Why does my stomach hurt when I’m hungry?

Stomachache is a problem that many people will encounter. In daily life, some people will have stomachache when they are hungry or in the middle of the night. This situation is often ignored, so that the stomach problem becomes more and more serious in the later stage.

When people are hungry, the empty stomach secretes a large amount of gastric juice, which goes directly into the duodenum without mixing with food. If there is an ulcer in the duodenum, the gastric acid will directly stimulate the ulcer surface and cause pain. At this time, eating some food or antacids will neutralize the gastric acid, thereby reducing the irritation to the duodenal ulcer surface and the symptoms will be relieved.

Some people will feel stomach pain or burning when they are hungry. At this time, if they eat some biscuits, steamed buns, etc., the stomach pain and other discomforts will be relieved immediately. Therefore, some people call this hunger-related stomach discomfort gluttony. Gastrointestinal disease treatment experts remind people who have such conditions to pay attention. In fact, this hunger stomach pain is often a typical clinical manifestation of duodenal bulb ulcer and should be taken seriously.

Duodenal bulb ulcer is the most common type of ulcer disease clinically. Its main clinical manifestation is recurrent hunger stomach pain. Patients often experience pain before each meal and often wake up in the middle of the night due to pain from an empty stomach. They have to get up in the middle of the night to eat something to fill their stomach before they can fall asleep peacefully.

The reason is that when people are hungry, the empty stomach secretes a large amount of gastric juice, which goes directly into the duodenum without mixing with food. If there is an ulcer in the duodenal bulb, then these gastric acid can stimulate the ulcer wound and cause bursts of pain.

If you often experience stomach discomfort and pain caused by hunger, you should take it seriously and go to the hospital for a thorough check-up to see if you have a duodenal bulb ulcer so that you can get timely treatment.

1. If you have stomach pain when you are hungry, it is recommended to go to the hospital for a gastroscopy to confirm the diagnosis.

2. Lifestyle habits and mental state have a great impact on stomach problems. It is recommended to abstain from smoking, alcohol, coffee, tea, raw, cold and spicy food. Eat less starchy foods such as potatoes, taro, vermicelli, sweet potatoes, and other jelly. Do not eat soda crackers, etc. Eat small meals frequently and at regular times. Do not eat foods that are too hard or indigestible.

3. You can take omeprazole + metropolitanide + metronidazole (or amoxicillin, clarithromycin, gentamicin).

Wuhan Gastroenterology Hospital kindly reminds you: If you eat some food or antacids at this time, it can neutralize the large amount of stomach acid in the stomach, reduce the irritation to the ulcer surface, and stomach pain and other uncomfortable symptoms will disappear immediately. Therefore, if you often experience stomach discomfort and pain caused by hunger, you should pay attention to it and go to the hospital for a careful check-up to see if you have duodenal bulb ulcer so that you can get timely treatment.