Still feel unwell after Helicobacter Pylori Treatment

Hi , I have exactly same symptoms as you, I have just started 2 lots of extra strong antibiotics, been taking them for 3 days and i feel terrible but I know I need to finish them to try and get rid of infection.

Today I had an endoscopy they took 5 biopsies from my stomach, but they didn't see any ulcers and that's what I was hoping they would find. I am not sure if all these symptoms are coming from helicobacter pylori. My worst symptoms are nausea tight chest , palpitations after I have eaten.

Is anyone else suffering ??

I feel the same, this is the third week after i finished my HP treatment and i wake up with nausea and a gnawing feeling in my stomach.. my anxiety is through the roof and i am driving my husband crazy because he doesn't understand why i am not getting better. the stomach issues were better the first and second week after the treatment just my heart rate was high and my sleep was messed up so that triggered its own anxiety now the nausea is the worst.. will this ever end??

Hello,

Just like you I just completed a two week antibiotics regime to get rid of H. Pyroli. I also lost weight, about 25lbs, 195lb to 170lb, felt tired most of the time, had burning hot flashes across my entire body, soreness, I am now in week 5 after completing my antibiotics. The symptoms have improved. The tiredness is gone. My weight has leveled off, hot feeling sensations across the body occur rarely now. I don't feel normal yet, but much better. My urine is foamy, I have a follow up test for H. Pyroli next week. I am hoping my two week regime of antibiotics got rid of it. I am on month three, while I do feel better, I do not feel normal yet. I am normally not an anxious person, but I noticed my stomach issues have made me a little anxious, the only relief is moderate exercise. I had had gastritis and H. Pyroli, the healing process seems to take months. My brother who suffered similar episode a few years ago said it took him one year to feel normal.

Hello everyone, so glad to find this forum! I too have been diagnosed with H.Pylori and its been a terrible experience to say the least. I wanted to share my story so far and my notes as well, maybe it will help someone.

About 4 weeks ago I started having occasional nausea and an awful persistent ache in my stomach. I've felt indigestion before, that spicy food burning feel and acid reflux symptoms before too (rarely) but this time it felt completely different. Best way I can describe it is that it feels like someone is literally standing on my stomach. The pain would be much more noticeable sitting down and between meals. Along with this I feel an occasional sharper, but not quite stabbing pain, just below my right rib cage that seems to come and go. At first we thought it was gallbladder/gallstone issues so my doctor did some blood work (all normal) then also ultrasound to look at the gallbladder, liver, kidney, pancreas (all normal). She then asked I do the urea breath test, which took a couple days to get the results back, but sure enough, it showed positive for H Pylori.

Immediately I started triple therapy with two antibiotics Amoxicillin and Clarithromycin for 14 days as well as the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) Omeprazole for 3 months. This seems to be the standard treatment in the USA (south east). I did start to take probiotic supplement a few days in as antibiotics in general cause really awful diarrhea (I was no exception) and I highly recommend everyone to take them even before you go on the antibiotics, if you can. As you may know already, antibiotics effectively kill all bacteria inside of you, either good or bad. So that includes the good bacteria in your intestines that helps you digest food and keep you healthy. It can take a while after antibiotics to get back to normal. For some its a few days, for others its months.

Now its been about 3 weeks since I completed the antibiotics (I am still taking the Omeprazole) but overall still feel about the same. The constant stomach pain/pressure hasn't really gone away and the occasional nausea is still there. But I'm trying to keep my chin up and keep going...

A few things I've noticed researching and dealing with my symptoms of this awful disease:

Anxiety - I am a 35 year old male. Hardly ever felt anxious/worried in my entire life. I've been told many times by friends I am one of the most laid back people they've ever met. That said, I've been extremely anxious since I've been diagnosed. Just like everyone else I start to think my symptoms are due to something terrible (cancer, liver disease, etc). Or that the treatment didn't work and H.Pylori is back. Reading and researching about this its clear that there is something about this disease that messes with your mental state. It could be just the general nausea and pain that causes your brain to lose focus and wonder or go into that helplessness mode. Its definitely noticeable for me and from what i can tell it seems to happen to most people with this disease. I often find myself worrying about it and then have to remind myself that its the H.Pylori and that I'll get better.

Food - I don't think there is a "one-size-fits-all" diet that helps everyone with the symptoms. When i asked my doctor she basically said "eat what feels good". It does seem to me like tomatoes, onions, and generally fatty/spicy foods and even processed foods are a big no no. Quick story - early on, before I was diagnosed, I made myself some home made tomato sauce with onion over pasta.... big mistake. I had made the dish before countless times without any issues whatsoever. But this time, it made me feel so awful I thought I was going to die for 3 hours. So lesson learned, give your stomach a rest, eat some plain, simple and easily digestible foods, but especially: Eat. Small. Amounts.

One item that I feel helps me a lot is chamomile tea with honey after meals. It seems to help relax the stomach, help it digest but also helps with relieving the anxiety.

Also drinking water throughout the day. Just sipping it throughout the day seems to help. Its very difficult to do consistently but I've noticed it relieves some of the worst symptoms.

