Helicobacter Forums

Hi,

Since last summer I have had a lot of pain in my stomach, fatigue in combination with a dry mouth and a white tongue. My doctor suspected that I was infected with the H.pylori bacteria and asked me to take a stool test. Result was negative. Subsequently I was referred to the gastrointestinal / liver doctor, during an endoscopy they discovered a mild gastritis without the presence of H.pylori. Now a few months later still suffering from complaints, another blood test showed that I had an iron deficiency. On the advice of my doctor I started taking iron pills, month after swallowing a blood test shows that it has fallen even further. Then another blood test for the H.pylori and this time the blood test was positive. Now I have my question marks, 8/9 years ago I was also infected with the H.pylori and then treated with an antibiotic cure. My doctor said that the antibodies should no longer occur in the blood after such a long time and that I can assume that I am infected with the Helicobacter based on my complaints and iron deficiency.

Is it true what my doctor tells me and that the antibodies can no longer be found in the blood after 8/9 years? Do my complaints correspond to an H. pylori?

Note: during the endoscopy and stool test I took Omeprazole (gastric acid inhibitor) daily, due to a diaphragm fracture. Is it possible that I was tested false negative because of this.

Your gastroenterologist is right. The blood test can stay positive for years, but probably not 8-9 years.

Then again, it'll be good if there is a raw data of the blood test. How positive is positive?

It is possible that the PPI has caused false negative for your test. Then again, you need to know how negative is the negative.

Hi Helico_expert,

Thanks for your answer, I really appreciate. The blood test showed just positive, there where no numbers. I will finish today my triple cure, what is best next time to test to see if the Helico is gone. Like I said before Im taking daily 20mg omeprazol, I cant just stop for 2 weeks because the reflux is unbearable.

I'm taking twice daily for a whole week: 1 tablet pantoprazol40 mg, 1 tablet claritromycine 500 mg and 1 tablet amoxicilline 1000mg. Will these kill the Helico?

update: the Helico blood test was a "anti H.pylori IgG" so I dont know exactly what this means.

Hi

I know what you mean by not being able to stop omeprazole for 2 weeks. I have also had Helico antibiotics treatment but still on Omeprazole 20mg twice daily. This is the only way I can function for now. I am just hoping that H pylori has gone and with time symptoms will settle so I can stop omeprazole and do a stool test

What do you mean by diaphragm fracture? How were you diagnosed for this and why did they give you omeprazole for this ?

If your doctor is relying on blood test result because there is no other diagnostic methods, then he should take your blood every three months to look at the concentration of anti-H. pylori antibody. If the trend is going down, even if it is positive, it will eventually reach negative. If the trend is constantly high, then you are still positive of H. pylori.

So knowing positive or negative is not good enough.

I'm taking twice daily for a whole week: 1 tablet pantoprazol40 mg, 1 tablet claritromycine 500 mg and 1 tablet amoxicilline 1000mg. Will these kill the Helico?

This is the standard triple therapy. I cant say how good it is as it varies from country to country. In Australia, the cure rate for this treatment is over 80%. But in Europe, the cure rate for this therapy has fallen below 60%.

Hi Helico_expert,

I will discus with my doc to do next time a blood test where we have information about numbers and not only Positive or negative.

The results of the endoscopy see bellow showed that I had/have an active inflammation, does this mean that there is a big change that Im infected with the Helico?

PA I duodenum descendens: biopsies of duodenal mucosa without specific
deviations. In particular no floc atrophy, inflammation or parasites.

II antrum and corpus: gastric mucosa biopsies with low chronic and active inflammation without demonstrable Helicobacter pylori. No intestinal metaplasia or dysplasia. Immunohistochemistry: HP staining negative.

active inflammation usually mean there is a pathogen. And since H. pylori is the only known bacteria living in the stomach, it is usually referring to the presence of H. pylori.

Perhaps the biopsy is taken from a region where there is very little of H. pylori?
are you able to get breath/stool test to confirm it?