Why do I feel full all the time?

+83 votes
asked Jul 23, 2018 in Health & Wellness by VASSILIS (1,070 points)
edited Mar 1, 2019
I always feel full, even when I haven’t eaten. My stomach is often swollen; lately it seems to always be this way. Why is this?

2 Answers

+13 votes
answered Jul 4, 2019 by Traci (970 points)
edited Jul 25, 2019

Unfortunately, with such little information, it’s nearly impossible to diagnose your condition. Here are some possibilities:

  • Early satiety is the sensation of feeling full after eating a very small amount of food, or before finishing a normal meal. Several medical afflictions can cause this condition. Gastroparesis is the most common reason for early satiety. This is because gastroparesis causes food to remain in the stomach longer than it should. Conditions such as MS, Parkinson’s disease, and intestinal surgery have also been shown to cause gastroparesis.
  • Generally speaking, any condition than effects the emptying of your stomach can cause you to feel full faster than normal. The duodenum being scarred or compressed will slow the emptying of your stomach as well. Sometimes the nerves that supply the stomach become unhealthy, and this can cause your stomach to empty slower.
  • Ailments such as diabetes can have adverse effects on the nervous system. Diabetes can also harm the vagus nerve, which controls movement in the stomach. Injury to the vagus nerve can slow or stop peristalsis, which would cause the stomach to empty very slowly.

Other possible reasons for early satiety:

  • Constipation
  • Heartburn
  • Depression
  • Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD)
  • Abdominal ulcers
  • An obstruction blocking food from flowing into the small intestine (this is known as a gastric outlet obstruction.
  • Lymphoma
  • Ascites (buildup of fluid in the stomach)
  • Inflamed liver
  • Cancers of the pancreas, stomach, gall bladder, ovaries, or liver

The dangerous thing about early satiety is that it interferes with your daily consumption of nutrients. When you’re not hungry, you eat less, which means you might not be getting enough calories and vital nutrients such as protein, iron, carbohydrates, B12, calcium, and folic acid. This can lead to issues such as anemia and osteoporosis.

Talk to your doctor if you’re experiencing early satiety, even if there are no other symptoms. When combined with early satiety, vomiting, irregular stools, stomach pain, distention, and fevers can all be signs of a serious medical emergency.

Reference:

http://www.healthline.com/symptom/early-satiety

+7 votes
answered Apr 6, 2019 by Shannon (910 points)
edited May 5, 2019
Why do I feel full all the time? I don’t know the answer, but I can relate, because I often feel the same way. My stomach feels full. Sometime I even feel like food is coming back up. I don’t want to take any more medications, so I just eat easy-to-digest foods like oatmeal.
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