Trusted medical platform in Jordan
A gastric ulcer is a genuine break in the lining of the stomach wall that extends beyond the superficial layer, which is what distinguishes it from simple gastritis or excess acid. Its commonest symptoms are pain or burning in the upper abdomen that may be related to meals or may wake the patient at night, together with nausea, bloating, early fullness and sometimes weight loss. Yet a proportion of patients feel nothing at all until a complication appears, which is why the danger of an ulcer is never measured by how severe the pain is. The two main causes are well defined: **Helicobacter pylori infection** and **non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers**, which are often bought without prescription for joint pain, back pain and headaches. Smoking, blood thinners, some other medicines and severe acute illness can contribute. For this reason, real treatment of an ulcer is not simply suppressing acid; it means finding the cause and removing it: testing for the bacterium and treating it if present, reviewing every painkiller you take and stopping or replacing it under your physician's supervision, and stopping smoking. The diagnosis is usually confirmed by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, which sees the ulcer, defines its site and size and any signs of bleeding, and takes biopsies when needed. Those biopsies are not a meaningless routine: **a gastric ulcer that has not healed after adequate treatment must be re-examined endoscopically and biopsied, because some stomach cancers look exactly like an ulcer**. Acid suppression is prescribed for long enough to let the lining heal, then reviewed, rather than continued for years with no defined purpose. It is the complications that make this a condition to take seriously. Bleeding is the commonest and presents as vomiting blood or coffee-ground material, or black tarry stools with dizziness and fatigue. Perforation is an emergency that begins with sudden severe pain and a rigid abdomen and needs immediate intervention. A chronic, repeatedly recurring ulcer near the stomach outlet can cause narrowing and deformity of the gastric outlet, producing repeated vomiting of old food, early fullness and weight loss; this is managed, according to the situation, by endoscopic dilation or surgery once other causes of obstruction have been excluded. Some common myths need correcting. **Milk is not a treatment for ulcers**: it soothes burning for a few minutes and then stimulates further acid secretion. Spicy food and stress do not by themselves create an ulcer, although they can certainly aggravate discomfort and the perception of pain, and herbal remedies do not heal ulcers. Most importantly, **improvement in pain does not mean the ulcer has healed**: the symptom may quiet down while the break in the lining persists and the risk of bleeding continues. Suitability for any procedure, and the decision to continue any medication, is determined by clinical assessment and endoscopic findings, not by reading or by another person's experience.
Your physician asks about the pattern of pain and its relation to meals and to the night, and asks carefully about every painkiller or anti-inflammatory you take, even over the counter, along with smoking and blood thinners. Testing for Helicobacter pylori is then arranged, because removing the cause is what prevents the ulcer returning after it heals.
An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is performed to see the ulcer, define its site and size and any signs of bleeding, and to take biopsies when needed to test for the bacterium or exclude another cause. Endoscopy is what distinguishes a true ulcer from dyspepsia or reflux that presents with a similar complaint.
If Helicobacter pylori is confirmed it is treated with a complete regimen followed by a test to prove eradication. If painkillers are the cause they are stopped or replaced under supervision, with an alternative for pain relief. Acid suppression is prescribed for long enough to heal the lining, not as an indefinite treatment without review.
Bleeding is treated urgently by stabilising the patient and then stopping the source endoscopically. Perforation is a surgical emergency. Narrowing of the gastric outlet caused by a chronic ulcer is assessed by endoscopy and imaging and treated by endoscopic dilation or surgery depending on the cause and the degree of narrowing.
After treatment is completed, eradication of the bacterium is confirmed if it was present. A gastric ulcer that has not healed or has recurred is re-examined endoscopically with biopsies, because some tumours disguise themselves as an ulcer. Your tolerance of any painkiller and your need for ongoing gastric protection are also reviewed.
Bring a written list of everything you actually take, not only what was prescribed: painkillers, anti-inflammatories, aspirin, blood thinners, steroids, iron supplements and herbal products, with how long you have used each. That list can reveal the entire cause of the ulcer in a single minute. Tell your physician about any previous bleeding or ulcer, any previous Helicobacter pylori treatment, your heart, kidney and liver conditions, and any drug allergy. Never stop a blood thinner or a cardiac medication on your own before endoscopy; ask your physician, who decides the timing. If endoscopy is planned, fast for the required period and arrange someone to take you home, because light sedation means you must not drive.
Take your treatment for the full prescribed duration even if the pain disappears in the first week, because pain relief does not mean the ulcer has healed. Avoid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers entirely unless your physician explicitly approves with a suitable alternative, stop smoking since it slows healing and increases recurrence, and cut out alcohol. Adjust your meals to smaller, more frequent portions, avoid whatever specifically worsens your symptoms, and do not rely on milk as a soother, since it eases you for minutes and then stimulates acid. Complete the test proving Helicobacter pylori eradication if it was present, and keep the appointment for repeat endoscopy if one was requested. **Go to the emergency department immediately if you vomit blood or coffee-ground material, pass black tarry stools or red blood, develop sudden severe abdominal pain with a rigid abdomen, feel dizzy, sweaty, faint or have palpitations, or vomit old food repeatedly with early fullness and weight loss.**
The assessment visit usually takes twenty to forty minutes, and upper endoscopy typically takes ten to twenty minutes plus a short recovery period. Medical treatment to heal the ulcer is usually measured in weeks, set by your physician according to the ulcer's size and cause, and a follow-up endoscopy may be requested weeks later.
Dr Mohammad Mahmoud Rashid is a consultant in gastroenterology, hepatology and endoscopy with British postgraduate qualifications. His clinical work covers live…
There are currently 1 doctor profiles linked to Gastric Ulcers Treatment on ClinicsJo. Review the listed services and contact the practice to confirm availability with the doctor and branch you choose.
Start with an available doctor's profile and use the contact or booking options shown there. Confirm the service, practice location and appointment time with the clinic. If this list is empty, broaden your search using the directory links on this page.
Ask the practice for the current price and what it includes. A consultation fee shown on a profile is not necessarily the price of a procedure, tests or follow-up. Confirm any additional charges and insurance arrangements before your visit.
