please can anyone help me , fed up with this now. treated for h pylori still ill

[cheeryface]

i have a horrible hot burning type feeling in my stomach all day every day. its just above where my belly button is . and i feel sick.

i had an endoscopy that revealed h.pylori infection and had treatment for it 5 weeks ago and i dont feel any different. i told the consultant this and he said that he hadnt found anything else so was putting it down to stress which i dont agree with.

[cheeryface]

.

[cheeryface]

has nobody else had similar?

[movingnow]

No exactly the same as had pain/discomfort but no H Pylori. Endoscopy showed gastritis (general inflamation). I don't like to depress you but I never got to the bottom of it and still suffer on and off (since 05!). I have to say that with hindsight I think mine is partially stress related. I still take a proton pump inhibitor (slow release anti acid) almost daily.
Have you asked for a second round of treatment for the H Pylori as my understanding is it can take more than one atempt to get rid of it.

[jomalone]

I don't know, I'm sorry, but I had h pylori and I remember how awful the pain was . I'm assuming that you've done the test and they've established the h pylori is gone?

is there another doctor / consultant you could speak to?

also, I know its hard to hear, but please think really carefully whether it might be stress related. I was ill for a lot of this year but refused to believe it was stress related, as soon as I quit my job (which was stressful, I was being bullied essentially) my symptoms eased almost overnight. it took me a long time to be honest with myself and admit that it was this that was making me ill.

[DuchessOfAvon]

I remember that it took a while for things to settle down again - and the massive dose of antibiotics made me feel ill in their turn.

But I'd echo the advice re stress.

[cheeryface]

i have wondered whther the treatment has got rid of the h pylori but there was no mention of any tests to check

with heartburn is the burning feeling higher up in the chest ? mine is just above belly button area

[jomalone]

I had a thing called something like a 'sip' test. you had to drink a liquid (urea?), then drink orange juice (might have been the other way round), then blow through a straw into a test tube! they then tested the air in the test tube and could say if the infection was clear.
I'm suprised they are being dismissive of you without having done this test!

[MarquesDeLeon]

My daughter has this. She was treated for H. Pylori when she was 6 and has been pretty OK until March this year when the pain and constant vomiting started again. She had a breath test (like jomalone) which came up negative and has therefore been diagnosed with gastritis. She takes Omeprazole daily which helps immensely. She has moved up to Senior School this year and I think the stress of it has made this problem flare up.
I am hoping that once she is more settled it will abate again.

[cheeryface]

thanks i think i will ask my gp for the test.
i was also wondering about candida aswell but i mentioned that once before and the gp more or less said it was a myth

[roneef]

Hi, My DC had this.

Was the dose of antibiotic strong enough to kill the H Pylori?

Also you have to take the antacid after for a minimum of 1 month.

We did all this and all though he is 100 better he can't tolerate an empty stomach. Also gets tired quickly IMO.

[cheeryface]

i had 2 different kinds of antibiotics and lansoprazole tablets to take, 8 a day altogether for a week. made me feel really pukey.
wasnt told to carry on taking anything for a month after though.

[brettgirl2]

I don't understand how they diagnosed H.Pylori through an endoscopy. I thought you had to have a blood test - they were convinced I had it but it came up negative.

HB can be in all sorts of places, strangely it affects my throat the most. I take omeprazole and have done for quite a long time.

[luvaduck]

haven't read whole thread but very common to diagnose Hp from endoscopy - and prob more accurate than blood test

[Rabbitpaw]

Get your doc to order you an ultrasound - if you haven't already had one. Gallstones can present like this and can be sorted. They are more common if you are fertile, forty, fair and especially if you are either a bit overweight or have lost lots of weight recently. Sorry you are going through this. Sounds miserable.