Treatment and recurrence - We all have probably heard that H.Pylori is hard to eradicate. This is true but it also seems that if you still have symptoms after completing your antibiotics, it may not be due to H.Pylori but instead its your stomach still trying to heal.

There are effectively 4 ways to get tested for H.Pylori. Urea breath test, stool sample, blood test and endoscopy with sample biopsy. The urea breath test and the stool sample are very non invasive but can both give false negatives if done too soon after your antibiotic treatment. I think the general rule (at least here in the US) is that you go back after 3 months from your treatment to check again. The blood test seems to only check if you've had H.Pylori, not if you currently have it. The endoscopy with a sample biopsy seems to be the only sure fire way to find out if you still have it but obviously its the most invasive. I think most people that continue to have issues with this diseases after the first treatment should get the endoscopy done. Yes its scary and there is a small chance of complications but generally speaking its the best thing to do. The doctor can take a look at your stomach, check for ulcers or any other issue and also do the biopsy. Not to mention maybe after you will have some peace of mind.

And with that I'll end this post. Sorry its a long one.... Feel free to message me if you'd like to discuss. Keep your chin up. We will get through this!

hello, please im looking for help and advice...

i have been suffering for 1 year.

symptoms-

right upper ab pain

indigestion / heart burn

headaches

hip pain

pelvic pain

tests had -

bloods - three rounds all clear

ultra sound - clear

pelvis ultra sound - clear

endoscopy - clear

urine samples - clear

MRI with contrast of abdomen - clear

stool sample - test postive for H pylori

had medication and tested again clear but still suffering?

im 33 year old woman

please help x

Hi,

I hope you don't mind me messaging but I was wondering how long in the end it took for you to fully recover?

I started having symptoms two months ago, nausea, breathlessness, burping, weight loss, gurgling in chest etc. But it took a month before the GP did a test for H. Pylori. It came back positive and I was put on triple therapy.

I finished the antibiotics 2 weeks ago and am still on Lansoprazole, but I still have nausea when I wake up, excessive burping, I've got my appetite back and eating normally but my weight is still fluctuating and I'm still 2kg under my usual weight.

I'm wondering whether it's normal to have no improvement. It's been two months of symptoms now and feels neverending.

I'm also 26 and healthy and thought it's uncommon to have an ulcer around this age.

Any advice would be really great!

this thread has really helped me. reading everyone's experiences here has been of tremendous help and great encouragement. h pylori is really a hellish bacteria that really damages the gut and affects the whole well-being of the body. it shows that I am not alone in this fight to beat this stupid bacteria and it's definitely beatable. I wish everyone going through this fight, victory.

I join my faith with every believer on this forum to declare total healing and wholeness to everyone that is in this fight in Jesus name. Amen

keep a positive attitude and run away from stress as much as possible, obey all treatment and diet instructions. if you are using the conventional treatment route, pls take Probiotics and other natural healing plants and herbs during treatment, so that the antibiotics side effects will not be hard on the body. I wish I knew this early, becos the antibiotics side effects was so much for me, it really weakened my body and made the recovery process hard. thank God for His healing power. I know i have won this fight and kicked h pylori to the curb. stay away from anxiety and worry, cos it makes symptoms worse and healing slow.

goodluck everyone. stay safe and healthy.

I realized it isn't an ulcer that is making me feel crappy, it's IBS, Ulcers, gastritis, all these things are linked. I had a terrible attack five days ago. Woke up in the middle of the night with gnawing pain in my upper abdomen, pain between my shoulder blades, general malaise. I got up and took an antacid and slept in my recliner. I am taking Pepcid AC in the morning and again at night. I've been eating all the easy to digest foods shown on websites on ulcers. I have been taking a baby aspirin for 10 years. I also have arthritis so I've been taking Advil or Alleve when I couldn't stand the arthritis pain anymore. So I naturally thought my attack was due to an ulcer from all the nsaids. The week leading up to my attack I had ice cream, lots of full fat milk, cookies, butter tarts, yogurt and bagels. After my attack I've been eating soda crackers, toast, squash soup, tea with honey, and I had some brown beans. Although the Pepcid AC is keeping the stomach acid down, I'm still feeling crappy. The foods I ate before the attack, and after the attack are all foods that are high FODMAP foods. I triggered an IBS flare. Tomorrow I will eat only low FOD foods and I won't take a Pepcid AC. Pretty sure I figured out the problem. Maybe you can benefit from a low FOD diet as well.

I think you may also have IBS. I have an ulcer and also IBS. Your symptoms sound similar. Try changing your diet.

Are you feeling better now?

I was diagnosed and treated for h. pylori back in October. I experienced an improvement in January and February that made me think I was recovering... but started feeling unwell again in March. Basically, I feel full no matter what I eat, even small portions, and drinking makes me feel even worse.

It's been five months already, and I really miss my life before this infection. Pandemic has been a struggle for everyone, but coping with this bacteria on top of it sometimes it's too much.

I just wonder if anyone who posted here has recovered already and how long it took.