Worried about Atrophic gatritis due to long term h pylori !

[HyPERRRRR]

Hi all and Dr. Alfred Tay

I’m back after many months and need some assistance which would help put my mind to rest , Basically I have had an active h pylori infection for a year now and didn’t take the antibiotics I was given and tried to eradicate it using a natural protocol and had periods of relief and bouts of gastritis but I found the natural approach just suppressed the inflammation and possibly reduce h pylori colonies .. but now 12 months later I still get a stiff upper stomach but no pain and I can eat pretty much most foods without issues but my new symptoms which concern me are fatigue , light headedness , muscle weakness , headaches , confusion which I’m thinking are related to possibly low b12 and low iron ..which alerted me to possible atrophic gastritis due to possible pernicious anaemia symptoms ..

Is it possible that having h pylori infection and gastritis for 12 months could cause atrophic gastritis or is it just caused by the h pylori pathogen scavenging my iron and b12 ? Also could I develop metaplasia after 13 months ? I think I will start my antibiotics now as the natural protocol hasn’t eradicated the pathogen and I don’t want this in my system anymore as it’s onky going to cause more damage to my gut lining

Please help

[Helico_expert]

We normally catch H. pylori when we were young, 1-2 years old.

So when we were young, our body was actively growing. The damage and repair balance up. So we didnt feel anything.

After high school, age around 20-30, uni life or work life become stressful, our repair mechanism start to slow down. That's when you start feeling a bit of symptoms. eg. heart burn, reflux, bloating, etc..

at around 30-50 yr old, people with good food, acid level is high, some of them may develop ulcer. people who eats poorly, eg fast food, salty food, preserve and fermented food, some of them may develop metaplasia or atrophic gastritis.

at around 50-70 yr old, most people can remain asymptomatic or with mild symptoms. But for some people, because of 50 yrs of accumulated damages, their risk of gastric cancer is higher than young people. In addition, because of "scarring", some of these wound will be harder to heal or never heal.

Therefore, it is always better to get rid of H. pylori when you are young. even without symptoms. especially among those who is living in a high gastric cancer region.

so how long will it take to go from normal gastritis to atrophic gastritis? probably 20-40 years. Depending on the H. pylori strain, the diet quality, the life-style (eg. smoking), the environment, and the host genetic.

[HyPERRRRR]

Thanks for your reply but I’m confused as I didn’t have any gastritis issues until last year , previous to that just occasional IBS and diarrhoea but no upper stomach tightness or inflammation and I was a very energetic person and felt very healthy .

You say normally we catch when where young but It is possible to catch it from contaminated food or saliva or faeces correct when where older ? I’m a 50 year old Male so is it possible I could already have atrophic gastritis , I guess the only way to find out is through an endoscopy?

Also if I successfully eradicate the pathogen will the gastritis stop eventually and the stomach heal as I read even atrophic gastritis can be reversed after eradication depending on the damage I guess .

If you have h pylori infection but hardly any symptoms and you can eat most foods without issues does it mean my stomach lining isn’t badly damaged ..

I really appreciate your help Dr. Alfred Tay , thankyou

[Helico_expert]

You can catch H. pylori in your adulthood, but harder and rarer. It is because as an adult, we assume you are more hygienic: You brushes your teeth once or twice a day, you wash your hands after toilet, and you seldom share food with other people.

H. pylori can be transmitted via kissing. However, if you brushed your teeth, and your wife too, then there is very little chance of you two infecting each other. we have seen many cases where couples that are married for decades, never infect each other.

if you are over 50 and had never had endoscopy examination, then you should get one done. At least you get a baseline for future reference.

yes, histology is the only way to diagnose atrophic gastritis.

if you have no symptoms, most likely you are ok. but 1% of H. pylori infected person has the chance of gastric cancer. Usually they have no symptoms too.