What are the symptoms of peptic ulcers?

You may notice no symptoms although you have an ulcer, but frequently they are associated with indigestion or pain in the upper abdomen or even lower chest. There are several indications that you may have an ulcer. A burning pain in the gut is the most common symptom. Burning or gnawing pain between the bottom of the breastbone and the navel that improves after eating but returns a few hours later or in the middle of the night. The pain

• feels like a dull ache
• comes and goes for a few days or weeks
• starts 2 to 3 hours after a meal
• comes in the middle of the night when your stomach is empty
• usually goes away after you eat

• nausea or vomiting
• change in appetite with weight gain or weight loss
• not feeling like eating
• bloody or black stools
• having pain while eating
• frequent burping or bloating
• feeling sick to your stomach

If an ulcer bleeds you may vomit blood or partially digested blood (which looks like coffee grounds) or pass black stools, which contain changed blood, when you go to the toilet. If this happens the movements have a black, 'tar-like' appearance. On rare occasions an ulcer will perforate through the stomach or duodenal wall. This is a major emergency requiring surgery. If any of these happen call the doctor immediately (even out of hours).