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I Just Took My Husband To The Dr. He Has
Posted on
Tue, 19 Mar 2019
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Tue, 19 Mar 2019
Answered on
Last reviewed on
Question : I just took my husband to the dr. he has been sick for 2 months, vomiting, stomach pain. i was convinced it was an ulcer. doctor asked us if we were an m.d. i stepped out and he did a rectal exam. no blood. he thinks its acid reflux. called in a prescription for a strong antacid. go back next week my question is does the symptoms of acid reflux mimic that of a ulcer? the dr really wouldnt test for an ulcer. now its back to waiting and hoping.
Brief Answer:
Peptic ulcer and acid reflux are interrelated and may cause similar symptoms. Antiacid medications (PPI) should help with both
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for asking at "Ask a Doctor" service.
Acid reflux and peptic ulcer are quite often interrelated and also can cause similar symptoms. If the doctor does not think of the peptic ulcer I would be at ease because he already should have examined him and not identified local tenderness on the upper tummy and probably this is why he is not considering it. On the other hand both peptic ulcer and acid reflux are treated with strong antiacid medications (generally called PPI and include omeprazole, pantoprazole, esmoprazole, etc). In areas that H.Pylori is common antibiotics might be added to the treatment with PPI as well.
To conclude I would say:
- acid reflux and peptic ulcer do cause similar symptoms and are quite connected
- PPI is the treatment for both and should help in the case of your husband
- in a week (or two), if your husband is not improving, the doctor might need to do an upper endocscopy (insertion of a tube with a camera in the stomach) to visualize the stomach. Sometimes urea breath test might be done to check for H.Pylori.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj,
General & Family Physician
Peptic ulcer and acid reflux are interrelated and may cause similar symptoms. Antiacid medications (PPI) should help with both
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for asking at "Ask a Doctor" service.
Acid reflux and peptic ulcer are quite often interrelated and also can cause similar symptoms. If the doctor does not think of the peptic ulcer I would be at ease because he already should have examined him and not identified local tenderness on the upper tummy and probably this is why he is not considering it. On the other hand both peptic ulcer and acid reflux are treated with strong antiacid medications (generally called PPI and include omeprazole, pantoprazole, esmoprazole, etc). In areas that H.Pylori is common antibiotics might be added to the treatment with PPI as well.
To conclude I would say:
- acid reflux and peptic ulcer do cause similar symptoms and are quite connected
- PPI is the treatment for both and should help in the case of your husband
- in a week (or two), if your husband is not improving, the doctor might need to do an upper endocscopy (insertion of a tube with a camera in the stomach) to visualize the stomach. Sometimes urea breath test might be done to check for H.Pylori.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj,
General & Family Physician
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Answered by
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