Diagnosed with gastritis, scared of H pylori and Cancer.

Thank you for the message, and what I mean is that in April I had very bad anxiety related to something else so I had a blood test taken (3 tubes total) which checked everything from sugar to CBC to stomach and liver levels and everything of that sort. And for the past 3 months i've had nausea that lasts for days with burping and then goes away on its own no problem. And after 2-3 weeks comes back stays for a few days and goes away again. I don't know if H pylori does that or if it's just minor gastritis. My Dr. thinks it's acute gastritis and i'll be back to his office at the end of November and if the medecine doesn't help he'll make me go take some tests for H pylori and IBS although he doesn't believe it's anything more that gastritis.

Hi Derek. I have a question. I was treated for h pylori with two treatments. I'm still waiting to go back for a stool test to make sure it's gone. However after my endoscopy I was left with reflux, mild to moderate chronic gastritis and focal intestinal metaplasia. When I looked up intestinal metaplasia it drove me mad thinking this will lead to cancer. Doctors are telling me my risk is very low but they can't say for sure. Is there any insight you can provide in regards to risk? I'm 35 with a young family. I'm really afraid.

Hi

H.pylori does not come and go. Antibiotics are needed to clear it.

What can come and appear to go are the effects of h.pylori.

Duodenal Ulcers for instance clear for a while leaving the sufferer without pain for a time.

But if you had ulceration - Gastric or Duodenal - I reckon you would be in far more pain.

You need to ease your mind about h.p. Keep pressing your doctor for a Breath Test. It is cheap and easy to administer (blowing into a little tube).

You shouldn't need to go away for that. The Doctor's nurse should have been instructed in the technique and should administer it.

Hi David

I would have thought you should have had more than two treatments for h.p

What treatment did they give you and for how long ?

Another one having a stool test post treatment ? It's OK but one wonders what's wrong with a Breath Test.

I am not sure about your sequence of events. Did the reflux come immediately after the Endoscopy and before or after h.pylori treatment.

It sounds like you have a lovely family.

There is one way that you can help them.

And that is to do your best to stop stressing yourself. Stress increases acid levels with or without h.p

It sounds as though you've done everything you can to stop further h.p.

damage.

Every single one of us has the makings of Cancer in every part of our body. Life is for living and enjoying our wife and family.

We can't ruin our lives by stressing about the possibilities.

All the best to you and yours.

Thanks Derek for your kind words. I could really use them. I took Pylera for 10 days then went for a breath test a week later and tested positive I was then given prev pak for 14 days by the first doctor. I was then approved for health insurance and went for an endoscopy with another doctor in the state where my insurance was accepted. The biopsy showed no signs of hp organisms nor on the stain. The new dr told me that there's a 20% chance of a false negative because I was on PPI's. She wants to make sure I'm not on any PPI's for stool test to be done 30 days after my last use of PPI. As for the reflux it started after the second round of antibiotics( the prev pac). I also now have heartburn which I never had prior to the prev pac.

My only symptom for hp was clearing of my throat. I asked for an hp test because I thought I had been exposed to it 8 months ago when I knew someone who had it 6 months prior. Some doctors think it's common.

Hi David

There are millions of people with h.p who never experience a problem with it.

There is a theory that some of us - genetically - have more acid producing cells than the norm and that it is the combination which gives rise to difficulties.

H.p is dying out in the West though still rampant in Africa and the East.

It is unlikely that you would get H.p from an acquaintance.

It is not really known how it is caught but it seems highly likely that it is passed to babies via stool contamination at birth.

More hygenic birthing procedures and thereafter better home conditions equals a lowering of the h.p. contamination rate.

Oh no.

You shouldn't have been given a test so soon after PPIs. PPis don't eliminate H.p but they do reduce the bacterial population to the point where they are not detectable.

Prev Pak is a term not known to me. I take it you are U.S. I am in England.

But as you might expect, the Gold Standard treatment in the US is very high. For instance an English Doctor would not take treatment beyond 10 days because of the risk of a longer period giving rise to other infections.

Personally, I think 14 days is a risk worth taking. Your Pak was probably the standard treatment in the US, the UK and Germany. Too expensive for the rest of the world.

Any idea what the Pak ingredients were ?

 

The prev pac was really harsh on me. I spent 14 days in bed. It was a total daily dose of 2000 mg of amoxicillin 1000mg of clarithromycin and 1500 of metrodonizale or also known as flagyl. Taken after breakfast and dinner.

But the pylera was the first course of antibiotics I took. I went back a week later because I still had the throat clearing and the breath test came back as positive that's when I was given the second harsher treatment of called prev pac. 12 days after that treatment I went for an endoscopy and there was no sign of h pylori. The new doctor then recommended I stay off the PPI's for 30 days before retesting using a stool sample.

Wow!

I'm not surprised that that lot killed h.p. Every bacterium three miles around you must have fled.

Though a little surprised that a PPI wasn't in the mix.

Clarythromycin is the expensive antibiotic not normally given in third world countries, and often replaced by Metronidazole after first regime failure.

Yes, Clarythromycin put me in the back of an ambulance too, on only the second day of treatment.

Well we'll keep our fingers crossed for your next test.

I'm sorry. Omeprazole Prilosec was used too. It was a tough time. Weird dreams. Nausea. Fatigue. The worst. The strange thing about all this is that my heartburn, burning in the stomach from the acid came after this second strong treatment. 😊 My one buddy said something similar and said that this amount of antibiotics would have killed germs I picked up in grade school. I really appreciate you talking to me Derek. It's hard to find people who know what this bug does to people. It's changed my life.

Oh and I ended up in the emergency room on the second day too. I thought I was having a heart attack it was the first time I felt heartburn. The dr in the emergency room checked my heart with an EKG said I was ok no signs of heart attack. I told her what I was taking and she prescribed a GI cocktail. Maalox and lidocaine. To relieve the esophagus.

80 mg of omeprazole.daily dose split between breakfast and dinner. 40mg and 40mg.

You have to remember that the treatment killed all your essential beneficial bacteria too and one way or another needs replacing.

I started taking a 30billion probiotic but one dr advise to let the body heal naturally. My second dr. said it was ok. Should I restart?

Yes, the Paramedics put me on the ECG machine in the ambulance.

Same result as you.

You are reading my mind !

Ever since my hp clearance I have taken daily probiotics and natural Yoghurt with breakfast. And I think I shall do so for ever.

Perfectly understand differing Drs points of view on this.

My view is that you've killed all your good bacteria so you'd better give them a helping hand to renew themselves.

But I would hesitate to start buggering bacteria around whilst you are still in a process of elimination and tests.

It's a matter of timing and that is a matter of opinion.

I don't know the answer - and I don't know if anybody else does either.

 

You seem to know a lot Derek. I've read countless pages online and it seems that the people who go thru it know what works for them. I know everyone is different. I think I will wait to start the probiotic even though I just took one but I haven't had one in two weeks.

Hi Derek,

How are you? I have a question. I took two stool samples from one stool to two hospital labs. Both came back negative. Is this conclusive? I was off of PPI's for 28 days. I was on Zantac but Drs said it was ok. I stopped the Zantac 36 hours prior to stool sample. I also went to get a second opinion on cancer risk with a top gastro at the University of Chicago hospital. He said although he didn't do my endoscopy based on my report and pathology he thought my risk was next to zero. He said once I eradicated the bacteria the risk was over. He said had we not known what caused the focal intestinal metaplasia he would have worried. We know the stressor and once that's gone risk was over. What are your thoughts on both the stool samples being conclusive and second opinion?