Constipation
Constipation is a condition in which it is difficult to have bowel movements. Many people with constipation experience bloating. This may be because hard and lumpy stool affects intestinal motility and increases bacterial fermentation. People may experience:
- less than three bowel movements per week
- stool may be hard, dry, or lumpy
- pain or difficulty with bowel movements
- it feels like not all the stool has come out
Treatment
Constipation can be treated at home. A person should eat foods high in fiber and drink more fluids. Physical activity is also necessary.
A person should train his intestines by going to the toilet at the same time every day. Doctors may also recommend laxatives if constipation is severe and other treatments don't help. If home remedies are ineffective, your doctor may prescribe stool softeners or refer you for surgery in severe cases.
Irritable bowel syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome (
IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases. Scientists don't know exactly why some people develop IBS, but several factors, such as motor skills, the body's interactions with the brain and gut, and distress, play a role. IBS is more common in women than men and becomes less common with age.
There are three different types of IBS:
- IBS-D - diarrhea accompanies irritable bowel syndrome
- IBS-C - constipation accompanies irritable bowel syndrome
- IBS-M - mixed bowel patterns accompany irritable bowel syndrome
Common symptoms of IBS include:
- pain or discomfort in the abdomen
- constipation, diarrhea, or both
- bloating and increase in abdominal size
- pain that can change location
- change in the nature and frequency of stool
Treatment
Treatment for IBS is mainly aimed at relieving symptoms. Doctors may recommend dietary supplements and laxatives for people with constipation. For diarrhea, your doctor may recommend Loperamide or probiotics. Increasing physical activity can relieve IBS symptoms. For severe symptoms, doctors may also prescribe a low dose of tricyclic antidepressants, such as doxepin, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Citalopram.
You should also avoid certain foods to help manage IBS symptoms. Avoiding wheat products, fruits and vegetables, and dairy products that contain carbohydrates may relieve symptoms.
Causes of heaviness and seething
The causes of heaviness and turbulence in the stomach after eating may be associated with disruption of the digestive system. The organs included in it work as a single whole, and if a failure occurs somewhere, this can affect the entire digestion process.
A special place in this process is occupied by digestive enzymes and the pancreas, which produces them. Enzymes break down food so it can be absorbed by the body. Each food component has its own enzymes. Thus, amylase processes carbohydrates, protease processes proteins, and lipase processes fats. All 3 types of enzymes are produced by the pancreas, and they enter the intestines, where they begin their work. In this case, lipase for the breakdown of fats is produced only by the pancreas2.
Inflammatory bowel diseases
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a disease in which there is chronic inflammation of various parts of the gastrointestinal tract with the development of diarrhea and abdominal pain. Two conditions that can occur in a person with IBD are ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. People with ulcerative colitis have inflammation of the lining of the colon and rectum.
People with Crohn's disease have ulcers in the gastrointestinal tract. However, most often ulcers appear in the colon and ileum.
Symptoms
The symptoms of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are so similar that doctors cannot initially distinguish one disease from the other.
Symptoms of ulcerative colitis include:
- loss of appetite
- weight loss
- nausea and fever
- fatigue
- anemia
- diarrhea
- bloody stool
- cramps and abdominal pain
Crohn's disease has similar symptoms to ulcerative colitis. People with Crohn's disease may have all or some of the above conditions, plus:
- dehydration
- abscesses
- fistula, which is an abnormal connection between the intestines and other organs
Treatment
Doctors will strive to help people with IBD go into remission. This means that their symptoms either disappear or become manageable. Both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease can have flare-ups, in which symptoms can get worse. Doctors will prescribe aminosalicylates such as mesalazine. This medicine is administered in the form of a suppository into the rectum. Alternatively, doctors may prescribe oral medications.
If a person responds poorly to mesalamine, corticosteroids are prescribed to reduce inflammation. Doctors may prescribe immunomodulatory drugs if corticosteroids are ineffective. In severe cases, the patient is sent for a total colectomy, an operation that removes the entire colon.
What tests and studies need to be done to make a diagnosis?
To find out the cause of this symptom, it is necessary to carry out a number of diagnostic procedures. To determine the functional state of the patient’s digestive system, the doctor prescribes laboratory and instrumental studies.
In the first group, stool analysis is of greatest importance. Changes in its indicators may indicate a violation of the liver, insufficiency of digestive enzymes. If there is a suspicion of the infectious nature of the disease, a bacteriological study is carried out, which makes it possible to determine the causative agent.
Among the instrumental methods, ultrasound of the abdominal organs is most often used. It allows you to roughly assess the condition of the digestive system.
If gastritis and peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum are suspected, an FGDS is performed. A special tube is inserted into the patient's esophagus, at the end of which a camera with a light is attached. The doctor gradually carries it up to the duodenum and visually assesses the condition of the mucous membrane of the digestive tract. This way you can determine the presence of inflammatory changes, loss of integrity and other signs of pathology. In some cases, during an FGDS, the doctor takes material for a biopsy - pinches off a microscopic piece of tissue, which is then examined under a microscope.
Stomach cancer
Stomach cancer is a form of cancer that affects the lining of the stomach.
Early signs of stomach cancer are similar to other gastrointestinal diseases. Symptoms include:
- indigestion
- bloating and stomach discomfort
- nausea and loss of appetite
- heartburn
People who have more advanced stomach cancer may have:
- blood in stool
- vomiting and unintentional weight loss
- abdominal pain
- jaundice, which is yellowing of the eyes and skin
- accumulation of fluid in the stomach
- problems with swallowing
Doctors can diagnose stomach cancer using a variety of tests, which include physical examinations, blood tests, X-rays and scans.
