Causes may include:

• Gastric outlet obstruction
• Heartburn
• Nervous system problem that causes delayed stomach emptying
• Stomach or abdominal tumor
• Stomach (peptic) ulcer

Follow your health care provider's advice.

• A liquid diet may be helpful.
• You may need to keep a detailed diet log. This is a place where you write down what you eat, how much, and when.
• You may be more comfortable if you eat small, frequent meals rather than big meals.
• A diet high in fat or high in fiber may worsen the feeling.

Contact your provider if:

• The feeling lasts for days to weeks and does not get better.
• You lose weight without trying.
• You have dark stools.
• You have nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, or bloating.
• You have fever and chills.

Your provider will examine you and ask questions such as:

• When did this symptom begin?
• How long does each episode last?
• What foods, if any, make the symptoms worse?
• What other symptoms do you have (for example, vomiting, excessive gas, abdominal pain, or weight loss)?

Tests that may be performed include:

• Complete blood count and blood differential to check for anemia
• Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD)
• Stool tests for bleeding
• X-ray studies of the stomach, esophagus, and small intestine (abdominal x-ray and an upper GI and small bowel series)
• Stomach-emptying studies

Abdominal fullness prematurely after meals

Koch KL. Gastric neuromuscular function and neuromuscular disorders. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology/Diagnosis/Management. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 50.

Szabo C, Tantawy H. Diseases of the gastrointestinal system. In: Hines RL, Jones SB, eds. Stoelting's Anesthesia and Co-Existing Disease. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 17.

Updated by: Michael M. Phillips, MD, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.