Question:
How do you know if you have ulcers or a hernia?
I hear so much about people getting ulcers and hernias sometime after surgery. What causes these and how do you know when you've got them? What are the signs/symptoms? And what triggers it? — pjnick (posted on October 21, 2003)
October 21, 2003
I was diagnosed with an ulcer on Thursday. I had been unable to eat
without vomiting for awhile and most recently a sharp, severe pain under my
left rib cage in my upper abd. and soreness. I had an endoscopey and the
doc finally found it after two trips and a cat scan in the er showed
nothing. My husband asked (while I was still out) what causes it and the
doc said some people just get them for no reason after surgery. It seems to
be common. People that get ulcers who have not had wls is due a lot of
times to caffiene, smoking, stress. Things like that.
— Delores S.
October 21, 2003
Ohhhhhhhh! I had two ulcers, what I experience is a annoying pain that
resembles hunger pains. that is relieved only when you eat something. but
then it comes right back in no time. only medicine can heal it.
— Naes Wls J.
October 22, 2003
I had terrible pain with my ulcer. Like the previous poster it was under
my left ribcage and radiated through to my back. The pain was very intese
and I was on pain killers for it. According to the doctors, they just
sometimes form after WLS. And it can happen to anyone. I had a stomach
made of iron pre-op, and it is the most delicate thing on the face of the
earth now. My case was a little more extreme than most, so the pain I felt
may not be the same for others. The gastroenterologist (wow, big word)
said my ulcer was the biggest he had ever seen and it did not respond to
prevacid. I had to have mine removed surgically.
— RebeccaP
October 22, 2003
Apparently, my ulcer was symptom-less until it was bleeding. It started off
feeling almost like hunger pains, and anything and everything had a weird
taste to it. Then I had a dull pain right under my sternum whenever I ate
or drank anything - including water. Finally, I ate a high fat, high spice
meal, to test if it was gall bladder or not, and got the worst pain in my
life. It felt like a vice was squeezing on my rib cage. I put myself on an
all liquid, all protein diet for a few days until the pain subsided. An
ultra sound showed my gall bladder to be free of stones, so an endoscopy
was done - and a huge ulcer was found. I was put on megadoses of Nexium
(80mg a day) for three months and a follow-up endoscopy showed the ulcer to
be healing. My gastro doctor told me the ulcer had been grwoing for a long
time, and it was only after I was taking Advil constantly (pulled my back
out shoveling snow) did it get irritated enough to start bleeding. Lesson
learned: no Advil for me. He told me that the ulcer may have been caused
by a staple irritating the stomach (though he found no sign of that during
either endoscopy) or it could be from poor blood flow with my stomach being
transected. I also smoke, with is a big culprit. I'm off the Nexium now
and we're playing a wait and see game to see if it comes back.
— Cyndie K.
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