Bleeding Ulcers – Treatment

Methods of Treatment

These need to be considered as a medical emergency! It’s never too late to get treatment for bleeding ulcers. But remember that a bleeding ulcer at an advanced stage is a serious problem and requires immediate medical attention. Often a blood transfusion is required if there has already been a severe loss of blood.

If you are taking NSAIDs or aspirin then you should discontinue the use of these blood-thinning drugs immediately – unless of course, you have to take these drugs for any other life-threatening condition you may be suffering from.

The most effective and most commonly used treatment for bleeding ulcers is by a procedure called endoscopy. What is good about this procedure is that damaged and bleeding blood vessels can usually be detected visually, and repaired immediately.

The endoscope has a small heating device on the end that is used to heat-seal small wounds. Endoscopy is effective in controlling bleeding in 90% of patients. You may remain hospitalized for some days after an episode of bleeding.

Endoscopy, a three-fold procedure to stop bleeding

Firstly, the surgeon will maneuver the endoscope (basically a long plastic tube) via your mouth and throat, into your stomach.

Secondly, he then passes a probe down the center of the endoscope tube and uses electricity, heat, or even clips to stop the bleeding.

Thirdly, he then injects an adrenaline and fibrin glue into the ulcer to minimize the chance of bleeding starting again later.
If bleeding does re-occur, then a repeat endoscopy may be required. This is effective in controlling bleeding in about 70% of cases. In rare cases, when heavy bleeding occurs that cannot be stopped with an endoscopy, major abdominal surgery is then required.

Surgical Procedure

During surgery, any small bleeding vessel is tied up and the ulcer is stitched closed. This is the most effective way of treating a serious loss of blood that cannot be stemmed by other nonsurgical procedures. The follow-up treatment for bleeding ulcers will normally include;

Medication to treat H. pylori immediately after endoscopy. This is vital for patients suffering from this infection. Note that this is a good time to investigate using a clinically tested and guaranteed natural remedy – the last thing you want after a surgical procedure is to get pumped full of drugs with really bad side effects.

Proton-pump inhibitors are administered intravenously. They are often used after endoscopy or after surgery to prevent rebleeding.

Somatostatin (a hormone used to prevent bleeding in cirrhosis) is also useful for reducing persistent peptic ulcer bleeding or the risk of recurrence.

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