Helicobacter Forums

Hello,

First of all thank you very much for this really useful website.
I am a 30 years old woman living in Asia for 2 years now. I never really had stomach or digestion problems before moving to Asia. It all started one year ago, I experienced many troubles and I just thought my stomach became more sensistive because Asian food is more spicy than the food I was used to in France. I had strong diarrhea with mucus at least 2 or 3 times a month especially when I was taking meds like ibuprofene. After 6 months with these symptoms I saw a specialist and did a stool analysis to see if I had any kind of bacteria but the results were negative. The doctor told me I was probably suffering from gastritis and that it was maybe due to my change of diet.
However these symptoms did not stop, I have also been experienced a lot of muscles sores and my bones were cracking all day (I was starting to fear I had the Chron disease). I went to see that Doctor again who said that the only test we could perform was a colonoscpoy and endoscopy to see what was going on inside. As my problems were more linked to the chronic diarrhea (stomach pain is not that hard) I was really expecting them they find something with the colonoscopy but it was all clear. However the endoscopy confirmed the gastritis and and the biopsy revealed I had H.Pylori.
I have started the treatment straight after for 14 days(2 antibiotics and 1 medication to reduce acid in my stomach). I have stopped the treatment 10 days ago and I will do the breath test in december to check if the bactery is gone. So far my diarrhea problems have alsmost stopped but the muscles sores and bones cracking are still here and I have never felt so tired in my life.
Sorry for telling you all these details but when I read forums and publications related to H.Pylori, people seem to suffer from different symptoms than I do. Also, do you think it is possible that I got this bacteria in Asia or is it the Asian diet that revealed symptoms I did not have before? Do you think these muscles sores and constant bones cracking can be related in any way to H.Pylori?
Sorry for my english, I hope I was clear.

AmelieG

Hello,
I have suffered similar symptoms when I arrived in Australia. After some time I started to have strong diarrhoea with mucus and stomach pain sometime up to 3 times a week. As I am also french, I thought that this was because of the spicy food we can eat here in Australia. I did talk to specialists and they couldn't find anything wrong with me. And because I work in the Helicobacter research lab, I knew I didn't have Helicobacter. I then tried to modify my diet and realise that the symptoms stopped completely if I don't drink tea during breakfast!!! How strange was that? I have been drinking tea every mornings for years and now I can't! Anyway, it is good to cure Helicobacter if you have it. You will have to wait a little to see if you are feeling better. So far, Helicobacter has never been associated to sore muscles or bones cracking so this could come from some other reasons which you'll have to investigate.
It is very difficult to say if you got infected in France or in Asia, the only way to know would be to culture the bacteria and sequence it but not everyone can do that.
Try to seek advice from different doctors.
Good luck

Just want to add this reminder.

ibuprofene may cause stomach ulcer. So it's not recommended for long term treatment. It's good anti-inflammatory and pain killer, but you must remember to take it with food to reduce the chance of stomach ulcer.

Dear All,

Thank you very much for your replies and recommendations. I am also a "heavy" tea drinker so I will try to stop for a while and see.
For the muscle sores and bone cracking, I tend to think that it is only related to the higl level of humidity we have here in Asia, but as you say I will investigate with another doctor if I don't feel better in a while. In any case, I am very confident my treatment for H.Pylori worked which would be good as my grand father died of stomach cancer so it is probably better to get rid of it in my case.
Thank you for the recommendation for ibuprofene, I am not taking it anynore since I have been diagnosed and I will avoid using it.
Thank you again for your work and researches on H.Pylori, It is really important for diagnosed people to have a reliable source of information on the internet.

Amelie

I am very confident my treatment for H.Pylori worked which would be good as my grand father died of stomach cancer so it is probably better to get rid of it in my case???

yes. it would be best to confirm your treatment works. Please talk to your doctor one month after stopping PPI and antibiotics. Try to get a breath test to confirm the eradication of H. pylori.

And two guests with "Unknown Action" right now. How is it possible?

Yatagarasu's problem sounds weird as well, but I can't help either.