Stomach problems

My doctor said they can't test for that unless they stop my medication? But another doctor said she's never heard of it? How can they not its on the web

They just did a scan on my tummy and pelvis, and ruled out that it was my liver, pancreas and kidneys. I am going tomorrow and I will ask for them to put me down for a camera, the only think that really gets me is this sickness, I've even got anti sickness meds that they give to chemo patience. But that still doesn't help

I was suffering with loads of stomach issues since I was about 20 years old I'm now 38 and i had camera down and they found hyplori the 4 th time I had it it done I did a stool test and it was negative I think I still have it after the triple therapy I still get symptoms no meds work for me either I'm fed up hope u get sorted.

For the H.Pylori breath test pls wait 4 weeks after antibiotic treatment, and 2 weeks after stopping PPI. Otherwise get's false neg results.

If it applies to gastric biopsies as well, I am not sure, but would make sense, since staining looks for the physical evidence of that bacteria and an urease test on biopsie for their metabolism. So I would say yes, for biopsies need to stop antibiotic and acid treatment for weeks beforehand.

Did they

-due to your history, it is not needed as a routine test -

ever do a bacterial H.pylori culture (and PCR for strain identification) from your biopsie bacteria and test for antibiotic sensitivity?

an antibiotic suspectibility test/antibiogram (antibioitics tested on culture, if work, which ones work) - seems most important in your case, since you seem to fail treatment repeatedly.

Sometimes H.pylori strain can be resistant to the given treatment, that usually works. Also then important to know in the area since there might be more people with the same antibioitic resistant strain!

Also you can get reinfected.

Not saying it is the case, but if you kiss someone who is a carrier (and not treated), you get reinfected.

So you could be reinfected constantly or the H.pylori was never ever gone completely (fail of treatment) in your stomach.

Hence please ask if they could kindly perform a culture and antibiotic treatment testing on the actual strain(s) of H.pylori you have next time they take an gastric antral biopsie.

Best of luck!

I think I'll have the camera first to see if that has any indication but even if it did she said the tablets I'm on now will be the same as when I've had the camera

There is no specific test.  It is a diagnosis of exclusion which means a battery of tests need to be done to rule out other causes,  if nothing shows up, IBS can be a diagnosed. I had a urine test, ultrasound, stool test for h pylori and fecal calprotectin which looks for IBD,  and celiac.  All was negative.  Sometimes, you don't need tests  if the doctor recognises your symptoms.  It took eight doctors and three months to get an IBS diagnosis.

Hi Ginette

I have h pylori gastritis for 7 months now, I've done three different treatment regimens with antibiotics and stool test came still positive ??

If your stool test was negative that means you eradicate it. It's a very accurate test. Symptoms can take a long time to disappear especially if you had inflammation pain. What symptoms do you still have?

Hi Leni I have really bad reflux and burning most of the time I take esomeprazole but it's not helping even on the higher doses the stool test was negative before they found it in my stomach.

Ask for another stool test. If still positive you need to try a  treatment wth diff antibiotics. Don't give up. I won't until I can get rid of  this awful bacteria. 

Hi Leni75,

Did you ever get a H.pylori culture done in order to test different antibioitics on YOUR STRAIN that you got in your stomach?

Cultures are never a routine test, but when treatment fails repetatively, it is a good indication whenever you have another gastroscopy, to culture those buddies and throw antibioitics onto them (and see where they cannot grow = antibioitic works!)

It's called antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) or antibiogram since there can always be antibiotic resistance = not work.

Please ask for that one at next gastroscopy if docs do not think of it themselves.

There is also the possibility that you get re-infected. (contagious; person to person via saliva, via fecal contaminated by food, water)

Am I repeating myself? It hink that's the same thread I wrote this 'culture' 'antibioitic testing' already. So sorry.

