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What Causes Severe Stomach Pain And Vomiting?
This is the third and most severe stomach ache my husband in the last three months. This time he has vomited about 3 times during the night. He seems to think that it happens after he has had a meal that is spicey. He had an ulcer when he was a teenager,, but he has had no trouble until the last few months. He is seventy one. His stomach is tender to the touch in the center in the upper abdomen.
Mon, 28 Nov 2016
Hi there,
Thank you for a detailed description of your husband's problem and history. I do think that the history of a peptic ulcer in the past is significant, because people who have had ulcers and acidity problems tend to have it recur again. Spicy foods also do tend to trigger off an episode of gastritis, and the location of tenderness fits as well. It might not have progressed to an ulcer yet, but he definitely needs treatment to prevent that.
Some medication to try would be those that reduce acid secretion in the stomach like omeprazole or pantoprazole, to be taken 40 mg once a day. If he improves, continue taking it for at least two weeks to give the stomach lining time to heal. If he is too nauseous then a simple anti-vomiting medication like motilium or metoclopramide would help to control it temporarily while his stomach recovers.
Other things to do would be to avoid triggers like spicy food as he has mentioned, as well as sour foods, caffeine, smoking, alcohol, and carbonated drinks. Stress and illness can also be triggers, and if he has long term prescription medication you might want to look into that to see if it is causing his stomach problems.
Get help if the pain persists despite the medication, or if he keeps vomiting out anything he eats or drinks. Watch out for signs of bleeding in the stomach, which would warrant a rush to the emergency room. This could be visible blood in the material vomited out, but it could also look like dark coffee ground bits when vomiting, or black tarry stools that have an unusually foul smell.
Hope this helps, and all the best to you and your husband.
Regards,
Dr. Teh
Thank you for a detailed description of your husband's problem and history. I do think that the history of a peptic ulcer in the past is significant, because people who have had ulcers and acidity problems tend to have it recur again. Spicy foods also do tend to trigger off an episode of gastritis, and the location of tenderness fits as well. It might not have progressed to an ulcer yet, but he definitely needs treatment to prevent that.
Some medication to try would be those that reduce acid secretion in the stomach like omeprazole or pantoprazole, to be taken 40 mg once a day. If he improves, continue taking it for at least two weeks to give the stomach lining time to heal. If he is too nauseous then a simple anti-vomiting medication like motilium or metoclopramide would help to control it temporarily while his stomach recovers.
Other things to do would be to avoid triggers like spicy food as he has mentioned, as well as sour foods, caffeine, smoking, alcohol, and carbonated drinks. Stress and illness can also be triggers, and if he has long term prescription medication you might want to look into that to see if it is causing his stomach problems.
Get help if the pain persists despite the medication, or if he keeps vomiting out anything he eats or drinks. Watch out for signs of bleeding in the stomach, which would warrant a rush to the emergency room. This could be visible blood in the material vomited out, but it could also look like dark coffee ground bits when vomiting, or black tarry stools that have an unusually foul smell.
Hope this helps, and all the best to you and your husband.
Regards,
Dr. Teh