Helicobacter Forums

Hi Helico expert, thanks for the answer. It's reassuring to see I'm not the only one that has the flare-up. How long should it normally take for the flare-up to go away? So I could decide when to see a doctor if it doesn't go away after too long.

well, the flare-up is subjective. But almost all that experience flare up said that the symptoms are milder than before treatment and shorter. Some said it happens every 2-3 days, then gradually become 4-5 days, then 1-2 weeks, then once a month, and so on.

You can try some PPI to ease the symptoms if it helps.

Should I go up on the dose to 20mg, 2/day? Or is it better to do 40mg, 1/day before bed time? What's a good dosage and timing for taking famotidine given that my symptoms are the absolute worst in the morning?

i did the sam regimen with out the bismuth

Should I go up on the dose to 20mg, 2/day? Or is it better to do 40mg, 1/day before bed time? What's a good dosage and timing for taking famotidine given that my symptoms are the absolute worst in the morning?

Famotidine is pretty safe. However, do talk to your doctor about increasing the dose if you want to.
I think 20mg, 2 times a day is better

if famotidine is not working well enough, then you can talk to your doctor about replacing it with Rabeprazole, which give better suppression on acid secretion.

Helico_expert wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 11:01 am

Should I go up on the dose to 20mg, 2/day? Or is it better to do 40mg, 1/day before bed time? What's a good dosage and timing for taking famotidine given that my symptoms are the absolute worst in the morning?

Famotidine is pretty safe. However, do talk to your doctor about increasing the dose if you want to.
I think 20mg, 2 times a day is better

if famotidine is not working well enough, then you can talk to your doctor about replacing it with Rabeprazole, which give better suppression on acid secretion.

Thanks. Today I just noticed my stool turned black. The texture is normal, no diarrhea. I had 2 bowel movements already and both are black...I don't think I've taken any food or medication that may cause black stool. Do I have bleeding? Would it go away on its own if I keep taking famotidine?

If you are already taking H2 blocker, it's not common to have internal bleeding. What about bismuth? dark stool is common side effect of bismuth. However, you should check with your local GP.

Hi Helico expert:
My doctor is finally able to schedule me for endoscopy 2.5 weeks from now. Now my nausea and gas is less troublesome, but I still vomit some days, and after every meal there's a dull pain in my stomach which lasts for 1-2 hours. The doctor suggested taking PPIs between now and the day of endoscopy.
I saw some people say you have to get off PPIs before endoscopy because it may hide some of your problems. Is it true? Or does it depend on the purpose of the endoscopy? Can you take PPIs if the doctor is planning to check for H Pylori using endoscopy? Not sure why my doctor wants me to keep taking the PPI but other places said you can't do it.

PPI can reduce the HP number in the stomach and lead to false positive test during endoscopy.

you can try ranitidine or any H2 blockers. They are fast acting and short life-span in the body. They will not affect the endoscopy result.

during endoscopy, remember to ask your doctor for Rapid urease test and histology test.

Thank you. Last time he checked me for HP, it was 3 weeks after finishing the quadruple therapy, and 10 days after getting off PPI. It was a stool test and turned out negative. Do you think this could be a false negative?
I just don't understand why my symptoms recurred just 2 weeks after the eradication therapy and has been lasting so long.