Doctors' Answers to "Frequently Asked Questions" - Ulcers

These comments are made for the purpose of discussion and should NOT be used as recommendations for or against therapies or other treatments. An individual patient is always advised to consult their own physician.

Medications for Ulcers [posted 1/12/99]
Question: I have had problems with ulcers in the past. I've been O.K. for two years until one month ago. I had a gastroscopy. I have duodenal ulcer and pylori infection. They started me on Losec 20 mg B.I.D. I started it one week ago. I also had a problem with my teeth and had a root canal. It has gotten worse. For the pain my dentist started me on Ciprofloxacin 500 mg B.I.D. and Toradol 10 mg PRN. I am concerned that this is an anti-inflammatory medication. Should I be using this when I have been having so many problems with my ulcer? If you have any other advice particularly regarding the ulcers I would appreciate it.

Answer: Only if you want another ulcer.

Accolate and Stomach Ulcers [posted 8/6/98]
Question: My mother has stomach ulcers which are not responding to Prilosec. She is also has asthma and takes Accolate. She tends to get sick to her stomach and throws up often. Is the Accolate preventing the stomach ulcer from healing/aggravating the condition?

Answer: I doubt it, but she could stop the Accolate for a week or so to determine the answer.

Open Skin Ulcer
Question: How do I heal an open lesion on my abdominal stomach wall that appeared post-surgically? It is has a 4 inch diameter. My stomach wall is distended due to a surgical hernia, resulting from an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The wound does not want to heal. I am using a wet-dry dressing (normal saline), but it does not seem to help.

Answer: Reducing the abdominal pressure may help. You will need to ask your surgeon about the cause of the ulcer before I can help.

Viral Stomatitis
Question: Two weeks have gone by and I still have ulcers, well first the doctor had me on an antibiotic, then after a week, I went back and he did blood work and found out that it was viral stomatitis he has put me on Flumadine 100mg, it has been another 4 days now, how much longer will this last? I can't eat, I force myself to drink and swallow.

Answer: It usually takes 3-4 weeks of the correct treatment to eliminate ulcers. Antibiotics are commonly used to treat H. pylori(a bacteria in the stomach). This can be identified with a stomach biopsy. Flumadine is an anti-viral drug. If a virus has been cultured, it could be of help. However, it would be very unusual not to use some drug like Tagamet, Pepcid, or Prilosec. Has a culture identified the virus? Or is this treatment just based on general appearances?




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