“Why do I get full off of very little food? ”
For a while now I haven’t been able to eat very much without getting full and nauseous. Most of the time just the thought of food makes me nauseous and on some occasions, I’ve puked. I’ve been losing weight and idk if it’s because of that but my parents don’t think it’s serious.
Female | 15 years old
3 Answers
| For a while now I haven’t been able to eat very much without getting full and nauseous. Most of the time just the thought of food makes me nauseous and on some occasions, I’ve puked. I’ve been losing weight and Idk if it’s because of that but my parents don’t think it’s serious.
Thank you for sharing your concerns. A wide variety of gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal disorders can result in a lack of appetite and weight loss. While a transient lack of appetite that is not associated with weight loss can be managed expectantly, the presence of weight loss requires further evaluation. Overall, a thorough history and physical exam are the first steps. Sometimes blood work, imaging, and endoscopic evaluation are also required to find the right diagnosis. Some possible diagnoses include Celiac disease, gastroparesis, eating disorders, etc. Once the right diagnosis has been made, the next step will be treating the underlying cause. It is equally important to assess your nutritional status and check for any micronutrient deficiency to ensure the best outcome. I recommend talking to your primary care provider for the next step. Hope you feel better soon.
Thank you for sharing your concerns. A wide variety of gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal disorders can result in a lack of appetite and weight loss. While a transient lack of appetite that is not associated with weight loss can be managed expectantly, the presence of weight loss requires further evaluation. Overall, a thorough history and physical exam are the first steps. Sometimes blood work, imaging, and endoscopic evaluation are also required to find the right diagnosis. Some possible diagnoses include Celiac disease, gastroparesis, eating disorders, etc. Once the right diagnosis has been made, the next step will be treating the underlying cause. It is equally important to assess your nutritional status and check for any micronutrient deficiency to ensure the best outcome. I recommend talking to your primary care provider for the next step. Hope you feel better soon.
Here is the response to the question:
Thank you for your question. As compared to how you should feel when eating normally, early satiety happens when a person feels full after taking a few bites of meal sizes. Let me remind you very briefly about how the digestion process works: so after chewing, the food bolus is swallowed and it travels through the esophagus into the stomach. In the stomach, the food has to be triturated to smaller sized; peristalsis (stomach contractions) and gastric acid (gastric juice) participate in this process. Once the food bolus reaches a small size, it progresses from the stomach through the pylorus opening into the small bowel. Anything that interferes or impairs this normal stomach process can lead to feeling early satiety. It becomes a more serious problem when other symptoms accompany the process, such as nausea with or without vomiting, food regurgitation, heartburn, bloating, abdominal pain, dark/black stool, and loss of appetite. Early satiety can be seen in patients with diabetes mellitus, which is the most common cause of gastric emptying delay, also known as a “gastro paresis” or “lazy stomach.” Other problems in which early satiety is sometimes the first manifestation includes anorexia nervosa, bulimia, medication side effect, gastritis, gastric ulceration, gastric/intestinal surgeries. In elderly patients, we also have to rule out Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, malignancy, which cause gastric outlet obstruction. Therefore, if early satiety is interfering with your normal life, contact your pediatrician for an early evaluation that also includes a physical exam and simple blood work.
Thank you for your question. As compared to how you should feel when eating normally, early satiety happens when a person feels full after taking a few bites of meal sizes. Let me remind you very briefly about how the digestion process works: so after chewing, the food bolus is swallowed and it travels through the esophagus into the stomach. In the stomach, the food has to be triturated to smaller sized; peristalsis (stomach contractions) and gastric acid (gastric juice) participate in this process. Once the food bolus reaches a small size, it progresses from the stomach through the pylorus opening into the small bowel. Anything that interferes or impairs this normal stomach process can lead to feeling early satiety. It becomes a more serious problem when other symptoms accompany the process, such as nausea with or without vomiting, food regurgitation, heartburn, bloating, abdominal pain, dark/black stool, and loss of appetite. Early satiety can be seen in patients with diabetes mellitus, which is the most common cause of gastric emptying delay, also known as a “gastro paresis” or “lazy stomach.” Other problems in which early satiety is sometimes the first manifestation includes anorexia nervosa, bulimia, medication side effect, gastritis, gastric ulceration, gastric/intestinal surgeries. In elderly patients, we also have to rule out Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, malignancy, which cause gastric outlet obstruction. Therefore, if early satiety is interfering with your normal life, contact your pediatrician for an early evaluation that also includes a physical exam and simple blood work.
The stomach can get sensitive at times, e.g. after an upper GI infection. Nausea can be a sign of stress or anxiety too. See a pediatrician if the symptoms don't get better.
