How did you find out you had it? What sort of treatment did/do you recieve?

I thought you had to work in an office or be rich to get an ulcer, but I'm starting to wonder if I might have one anyway

11/19/2006 4:47:16 PM

Oops you're going to be wearing a shit bag

11/19/2006 4:48:42 PM

Go to chitchat you fucking douche-dribble

http://www.mamashealth.com/stomach.asp

Quote :

"This pain is often interpreted as heartburn, indigestion or hunger. "

Uh-oh. I would describe the feeling as the same feeling I get when I haven't eaten in a long time and my stomach feels like it's empty and trying to digest itself

11/19/2006 4:53:05 PM

To test for it, you'll have to drink baruim, the nastiest substance on earth, and then they'll x-ray your tummy.

11/19/2006 4:58:31 PM

if your shitting blood, stomach pains..

getting tested is going to cost a bundle if you have no insurance.

causes are: bad eating habits, a shit load of stress, overworking yourself

if you dont get it treated, it could possibly turn into cancer

11/19/2006 5:25:56 PM

^^ the other way is that they stick a camera down into your belly to look around..


looks like this, but the head is smaller

11/19/2006 5:27:45 PM

yeah i'm fucked
maybe i can just get my Dr to go ahead and have me start treatment as if I had already been tested

or i could wait 6 months till my benefits kick in at a job im not even sure i've got yet

ROCK\

and im not shitting blood, but my poop isn't normally black like this. looks like mulch

11/19/2006 5:39:28 PM

my stomach hurt really bad one night, i thought it was an ulcer. just think it was something i ate.

11/19/2006 5:40:42 PM

just start eating healthier, and excercise regularly


balanced meals is key

11/19/2006 5:41:37 PM

My fiance has one and it can get really painful. It acts up if he eats a lot of fats, fried foods.

I think the treatment for an ulcer can be pretty expensive (if they give you nexim to heal it). Even people with prescription drug coverage cannot afford nexim anymore.

You could purchase short term coverage for a while to start treatment. I think they would do the endoscopy of the belly to see.

11/19/2006 5:43:33 PM

^^i did that yesterday. it's still hurting

^I'm a deadman

[Edited on November 19, 2006 at 5:46 PM. Reason : 1]

11/19/2006 5:44:57 PM

pH

11/19/2006 7:27:49 PM

you cant expect it to heal in one day, its takes a couple months...

but if you cant afford it, keep on with eating healthy and exercising often.... not hardcore exercising, just a good run will do

11/19/2006 7:54:57 PM

Quote :

"I thought you had to work in an office or be rich to get an ulcer"

Has nothing to do with it. Ulcers aren't caused by stress.

(well, there is a form called "stress ulcers," but this refers to the stress experienced by burn victims or ICU patients, not what you would typically call stress.)

The vast majority result from a bacterial infection.

You may be sent for an endoscopy, or you might just be given antibiotics up front.

Quote :

"and im not shitting blood, but my poop isn't normally black like this."

Black stools are indicative of bleeding in the GI tract. Go see a doctor.

[Edited on November 19, 2006 at 8:04 PM. Reason : having not heard the history, though, I can't say if it's consistent with peptic ulcer]

11/19/2006 7:55:38 PM

Start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stomach_ulcer

^According to the article, 75% can be accounted for by bacteria ... other 25% not known / possibly due to stress.

11/19/2006 8:04:25 PM

Actually, it depends on the site.

Duodenal ulcers are basically 100% caused by H. pylori.

Gastric ulcers, somewhere more like 80-90%.

Esophageal ulcers, basically 0%.

[Edited on November 19, 2006 at 8:08 PM. Reason : and please, DO NOT use Wikipedia for medical information.]

11/19/2006 8:05:31 PM

^
Point taken. Any links you can recommend?

11/20/2006 3:31:11 AM

http://www.webmd.com

11/20/2006 3:58:42 AM

If it happens after you eat fatty foods, it could be gall stones.

11/20/2006 7:44:45 AM

Quote :

"causes are: bad eating habits, a shit load of stress, overworking yourself bacteria"

science pwns you

11/20/2006 8:42:52 AM

Black shit usually = bad. I would at least talk with a doctor if nothing else.

