Really scared about H.pylori treatment
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi everyone.
I visit this forum every day and am alway reassured by the different posts and advice I read so thank you all so much for that. This is my first time actually posting but I feel so scared and suicidal at the moment so I thought it's finally time to.
I'm 23 and suffer from emetephobia, anxiety and depression. I have for a long time but have always been able to function on the outside and go work, shopping etc. The past few months however have been horrible. I've had stomach pain, GERD, nausea, bloating, difficulty swallwing, sinus problems and lost my appetite. I used to eat healthy, exercise, drink loads of water, was doing everything right but now I just feel like I'm dying. It's been especially tough because food is a source of great pleasure for me. I don't have any friends or a partner or go on extravagant holidays but I like my food. To feel uncomfortablly full after 1 slice of toast and not have any chocolate for fear of reflux has made me cry many times. I've gone to A&E twice in the past month, did a stool test and today was told I tested positive for H.pylori. I've been given 2 antibiotics and a ppi to take for 1 week.
Well that's good and bad news.
Good to have a diagnosis and a hopefully simple cure. I'm trying to be positive that this will be eradicated and I'll feel happy and be able to breathe again.
Bad because I have difficulty swallowing tablets. At the moment I can just about swallow my own mine saliva, a result of the silent reflux and probably anxiety, so to have to take 6 pills a day for a week is frightening. I'm also extremely worried about the side effects, one of the reasons I didn't take antidepressants when I was prescribed them last year.
Therefore, I was wondering if anyone had any positive success stories of this triple therapy treatment or overcoming difficulty with swallowing tablets?
?Any words of encouragement would be lovely really. I'm constantly imagining jumping out of my bedroom window or running in front of a moving bus. Anything to stop this pain.
Thank you for reading 
0 likes, 15 replies
Patient rebekah77521
Posted
Hi rebekah77521
We note from a recent post which you have made to our forum that you may be experiencing thoughts around self-harm. If we have misinterpreted your comments then we apologies for contacting you directly. But if you are having such thoughts then please note that you are not alone in this, and there are people out there that can help.
If you are having these suicidal thoughts then we strongly recommend you speak to someone who may be able to help. The Samaritans offer a safe space where you can talk openly about what you are going through. They can help you explore your options, understand your problems better, or just be there to listen.
Their contact details are on our patient information leaflet here: https://patient.info/health/dealing-with-suicidal-thoughts, which also offers lots of other advice on how you can access the help you may need.
If you are having such thoughts then please do reach out to the team at the Samaritans (or the other people detailed in our leaflet) who will understand what you're going through and will be able to help.
Kindest regards
Patient
elaine73067 rebekah77521
Posted
You are certainly having a time of it. Not all anti depressants have side effects. I took citalopram for 10 years and when they stopped working came off them no problem. My new ones Venlafaxine however do but they outweigh my horrendous feelings of anxiety and that is why I’m sticking with them. You don’t mention but have you explained all of this to a doctor? Regarding swelling the tablets, have you tried crushing them up with a drink of milk? Just a thought. I’m sure once you finish your course of antibiotics and you are free from H pylori your appetite will return x
rebekah77521 elaine73067
Posted
Hi Elaine,
Thanks for the quick reply.
I mentioned the difficulty swallowing to my doctor but they just said to try with a straw. Sadly the antibiotics I'm taking have to be swallowed whole. I've taken them twice today, both times they disintegrated in my mouth as I kept sipping water to try and swallow them. Eventually they went down but they left a horrible taste in my mouth and now I'm worried that because they weren't swallowed whole they won't be as effective
If I can get the hang of swallowing tablets and the anxiety doesn't go once this H.pylori goes then I might try antidepressants. I'm really hoping this infection goes and that my appetite returns so I can start to have some sort of life again.
Hope your side effects from Venlafaxine lessens x
sparklypickle rebekah77521
Posted
sparklypickle rebekah77521
Edited
Hiya, I had H. Pylori and took amoxicillin, omeprazole and metronidazole. I don't particularly like metronidazole because it makes everything taste like metal but aside from that I didn't really get many side effects and I felt soooo much better once the infection cleared. Now I just take gaviscon at night to control GERD.
