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My BIL has a stomach ulcer. He has not gone to the doctors and has had it for a few weeks now. Can it get worse? Can somebody whose had experience with this tell me about it? Thanks
My BIL has a stomach ulcer. He has not gone to the doctors and has had it for a few weeks now. Can it get worse? Can somebody whose had experience with this tell me about it? Thanks
If he hasn't gone to the doctor how does he know he has an ulcer? He really should go to a doctor for a diagnosis, but here's some infor for you to use to get him to go.
Ulcers can be caused by several things but around 85%-90% of ulcers are caused by a bacteria (H-Pylori) which require a long period of anitbiotics to treat. If left untreated not only can the ulcer itself become life threatening (internal bleeding, sepsis) but studies show that the majority of stomach cancers can be linked back to the presence of H-Pylori.
Now if he doesn't have the bacteria, he can still have an ulcer caused by other forms of gastritis from overproduction of acid or from medications that wear away at the stomach lining (such as NSAIDS) and would still require treatment to heal the stomach lining. If the lining of the stomach is not healed again you open yourself up to internal bleeding or infection once again.
Thanks for the advice Irishmom. We're pretty sure it's an ulcer because he has all the symptoms that we've read about. Severe pain in his abdomen and he gets tons of acid reflux. I'm a little worried about him because it's actually been more like one or two months he's gone.
Thanks for the advice Irishmom. We're pretty sure it's an ulcer because he has all the symptoms that we've read about. Severe pain in his abdomen and he gets tons of acid reflux. I'm a little worried about him because it's actually been more like one or two months he's gone.
Although I'm sure the symptoms he is having can be attributed to an ulcer they can also be attributed to other things as well. I strongly urge you or whoever is in the position to force him to go to the doctor!! In the meantime he may get some relief from Prilosec...it's over the counter. But it won't cure him if he produces too much acid or has H-pylori or other medical cause that goes undiagnosed, it will however treat NSAID symptoms assuming he stops using them as well. So a proper diagnosis is really necessary for long term health.
Thanks, unfortunately me and my husband don't seem to have a whole lotta say when it comes to his decisions (well me none) I know my husband is trying but he is a grown man. I just hope something really bad hasn't happened already. Thanks for the advice!
He really does need to see a doctor-these symptoms could also be related to gallbladder problems, or a hiatal hernia or any combination of gastro-intestinal disorders. Without correct testing and diagnosis, there is no way of knowing. Is he doctor-phobic, or are finances a problem, or does he just like to complain and get sympathy? Tell him you are worried about him, but getting tired of all the complaints when it seems he won't do anything about it.
Thanks fireball. He's actually been in kinda denial I think that somethin is really wrong. That's part of it but it's also financial problems. But you can't put a price on your health! I mean when I had my app. out we didn't have insurance but it's something that needs to be done. Take care of your health first and then worry about finances later. My husband did talk to him last night about it and he knows he has to go and I think he will. He better!
As everyone else said, the stubborn BIL is just asking for trouble by avoiding a simple doctor visit. I've been to quite a few funerals in the past few years of men in my age bracket (50s). Seems like most of those funerals could have been avoided if the guys would have quit trying to be in denial of a pain or health problem that doesn't go away after a few days on its own. Why so many grown men are afraid of a simple doctor visit is beyond me.
First rule with ulcers is to immediately cut out coffee, carbonated sodas, real spicy foods and acidic foods like tomato sauces. Cut out junk food too. Eat food that is fairly healthy and fairly easy to digest. Lots of fruit and veggies, whole grains, fish. But get BIL to the doc real soon. It might require an endoscopy to determine what's going on inside that is causing the pain. They put patient under light anasthesia and put a tube down the throat to look into the stomach for ulcer problems. It's just like taking a short nap, nothing to it.
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