questions about h pylori medication

[confusedguy89]

i am a 21 year old male diagnosed with h pylori. i was prescribed tetracyline and metronidazole. 4 pills a day from each for 14 days. i asked the lady at the pharmacy how many hours do i have to wait before i take each dose during the day and she said just space it out,but she never gave a specific number of hours before i take another dose. how many hours should i wait before i take each of these again? also,how long should i wait before i eat again after i have taken the medicine? i also saw on this site that i should only take 2 metronidazole a day,but the prescription was 4 a day. is 4 too much?

[Helico_expert]

can you be more specific on the dosage?

there are two dosage of metronidazole, 200mg and 400mg.

and the 4 pills a day, do you mean 1 tetracycline, 2 metronidazole, 1 PPI?

[confusedguy89]

the metronidazole is 250mg and the tetracycline 500mg. i was told to take both of these pills 4 times throughout the day. so far i have been taking them both at the same time every 3 hours. is this ok?

[Helico_expert]

according to the Australian medicines handbook, an adult can take tetracycline up to 2g a day; metronidazole up to 4g a day.

so your 4 times a day dosage is alright.

[Surviving]

Well if you are to take 4 pills per day spaced out then I would say take 1 every 6 hours. In regards to when to eat, you likely received an information sheet on this medication with your prescription. Read up on that and follow the directions. Most of these directions on the label have come from FDA studies analyzed by those with expertise in the type of medicine you are taking. Take it as prescribed as this has been proven to be most effective in the trials of the drug.

[cliff_merchant]

I was prescribed amoxicillin take 2 tablets twice daily, lansoprazole one pill twice a day and clarithromycin 1 tablet twice a day and have been taking Cymbalta and trazodone for several months, and my doctor did not say whether it is safe to take my antidepressant medication H-Pylori my meds. I just want to see if anyone knows..
Regards,

[barjammar]

Re Cymbalta and trazodone;
Cliff, I am not an expert on these two drugs. I believe that clarithromycin can affect other drug metabolism. I suggest you study the relevant manufacturers' web sites - that is what I would have to do but I don't have time today. I can recall a similar question a year or so back.
Please update us if you find an answer - and give a reference or link if you can.
Many Thanks
BJM

[HPgirl]

Cliff, this site might be worth looking at:
http://www.drugs.com/interactions-check ... 0,949-2273

A call to your pharmacist might also be helpful. Hope that helps!

[Christle]

I have been recently diagnosed with H pylori, I am 51 and am very curious how I have developed this. I was always brought up in a clean environment and unlike the other woman, I have never suffered with bad breath. My symptoms started about 6 years ago (I think) with stomach pain, since I have had cancer in the past I was tested for that again bit it came up negative. My stomach pain became extreme and I often had flu like symptom, i.e. fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and always very tired. It came to the point where I could no longer take any vitamins or any meds because it would cause pain, usually in my lower ab’s or behind my belly button.
Here are my questions. I have been to: South Africa, Ukraine and Mexico. Seven years ago right before leaving for Africa I got a bad cut on my foot and had to get stitches, though I tried to keep the wound clean, it often got dirty and it would usually be hours until I could get the wound clean. It probably was about 1 year after returning that the symptoms started. Could this have anything to do with the H Pylori?
Thank you

[Helico_expert]

Hi,

Africa and Mexico have very high infection rate of 80% or more. It is likely you got it via share food or drinking unclean water. H pylori has to be infected via oral route, so wound in your foot will not cause it.

Thanks for sharing your very interesting story.