Symptoms of gastric ulcer are highly variable.
The most typical is a burning epigastric pain that usually begins 30–60 min after meals and may last from a few minutes to several hours.
Patients often report accompanying dyspepsia, weight loss, nausea or vomiting, and complications such as bleeding or perforation may occur.
Severity parallels ulcer depth; some individuals have no symptoms (“silent ulcer”), while others present initially with haemorrhage or perforation.

Typical pain characteristics

• Onset: 0.5–1 h post-prandial
• Relief: temporary with antacids
• Duration: minutes to hours
• Pattern: recurs over days or weeks

Associated symptoms

• Post-prandial fullness, early satiety, belching
• Loss of appetite and unexplained weight loss
• Nausea, occasionally vomiting (fresh red or coffee-ground blood)
• Melaena (tarry black stools) or dark-red blood per rectum

Disease course
Malignant transformation is rare (<1%). Endoscopy with biopsy is performed only when endoscopic or histological features raise suspicion for cancer.

Summary of Gastric-Ulcer Symptoms

Category	Key Features (English)
Cardinal symptom	Burning epigastric pain, 30–60 min after meals, lasts minutes–hours; temporarily relieved by antacids; recurs over days–weeks.
Associated upper-GI symptoms	Post-prandial fullness, early satiety, belching, nausea, vomiting (clear or blood-stained).
Systemic / nutritional	Loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss.
Bleeding indicators	Hematemesis (fresh red or coffee-ground), melaena (tarry black stools), occasional dark-red rectal blood.
Complications	Silent ulcer (no symptoms), acute presentation with haemorrhage or perforation.
Malignant potential	<1 % risk of progression to gastric cancer; endoscopy + biopsy if suspicion arises.