Still feel unwell after Helicobacter Pylori Treatment

I started feeling my strange nausea in December, before the holidays. In January had some checkups done then they sent me for a second blood test where I came up positive for H. Pylori. I did the 2 week triple therapy, which was horrible. less than two weeks later I was sent for a stool sample which came positive a different bacteria (Blastocystis hominis) and now I'm on therapy for that.

I have since finished my H. Pylori treatment 4 weeks ago though have not been told I'm now negative for it or that I have to do a followup. Nausea attacks are now more spaced out, once every 10-14 days or so but was having heart or lung pain so I went to the ER and was told all clear for both but I have a stress test next month.

I have yet to have my appointment with the gastroenterologist which is also next month so I'm still concerned about an ulcer as well as H. Pylori although all symptoms are the same as everyone here.

The anxiety and worry is the worst I find.

hi! I'm going through the same thing you are. unfortunately I am at a lost on what to do as well. I started taking manuka honey yesterday and have seen a slight improvement in my symptoms. I was also on a triple treatment for a positive h. pylori test. I've been having cramps that won't go away. I am on a strict diet now of toast (with manuka honey), smoothie, then vegetable soup for lunch and dinner. It has been miserable to say the least. I want to go back to my normal life! wish I had more recommendations for you. I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in this.

hey louise..

so sorry you feel like that but im sooooo glad you post it. Im not alone! i did the quad treatment.. for two weeks and i was out of work the whole entire time by day two i broke down and cried from how sick the medicine was making me and having to take more which will make me feel even worst than i already am. what you described after is exactllly how i feel too. i just got done with mine.. but i feel you on every single symptoms.. the waves of extreme tiredness, headache, feeling sickly, sick upper adominal feeling, and the tongue thing is a little scary looking..i get upper abdominal swelling too like a ballon is expanding in my tummy and i thought i was suppose to feel alot better after all the medicines...

i could literally cry coming across this forum..

Hi Louise/Everyone, I wanted to check in to see how you are recovering?

My H Pylori was brought on by a bout of gastro I caught. It took two months to realise it was H Pylori and treat it with antibiotics. I have been off the antibotics for 11 days now. The first week off them was pretty good, most of my symptoms improved. However, yesterday and today things have gotten worse. I am not sure if it is because both of these days (or the day before) I ate pulled pork which had been marinated in heaps of oranges. But both days I woke up again feeling a little nauseas, then during the day have been suffering from burping, a little bit of heart burn and a feeling of pressure in my upper abdomen as well as bloating. Apart from the burping and morning nausea, these symptoms are new. I just don’t understand how I could be getting these symptoms now once the bacteria has been killed? Have you had any experiences like this?

I am not sure if it is just that the stomach is going to take a long time to heal and it will flare up (especially with certain foods) or what?

Does anyone else have experience of the symptoms persisting after eradication? Not only persisting but new symptoms? Previously, it was the nausea that was really bad for me, I would wake in the morning with awful nausea, this has actually gotten better, but the swelling, bloating, pressure feeling is new and I just don’t know why. Can anyone shine a light on this? Could I be reacting very badly to the oranges? There was also tomato in the salsa with the pulled pork, so thinking maybe it is all this acidity?

Will I ever feel better?? I am so so so tired of constantly feeling awful from this and I don’t know how much longer I can take it.

Is the thinking that the h pylori and the antibiotics damage your guts so badly that it takes a long time for them to heal? And in the meantime we will continue to have the symptoms?

Hope somebody can help.

Hello I was diagnosed with h Pylori and 3 weeks ago I completed my eradication treatment I never had stomach issues in the past, do any of you guys experience a constant feeling as if you just drank a lot of water and it's sitting in your stomach and whenever moving your body around to be able to actually hear liquid moving in your stomach even if you didn't eat or drink recently, im at the 3 week mark and im starting to feel like maybe Pylori isn't what was causing me problems because I still have indigestion, pain, bloating I'm just hoping im not the only one experiencing that symptom from pylori.

Hi everyone - i tested positive for helicobacter about 2 months ago, was treated with triple therapy but symptoms returned and when dr retested me 4 weeks later i was still positive. was then put on different antibiotic and now 3 weeks later my reflux symptoms are just as bad. Dr is going to retest me when i'm 4 weeks after antibiotics. Has anyone here had the same problem with eradication and wondering what third line treatment is going to look like.... totally fed up now!!

They could be side effects from the treatment, severe infections need severe treatment. But its more likely you will experience side effects, when the treatment is more intense.

I started throwing up every 3 or so days and feeling generally really unwell (like food poisoning) in Sept 2021. That continued pretty much until i was finally tested for h pylori in December. As im 21 and otherwise fit and healthy the doctors took their time in finally diagnosing what i had after a series of blood tests etc. I genuinely thought i had an extremely serious illness, convincing myself i had cancer or something and my mental health became as big of an issue as the bug. My h pylori symptoms were nausea, vomiting, light headedness, headaches and anxiety. I could not attend lectures or go in the car without feeling the need to vomit. After being diagnosed i completed the 7 day triple therapy course and felt much better in myself before a week or so later i vomited again and all the symptoms came back. 6 weeks after that i retested and came back positive. I have recently completed my second round of treatment and am still seeing symptoms 2 weeks after. I fear that eradication has failed. I take anti-depressants which have really helped with the anxiety h pylori causes (i have never been anxious ever prior to this bug). I do feel better in myself, i am eating pretty normally - but suffer the consequences for doing so! I hope that i just need more time and actually the bug bas been eradicated and that it is just that my stomach has not quite healed. Its the not knowing that has been the worst throughout all of this. I am confident that if i eat strictly i feel pretty normal but i am wondering whether i will ever get rid of the bug / eat normally again. Im staying positive, getting on with my life but still quietly apprehensive inside for what the next 6 months will look like compared to the last 6 I've had. Just want to know if anyone has gone through 2 rounds of treatment, still felt not right afterward but still ended up better in the end. Happy to receive and share advice on dealing with this horrible (relatively unspoken about) bug! Harry 😃

Hello Louise,

I completely understand you!! I'm about to finish my third treatment. This time my GI did an endoscopy and took a fresh sample to be sent it to Mayo Clinic Laboratory to see the sensitivity of the H.Pylory . Mayo sent back the results and I'm about to finish a two week treatment of 4 medicines: 2 capsules of Tetracycline 250 mg four times a day, Amoxicilin 500mg 2 times a day, Metronidazol 500 mg 4 times a day and Omeprazole twice a day.

I have a good feeling that this time is going to work as it was tested directly on the bacteria. However, the adverse effects have been terrible. My tongue is swollen and hurts, I have blisters in my mouth, I developed yeast infection and I've been feeling sick, dizzy and nauseated. I used to exercise every day and being active all day. Now I feel drained, with zero energy.

The good news is that I'm in my eleventh day of treatment and will finish this Sunday.

I think I'm going to go out and celebrate just that I survived!!

I'll have the H.Pylory breath test on August 23rd. Crossing my fingers hoping this time to be NEGATIVE.

I'll keep you all posted about results!

P.D Some tips to feel better: right after taking Metronidazole, chew or eat something sweet to get rid of that metallic taste, drink a lot of water and try to do some exercise.

Letty