Stomach ulcer - given too many drugs?

[swissie]

14 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Swissie: I need more specific information on your symptoms, Where does it hurt, like what, when etc

OK, will try to describe the symptoms as best as I can.

 

- Pain comes and goes. Irrelevant is stomach is full or empty. Affected is entire stomach, not a particular point in the stomach. It feels like the entire stomach is on fire. Eating or drinking will cause MASSIVE "burping".
- When laying down, pain goes away within minutes, but "reflux" may start. Laying down does me good, but when up and about, I can't just lay down on the sidewalk. HeHe.
- Alcohol of any kind, will trigger an IMMEDIATE crisis. As a result, I stopped consuming alcohol.
I believe as long it is not clear why my stomach overproduces digestive fluids in such a way (in on and off bursts), we will get nowhere.
Thx & cheers.
-------------------------------------------------------
= A clinic in my home town has been highly recommended to me, specialising in stomach/intestinal matters. Something like "If they can't find out, nobody can!" I shall give it a try.

[Sheryl]

10 hours ago, swissie said:

OK, will try to describe the symptoms as best as I can.

 

- Pain comes and goes. Irrelevant is stomach is full or empty. Affected is entire stomach, not a particular point in the stomach. It feels like the entire stomach is on fire. Eating or drinking will cause MASSIVE "burping".
- When laying down, pain goes away within minutes, but "reflux" may start. Laying down does me good, but when up and about, I can't just lay down on the sidewalk. HeHe.
- Alcohol of any kind, will trigger an IMMEDIATE crisis. As a result, I stopped consuming alcohol.
I believe as long it is not clear why my stomach overproduces digestive fluids in such a way (in on and off bursts), we will get nowhere.
Thx & cheers.
-------------------------------------------------------
= A clinic in my home town has been highly recommended to me, specialising in stomach/intestinal matters. Something like "If they can't find out, nobody can!" I shall give it a try.

I am at a loss given that you say endoscopies show nothing. The pain you describe is typical of gastritis but in that case endoscopy would show inflammation of the lining of the stomach.

 

 

[tonray]

10 hours ago, swissie said:

OK, will try to describe the symptoms as best as I can.

 

- Pain comes and goes. Irrelevant is stomach is full or empty. Affected is entire stomach, not a particular point in the stomach. It feels like the entire stomach is on fire. Eating or drinking will cause MASSIVE "burping".
- When laying down, pain goes away within minutes, but "reflux" may start. Laying down does me good, but when up and about, I can't just lay down on the sidewalk. HeHe.
- Alcohol of any kind, will trigger an IMMEDIATE crisis. As a result, I stopped consuming alcohol.
I believe as long it is not clear why my stomach overproduces digestive fluids in such a way (in on and off bursts), we will get nowhere.
Thx & cheers.
-------------------------------------------------------
= A clinic in my home town has been highly recommended to me, specialising in stomach/intestinal matters. Something like "If they can't find out, nobody can!" I shall give it a try.

Have you undergone food allergy testing regimen ? Perhaps there are some triggers you could avoid in addition to alcohol.

[swissie]

10 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I am at a loss given that you say endoscopies show nothing. The pain you describe is typical of gastritis but in that case endoscopy would show inflammation of the lining of the stomach.

 

 

Actually, last gastroscopie (July 2016) showed a slight inflammation of the lining of the stomach.

Not in those words but the meaning of the diagnosis was:
"Old boy, this is truly no big deal, you are not going to die tomorrow. Take your pills and go on with your life". Amen!

As I gather, the "cure" for Gastritis is and remains:
- Change diet.
- No smoke, no drink.
- Take Proton-Pump-Inhibitors and anti-acid med's. (Taking PP Inhibitors for years, 40+mg daily= problem?)
- Sing the national-anthem daily before sunrise.

Does that cover it, or is there a "cure" that I am not aware of?
Thx & cheers.

[Sheryl]

Treat h. Pylori if present

Avoid caffeine

 

But normally all this plus PPI should lead to cure within a few months at most. If it has not then something else is going on.

 

Also the pain you describe is disproportional to the reported endoscopy findings.

 

Further investigations such as CT scan may be indicated. Have they checked a serum amylase? (Concerned re possible pancreatic problem which can be mistaken for gastritis and willl not show on endoscopy)

 

Could you please specify exactly where you feel this "stomach" pain? I ask because people often refer to any psin in the abdomen as stomach pain.

