How Long Do Stomach Ulcers Last

Can Ulcerative Colitis Go Into Remission Without Medication

If a person with ulcerative colitis has a deep remission without any sign or symptoms for many years, it might be possible to stop treatment, but theres little information to support this, he says. For most people, continuing to take your medication is the best way to stay in remission and avoid a flare.

What Is The Cause Of Peptic Ulcers

When you eat, your stomach produces hydrochloric acid and an enzyme called pepsin to digest the food.

• The food is partially digested in the stomach and then moves on to the duodenum to continue the process.
• Peptic ulcers occur when the acid and enzyme overcome the defense mechanisms of the gastrointestinal tract and erode the mucosal wall.

In the past it was thought that ulcers were caused by lifestyle factors such as eating habits, cigarettesmoking, and stress.

• Now it is understood that people with ulcers have an imbalance between acid and pepsin coupled with the digestive tract’s inability to protect itself from these harsh substances.
• Research done in the 1980s showed that some ulcers are caused by infection with a bacterium named Helicobacter pylori, usually called H pylori.
• Not everyone who gets an ulcer is infected with H pylori. Aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can cause ulcers if taken regularly.

Some types of medical therapy can contribute to ulcer formation. The following factors can weaken the protective mucosal barrier of the stomach increasing the chances of getting an ulcer and slow the healing of existing ulcers.

• Aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , and newer anti-inflammatory medications
• Alcohol
• Cigarettesmoking
• Radiation therapy:-used for diseases such as cancer

People who take aspirin or other anti-inflammatory medications are at an increased risk even if they do not have H pylori infection.

How Long Doesstomach Ulcer Surgery Take

There are a number of types of surgery. Each type has pros and cons. Which one you need to take is dependent on the exact problem the disease has created.

Howlong the surgery lasts can vary, each case is different. It can range fromseveral minutes to a few hours.

Theseverity of the problem often plays a key role. The type of the surgery and theunexpected factors can have an effect, too.

Forexample, the procedure can be shorter than usual if the bleeding is mild or ifall the necessary instruments areperfectly synchronized. But sometimes it can go into overtime if there isunexpected finding that may change the procedure and require extra time.

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How Long Do They Last

The good news is that most mouth ulcers clear up by themselves and won’t last longer than a week or so. To relieve pain and inflammation during this period, it’s worth asking your pharmacist to recommend a topical gel or ointment to speed the healing process along.

However, if your mouth ulcer is hanging around for over three weeks, or you are experiencing them on a regular basis, it may indicate an infection or other underlying problem and it’s worth seeking medical advice.

“If your mouth ulcer lasts for longer than three weeks and if it is painful or bleeding, you should seek advice,” explains Kuchai. “In a few cases, a long-lasting mouth ulcer can be a sign of mouth cancer, so it’s important to get this checked out.”

If You Forget To Take It

If you usually take pantoprazole:

• once a day take the missed dose as soon as you remember, unless your next dose is due in less than 12 hours in which case skip the missed dose and take the next one at the usual time
• twice a day take the missed dose as soon as you remember, unless your next dose is due in less than 4 hours in which case skip the missed dose and take the next one at the usual time

Never take a double dose to make up for a forgotten one.

If you often forget doses, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to remember to take your medicine.

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How Long Does Ittake To Recover

Thesame goes for the recovery time after surgery. It varies from patient topatient, which can range from several weeks to a few months. It may also takelonger or shorter than expected.

Howlong the recovery takes is dependent on several factors. These include:

Surgicalwound site, where surgeon made the cut into your skin, usually will heal fairlyquickly. But the same doesnt go for the deeper tissues that make up yourabdominal wall. They usually will take a little bit longer to recover.

With all of these factors, the length of time you need to get a complete recovery is not easy to predict. For more information about your recovery time, talk with someone who has the best idea of how long it will take!

How about the enhanced recovery program?

Asthe name suggests, its designed to help you full health more quickly and gohome sooner than conventionally expected.

Its usually suggested before you take the operation, since it requires comprehensive steps and efforts before and after surgery. For examples, patients may need to follow the following steps before the operation so theyre likely to recover more quickly:

Do You Have A Stomach Ulcer

If you suspect that you have a stomach ulcer, it is beyond important that you seek medical attention as soon as possible. As you can tell from the symptoms listed above, things can only get worse if your ulcer goes untreated. Call the experts at West Gastroenterology in Los Angeles today and make an appointment!

