Helicobacter Forums

I had h pylori gastritis when I was 16 and I'm now 27 and had it cured back then with the Prevpac. Even had a breath test done a few years later and was H pylori negative. For the past 3 months I've had chronic mild nausea and burping and loss of appetite with some weight loss. I went to my GI did an endoscopy. This time it showed mild gastritis and duodenitis but biopsy was H Pylori negative however my blood test was positive. Thing is I been on Aciphex 20mg twice daily and Zantac 300mg for about 5 years for severe laryngopharyngeal reflux. No regular reflux no heartburn etc. just throat problems. Since I was on acid blockers during the endoscopy it can show false negatives. I know the blood test can show positive forever but based on my findings it's most likely H pylori again. I could get off my meds for a few weeks and do a breath test but a bad PPI rebound effect will follow I know for sure I did it once and really mess up my throat. So my GI given me the Prevpac again. I will only do a breath test maybe in about 3 months if I don't get better then I'll have no choice but to stop my meds and do it. But my question is...is it ok for me to take my aciphex 20mg twice daily with the antibiotics instead of Prevacid and is it also ok to take my Zantac 300mg at night during the treatment? I also will be taking Florastor during the treatment. I'm worried that I been taking the aciphex for so long that it may reduce effectiveness of the H Pylori treatment.

You are right about the blood test false positive and biopsy false negative results. It's ok to swap the PPI for the prevpac treatment and continue your zantac during night time. The PPI is meant to stabilize the antibiotics in the stomach. Some antibiotics only work in neutral condition. As long as you arent taking any other medications that have interaction with the antibiotics, it should work fine (except for resistance cases).

On the other hand, if your doctor did get some biopsies from your endoscopic examination, the pathologist should be able to see H. pylori under microscope. The microbiologist should be able to culture it.

I'm sure my doc sent my biopsy to the lab because I waited a week for the results but the H Pylori was negative. But the reason I'm taking the antibiotic is because I assume the lab couldn't see H pylori even if I have it because of the acid blockers I take. Isn't that right?