Helicobacter Forums

Hi , i completed the triple therapy course 8 weeks ago .
My original symptoms were , excess gas , burning stomach , lower abdominal cramps, feeling full after small amount of food ,pressure in the bowel , change in BM , urgency to make a BM, fatigue.
Today I feels miles better but i do have a mild burning sensation sometimes in my stomach and back pain which seems to come and go throughout the day but hard to say if it's related to meal time or not but it does seem to be improving slowly.
As I work offshore for 3 weeks at a time so I thought it would be a good idea to see my doctor today before I go back.
My doctor has requested a stool sample to re-test for hpylori but I thought only a breath test was accurate , is this true?
I've been prescribed ranitadine to help with the burning (although it's not the bad).
Does this sound like the bug is still there ? I feel amazing but just this slight burning sensation that seem to go through to my back.

stool test is as accurate as breath test. However, most people will prefer breath test as it's more "convenient".

Ranitidine is fine to take. you may want to stop for a day just before the stool or breath test.

it's hard to tell by symptom to predict if the H. pylori is still there. We'll have to wait for the test result. But, I must point out, the more you think about it, the more likely you'll feel it. So, try to distract yourself from the symptoms.

Got my results today , negative , no more hpylori
But it's 8 weeks since I completed the course and I am still getting mild back and stomch burning sensation .
Should request an endoscopy?

Congratulation!

if you have gastric cancer history, yes. go for an endoscopy check

if you were suspected with ulcer before, you should take one month PPI, and then do endoscopy to check the healing.

if you have non specific symptoms, then i think you should wait a little longer, eg 2-3 months, before the endoscopy.

if you have no symptoms, then i dont think endoscopy will tell you much.