Barbara Bush and the “worst pain she ever felt”

Barbara Bush, wife of President Bush, the elder, was hospitalized for a perforated ulcer. The 83-year-old former First Lady had surgery for a 1-centimeter sized hole in her stomach. She’s expected to be in the hospital for about a week.

Ulcers can be very serious. They used to be portrayed as a nuisance. On television and in movies, you’d see executives in suits chugging milk and antacids because of their stress-induced ulcers. But research has moved on and it was found that milk doesn’t really help and it’s not mostly stress that causes ulcers, but a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. Most of the time, antibiotics to get rid of the H. pylori will eliminate the ulcer.

Ulcers should be treated though because, as we saw with Barbara Bush, they can perforate and this can be deadly. The stomach contents would empty into the abdominal cavity, causing infection and other problems. Ulcers can also be caused by using too over-the-counter medications like Aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen, drinking too much alcohol, and smoking.

So, what are the signs of an ulcer?

According to the National Institutes of Health, the symptoms are:

Abdominal pain is a common symptom but it may not always be present. The abdominal pain from peptic ulcers can differ a lot from person to person. For example, the pain may get better or worse after eating a meal.

Other possible symptoms include:

* Nausea, vomiting
* Weight loss
* Fatigue
* Heartburn, indigestion, belching
* Chest pain
* Vomiting blood
* Bloody or dark tarry stools

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Tags: chronic pain blog, pain blog, barbara bush, former first lady barbara bush, ulcer, helicobacter pylori, h pylori