[cheeryface]

thanks, id had a blood test 12 months before that came back negative and then during the endoscopy they took a biopsy which diagnosed H Pylori.
i have spoken to my doctor, told him i wanted to be sure the h.pylori was gone and he said a breath test is not done routinely so i cant have that and a blood test is no good because once you have had it it will always show up positive . he said i would have to have another endoscopy to find out...no thanks...that was the worst experience of my life (opted for no sedation and had a horrible doctor)

[Bucharest]

Hi there, I've just finished my second dose of antibs for h.pylori as the first lot (taken in April) had little effect. The first lot I had in Italy and the doc only gave me 10 days worth of omeprazole to take in conjunction with the antibs..
When I saw my GP in the UK he said, as pps have said, that the omeprazole needs to be taken for much longer usually to get rid of the acid caused by the infection. I had the second dose of antibs and am currently on my second month of omeprazole...I still get days when I have twinges, but I'm pretty sure the actual infection, this time is gone. I'm now only taking the omeprazole every few days.

The GP told me that in the UK the tendency is to treat h.pylori twice only, then if it still persists to keep it under control with omeprazole etc. The antibodies in the blood can last for up to 6mths my doc said, (not forever) which is why the second test is usually the urea breath test or a stool test. (when my stepfather had it, his was diagnosed with a stool test) Here in Italy the doc wanted to send me straightaway for biopsies and feck knows what else, and tbh had me really freaking out it was Something Very Bad, but the UK GP was really relaxed about it which I think also helped me psychologically, to get rid of it, and not have twinges which might well have been stress related from the Italian doc scaring me!

Ask for a stool test (the h.pylori foundation website explains all of these tests) in fact, I believe IIRC, my stepfather's second test he did himself, asking the pharmacist for the kit and then sending it off to a lab in Yorkshire.

These are such simple tests I don't see why your GP is being so arsey about doing them.

Hope you get some joy.

I also find taking Holland and Barret extra strength peppermint oil capsules calm my stomach down (especially after a heavy meal) and I have a tub of gastrocote as well, which are better than most over-counter stuff.

[jomalone]

cheeryface, poor you that the dr suggested another endoscopy! I don't blame you for not wanting one, I found it extremely traumatic (although I was talked into not being sedated, and really regretted it)

really suprised about the breath test thing, when i had mine there was a group of about 6 or 7 of us all sat round having it. and my sister who's a nurse was certainly familiar with the test. possibly try another doctor if you're not getting anywhere with this one. I had to try several at my local surgery before finding one who actually spoke sense and took me seriously

[Bucharest]

I think the problem may be that h.pylori symptoms are v similar to lots of other much nastier things (been there, googled that, as I'm sure we all have!) and some doctors want to err on the side of caution...as I said yesterday, my Italian one kept shaking her head and saying "ooooh this could be something reaaaaaaallllly horrid" (filling me with joy as you can imagine!) and refused almost to believe the blood test results without an endoscopy ("just because the test is +ive doesn't mean you've got it") The UK one was so relaxed about the whole thing, I felt so much better...

But agree, both breath and even poo tests are so much more pleasant than nasty tubey thing....

[candyfluff]

im being tested for h.pylori at themomnet ,gp did a stool test and im waiting for the results. i have also been referred to the hospital to talk about having a endoscopy (not sure if thats the right word -a camera down my throat)in november ,the omeprazole made me feel really unwell ,i had a constant headache and stomach cramps so im just making do with the zantac and gaviscon,not helping much still getting a very sore throat from acid.
sodding miserable

[Bucharest]

candyfluff- try the peppermint oil and gastrocote- I found they really helped, Gaviscon didn't touch it for me.

[ChristieF]

I had antibiotics for h. pylori but my doctor said I couldn't have a second dose. They made no difference at all to my stomach problems. I had a blood test. I have lost all faith in doctors being able to sort it out. I've had antibiotics twice for what they thought was chest infection. I've had a heart monitor test as they though it was a heart attack. I've had a double mammogram and ultrasound when they thought it was a breast problem. Also had a pelvic ultrasound in case it was ovarian. Had a chest x-ray. Had two lots of blood tests for thyroid, kidneys etc. And still back where I started. I think it's food allergy but they don't want to know. Given up going to the doctor.