Stomach cramps after eating fatty food are often due to biliary colic, which is a disease related to gallstones. However, several other disease processes can result in the same symptoms. Because treatment and prognosis of these diseases differ, it's important to see your doctor if you are experiencing repeated episodes of these symptoms.
Causes
Stomach cramps after a fatty meal can result from a number of disease processes. According to Drs. Rod McKinlay and Samuel C. Matheny, authors of the text "Current Diagnosis and Treatment in Family Medicine," a common cause of these symptoms is biliary colic, also known as symptomatic gallstones. However, pancreatic disease, inflammatory bowel disease---for example, Crohn's disease---and mesenteric ischemia, can also cause cramps after a fatty meal. Biliary colic is the most common cause of these symptoms.
Epidemiology
According to McKinlay and Matheny, about 1 in 13 Americans have gallstones. They are more prevalent in women than in men, and in both sexes, they become more common with age. The risk of developing biliary colic, which is pain resulting from gallstones, is around 1 to 2 percent per year in the population of people with gallstones.
Effects
When fat arrives in your small intestine, it stimulates your gallbladder to release bile, which is a sort of emulsifying agent that helps your body digest the fat it's just consumed. Your gallbladder releases bile by contracting. The pain of colic occurs when a gallstone becomes wedged in the bile duct that connects your gallbladder with your small intestine. When your gallbladder contracts against this obstruction and cannot successfully excrete its bile, it is painful.
Treatment
Uncomplicated biliary colic is usually treated with nothing more than fluids, pain medication and a brief period of food restriction. However, complicated biliary disease---that is, disease resulting in infection or perforation of the gallbladder---may be treated more aggressively with antibiotics or surgery. When uncomplicated biliary colic resolves, the gallbladder is usually surgically removed, since one attack of biliary colic usually predicts an increased risk of subsequent attacks.
Other Diseases
Other diseases can cause stomach cramping after fatty meals in other ways. Pancreatic disease, for example, can cause stomach cramping if outflow from the pancreas is obstructed as a result of acute inflammation or a gallstone blocking the pancreatic duct. Crohn's disease causes stomach cramping when your intestines become so damaged by inflammation that they are no longer able to digest and absorb food appropriately. Mesenteric ischemia, which is a condition wherein cholesterol clogs the arteries supplying your intestines, causes stomach cramps after a big meal because blood flow to your intestines is not able to increase to an amount appropriate to handle digestion of the food you've just eaten.
Solution
If you are experiencing stomach cramps after a fatty meal, the best thing to do is to see your doctor. Different diseases present with different, characteristic patterns of pain. Your doctor may be able to diagnose you based on the history of your illness alone. She may also do a focused physical exam and order laboratory or imaging tests to try to distinguish the source of your pain.
References
- "Current Diagnosis and Treatment in Family Medicine"; Rod McKinlay and Samuel C. Matheny; 2008
- MedlinePlus: Gallstones
- MedlinePlus: Mesenteric Artery Ischemia
