Helicobacter Forums

Update from me again.

I finally managed to get retested (correctly this time) and I am postive for H Pylori! This probably explains why 6 month on from triple therapy I still had the same gastritis pains. I am now doing triple therapy again but with Clarithromycin, Amoxicillin and Omeprazole (last time I had Metronidazole, Amoxicillin and Omeprazole). I have added Pepto bismol to this on my own volition (15ml four times a day - as this seems to be the recommended dose).

I wanted to say thank you to helico_expert for always advising to get retested after treatment (especially if you still have symptoms months on). This step was ingrained in my mind after spending a long time reading this forum throughout my ordeal. The NHS here do not routinely do retesting after triple therapy which, for something with only a 75% eradication rate, is mind blowing. Anyway, it was an uphill battle but I managed to retested and retreated. Fingers crossed it works this time. I'll update again in a month or two (or whenever I can get the doctor to agree to a retest).

Thanks again helico_expert, I really have benefited a lot from all your advice on here (including the Pepto bismol instructions).

I wish you all the best. One last tip, the higher the PPI dose, the higher the cure rate. If possible, switch to rabeprazole 20mg TID.

Helico Expert,
I need your help. I need a recommendation for a specialist that knows about h pylori infection. My current doctor doesn't believe there is any association between the reflux esophagitis and h pylori infection that I have.

Do you know of anyone in Northern California that could help me? Thank you.

Hi,

I am sorry I do not know any one there. Hopefully someone else in the forum can recommend you one.
Anyway, have you done a breath test to see if you have H. pylori? it's a simple test any GP can prescribe.

If we are following a post treatment protocol that includes the use of such things as green tea, cranberry juice, Manuka honey and mastic gum, do we need to stop using those two weeks prior to getting retested to not generate any false negatives? Or is that purely for things like antibiotics, bismuth products and PPIs (not including H2 inhibitors)?

Just wanted to know because I've been planning on getting retested next week, and i have been consuming the above naturopathic products on a daily basis.

Secondly, is it worth doing an endoscopy as precaution just to make sure everything is okay in the inside after say getting a negative retest? Just trying to be cautious and understand if it's smart to ensure that the damage was hopefully minimal.

To be safe, you probably should avoid anything that may change the bacteria load and pH.

Nevertheless, I think green tea, cranberry juice, Manuka honey are fine.
Mastic gum, not too sure about it. Maybe avoid.

If you are below 50 years old and your previous endoscopy showed nothing serious, then probably dont need another endoscopy.
If you are below 50 years old and your previous endoscopy showed some abnormality, including ulcers, then you can ask for endoscopy to have a look at the healing.

If you are above 50 and had never done endoscopy, then maybe you should get one done to get a baseline.

I'm a 27 year old male with no known history of gastritis - only in high school did i once have an issue with my esophagus (induced acid reflux due to incorrectly taking malaria medication).

I'll pause on the mastic gum for sure. I was mainly asking about the endoscopy since I never had one done in the first place (did a stool antigen test which came back positive so went directly on triple therapy for 10 days). Thought it might be worth talking to the doctor about it just in case.

Per your last advice as well, I've started taking an H2 blocker in the lead up to the test since the acid production in my stomach came roaring back a few days after getting off a PPI (I'll stop the H2 roughly a day before my test).

yup. stopping H2 blocker one day before the test is ok.

Here is a guideline how to use breath/stool test, in case you want to know long you need to stop certain medication
https://helico.com/PYtest_guide_2013.pdf

Based on your experience for folks on this thread, have you all done any work on the optimal means of weaning off of acid blocking medication? I know the symptoms of gastritis can remain for weeks to months after getting rid of the bug, but are there any recommendations of how to taper off the medication and restore normal acid secretion levels?

For example, diminishing dosage amounts of PPIs over time, and then switching over to H2 blockers and following a similar strategy with those (since I believe they only diminish acid secretion, and don't totally block it) until you feel good enough to be off them?

Zenzming wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:34 am

Based on your experience for folks on this thread, have you all done any work on the optimal means of weaning off of acid blocking medication? I know the symptoms of gastritis can remain for weeks to months after getting rid of the bug, but are there any recommendations of how to taper off the medication and restore normal acid secretion levels?

For example, diminishing dosage amounts of PPIs over time, and then switching over to H2 blockers and following a similar strategy with those (since I believe they only diminish acid secretion, and don't totally block it) until you feel good enough to be off them?

The only way is to try cold turkey. It’s painful, the experience is like going through hell, but it’s the only right way. I tried all the PPIs, and each of them caused me unbearable abdominal pain, especially Rabeprazole, which really blocked my acid completely. After abruptly stopped using PPI, I experienced the worst acid rebound in my life that lasted 10 days. During that period, I used Famotidine, which didn't help much, but now it helps with my gastritis symptoms (I use 20 mg every other day), although I still have burning feelings in my upper abdomen but I don't have stomach aches anymore.