Why Does My Stomach Hurt When I Wake Up?

12 Reasons Your Stomach May Hurt in the Morning

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Experts estimate that 10 – 15 percent¹ of adults in the United States experience Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Even though this condition is common, it’s often undiagnosed.
Symptoms can include abdominal pain, cramping, bloating, changes in the appearance of a bowel movement, or changes in how often you’re having a bowel movement. These symptoms can vary from person to person, but the common thread is that IBS symptoms are usually present for a long period of time.

IBS is usually triggered by food sensitivities and stress. Cutting out certain foods² and beverages like dairy, sweeteners, caffeine, carbonated drinks, and certain hard-to-digest vegetables (like broccoli and Brussels sprouts) can help. Perhaps more importantly, though, is making sure your nervous system is regulated and calm. Digestion happens in a parasympathetic state³, also known as the “rest and digest” state, and if you are consistently stressed, you’ll likely have issues with digestion.

Indigestion

Indigestion is not all that different from IBS. In fact, indigestion is one of the most common symptoms of IBS, though it can occur in people who don’t have long-term, chronic symptoms of IBS.

You might be experiencing indigestion if you have pain or discomfort in your upper abdomen, a burning pain behind the breastbone (heartburn), a feeling of fullness or bloating, nausea, gas, or burping. Indigestion commonly occurs shortly after a meal (or perhaps a heavy or unusual meal the night before), but it can also be caused by smoking, drinking, pregnancy, stress, or certain medications.

You can treat indigestion by changing your diet⁴, and for occasional indigestion, try taking over-the-counter antacids like Pepto Bismol. If you have any other underlying conditions, though, you should speak with your doctor before using any new medication.

Food Poisoning

Food poisoning is one of those things where if you’ve had it, you probably know you’ve had it. Symptoms can be intense and may include upset stomach, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever.

If you wake up with food poisoning, it’s likely that something you ate the previous night or day was contaminated, often because of a lack of being cooked fully. According to the CDC⁵, some common culprits include raw or undercooked shellfish, beef or poultry, and raw or expired dairy products.

Luckily, food poisoning, as unpleasant as it is, usually resolves on its own. Be sure to replace fluids you’re losing with lots of water with electrolytes, avoid eating until symptoms are resolved (and then only eat small bites of bland food, like crackers or toast), and don’t take antidiarrheal medications, as these might prolong your symptoms.

Dehydration

We hear all the time how important water and hydration are for our bodies — after all, about 60 percent⁶ of our bodies are made up of water. However, if you’re waking up with stomach pain, it might be because you’re not hydrated enough. Water helps with digestion and the elimination of waste, and therefore, a lack of water could lead to digestive issues.

You might be dehydrated if, in addition to stomach pain, you have a headache, dizziness, confusion, a lack of appetite (but crave sugar), dry mouth, chapped lips, muscle cramps, constipation, and dark-colored urine.

Treating dehydration can be as simple as upping the amount of water you’re drinking throughout the day, but you might also want to increase the minerals you’re consuming so that your body actually absorbs the water you’re drinking. That means you need the right amount of sodium, magnesium, potassium, chloride, and more. Adding an electrolyte powder or tablet to your water once or twice a day can help get your hydration back on track.

Food Allergies

Researchers estimate that 32 million Americans⁷ have food allergies. The most common food allergies are shellfish, dairy products, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, fish, and wheat. If you regularly consume these types of foods, and you are waking up feeling pain in your abdomen (lower belly) and have diarrhea, gas, and bloating — it might be because you’re allergic to something you’re eating. Additional food allergy symptoms can include headaches, migraines, acne/breaking out, night sweats, joint pain, hives, trouble breathing, itching, and swelling.

In this case, you could try an elimination diet⁸, which is when you eliminate certain food groups from your diet one at a time to figure out what is causing the food allergy. Start with cutting out just one of the foods from the list of most common food allergies above (peanuts, for example), and see if that helps. If it doesn’t, keep eliminating foods one by one until you notice a difference (next, shellfish, then soy, for example). This should let you know which food is causing the issue.

Constipation

Put simply, constipation is the inability to pass a complete bowel movement. This also probably means when you do go to the bathroom, your stools are hard and dry, your bowel movements might be painful or difficult, and you have a feeling that you haven’t fully emptied your bowels once you go.

In your gut, constipation might feel like cramps, a feeling of needing to go to the bathroom but not being able to, and might be accompanied by dehydration. If you’ve recently stopped eating as much fiber or have started a new medication, you may develop constipation.

