Helicobacter Forums

Hi all

I am a 44 year old male from the UK.
About a year ago I had a blood test and it came back positive for h. pylori. My GP put me on triple therapy for a week and that was that. No follow up etc.
The condition did improve for a few months with only very minor pain in my stomach.
He continued to give me omeprazole 20mg. The effect of these seemed to wear off over the months.
A few weeks back my stomach pain started again with a vengence. It was like no pain I had ever felt and seemed like someone was driving a red hot poker through my stomach.
I went to my GP last week, (he was on holiday) the stand in doctor advised a Breath Test to see if the bacteria were still active.
It seems my local surgery is one of the few in the UK that Do Not do a breath test so I need to wait for a hospital appointment for one.
In the meantime she has decided to treat this like H. Pylori positive and give me triple therapy again.
Now heres where I have a few questions.

1. I didnt get to speak to her she just put the prescription to the pharmacy and I have been given the exact same triple therapy as a year ago. 7 x days of omeprazole twice a day. Amox 500mg 3 times a day and Metronidazole 3 times a day.
Should she not have prescribed different drugs?
2. I was given Ranitidine as an alternative to Omeprazole as I felt it wasnt helping very much. Would it be ok to replace the Omeprazole with the Ranitidine?
3. Is it ok to take painkillers during treatment? I was prescribed Zapain 30/500 for the pain but I seem to have been taking these forever. Is there a more effective painkiller for this particular type of pain?
4. My stomach seems to bloat very quickly when I eat and I was taking Sennokat anti bloating tablets. These seemed to help a little. Is it ok to continue taking these?

I really am at my wits end with this as I feel my GP has achieved nothing over the past year with this condition and has failed to do any follow up tests which seem to be mandatory. This has really annoyed me as an extra week on triple therapy or a breath test a year ago etc could have made all the difference.

Many thanks in advance for any advice.

ANS 1. Yes, she should give you a different combination of antibiotics. a combination that doesnt include clarithromycin and metronidazole. perhaps a combination that include bismuth.
ANS 2. Yes, Ranitidine will be fine.
ANS 3. Your pain is mainly due to the acid attacking your stomach skin. with the Ranitidine, your stomach wont be that acidic, you should feel less pain or painless. Nevertheless, painkiller is fine. just dont take aspirin or ibuprofen.
ANS 4. Yes, it's fine to keep taking the anti bloating tablets.

Finally, this treatment for stomach bacteria infection is normally long. However, the outcome is worth it. Wish you all the best. remember to do a followup breath test after your next treatment (not the current Amox + Metro treatment).

Hi asmodi ! I think you should continue your medication with omeprazole as it will reduce your stomach’s acid production rate in order to heal the damaged tissue of the mucous lining of your stomach. I also suggest you to take Manuka or Jarrah honey as it has antibacterial properties which helps in the destruction of H. Pylori bacteria.
Apart from these you must totally avoid spicy food and start taking fruits rich in vitamin-c, steamed vegetables and broccoli

I also suggest you to take Manuka or Jarrah honey as it has antibacterial properties which helps in the destruction of H. Pylori bacteria.

Just want to add that Manuka honey doesnt kill H. pylori in human.