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Many Disease Activity Indices Exist For Ulcerative Colitis But None Have Been Developed With Formal Patient Input

There is no consensus gold standard for the evaluation of disease activity in ulcerative colitis. This is illustrated in numerous recent clinical trials, in which investigators measured several different indices of disease activity, as no one index is considered sufficient. There are many indices for the measurement of ulcerative colitis disease activity, including Truelove and Witts classification of mild, moderate, and severe disease the St Marks Index, which empirically added endoscopy in 1978 simplified versions of the St Marks Index, including the Ulcerative Colitis Disease Activity Index and the Mayo Score and noninvasive versions, including the Seo Index and the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index .

The diversity of indices suggests that none of these has proven satisfactory, and none was developed with patient input. In addition, it has never been established that any of these indices actually measures all of the important symptoms of ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative colitis lacks a validated measurement instrument such as the Crohns Disease Activity Index in Crohns disease . Furthermore, the indices that do exist for ulcerative colitis were not constructed in a patient-centered manner to attempt to capture the symptoms experienced by patients. Therefore, our study group aimed to investigate through focus groups that what symptoms does patients with ulcerative colitis experience during their disease process.

What Are The Possible Complications Of Peptic Ulcer Disease

An ulcer left untreated may cause serious complications, including:

• Internal bleeding: While most people with ulcers wont have bleeding, this is the most common complication that can occur. A slow bleeding ulcer can cause anemia or even severe blood loss.
• Perforation: An ulcer that is continuously eroded by acid can eventually become a hole in the stomach or intestinal wall. This is intensely painful and also dangerous. It allows bacteria from the digestive tract to enter the abdominal cavity, which can lead to an infection of the abdominal cavity called peritonitis. From there, the infection is at risk of spreading to the rest of the body . This can lead to a life-threatening condition called .
• Obstruction: An ulcer in the pyloric channel, the narrow passageway that leads from the stomach into the duodenum, can become an obstruction that blocks the flow of food into the small intestine. This can happen after the ulcer has healed. Ulcers that have gone through a healing process may build up scar tissue that enlarges them. An ulcer that is big enough to obstruct the small intestine can stall the digestive process, with numerous side effects.
• Stomach cancer: Some gastric ulcers can become malignant over time. This is more likely when your ulcer is caused by H. pylori infection. H. pylori is a contributing cause of gastric cancer, though fortunately this is uncommon.

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Why Working With A Qualified Care Team Is So Important When It Comes To Managing Ulcerative Colitis

People being treated for UC typically arent getting dietary or lifestyle advice, which is a huge disservice, says Cohen. But managing ulcerative colitis and preventing flare-ups can be done! You just might need a little help from the experts.

Because UC isnt one-size-fits-all and triggers are highly individual, enlisting the help of a care team like the clinicians at Parsley Health is wise. Providers can provide individualized supplement protocols based on lab testing, customized eating plans for periods of remission and flares, and communicate with your current GI doctor if necessary to streamline care.

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Causes Of Stomach Ulcers

A stomach ulcer can be caused by a variety of factors, including:

• Helicobacter pylori bacteria is thought to be responsible for around 60 per cent of stomach ulcers and at least 90 per cent of duodenal ulcers.
• Certain medications which include aspirin or clopidogrel, taken regularly to help prevent heart attack or stroke, and drugs for arthritis. Anti-inflammatory medications are thought to cause around two fifths of stomach ulcers.
• Cancer stomach cancer can present as an ulcer, particularly in older people.

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How Is A Peptic Ulcer Diagnosed

Your doctor will ask about your symptoms, whether you take NSAIDs and other drugs, and medical history. Theyâll also check you for bloating in the belly and pain. That may be enough to make a diagnosis.

The only way your doctor can tell for sure if you have an ulcer is to look. They may use a series of X-rays or a test called an endoscopy. This test allows them to pass a thin, bendy tube down your throat and into your stomach and small intestine. The tube has a camera at the end so they can check the lining for ulcers. They may also take a small piece of the lining to test for H. pylori. Blood, breath, and stool sample tests also can screen for the bacteria.

What Is Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is the name of a group of disorders that cause the intestines to become inflamed . The inflammation lasts a long time before subsiding, but it usually comes back over and over again. Approximately 1.6 million Americans have some kind of inflammatory bowel disease.

