My symptoms started with black tarry stools, weakness and light headedness, but no pain. I went to my doctor, who said that I needed to be admitted to a hospital as I had internal bleeding from an ulcer. I was admitted on the same day and stayed there for seven days of treatment. I needed a blood transfusion - 6 units - as by this time I was quite anemic with hemoglobin of 6.5, when the normal reading is 12. I was given omeprazole for the ulcer. The endoscopy showed I had a duodenal ulcer. The ulcer was negative for h. pylori, and was induced by NSAIDs namely Naproxen. This medication was stopped to prevent further damage, and I was advised not to take anti-inflammatory drugs at all. The onset of this illness was very sudden, and required fast medical help, otherwise I could have literally died from it. This was a very scary experience for me. Published: August 27 ::

I have been dealing with these ulcer problems for several weeks now, and was just diagnosed by a doctor. Before that I didn't know what the problem was, just that something was very wrong. My symptoms: Any time I ate a meal, I would soon develop an aching feeling in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen, and/or a burning, gnawing pain right below my breastbone, frequently followed by vomiting. The pain would last for from 5 to 8 hours. I have experienced kidney stones in the past, and if I rate that pain as a 10 (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being no pain) then this pain could get as bad as a 7 or an 8. Published: August 27 ::