probability	Status
Mesenteric Ischemia	92%	Confirm
Stomach Ulcers	27%	Unlikely
Food Poisoning	26%	Unlikely
Gastroenteritis	3%	Ruled out
Lactose Intolerance	3%	Ruled out
Atrophic Gastritis	0%	Ruled out
Gallbladder Disease	0%	Ruled out
Crohn's Disease	0%	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 pain caused by eating, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

If you regularly experience general abdominal pain that begins after eating a meal, roughly how frequent and severe is it?

Possible responses:

→ Not applicable / don't know
→ Occasional mild/moderate pain
→ Frequent mild and/or occasional moderate pain
→ Frequent moderate and/or occasional severe pain
→ Severe pain after most/all meals

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate mild meal-induced pain, moderate meal-induced pain, significant meal-induced pain or severe meal-induced pain, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Allergy to Foods (Hidden)

Atrophic Gastritis

Crohn's Disease

Pain usually begins within an hour of eating and is most often around the navel, the lower right abdomen, or both. Usually painful to the touch.

Food Poisoning

Gallbladder Disease

Meal-induced pain in the abdomen suggests the presence of gallstones in the gallbladder that are causing a blockage in the bile duct: The gallbladder contracts as part of the digestive process but the bile is unable to drain, leading to pressure and pain.

Gastric/Peptic/Duodenal Ulcers

Gastritis

Gastroenteritis

Lactose Intolerance

Symptoms of lactose intolerance can be mild or severe, depending on how much lactase your body makes.

Mesenteric Ischemia

Ulcerative Colitis

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