 

If the pain is really coming from the stomach it will be felt on the left side immediately below the rib cage and also often in the chest. If a wider abdominal area is involved the pain might be coming from other than stomach.

 

 

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[swissie]

17 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Treat h. Pylori if present

Avoid caffeine

 

But normally all this plus PPI should lead to cure within a few months at most. If it has not then something else is going on.

 

Also the pain you describe is disproportional to the reported endoscopy findings.

 

Further investigations such as CT scan may be indicated. Have they checked a serum amylase? (Concerned re possible pancreatic problem which can be mistaken for gastritis and willl not show on endoscopy)

 

Could you please specify exactly where you feel this "stomach" pain? I ask because people often refer to any psin in the abdomen as stomach pain.

 

If the pain is really coming from the stomach it will be felt on the left side immediately below the rib cage and also often in the chest. If a wider abdominal area is involved the pain might be coming from other than stomach.

 

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, "a wider abdominal area is involved" in my case.
As mentioned, I will have a specialised clinic look into the matter.
- Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.
Cheers.

[Sheryl]

"wider abdominal area" is NOT stomach pain and changes the whole picture! Wish you had said so to begin with.

 

You have diffuse abdominal pain and causes could include gallbladder disease, liver disease, pancreatic disease, inflamatory bowel disease etc none of which would show anything on endoscopy. Indeed, since endoscopies have shown nothing that accounts for the pain it is highly  probable that one of these other things is going on.

 

Change doctors and get this investigated properly. Ultrasound and, if non-explanatory, CT are likely warranted.

 

Be sure they also check the following on blood test:

serum amylase

serum lipase

serum bilirubin

AST/ALT

CA-19-9

[gamesgplayemail]

On 7/6/2017 at 3:29 PM, Sheryl said:

The medication works by eradicating the bacteria that causes the inflamtion of the stomach lining. The inflammation (and ulcer if one is present) itself takes some time to resolve, it is not the case that you'll feel better immediately. It also sometimes takes more than one full course of treatment to eradicate the bacteria. Inflammation takes time to resolve and ulcerstion even longer. Usually an acid suppressing drug (PPI) will be prescribed for an extended period after the 10-14 day treatment with combined antibiotics.

 

Of course in your case the bacteria is presumed present but you have not actually been tested.

 

It would make sense to proceed to gastroscopy (or, at a minimum, test for presence of the bacteria, which can be done noninvasively) if you do not improve, but that is usually determined after full course of treatment has been completed and at least a week or two passed thereafter.

 

You have not described your symptoms in much detail. If you are having heartburn like discomfort this could be due to reflux (GERD) which is a different problem. One can of course have both GERD and gastritis/ulcer disease at the same time but they are different things with different causes and treatment. Gnawing pain on the other hand is more suggestive of ulcer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello, I keep reading but I cannot find a reply to this question, maybe you can help ?

 

What if after testing someone is sure that there is no H Pylori ? What will be the treatment ?

 

Let's say that someone has gastritis but no H pylori, what can be done ?

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

If no h. pyllori but there is gastritis, teratment is drugs to reduce the secretion of stomach acid and thus raise the pH  of gastric fluid, making it easier for the stomach lining ot heal. Usually PPIs like omeprazole and related drugs. Usually need to be taken for around 2 months. Important also to address underlying causes such as smoking and excess alcohol intake.

 

If there is h. pylori, you will also need PPIs for around 2 months  but in addition a 10-14 day course of antibiotics.

[Ebumbu]

You can do a simple urea breath test for H Pylori. No need for antibiotics of you pass the test. And previous poster is wrong, there are multiple causes for ulcers, not just H Pylori. There is erosive ulcer than can indeed be caused by NSAIDs or by, for example, drinking bleach. There are ulcers caused by autoimmune disorders, fungi, viruses, and by tumors that emit gastric juices but are non cancerous. There definitely are H Pylori-negative ulcers and they are common. 

[Ebumbu]

On 12/17/2017 at 8:02 AM, swissie said:

- Take Proton-Pump-Inhibitors and anti-acid med's. (Taking PP Inhibitors for years, 40+mg daily= problem?)

 

Yes, it's a problem in that you need stomach acid to assimilate certain nutrients, including B12. Without proper assimilation, you could be looking at severe anemia. PPI are not for long-term use. You can use mild antacids for flare-ups.