For the tablets, try swallowing them with some yoghurt or icecream. I take about 8 tablets a day and sometimes I just forget how to swallow them and have to grab some yoghurt
rebekah77521 sparklypickle
Posted
Hi, thanks so much for responding.
I'm also on omeprazole and metronidazole and it does leave a horrible metallic taste which scared me at first but I'm starting to get used to it. I'm so glad to hear you felt better once the infection cleared. I'm really hoping that will be the case for me because I've been feeling so bad for a while and am having stomach pain and burning as I'm typing this. I'm on day 3 so I know there is still a while to go before I might see any improvement so I'll be patient.
I haven't really had any side effects either and I fortunately managed to switch to a liquid suspension of the antibiotics so mentally I feel much better and more hopeful. Each time I had eventually swallowed the tablets, I would cry for ages after because it was so hard and I felt such a a failure. Hopefully when I'm in a better place mentally I'll tackle tablets again but at the moment I'm just too tense and anxious. Thanks for your advice though, I'll have to try that in the future.
Again, thanks so much for respsonding. It helps me not to feel so alone and now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel
sparklypickle rebekah77521
Posted
It did take a while (maybe a couple of months) after my stool test was negative before my stomach felt normal again. I think I demanded another test because I didn't believe it was gone! That bacteria has probably been upsetting your acid production for quite a while and it takes your stomach time to adjust. I hope your appetite and enjoyment of food return very soon
rebekah77521 sparklypickle
Posted
I'm glad to hear you eventually felt better. I'm halfway through my 7 day treatment and still feeling bad but hopeful this bug will go and I'll feel that bit more normal at some point. It had got bad over a few months so I know I shouldn't expect it to get better overnight. Today is the first day in a while though that I haven't cried so I'm ridiculously pleased about that
I had a headache instead today so you win some and you lose them lol
sparklypickle rebekah77521
Posted
rebekah77521 sparklypickle
Posted
How are you feeling at the mo?
sparklypickle rebekah77521
Posted
I'm just finishing a secind course of antibiotics for a sinus infection, both infection and abs have proven troublesome to cope with symptom-wise (vertigo from sinus and nausea from both) but I know I'll be better soon and I'm not letting anxiety win. So I'm also looking forward to my digestive system getting back to normal again too! Thanks for asking
rebekah77521 sparklypickle
Posted
Poor you
. It's hard enough suffering from anxiety without having infections and being on antibiotics too. Both vertigo and nausea are horrible so I hope they pass soon.
Glad to hear you're not letting the anxiety win though. I need to find the strength to do the same because I've been feeling really down for a while but I felt slightly today. I'm going to tell myself that I'll be better soon and this too shall pass. I'm taking a powdered probiotic to help with my digestion so I hope both our digestive systems are running properly soon. I can't wait to have chocolate and enjoy it!
jane07123 sparklypickle
Posted
hi sparkly! i know this is an old post so im hesistant to ask but desparate. after being in and out of er's and urgente cares and endless doctors i have h pylori and was just put on triple antibiotic therapy , i am on my second day and feel reallt no difference , even having stomach cramps. How long into your antibiotic therapy did it take to start feeling better? Thanks
jane07123 rebekah77521
Edited
hey rebekah! i know this is an old post but i fugured id try and reach out. im on day two of my triple antibiotic therapy for h pylori. How long did it take for you to feel better? Was your infection cleared after the first round of antibiotics?
natalie09745 jane07123
Posted
hi jane ive just finished my antibiotics and ppi three days ago and i feel slightly better although i have a lot of trapped wind when i eat and then lots of burping and still have burning in my stomach and cant eat much but not as bad as before it can take upto six months for your stomach to feel better i was told ive to get retested in a few weeks to make sure its gone so will find out then i take pro bitoics and have ordered mastic gum as i heard that can help hope you feel better soon x