The good news is that this condition is usually not dangerous and relatively easy to treat. You’ll want to eat foods higher in fiber, drink more water, exercise for at least 30 minutes per day, eat less dairy, and try to manage your stress levels. Having a calm and restful nervous system should help relieve constipation. Try adding in 10 minutes of meditation every morning and evening, and see how that impacts your gut.

For immediate relief, studies show that certain abdominal massages⁹ can help relieve constipation and the abdominal pain that it can cause.

Stomach Ulcers

Stomach ulcers have a distinct feeling; it’s like a burning or gnawing inside your stomach, between your breastbone and your belly button. An ulcer might improve temporarily when you eat or drink, or take an antacid, and it may feel worse between meals or at night when your stomach acid builds up without food to digest. Ulcers will also feel different than something like heartburn because the pain of a stomach ulcer is localized to the ulcer itself, whereas heartburn affects a broader area.

If you think you may have a stomach ulcer, your treatment will depend on what caused the ulcer in the first place. For example, if it was caused by a bacterial infection, you’ll need to get a specific type of medication. If it was caused by taking NSAIDS (non-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen), you’ll likely need a course of PPI medication. If you think your stomach pain might be due to an ulcer, don’t try to remedy it on your own; instead, you should seek medical attention.

Celiac Disease

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine¹⁰, more than 2 million Americans have been diagnosed with Celiac disease. This condition occurs in people with a gluten sensitivity and can be hereditary. Symptoms can include gas, chronic diarrhea or constipation, weight loss, and stomach swelling or bloating accompanied by pain. In addition to these gut issues, you may experience muscle cramps, joint pain, an itchy rash, anemia, or loss of enamel in your teeth.
The only treatment for Celiac disease is to remove gluten from your diet. Gluten is a kind of protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and some oats. Eliminating gluten from your diet may feel challenging at first, but there are now lots of gluten-free options for many favorite foods.

Diverticular Disease

There are two types of diverticular diseases: diverticulosis and diverticulitis. They both take place in the large intestine and are caused by diverticula, which are small bumps or bulges that form on the wall of your colon.

Diverticulosis is quite common and doesn’t usually cause any symptoms or need to be treated. However, it can lead to diverticulitis, which means an infection of one or more of your diverticula. This will feel distinct, and you may experience pain, cramps, tenderness, and sensitivity in the lower left part of your abdomen. Additional symptoms might include fever, nausea, or chills.

If you have diverticulosis, you may not know you have it, but it can be treated by increasing the amount of healthy fiber and water in your diet. Diverticulitis, however, needs to be treated with medication or possibly even surgery, so talk to your doctor if you think you might have this.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

If your stomach pain is lower and more located in the pelvis, it might be Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID). This condition only occurs in those with female reproductive systems.
Symptoms of PID include pain around the pelvis and lowest part of the belly, discomfort during sex (felt deep inside the pelvis area), bleeding between periods or after sex, heavy or painful periods, or pain when peeing.

If you think your stomach pain might be caused by PID, talk to your doctor. You’ll get a course of antibiotics, and you’ll need to abstain from sex until after your treatment is completed to prevent the infection from coming back.

Gastritis

Gastritis happens when something damages or weakens the protective lining of your stomach. What that something is can vary, but the possibilities are a bacterial infection, certain medications, stress, alcohol abuse, and autoimmune diseases.

Gastritis is normally felt as pain or discomfort in the upper part of the abdomen, and you might feel extra full during or after a meal. If you’re waking up in the morning with these symptoms, possibly accompanied by loss of appetite and/or black stool, gastritis might be the culprit.
If you think you have gastritis, you’ll want to see a doctor since medication may be needed. However, if you don’t have gastritis, there are ways to prevent it, such as avoiding fried or spicy foods, cutting back on caffeine, eating smaller meals throughout the day, managing stress, and cutting back on alcohol.

Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis can be acute or it can be chronic. Both can show up as severe belly pain that may spread to your chest and back, and will probably be worse after you eat. You might have swelling and tenderness in your upper belly or even fluid buildup in your stomach. Additional symptoms might include fever, rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes).

Whether it is acute or chronic, Pancreatitis can be serious, so if you think you have it, call a doctor. They’ll likely help you give your pancreas a rest by putting you on an IV and providing you with whatever medications are needed. Unfortunately, Pancreatitis isn’t something you can treat at home, but you can help prevent it by avoiding alcohol and cigarettes.