HP, bowel, post triple therapy treatment, and tonsil stones

[Imm]

Hello!

I have recently been tested positive for H. pylori and completed the triple therapy treatment. I'm quite certain that I have HP for many years. My breath test result was very high according to my GP, 4000dpm. Is this unusually high? Sorry, I have so many questions about H. pylori for the experts!

A little bit about my health background, I had dysentry and tiny kidney stones when I was little. I had an appendectomy about six months ago. It was due to a mildly inflamed appendix and an inflamed bowel. Three to four months after the appectomy I was getting: pain and strange vibrations in my lower left and right abdomen which usually alternate from one side to another (I was blaming this on post operation healing and my GP thinks it's normal); queasy and bloated after a meal; a lot of gas; nausea/dizziness and vomiting; stitch like pain in my lower abdomen extending about 5 to 6 cm from below the left breast area in a straight line; acid reflux after a meal (can be quite frothy sometimes); sometimes strong heart palpitations (I usually blame this on coffee but it's not always the case); frequent constipation and less frequently diarrhea; constant tiredness and fatigue; and more migraines. I didn't have all of these symptoms everyday. Some days I didn't experience any of these at all but some days two or three of these symptoms would appear and cripple me for a few minutes or hours and 1 to 2 days in the case of migraines. I would sometimes feel very to extremely tired after experiencing some of these symptoms.

Just wondering can HP afftect your bowel?

I have never been very good with eating oily, creamy, cheesey, very spicy, and just generally rich foods. I tend to throw up soon afterwards. I've had instances where I would sprint out of bed at 2 or 3 am to vomit. This happened to me a few times in the past and not just from eating the food I described above. I've had bad episodes of trapped wind after eating dumplings, too much bread or starchy food, where I would become immobilised for 10-20 minutes. The feeling afterwards is total exhaustion.

I had some of the above mentioned symptoms a couple of years ago and my GP at the time said it may be stress related but I was also prescribed some medications (I can't remember the name) to help ease the acid reflux and queasiness. It didn't help me much but the symptoms went away on their own. As for my current GP, this was first diagnosed as stress related and then IBS. I was prescribed Colese, an anti-spasmodic medication, to help ease the stomach pain but it did not seem to work that well. I’ve been tested negative for coeliac disease. My GP continues to wonder why these HP symptoms appear stronger now as he understands they usually appear much later in life. Does anyone have an explanation for this please?

I completed my first triple therapy about four weeks ago. I was feeling quite good (more energy) from the third day of being on the treatment. But the last couple of days, after completing the treatment, I sense that my stomach is back to pre treatment stage. Since I have been feeling queasy and bloated after meals. I've had 3 episodes of vomiting (e.g. from having a small amount of pudding and ice cream, and a glass of water an hour after the pudding, and eating a Turkish vegetable gozleme). Recently I had a bad stomach pain before going out for dinner and was full of gas. It completely crippled me for about an hour. I couldn't move and it was extremely uncomfortable. I'm thinking it takes awhile for my stomach to adjust to post treatment. Is this correct? My GP seems to think this is normal but if these symptoms continue to persist after I get my second breath test result then he would send me to a gastroenterologist.

I recently noticed having tonsil stones after the triple therapy. They’re awful little things! Last night at 4 am I jumped out of bed coughing like crazy. I felt like there was something irritating the back of my throat. I gargled and drank some water but my stomach was bloated again, and felt like there were air bubbles trapped in my throat and chest. I belched out a loud burp and my mouth was full of thick froth! The froth was almost like cappuccino froth but it made me feel better enough to go back to sleep. I don’t know if this was caused by the tonsil stones or HP. Is there a link between the two?

I had asked for my mother and partner to be tested for HP as I'm a little bit fearful of getting the bacteria back if my treatment is successful. My partner has already received a negative result. We’re just waiting for my mother to have her test done. Is it a wise move for them to be tested and treated if positive? I know that my mother sometimes complains of nausea and wind but she always cures it by eating an orange/apple or slices of ginger (a cure all for her apparently). I also find eating ginger, fresh mint and basil leaves help me quite a bit too.

Sorry for such a long post and so many questions. I have tried to read through the forum but it’s a little bit difficult to find the same questions amongst many other interesting questions and responses 

Many thanks!

[Helico_expert]

Thank you for sharing your story.

4000 dpm is high, but not the highest. The highest we've seen is 9000 dpm. Although the dpm is correlated with the bacteria load, it has no correlation with the severity of the disease. anyone could have a dpm reading of 4000 and have absolutely no symptoms.

While HP is mainly affecting the stomach as it cannot colonise anywhere else. However, some scientists believed that HP can produce toxin that affect the intestine which lead to bowel problem. For your case, I think during that time where you had your appendectomy, they probably prescribed you with antibiotics, which upset your normal flora, and hence lead to IBS. Since you have taken the triple therapy, it sort of give the normal flora a reset, do you feel better in terms of your bowel?

In regards to tonsil stones, I dont think HP has any direct correlation to it. I may be wrong, but I have not seen any publication on such topic.

It has been four weeks after your triple therapy, have you considered of doing a urea breath test to see if HP is still present?

In regards to transmission, it's not easy for adults to catch H. pylori due to hygiene awareness. However, sharing food and water "may" spread HP, the risk is very low due to the fact that HP doesnt survive very well outside human body. Nevertheless, it's good that you get your mother a check up.

PS: i find fresh mint and basil leaves good for my bowel too. I wonder what is the mechanism behind.

[Imm]

Thank you so much Helico_expert for your responses.

My bowel feels better than pre appendectomy. I still get sharp pain around the lower abdomen area every now and then but not as often, usually due to gas, and the bowel movement is more regular.

I will have the urea breath test again in 2 weeks. If the result turns out negative (I really hope so) but I still have the post treatment symptoms mentioned in my earlier post (e.g.gas, bloatedness, vomiting, and horrible acid reflux which I forgot to mention), should I really be seeing a gastroenterologist?

"My GP continues to wonder why these HP symptoms appear stronger now as he understands they usually appear much later in life." - I'm 31 years old. Do you know why the symptoms appear earlier for some people? I appreciate that my HP related symptoms are appearing now so I can try to stop it from further ruining my stomach lining

Thanks!

[Helico_expert]

Hopefully your breath test will be negative.

Since you still experiencing all the symptoms, I think it doesnt matter if it is positive or not, you should see a specialist. If the specialist found ulcers, then you'll need to take PPI for a month until it heals. or perhaps histology will reveal something else. if possible, ask for a culture antibiotic sensitivity test, then the specialist can prescribe you the right antibiotics.

in regards to symptoms appear at later age, I think probably due to the organ ageing? the recovery ability is not as good as young people. anyway, just a wild guess. no supportive evidence.