ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A peptic ulcer: that’s the diagnosis that caused Bruce Springsteen to postpone his Friday tour date in Syracuse.
While many fans are disappointed they don’t get to see “The Boss” as soon as they hoped, doctors in the Rochester area are providing more insight into Springsteen’s medical condition.
URMC says one in 10 people will develop a peptic ulcer at some point in their life. Assistant Professor of Medicine and GI Specialist Dr. Tanya Bruckel describes first and foremost: What is a peptic ulcer?
“Our stomach makes acid to digest food. That’s a normal function of the stomach,” Dr. Bruckel said. “There are also mucosal protective barriers, which is a fancy way of saying there are some mechanisms in place on the GI tract so that acid doesn’t actually injure the lining of the stomach or the bowel.”
“Unfortunately, there can be an imbalance between the acid level and the protective mechanisms,” Dr. Bruckel continued. “What happens then is, you can actually get a break in the lining, which is defined as greater than 5 millimeters in size, and we call it an ulcer.”
Dr. Bruckel says there are two main things medical professionals focus on when coming up with this diagnosis.
“First, a medication class called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that are very commonly taken,” Dr. Bruckel said. “These include things like ibuprofen, naproxen, and all of the different variations of those two medications. Also, a particular infection, that’s quite common, called helicobacter pylori. These two different risk factors are the strongest respecters for developing peptic ulcer disease.”
As far as symptoms, Dr. Bruckel says they are very variable. She says upper abdominal pain is just one possible symptom.
“This pain is interesting because a lot of times, it can be responsive to eating,” Dr. Bruckel said. “You have this burning, abdominal pain, and indigestion that can get better as you digest food. That’s a pretty classic sign.”
Other symptoms may be senses of bloating, fullness, or most commonly — those with a peptic ulcer may feel nothing.
Dr. Bruckel says peptic ulcers are “self-limited,” and do not always cause clinical complications that would lead to hospitalization.
Complications that do cause worry, however, are bleeding, scar tissue, and perforation.
“If the defect, or the ulcer, gets deep enough and actually erodes through the entire wall of the stomach or bowel,” Dr. Bruckel said. “It’s really a hole that forms in the GI tract, and that’s bad news.”
Dr. Bruckel says hospitals are able to prevent these complications from worsening and are able to manage them effectively.
She says those suffering from mild symptoms, such as pain and discomfort, are able to be treated with PPI medications. These kinds of medications are strong acid blockers, according to Dr. Bruckel.
“The way I like to think about it is, we give the body time to heal, and then we really prevent that acid level from causing further insult to injury, if you will. We want to very quickly reverse that imbalance.”
According to Dr. Bruckel, the time the ulcer takes to heal does vary from patient to patient due to its size and depth.
“Generally, I would say anywhere from eight to 12 weeks,” Dr. Bruckel said.
Anyone with these risk factors, including those who take medicines like ibuprofen long-term and feel any sort of pain, is encouraged to talk to their doctor.
