Breath Test and PPI?

[cartz]

Hello,

I completed my course of HP7 a couple of days ago and am planning to have a breath test in 4 weeks to confirm eradication.

Before taking the HP7 I was taking 40mg of Nexium per day for a couple of weeks that practically removed the stomach pain that I had been experiencing. I'm on the waiting list for an endoscopy which I'm guessing will find an ulcer.

I had read somewhere that for the breath test to be effective that I shouldn't take a PPI after I have completed the HP7.

My stomach pain has now returned.

My questions:

Am I correct that I should not take the Nexium to ensure an accurate breath test?
If I do have an ulcer and I am experiencing the pain, am I doing further damage by not taking the nexium?

Any other thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks.

cartz.

[Helico_expert]

it is a difficult decision. you need to have enough load of bacteria in your stomach to see a breath test positive result. taking naxium will reduce acid and lower the H. pylori load and hence will give you a false negative result.

you need to stop antibiotic for at least 4 weeks before the breath test.

as for the nexium, i think at least 1 - 2 weeks. depending on your severity of your stomach pain, you'll probably need to take nexium until your ulcer heal, if there is an ulcer.

[cartz]

Thanks very much for your reply, I now understand the situation.

One further question. At the moment my stomach pain is bearable. But on the assumption that it is an ulcer - does pain always indicate that further damage is being done and it is not healing?

In other words, if I don't need to take the nexium for pain relief am I still doing the ulcer a diservice by not giving it a chance to heal?

I know this is all hypothetical but I'm trying to make the right decision. My preference is not to take the nexium unless the pain gets very bad but I want to be sure I am not making things worse by not taking it.

Thank you very much.

[Helico_expert]

i think without nexium, and if you do have ulcer, it'll get worse.

since you stopped the medication and the pain comes back, perhaps it is true that you have ulcer. however, it can only be confirmed by endoscopy.

there is a chance that your bacteria is resistant to HP7. if possible, ask for a bacteria sensitivity test from your endoscopy. with that, they'll know exactly what treatment is suitable for your H. pylori.

just keep eating nexium until 2 weeks before your endoscopy.

[aamurph]

just keep eating nexium until 2 weeks before your endoscopy.

Won't it influence the results of endoscopy?
Regards,

[Helico_expert]

If you just want to see the ulcer healing, then Nexium wont effect the endoscopy result

if you want to get the biopsy for a second test, then Nexium will give false negative result on CLOtest (a test that immediate tell you if you are infected by H. pylori from biopsy)

so, you'll have to stop Nexium for at least 2 weeks if you want to test the biopsy again. I think you should, since you are doing the endoscopy, why not just get some biopsies for further testing. Best is to request for antibiotic sensitivity test.

[cartz]

I'm soon going to have the breath test to confirm eradication and have one further question.

I am currently taking a probiotic daily. Is there any chance that could give a false negative? Maybe the probiotic bacteria could compete with h. pylori?

Thanks very much,

cartz.

[Helico_expert]

depends what kind of probiotics are you taking. some probiotics have the ability to breakdown urea and give false positive results. nevertheless, most likely not interfering if you fasted overnight before the test. they wont be able to survive in your acidic stomach overnight.

[stuumpy18]

I know this sounds really silly, obviously H Pylori is this bacterial infection in your stomach...can this be associated with it living in your breath or mouth?

I have recently had a H yplori test come back as negative after eradication yet my symptoms are still persisting and have only just noticed that my breath and saliva may be connected to it all in some way? Would it be worth doing a breath test to see if the infection is like active in my saliva or something???

Please help, I am so sick of feeling like this.

[Helico_expert]

no question is silly. some question can be very creative.

anyway, to you question. H. pylori has been detected from mouth and saliva. Although oral-oral route transmission has not been proven, I think it is possible. Anyway, one must remember that there is a lot of other mouth bacteria growing. H. pylori is very very difficult to compete with the mouth flora.

when did you finish your treatment and how long after did you check if your eradication is successful? usually, after the treatment, the symptoms persist for as short as a week and as long as a year. the recovery is subjected to the severity of the damage cause by the bacteria. I think, if you are young, healthy and strong, your recovery shouldnt be long. just make sure that the bug is off your system.