Can Hydrocodone cause stomach/esophogeal ulcers?

[lisatampa]

Hello....I've been taking Lortab 7.5 2-3x/day since July....in june after the pump removal, I was on the same dose Vicodin, but had to stop it due to severe headaches...i was on no opiate x2weeks in July and the headaches went away....'course my back pain was insane...

Anyhow, last week intermittantly i had sharp stomach pains....not everyday,though....3days ago, after swallowing chocolate milk,then same situation after swallowing a sunday with chocolate syrup, i had real bad burning going down.....this has happened in the past when i was on antibiotics....i stopped the antibiotics and the 'whatever it was-sore lesion' healed.....

I stopped my Lortab today in hopes of curing this lesion, if that is what i have....

Has anyone ever heard of Hydrocodone causing stomach irritation?

I had an old Nexium script, which i started Tuesday....it seems to be helping, but i don't want to have a GI bleed from my Meds....other meds are Lyrica and occasionally 2mg Zanaflex...

Thanks,Lisa

yes, i'll bring this up to my PM 11/30, but i'm already complaining about the cost of the Lyrica, and i hate to be a complainer...

[Kathi49]

Lisa,

Yes, it can. I have taken pain meds, including Vicodin, off and on for several years now for spinal problems. I was diagnosed with gastritis from those meds even though I took very little. The best advice I can give you is to stick with the Nexium. My gastro guy had me try various Proton Pump Inhibitors and Nexium is the only one I could tolerate. I take 20mg once a day. Sometimes, I will take two a day but try to refrain from that.

Also, stay away from milk products, caffeine, etc. They will only cause more stomach upset. I always thought any milk product would coat the stomach, which it should. But actually I am lactose intolerant and I was making things worse. I have tried Soy Chocolate Milk and Soy Coffee. Both of those do NOT upset my stomach and don't taste bad at all.

[lisatampa]

Thanks, Kathi... i may be wrong,but was it jerry lewis who had a massive GI Bleed from Vicodin? ...???

[BrokenBladder]

Yes hydrocodone can certainly cause many stomach problems, especially if you take it on an empty stomach. I take it 4 times per day for breakthrough and if I don't eat my stomach lets me know it right away. I also have a problem with milk products so you may be lactose intolerant as Kathi said. Hope you feel better soon. BTW, gotta love this Tampa weather, huh?

[lisatampa]

thanks,brokenb.....yep, I LOVE this weather...