Can Ulcers Cause Diarrhea
Mention the word juice and most people will think of apple, orange, tomato, or maybe even tropical punch. There are all sorts of juices, and everyone seems to have their favorite. Digestive juices get called juices too, but of course there’s nothing tasty or enjoyable about them and their role is not to quench your thirst or tickle your tastebuds. Stomach bile and others are there to help your body break down and digest the food you eat, and anyone with GERD or acid reflux will tell you it is a bad situation when those ‘juices’ don’t stay in the stomach. What’s equally unpleasant is when you get an ulcer and those digestive acids start to cause pain and burning there. But can ulcers cause diarrhea?
Ulcers can cause diarrhea, although it is not the ulcer itself that is causing that to happen. A person with an ulcer who eats 4 cans of refried beans and washes it all down with 12 vodka sodas may feel like a million bucks for a short while, but they will have explosive bowel movements not long after. And it will have nothing to do with their ulcer. There are lots of reasons why people get ulcers, and that can be because of stress, not getting enough sleep, intestinal disease, vitamin deficiencies, or food allergies.
But as far as the connection to diarrhea goes, it is usually more connected to the person having a different intestinal health condition that may be causing both the diarrhea and the slow development of an ulcer(s). People who have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and / or GERD may have ulcers because of it, and if those ulcers are in the stomach or intestine then proper digestion process may be compromised. This can result in diarrhea, and the ulcers are contributing to the frequency and intensity of it. So can ulcers cause diarrhea? They can, but only as part of a bigger-picture issue with your digestive health.
Less Lining
People who don’t have pain and gastrointestinal upset the same way probably have an uncompromised lining all over the tissue of their stomach and intestines as well. Most of the others who have been dealing with IBD, acid reflux, or ulcers were likely born with the same good gastro health as everyone else, but for whatever reason they’ve had that health deteriorate over time. We should make clear that the are different types of ulcers, and these open wounds on the inside can occur in regions outside of the digestive system too. Along with can ulcers cause diarrhea, we can say that only peptic or duodenal ulcers can cause you to have diarrhea.
We’ve always been apprehensive about being preachy here in our blog, but it is fair to say that most people know they shouldn’t smoke and if they do drink they should only do so in moderation. One of the things that can make ulcers worse and contribute more to can stomach ulcers cause diarrhea is too much smoking or having the gut biome negatively altered by chronic heavy drinking. When we talked about beans vodka sodas earlier here it was a joke, and of course there’s no one who would actually do that and even if they did they probably wouldn’t feel like a million bucks at all.
Another consideration is NSAID medications. Taking too many Tylenol or Aspirin can also have negative effects on your digestion, and some people with ulcers may not be aware that they are experiencing worse ulcers side effects – including diarrhea – as a result of having atrophic gastritis. Can ulcers cause diarrhea? No, but the pain of an ulcers can certainly be magnified if the person also has atrophic gastritis.
Beware Antacid Meds
There are plenty of medications for acid reflux and GERD and using them may be a good means for avoiding getting an ulcer. But the reason we mention OTC antacid meds like Zantac, Prilosec and others here with our discussion of can ulcers cause diarrhea is because these medications help to prevent heartburn and acid reflux very well, but for some people they can increase the chance of having diarrhea.
If a person is taking them to control stomach acid rising into the esophagus while having ulcers at the same time, they may think the ulcer is causing them to have those kinds of loose bowel movements. In this situation it is quite likely that it is the antacid medication that is making them have diarrhea, and not the ulcer itself. Ulcers won’t cause a person to have diarrhea on their own, but if they exist alongside an irritable bowel or the person has other contributing factors then a person may have more diarrhea when treating their ulcer.
That’s just the way it goes, but can ulcers cause diarrhea? No, they don’t.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The above information is intended to increase awareness of health information and does not suggest treatment or diagnosis. This information is not a substitute for individual medical attention and should not be construed to indicate that use of the drug is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. See your health care professional for medical advice and treatment.