11/20/2006 9:07:47 AM

I had 6 bleeding ulsers back about 7 yrs ago. It was caused by Advil and the like. There are 3 causes of ulsers. Advil type (which are very treatable), Cancer and bacteria. I was cured in a month. But the pain was like you could not believe. I would have taken a knife to the gut instead if given the choice. But most of you inards dont have pain recepters until it is bad. So I didn't feel anything until it was hitting the ouside wall of my stomach.

11/20/2006 9:52:39 AM

black means internal bleeding. usually alcohol and caffeine make them worse. when i was drinking Sundrop all the time I would double over in pain for hours and have awful shits.

stress can make them worse, i dont care what people say. it feels like a constant just dull gnawing pain. they say if you're bleeding internally it will be really black and will be sticky like tar. also, they say the odor is terrible. it also depends on which kind they are. i have peptic ulcers. i think smoking can make them worse too. when i had the camera down my throat they took pictures and my stomach was just pink with white dots everywhere and apparently each one was an ulcer. also, it's best not to have an empty stomach. even if you just eat a slice of bread or something small it's alot better than an empty stomach. otherwise it just feels like your stomach is eating itself.

11/23/2006 1:52:31 PM

They have to take a little camera down into your stomach to look for an ulcer. There is a medicine they give you to fix them but I can't think of the name right now. I will post it when I remember it.

11/23/2006 5:07:42 PM

They ruled out gallstones in my fiance's case. They tend to say it gradually gets worse with gallstones, where an ulcer will "heal".

11/23/2006 5:10:56 PM

As already pointed out, A stomach ulcer is caused by Helicobacter Pylori, a bacterium. They can do a simple blood test to check for it. A barium swallow is the next step if the blood work is inconclusive.

Black stool could either be bleeding (before the intestinal tract) or you drank some Maalox or pepto bismol, that'll turn your stool black as well.

11/23/2006 8:48:38 PM

The serology test for H. pylori is pretty popular because it's non-invasive, but the urease breath test is more specific for current infection. Once you've been exposed to H. pylori, you'll always have a positive serology.

11/23/2006 9:33:21 PM

I forgot about the Barium test...yucky.

11/23/2006 9:54:18 PM

I have ulcers, which the doc found with the camera. Mine are NOT caused by bacteria, and would not have been found with a blood test.

That was six years ago and I still have problems (heartburn, pain about 4 hours after I eat which I always misinterpret as hunger).

I was prescribed Prevacid at the time, but it kind of made my stomach flare up and was more painful than the ulcers alone, so I stopped taking it.

Now I take ranitidine (sp? generic Zantac) as needed, usually 3-7 times/ week. It helps, but I wonder if there is a way to get rid of the ulcers forever.

11/23/2006 10:56:51 PM

Quote :

"they say if you're bleeding internally it will be really black and will be sticky like tar. also, they say the odor is terrible."

yes. I have noticed a change in fart and poop odor. For the worst....

I'm scared to fucking death here because I can't afford medical treatment at ALL. (read: Poor motherfucker with internet and a wood stove)

but I dont want the ladies to know. Usually my un-natural good looks will overpower any common sense they might have, but the financial issue always comes up when I refuse to beat her ass and/or mooch off her dad

11/24/2006 12:59:58 AM

Helicobacter pylori

11/24/2006 1:55:00 AM

well, i paid a grown man over one hundred dollars to stick his finger in my ass and say "aaayyup. it's an ulcer"

Quote :

"i paid a grown man over one hundred dollars to stick his finger in my ass"

by the way, he just sprung that on me. he was all like "Well, you know what comes next" and I was all like "Ok. huh?"

12/1/2006 1:21:26 AM

that's alright

I once paid a guy to stick needles in my scrotum
he said he was a doctor

12/1/2006 7:27:03 AM

Quote :

"if you dont get it treated, it could possibly turn into cancer"

Or you could go to take a shit at 2:00 a.m., start vomiting blood, pass out from blood loss, and almost die like my dad when he had an ulcer that he didn't treat.