Hi Sanya

I haven't got a hpylori culture done. I agree that probably is about time to do that even though I don't know exactly what needs to be done. I don't know if the NHS in UK does this tests to people that fail so many treatments but I wish they do. I'm still seeing a gastro doctor since my gallbladder surgery I had lots of problems with the digestive system. One thing I didn't have was stomach pain, it started 7 months ago. They found out about the hpylori in January after an endoscopy. It has been awful but at least I know it's nothing worse. I had both my husband and baby tested for h pylori even thoug GP said children couldn't get it and refuse a stool test for my 1 and half daughter. My daughter was negative, husband positive. We don't kiss or have close contact since I found about myself back in January. He did one treatment and it's now negative apparently. I don't know where this comes from but after one year of nagging chest pain, not eating properly, having had a baby I really could do with some rest, but no this bacteria has caused me painful gastritis.

thank you for your information about the AST, it's something I've learnt and could try to see if doctor can do. A 

Oh that sounds so exhausting, I am a mother myself and feeling yourself not 100% is pretty much the worst.

Explains though sometimes why our immune system is run down.

I am happy to hear, that your daughter was neg in the test

and that you did push it through for your own peace of mind escpecially since a stool test is wether invasive nor costly. (If there was only gastroscopy as a choice, there would have been no indication to test her invasively.)

Your doc is right, that children do not develope symptoms,

but he is wrong that they cannot be infected.

H.pylori is a bacterial infection and contagious. But being infected does not mean to be ill, especially for children.

But even children do not have at that age abominal pain or ulcers, they might very well get it later.

The girl I know was 10 and had bad abdominal pain and was Hpylori positive. After treatment she was free of her abdominal pain.

The treatment is maybe not indicated in babies and toddlers even when positive without symptoms (since the therapy has its own pain), but when they are older it's a different story.

Anyway,

I so do hope that with a more tailored antibiotic treatment

all of your H.pylori can be eradicated (no matter if your immune system can deal with a few left overs or not.)

An effective tailored treatment that will just get rid of them once and for all.

So that you get your energy and life back.

Unfortunately it will take some more weeks or even months due to the procedure, test duration that is required for AST.

BEST OF LUCK and hang in there!!!

Thank you Sanya I'll try. This week my nausea and abdominal pain have been more predominant, maybe because I caught another virus from my child. I just want to feel normal again but I know this is still going to take time but I hope that at least at the end I am free to enjoy better life with my family.  

Just a thought of bland symptom killer until cause is gone:

do you take ondansetrone

(8mg waivers, dissolve under tounge)?

It's a life saver for my daughter, who suffers severe nausea non-stop, it brings her nausea down, not gone, but definitely better than without.

No I don't take any meds for the nausea at the moment. I did in the past but not anymore. I feel a lot of discomfort and nausea so I drink  herbal teas like chamomile, espinheira santa ( Portuguese) is the latest I'm trying to calm my gastritis symptoms down. The gastro suggested to take amitriptyline to help with symptoms. it's a anti depressant I've never took anything like this so I'm not sure. I just want to kill this bacteria so see if there's any improvements to my pain. 

Ah, the good old Amitriptyline.

Amitriptyline is used to improve abdominal pain,

lower visceral sensitivity in order to increase pain threshhold.

(we are trying this med right now, it's not used for 'mood' improvement -we were told and makes sense- since there are much better other drugs on the market nowadays to treat depression. Amitriptyline is still labelled antidepressant since this was its original use and classification, but experience showed, that it works not so much as an antidepressant, but on the intestinal nerves/brain connection)

Amitriptyline is used for many functional gastrointestinal disorders therefore. (look in the internet, it's full of use for abdominal disorders)

Ondansetrone is just a symptom killer (serotonin receptor blocker) and cannot be taken with other 'real' 'nowadays' antidepressants that work on the serotonin level therefore. But no tea would tackle severe nausea -tried it, you name it, also slippery elm and mallow tea-, only ondansetrone is a relief for us in our experience. Hence my thought if it really get's so bad, that you cannot talk anymore like it is for my daughter.