The two primary types of inflammatory bowel disease are Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis.

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How Are Peptic Ulcers Treated

The goals of treatment for peptic ulcers are:

• relieve symptoms quickly
• heal the ulcer
• prevent it from recurring in the future

Treatment of a helicobacter pylori infection is now recognized as the most important aspect of treatment. All ulcer patients who are infected with bacteria should be offered antibiotic therapy. Usually this requires a combination of drugs for which many different combinations are available. Usually an acid-suppressing drug is necessary to relieve symptoms and induce ulcer healing, but also to boost the effects of the antibiotics. At the same time, two antibiotics are usually necessary to ensure successful eradication of the infection.

This “triple therapy” is usually taken for one to two weeks and is 8090% successful in getting rid of the infection. Symptoms may take longer to disappear completely, but when they do there is little need to perform further tests to ensure that treatment has worked.

Patients who have had serious complications from their ulcer should undergo repeat testing to ensure that the treatment is successful. For patients whose infection persists after antibiotic therapy, “second line” therapy is usually given and is successful most of the time. A few patients fail this therapy and require long term acid-suppression therapy to prevent ulcer recurrence.

What Causes A Duodenal Ulcer And Who Is More At Risk

Our stomach is lined with a mucus-producing inner layer known as the mucosa. This layer is delicate, and its integrity depends on a careful balance of protective factors and destructive factors .

The risk of duodenal ulcer is increased in males and in those who:

• Drink coffee
• Skip breakfast or more than one meal
• Smoke cigarettes
• With Helicobacter Pylori infection
• With a family history of peptic ulcer disease

Other factors that have been associated with an increase in peptic ulcer disease include:

• NSAID use
• Other medical conditions, such as liver disease, Crohns disease, or Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
• Physical stress, such as major surgery or burns

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Warning Signs Of A Flare

Flares often are acute, meaning they come on suddenly. They can last from days to weeks. Between flare-ups, you may experience weeks, months, or years of remission.

Symptoms of a flare may be different depending on the severity and location of the inflammation in the colon and rectum. Nevertheless, common symptoms include:

• Abdominal pain or cramps

carol34824

Hi..i was on this recently about my 18 year old son who was recently told may have colitis, but only thing was he wasnt loosing weightnow he ishow long can a flare up last.im worried sick for him as he is a talk healthy lad and now this is having a horrible affectand Im helpless as a motherplease can someone give me some advice

1 like, 19 replies

When Should I See A Doctor If I Think I Have A Peptic Ulcer

• If you have burning pain in your upper stomach that is relieved by eating or taking antacids, call a health-care professional for an appointment. Don’t assume you have an ulcer. Certain other conditions can cause similar symptoms.
• If you vomit blood or have other signs of gastrointestinal bleeding, go to an emergency department right away. Peptic ulcers can cause massive bleeding, which requires blood transfusion or surgery.
• Severe abdominal pain suggests perforation or tearing of an ulcer. This is an emergency that may require surgery to fix a hole in your stomach.
• Vomiting and abdominal pain also can be a sign of an obstruction, another complication of peptic ulcers. This also may require emergency surgery.

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What Causes Stomach Ulcers

Stomach ulcers occur when the layer that protects the stomach lining from stomach acid breaks down, which allows the stomach lining to become damaged.

This is usually a result of:

• an infection with Helicobacter pylori bacteria
• taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as ibuprofen or aspirin particularly if they’re taken for a long time or at high doses

It used to be thought that stress or certain foods might cause stomach ulcers, but there’s little evidence to suggest this is the case.

Read more about the causes of stomach ulcers.

Q: Can An Ulcer Be Completely Cured

A: If you have peptic ulcer disease, which can involve stomach ulcers and/or duodenal ulcers of the small intestine, the answer is yes! These ulcers can be completely healed.

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The development of H2 blockers and then Proton Pump Inhibitors allow for most ulcers to be completely healed with medication. With these treatment developments, surgery for peptic ulcer disease is seldom needed.

These types of ulcers are caused primarily by three things: Stomach acids, H. pylori infections and medications, such as aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen .

Contrary to popular belief, the normal stress of day-to-day life does not cause or contribute to ulcers. Also, theres no genetic link involved with the risk for developing ulcers, and diet has no effect on the healing of an ulcer either.

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How Long Can Ulcers Last

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