I think this was already mentioned, but the blood turns black by the time it ends up in your stool.

If you've been taking Pepto Bismal that can give you a black stool too, I think.

12/1/2006 9:27:09 AM

i have one, but it comes and goes. Your stomach will feel like it's REALLY hungry and will have a burning sensation. It's can get VERY painful, but there is NEW meds out there that REALLY work. I have had one for about 10 years now more off than on.

12/1/2006 9:57:22 AM

My dad had problems with em

This is the reason he didn't go to Vietnam

and probably the reason I'm here

yay ulcers

12/1/2006 12:23:46 PM

if you can't afford it ask your parents for some help financially. i'm sure they don't want you to, ya know, die.

12/1/2006 12:37:20 PM

yeah, my dad's rich, but he's a severe tightass. I mean, you know your dad's rich when your doctor looks at you and says "what do you mean you need samples, your dad's rich lol" (he's my dad's doctor too)
also, we work at the same location, and one day his boss drives up while im hucking boxes onto the conveyer and says out-loud "what the fuck are you working for? aren't you (Fermat's dad)'s son?"

It's a problem I'm working through

12/1/2006 4:24:17 PM

Quote :

"Has nothing to do with it. Ulcers aren't caused by stress."

ok it looks like they're not caused by stress... so i'm assuming there is something really similar to an ulcer that is commonly referred to as an ulcer

because ive had two doctors say this specific phrase to me in the past couple months - "life stressors" - i've taken some pretty hard news a few times in the past few months... 2 of those times, i went immediately to the bathroom and LITERALLY threw up. and when i finally could fall asleep (mentally) my stomach was hurting too much

one doctor mentioned ulcers and life stressors and changed my diet, and it still bugged me - ESPECIALLY after i got sick that second time. so i went to another doctor, and he told me the exact same thing. exact same diet too, almost like it was a textbook case of something.

any idea what that is called? they also wrote 40mg (i think) of nexium daily, but did not write any antibiotics, and from my research seems liek there is no bacteria there

12/1/2006 4:47:47 PM

everyone wants to believe they are md's

12/1/2006 7:52:09 PM

well if i remember correctly, the guy im asking is in med school. so thats good enough for me. if nothing else he has the books

12/1/2006 10:09:13 PM

There's something called "functional dyspepsia" that may be what you're talking about.

You can have symptoms (pain, fullness) similar to an ulcer, but there isn't any structural abnormality that would explain them. There's much more of a link to psychosocial concerns with FD patients.

12/2/2006 4:19:36 AM

you also have to stop drinking

12/2/2006 4:22:27 AM

MOVE THIS SHIT WHY DONT YOU MRS FRIEND
A thread by me that remained in the lounge..for seven fucking fuck years holy fucking fuck fuck

[Edited on May 23, 2013 at 12:38 AM. Reason : eats]

5/23/2013 12:37:56 AM

I had them in graduate school.

Basically the result of being stressed as shit, drinking copious amounts of beer to cope with said stress, and not eating properly.

I started to feel like I was going to puke at any moment, and developed a fear of puking in public, which stressed me out and worsened it. There were a few months I couldn't even go out and when I did I had to make sure I was eating outside or had an easy exit if I was going to puke. Never ended up puking though.

To fix it I started eating right, got on Nexium to reduce the acid in my stomach, didn't drink at first, then started drinking less, and managed my work better so there weren't huge huge chunks of work at once to stress over (like studying for finals or preparing a final paper). I also put bricks under the the legs at the head of my bed so I slept at a slight angle to keep the stomach acid down, which helped a lot.

5/23/2013 1:23:31 PM

Lol @ i did that yesterday

Im krallum and i approved this message

5/25/2013 10:11:11 AM

Its caused by bacteria, but stress weakens your immune systems and can be a contributing factor. I'm not a doctor, but that's how it was explained to me and it made sense
I ended up changing jobs and reducing stress all through my life and I really think it helped my treatment.

5/26/2013 11:13:44 AM

bahahahaha I just saw "my" comment. I was all like, "what the fuck..."

R.I.P GZ

5/27/2013 9:14:49 PM