Most people enjoy a drink or two at the end of a busy week. When done in moderation, drinking alcohol isn’t too harmful. However, it’s common for a lot of people to experience stomach pain after drinking, sometimes severely.
Now, this could be a sign of a hangover, and it may be related to something that you ate while drinking. But, sometimes it can be something more serious. If you constantly get stomach pain after drinking alcohol, then you may suffer from something called alcohol gastritis.
If you are suffering from alcohol addiction, contact us today to discuss how we can help you. Rehab or detoxing are usually the most recommended action.
What causes stomach pain after drinking alcohol?
As copious amounts of alcohol are consumed, it leads to damage within your stomach. This can happen progressively by drinking every single day, or it may be sudden after a particularly large binge.
There’s a mucous membrane in your stomach that basically protects the stomach lining. Alcohol destroys this layer, which exposes your stomach. From here, stomach acids that usually help with digestion will attack your stomach lining.
As such, your stomach becomes far more sensitive, and you will experience chronic pain – particularly after eating or drinking certain foods.
This is alcohol gastritis, and it can be a very painful thing to experience. Some people only experience it once, while others can get this after drinking alcohol all the time.
When does abdominal pain after drinking become serious?
Many people have abdominal pain after drinking alcohol because of less serious issues. As mentioned in the introduction, it can be a simple symptom of a hangover.
But, stomach pain after drinking becomes serious when you experience it time and time again, regardless of how much you drink.
This shows that you have damaged your stomach lining, and if you don’t seek the treatment you will end up causing permanent damage to it!
What are the symptoms of alcohol gastritis?
Alcohol gastritis presents some additional symptoms beyond stomach pain. This includes the following:
- Vomiting
- Vomiting blood
- Acid reflux
- Extreme bloating
- Loss of appetite
- Sharp abdominal pain
- A burning sensation in your stomach
If you experience these symptoms, then you know that your stomach pain after drinking is more serious than a simple hangover. As such, you should look to treat the problem before it gets worse and leads to a serious illness.
Treatment for alcohol-induced stomach pain
Thankfully, treating this problem is relatively straightforward. Firstly, you have to identify the cause of pain.
More often than not, chronic stomach pain after drinking is a sign of alcohol abuse or addiction. Therefore, giving up drinking isn’t as easy as it seems.
Alcohol rehab offers various treatment options for people suffering from addiction. You will need an alcohol detox to rid your body of alcohol, and this also gives your stomach time to heal. If you would prefer to detox at home there are a wide range of options available to make it as comfortable as possible for you.
Alongside this, you may be prescribed medication that eases the pain and stops the digestive enzymes in your stomach from attack the lining.
A change of diet will also be required to help your stomach heal and get back to normal. This typically involves removing certain trigger foods like spicy or hot things.
Following your treatment, your stomach should be back to normal, and you can start introducing more foods back into your diet. As long as you avoid alcohol in the future, then it shouldn’t be an issue that you have to face again.
If you need help supporting an alcoholic or would like to discuss counselling services such as an intervention. Contact us today so that we can help you get your lives back together.
