I need help i am desperate

[cyprian zimunya]

Hi helico expect i have some few questions to ask about h pylori .at first i was tested for h pylori blood test and it was positive and i was given clarith ,tinadazole,and omeprazole for Two weeks and after that i started to feel well i also took omeprazole for about 1 week after i finished my antiniotics course ..after about two weeks the symptoms reoccur and an endoscopy was done in march and it should chronic gastritis but no evidence of h pylori then my doctor thought that maybe i still have the infection based on histology so i was given another antibiotics(tetra+metro+bismuth sucarbonate+ eso) but nothing is working and i think im stuck.. i feel mild pain all day but at night i sleep well .the endoscopy did not show massive ulcers but only my stomach was swelling .. my qustions are as follows


1 did i made a mistake by stopping ppi after 1 week . I heard some people saying if you just stop ppi all of a sudden it will make your stomach to produce more acids than before?

2 how long should i wait for stool taste to be done after taking antibiotics ?

3 if i done the stool test and come up negative does that means i should take ppis for longer time or for months ?

4 if its true that my stomach is producing much acid how much dose should i take per day of ppis?

5 lastly should consider switching ppis for example omeprazole to esomeprazole because i think omeprazole doesn't work for me?

6 lastly how long should i take ppis if my chronic gastritis is caused by too much acid my stomach is producing ?

I hope you will help me and answer my questions .im a student and this has affected me a lot

[Helico_expert]

Most importantly is to clarify if you are still carrying H. pylori. You can stop PPI and switch to Ranitidine for two weeks and the repeat the stool or breath test.

Ranitidine is a fast acting but short live acid blocker. omeprazole is a slow acting but long live acid blocker. Because ranitidine doesnt stay in your body long, it will not affect the breath/stool test result.

Your Gastroenterologist should have done a Rapid Urease test and send a biopsy for histology at that time. Either of these tests will tell you if you are still infected with H. pylori.

You will only recover if you are truly free of H. pylori.

Some people can develop gastric symptoms after eradication of H. pylori. Because of stomach has been infected for so long, and when the bacteria is finally gone, it's trying to adjust itself to a bacteria free state.

after you done the breath/stool test and proven that you are free of H. pylori, then you can manage your gastric symptom by PPI, perhaps rabeprazole.

[cyprian zimunya]

Im finishing another course of antibiotics tomorrow, So i should wait for two weeks for the stool test to be done while im taking ranitidine ?
If the results come up positive whats next because i have tried most of the antibiotics available in my country

[Helico_expert]

Yes. you can continue Ranitidine for another 2 weeks or more, until the night before breath/stool test.

What you are having is already very strong antibiotics. Let's be optimistic that you'll be cured. We can discuss other options when you get a positive test result.


All the best.

[cyprian zimunya]

Hi helico . I received my results today for h pylori (stool test) and it came up negative .i have done what you have said after i finished my antibiotics. I waited 3 weeks while on ranitidine until the night before i had my stool antigen test on Friday as you said that you should wait atleast 2 weeks . What worries me is that there are no changes yet since i finished my antiniotics .
I want to ask a few questions lets hope you will be able to help me

1 i had an endoscopy in January and the biopsies showed gastric body and antral mucosa with lamina propria oedema congestion and moderate chronic inflammation that includes occasional lymphoid aggregates .
No organisms were identified .
The glandular epithelium shows regenerative changes.
There was no evidence of dysplasia or malignancy.
-After this because i was on ppi a week before the endoscopy so the gastroenterologist asumed that i might have still carrying hpylori so i was given another therapy which i finished and waited for 3 weeks to have a stool test and it can up negetive

-My main question is should rely on ppis since my stool test is negative ?

- can i take omeprazole for about 8 weeks 20mg twice a day then stop taking them gradually ?

- how long does it take for omeprazole to work properly ?

-can i take probiotics now eg yogurt ?, can i also take zinc hours after ppi to improve my immune system?

- since i heard that h pylori cause much damage will i be able to recover im 20 years now and this has affected me a lot

- can i aslo be able to take shark liver oil ?

- the endoscopy in January did not show much damage just that my stomach wa swollen.

-should i give my stomach more time to heal while on ppis .is it possible for my stomach to take up to 3 or more months to heal ?

- will it heal eventually ?

I hope you will answe as many questions as you can

[Helico_expert]

- My main question is should rely on ppis since my stool test is negative ?
- can i take omeprazole for about 8 weeks 20mg twice a day then stop taking them gradually ?

If you still have symptoms, and you feel better when you are on PPI, then you can continue on. You can try out 8 weeks and gradually stop it.

By the way, there are other brands of PPI, you might want to experiment on other brand, eg. Rabeprazole. I suggest this because some people are not very sensitive to omeprazole.

- how long does it take for omeprazole to work properly ?

Usually within a day or two, your acid level should drop.

-can i take probiotics now eg yogurt ?, can i also take zinc hours after ppi to improve my immune system?
- can i aslo be able to take shark liver oil ?

you can take whatever you want now.

- since i heard that h pylori cause much damage will i be able to recover im 20 years now and this has affected me a lot
-should i give my stomach more time to heal while on ppis .is it possible for my stomach to take up to 3 or more months to heal ?
- the endoscopy in January did not show much damage just that my stomach wa swollen. will it heal eventually ?

You are still very young. I assume you do not have family history of gastric cancer. Very likely you will be back to normal. However, anxiety can always make things worse. Try distract yourself from thinking about it. The more you think about it, the more you will feel something is wrong. Without H. pylori, your condition will only get better.

[cyprian zimunya]

Thank you for your response i hope as you say lets hope that my stomach will heal.
There is no history of gastric cancer in my family
I cannot get access to rabeprazole but perhaps lansoprazole, omeprazole, esomeprazole, pantoprazole. Which is the best among those

[Helico_expert]

so you think omeprazole is not working?
you can talk to your doctor about the idea of switching PPI.

[cyprian zimunya]

Its working the heartburn is gone but stomach pain almost through out the day .but i think i should take omeprazole and give it time and also gives time for my stomach to heal.
What do you say about this?

[Helico_expert]

Most important is you are free of H. pylori now. Continue the PPI since it's working. Talk to your doctor about the pain if it doesnt improve in another week or two.