Sometimes when going through alcohol detox, you may experience stomach pain. This happens because the alcohol stimulates your stomach to produce a high level of enzymes that are supposed to help with digestion.
These extra enzymes become an irritant to the stomach lining and leads to stomach upset and problems such as heartburn, ulcers, gastritis, nausea, and an upset stomach.
Alcohol use disorder erodes the stomach's mucous membrane and bloating may become a side effect. This is caused by what is known as "alcohol-induced hepatitis," making your stomach lining susceptible to intestinal issues.
Abdominal swelling could be a sign of acute gastritis as well.
Acute gastritis, however, could also be because of taking too many nonsteroidal or anti-inflammatory addiction medicine such as ibuprofen and aspirin.
Additionally, this type of swelling could also be a residual result of heavy drinking it is a built-up of gas.
The good news is that as the bloating disappears, while going through the alcohol and drug addiction treatment, you will most likely drop a few pounds. Definitely a silver lining!
Does your stomach hurt when you quit drinking?
Yes. The pain in your stomach when you stop drinking is a form of alcoholic gastritis.
However, the most common type of stomach problem during alcohol addiction detox is gastrointestinal distress, which is the first symptom likely to appear. It can also be the last one to leave.
You will experience severe nausea and abdominal cramping and pain.
This will make it difficult for you to drink or eat anything during the recovery process.
What is alcohol gastritis?
Alcohol gastritis is a form of stomach pain.
It occurs because of the alcohol damaging your stomach lining and can cause a wide variety of issues including vomiting and severe nausea. [1]
Alcohol induced gastritis may present immediately you stop consuming alcohol, or over time, and it tends to eat away at your body's digestive tract.
Long-term alcohol dependence puts a strain on your body and may lead to acute gastritis, bacterial infections, bleeding, ulcers and discomfort.
Gastritis is usually managed in a residential clinic using tapered and supervised alcohol detox treatment.
What causes alcoholic gastritis?
Your stomach, being part of the digestive tract produces powerful enzymes and acids that help in breaking down food and other substances.
These also protect the rest of the body from potent compounds and there is a membrane that exists to help keep the process in the stomach. But, when this membrane is irritated, it causes gastritis.
The longer the person suffers from alcohol use disorder, the more likely gastritis tends to become permanent, and this can damage their digestive system.
Types of gastritis
There are two main types of gastritis likely to develop:
- Acute alcohol gastritis
- Chronic alcohol gastritis
Both of these causes severe pain and can destroy your stomach and digestive tract. Although one of them is more life threatening than the other one.
Acute alcohol gastritis
This refers to a sudden inflammation of your stomach lining.
It can present itself very quickly and painfully than the other kind and has a long list of effects that include:
- Ulcers
- Mild stomach upset
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Stomach irritability.
- Bloating
- Gas
- Haemorrhaging.
Chronic alcohol gastritis
This is a persistent condition that can cause the stomach lining to become inflamed for a long period of time.
As a result, the stomach loses its protective function, and the acid affects stomach lining and as a result the stomach lining remains inflamed.
Effects can be mild or severe and they are less likely to be addressed as compared to the acute gastritis.
They include:
- Feeling tired.
- Abdominal pain.
- Stomach irritation.
- A loss of appetite.
- Anaemia.
Alcoholic gastritis risk factors
Excessive alcohol consumption that causes alcoholic gastritis to develop.
You are at risk of this condition if you expose yourself to the following:
- Smoking excessively or using illicit drugs.
- Consuming diets that are high in oil, fats, saturated and trans fats and preservatives.
- Long-term alcohol consumption.
- Autoimmune conditions such as high blood pressure that weaken the body.
- A stressful lifestyle.
Alcoholic gastritis complications
Any development of acute or chronic gastritis should be handled with care, which is why we say that detox should be medically reviewed.
In fact, medical treatment options should be explored for all alcohol related problems.
So, the gastritis, although a rare complication can have adverse implications on your health and if left untreated, you may end up with stomach ulcers and bleeding in your stomach, which is known as erosive gastritis.
Erosive gastritis is characterized by; weakness, dizziness, black or tarred stools, shortness of breath, and blood in vomit and stool.
Can withdrawal cause stomach cramps?
Yes. This is because the stomach produces an acid that causes gastritis when you stop drinking.
This inflammation of your stomach lining during withdrawal triggers diarrhoea, vomiting, cramps and even bleeding.
In addition, the process can cause a condition called delirium tremens and high body temperature which when combined with the cramps can be quite unbearable and fatal.
You may need medical emergency from treatment facilities if/when the following develop:
- Stomach cramps.
- Excessive weakness.
- Less endurance.
- Impaired recovery.
- Hallucinations.
How long does alcohol gastritis last?
It depends. The treatment of alcohol use disorder is unique to each person, and some may experience effects longer than others.
When you are addicted to alcohol, and have suffered for a long time, effects are likely to last longer, than someone with moderate drinking problems.
With time, the pain subsides and you are able to continue with the medically reviewed alcohol use addiction treatment with ease.
The drinking effects can however be felt even one year after your detox programme is completed. This is because, the timeline is different for everyone.
What is causing stomach pain from alcohol?
The pain from alcohol is as a result of the stomach lining losing the mucus membrane and opening itself up to the digestive enzymes and other stomach acids.
These are basically attacking your stomach and the pain will subside with time.
In most cases, the abdominal pain from the treatment of alcohol use disorder is a part of the treatment process, but then again, it could just be a simple common pain in your tummy.
What are the dangers of stomach pain from alcohol?
According to research (1), when you do not treat gastritis, you may expose yourself to the following dangers:
- Excessive stomach pain.
- Polyps.
- Stomach ulcers.
- Cancerous tumours in your stomach.
- Stomach bleeding.
This process should therefore be medically reviewed by a professional to ensure that you are going through the detox from too much alcohol with ease, without affecting your nervous system or causing an increased risk to your mental health.
Is there a stomach pain after drinking alcohol cure?
Well, yes. Technically, when a person drinks and then they stop drinking, their body tends to react through pain, and the simple cure to this pain is either to relapse, or persevere through the process, so you can completely beat the habit.
Well, since you are trying to quit drinking, the only option would be to persevere, in just a few days, the pain will subside.
Persistent alcohol and drug use for an extended period will cause pain when the drugs or alcohol leaves your body, and because you have abused alcohol and other drugs, you should be able to understand that the process will not be easy, but with medical attention and other treatments, you can get through it.
The first step towards Alcohol addiction treatment is detox, and this can help you through the stomach pains, but you will have to follow the treatment process, such as eating a healthy diet, and ensuring that you take medication.
Other side-effects of alcohol abuse
A few hours after your last drink, you may suffer from a myriad of issues, although they are different for everyone.
These are the most common, other than gastritis:
- You may experience insomnia.
- You may suffer from blood pressure issues.
- You may experience shakes.
- You may have headaches.
Some can be quite fatal to your health and life. It is therefore highly advisable to seek medical treatment when going through the rehab process.
