Perforated Ulcer

Has anyone had a perforated ulcer/intestine before?  I went to the ER two weeks ago thinking I was dying of a heart attack.  After being in the ER for eight hours they found I had a perforated ulcer/intestine.  I was rushed to surgery and then spent a week in the hospital with nothing to eat or drink I'm still in some pain and still have swelling.  My Dr says this is normal after this surgery.  Just wondering if anyone has had similar problems or experience....  Oh by the way this was caused by Prednisone that I was taking for Poison Ivy...Didn't know that was one of the meds that could cause problems for us so please beware of this!!!!  Trust me you don't want to go through this it was terrifying!!!!  So add Prednisone to your list of drugs not to take!!!!  PLEASE!!!!

GI bleeding is a risk for anyone taking steroids.  This risk is reduced by prescribing a proton pump inhibitor (Nexium, Protonix, Prevacid, Prilosec, etc) while taking steroids.  Usually if steroids are prescribed, they are to treat a serious condition.  I would not say that people who have had RNY cannot take steroids, rather that extra care should be taken just like for someone who has had a previous ulcer.  I'm sorry you had such an unfortunate experience and glad you are now on the mend.

I have an ulcer.  It's not perforated.  But, I thought I was having a heart attack earlier this week.  I woke up in the middle of the night with chest pains that spread through my arm and my chest was tight, I couldn't breathe.  I sat on the floor in my bathroom crying trying to catch my breath for 15 minutes.  My surgeon confirmed an ulcer.  It seems the warning signs of an ulcer do  mimic a heart attack.  I'm on protonix and an antibiotic.  The H Pylori bacteria seems to be the culprit in most ulcer episodes for bariatric patients.  Up to 2/3 of the population have this little nasty in their gastric tract.  For some reason, it hits us hard!

Thanks for the insight.  I had never had a problem with ulcers prior to the prednisone and the surgeon said that it will cause this problem.  When I was prescribed it I was not given any Nexium or anything which I guess may have helped.  Not sure but I know no matter what I will never take it again to be on the safe side.  I would just want everyone else to use caution and make sure thy had something like Nexxium if they were taking Prednisone so they never had to go through this.