Treatment
A person with stomach cancer may undergo surgery, during which a surgeon removes parts of the stomach affected by cancer. In some cases, most of the tissue and organs near the cancer cells are removed to prevent them from spreading.
Alternatively, your doctor may recommend endoscopic mucosal resection.
Other treatments include various types of therapy. These include:
- chemotherapy, in which a person is given drugs to stop the growth of cancer
- radiation therapy, which attacks cancer with X-rays or other types of radiation
- chemoradiotherapy, a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy
- targeted therapy, in which a person takes drugs that attack specific cancer cells
- immunotherapy, which boosts a person's immune system to fight cancer
Help the pancreas
We found that the cause of heaviness in the abdomen may be due to a lack of digestive enzymes. And this can manifest itself even with proper nutrition. In order to restore the amount of enzymes, there are special preparations, they are called enzyme preparations. Their task is to deliver the missing enzymes from the outside to support digestion.
Creon® has many years of expertise in digestive support. The active ingredient pancreatin is a source of additional enzymes for digestion. In fact, most existing enzyme preparations contain pancreatin. But it's not that simple. The body dictates to us additional conditions under which the drug can help most effectively.
The main requirement is particle size. Thus, scientists have found that the smaller they are, the more effective the means1,4 are to mix with food in the stomach in order to help digest its maximum volume.
Besides, working in the stomach is only half the battle. The drug must enter the intestines. Mixed evenly with food, it is not difficult for small particles.
Creon® is produced in the form of minimicrospheres - small particles of pancreatin, which are placed in a capsule3. Following the physiological path of food, Creon® 10000 is integrated into the natural process of digestion and helps to cope with heaviness after eating, seething, and discomfort2,3. Learn more about how Creon® works.
If necessary, the capsule can be opened and the particles mixed with food3. There is no need to be afraid, because... Each particle has a protective shell from the destructive environment of the stomach.
It is important that when taking Creon® the body does not stop digesting food itself; the drug only supplements its own digestion2. Therefore, Creon® 10000 can be taken every time it is needed. The high safety profile allows its use even in newborns3.
Heaviness in the abdomen during pregnancy
Heaviness in the abdomen during pregnancy
may be the result of Braxton Hicks contractions. These contractions are irregular and are sometimes called false labor contractions. They occur when muscle fibers in the uterus tense and then relax. False contractions can start as early as 6 weeks pregnant, but most people don't feel them until the second or third trimester. Women with Braxton Hicks contractions can change their position or activity level to relieve discomfort.
For example, if a woman is usually sedentary, walking may be beneficial, while a more physically active person may benefit from sitting. Relaxing or drinking water may also help. Other causes of a hard belly during pregnancy may include gas and constipation.
How does this happen?
Seething in the stomach can appear from drinking a large amount of liquid or the formation of gases from carbonated drinks. In addition, if you drink a glass of ice water on an empty stomach, it may begin to actively contract, which will also lead to rumbling in the stomach.
With every meal we swallow air and, if there is a lot of it in the stomach, we can also hear bubbling. It’s unpleasant when added to this is heaviness in the stomach. Bubbling, rumbling and heaviness may appear after eating in certain situations.
- Large meals . When you relax at dinner and lose your vigilance, it is so easy to eat too much. You don’t want to strain your willpower, and even less so to leave the last tasty piece on the plate. In addition to routine, small overeating, there are holidays. Often we know that overeating is inevitable. Some prepare by taking enzyme preparations, while others eat specially in advance to reduce their appetite. And some people think it’s right to come to visit hungry in order to test their digestive abilities.
- Fatty heavy meals . Most fast food contains a lot of hidden fats and fast carbohydrates. But during the day we have no alternative when we need to eat quickly and better on the go.
- Large pieces . In a hurry, trying to eat everything faster, we can swallow our lunch like a boa constrictor. But we don’t have time to lie in the shade and digest food. Often at work meetings and trainings, lunch is served in a buffet format, and the time allocated for lunch is limited. This is how the habit of eating without chewing food is often developed.
- Bad habits . When smoking, air is swallowed, especially if it is combined with food. Alcohol, a frequent companion to feasts and holidays, aggravates the situation.
Give up all of the above at once? Perhaps, by eliminating the cause, you will be able to get rid of the heaviness in your stomach and seething after eating, and then you will not have to deprive yourself of all the joys of life.
What you need to know about treating heaviness in the stomach
The presence of symptoms for a long time is a reason to seek advice from a gastroenterologist. During the consultation, the specialist performs the following actions:
- studying the patient's condition;
- collection of tests;
- X-ray and ultrasound of the abdominal organs;
- examination of the stomach and duodenum using a special method - video endoscopy;
- magnetic resonance imaging.
Some signs may indicate serious problems with the digestive system.
First of all, an investigative connection must be established. If you experience heaviness and frequent pain in the stomach after eating, you should pay more attention to your diet, differentiate between breakfast, lunch and dinner, and exclude too fatty, salty and spicy foods from your meals.
The full list of studies is determined individually. After receiving all the data, treatment is prescribed taking into account the characteristics of the individual patient. To eliminate the feeling of heaviness in the hypogastrium, use:
- diet therapy;
- drug treatment, in particular herbal preparations, for example, GastroMix;
- surgical intervention - prescribed for serious illnesses.
What does the doctor think?
“For stomach diseases, it is not recommended to resort to treatment with antibiotics, because this can cause complications on the liver and kidneys.”
Under no circumstances should you self-medicate for discomfort, heaviness and pain in the stomach. Professional diagnosis and timely initiation of therapy will help eliminate complications and progression of pathologies that provoked an untidy symptom. To make your stomach work like a clock, you need... read our article.
