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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffBurning pain is the most common peptic ulcer symptom. The pain is caused by the ulcer and is aggravated by stomach acid coming in contact with the ulcerated area. The pain typically may:
- Be felt anywhere from your navel up to your breastbone
- Last from a few minutes to several hours
- Be worse when your stomach is empty
- Flare at night
- Often be temporarily relieved by eating certain foods that buffer stomach acid or by taking an acid-reducing medication
- Disappear and then return for a few days or weeks
Less often, ulcers may cause severe signs or symptoms such as:
- The vomiting of blood — which may appear red or black
- Dark blood in stools or stools that are black or tarry
- Nausea or vomiting
- Unexplained weight loss
- Appetite changes
When to see a doctor
An ulcer isn't something that you should treat on your own, without a doctor's help. Over-the-counter antacids and acid blockers may relieve the gnawing pain, but the relief is short-lived. If you have signs or symptoms of an ulcer, see your doctor for treatment.
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- What I need to know about peptic ulcers. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/pepticulcers_ez/. Accessed Oct. 16, 2008.
- Peptic ulcer disease. American Gastroenterological Association. http://www.gastro.org/frame-templates/print_template.cfm. Accessed Oct. 16, 2008.
- Soll AH. Peptic ulcer disease: Genetic, environmental, and psychological risk factors and pathogenesis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 16, 2008.
- Soll AH. Overview of peptic ulcer: Epidemiology and major causes. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 16, 2008.
- Lau JY. Omeprazole before endoscopy in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. New England Journal of Medicine. 2007;356(16):1631-1640.
- Yang YX. Long-term proton pump inhibitor therapy and risk of hip fracture. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2007;296(24):2947-2953.
- Soll AH. Overview of the natural history and treatment of peptic ulcer disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 16, 2008.
- Soll AH. Treatment of refractory or recurrent peptic ulcer disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 16, 2008.
- Soll AH. Unusual causes of and diseases associated with peptic ulcer disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 16, 2008.
- Cryer B, et al. Peptic ulcer disease. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger & Fortran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa. Saunders Elsevier. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/113080343-3/781010342/1389/364.html#4-u1.0-B1-4160-0245-6..50055-X--cesec29_2206. Accessed Nov. 3, 2008.
