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.