Helicobacter Forums

Hi everyone. I'm new here but I really need some advice.

Story is I had stomach problems - bloating, gas, heartburn and pain, pain going through into back and side (kidney area) etc - last year and tested positive for helicobactoer hyper pylori and was given the triple therapy treatment. However, the pharmacist had made a mistake on the label and I took the dose incorrectly for two days. The GP said that this wasn't a problem. I have since had a couple of other 'stomach' issues; heartburn and pain and was treated with Lansoprazole, which worked.

In recent weeks I have been having stomach problems again with pain in my upper right abdomen (under ribs), heartburn going up into my throat, bloating and gas etc etc. My GP has examined me and thinks that it is the helicobacter again. He said that it is difficult to eradicate and, as I've tested positive before and have all the symptoms, he wants to try eradication again. So I am now repeating the triple therapy with different antibiotics. He has also ordered an ultrasound scan to make sure I don't have gallstones.

Well, I started the therapy five days ago and am in so much pain now. It is under my ribs and feels like pressure or trapped wind and I've got horrendous pain in my right kidney area. Is it normal to feel so rough when taking the triple therapy? Does all this sound like helicobacter?

Thanks in advance for reading and for any advice you can give. I'm sick of feeling so unwell and am worrying that it is something more sinister.

Wow! 13 reads and not one response. You guys are great!

Hi,

sorry to hear what happened to you. some, not all, of your symptoms do sound like H. pylori. but, the right way to find out is by breath test. however, since you have started your second therapy, we should wait for a month before doing the breath test.

if you had too much adverse effect by the medication, speak to your GP and seek alternative.

lastly, please record down what medications you have eaten here. it may help us understand the strength of treatment you going through.

thanks

Hi Roo,

unfortunately a lot of people feel pretty terrible after a bout of h. pylori, and healing varies for everyone, some have it very hard and some seem to bounce right back.
however, if your symptoms are very painful, talk to your doctor. maybe he/she can get you in to the ultrasound faster to make sure it's not an emergency. if you have to, be insistent.

I had my gallbladder removed, and the two times going into an er before having it removed by emergency at another hospital, the doctors told me i was having an anxiety attack. Sometimes you have to be very firm about explaining that you are not well, i just walked away even though i knew something was wrong, and it wasn't anxiety, at the time i think the wait times were something like four hours to see an emergency doctor for 5 to 10 minutes. the fact that you have a doctor who believes that it could be something worse than the h.pylori gives you an upperhand. talk to your doctor, if they can't help you in their clinic, go to an emergency room, tell them that your doctor suspects gallstones. an infected gallbladder can be extremely bad. and having stones passing through your system isn't good either.

this is a forum for questions about h. pylori, and we're not doctors, well, most of us, just people who have suffered from it, and who are looking for some support from others, or even just to hear that people have gotten over it. believe me, i feel for you, the h.pylori made me extremely unwell, and for me, the recovery was a looong process, i would love to hear that you recover from it completely, let us know, i for one want to know that you are okay.

good luck, i hope you're okay, take care of yourself.

i just want to add..

most of us are not doctor, and mainly made up by people who suffer a lot from this infection.

hence, this created a statistical bias that H. pylori is very potent and doing a lot of harm.

as a reminder, H. pylori infect half the population in the world. only about 10% of the infected are symptomatic, 1-5% of those with symptoms suffer more severe disease.

therefore, this forum is mainly visited by the 1-5% of the 10%.