Issues after H.pylori treatment

Posted by mary0thomas @mary0thomas, Jul 16, 2020

Hello, I'm a 19-year-old female that was treated for an infection of H.pylori in my stomach at the age of 17. I was having digestive issues and could only eat small portions of food despite being very hungry. I was sick with the flu and mouth ulcers before the diagnosis and had lost 30 pounds in a week from being unable to eat and digest food and water for a week. The gastroenterologist I visited believed that my issues were due to stress, as I was a very young girl who was about to graduate from high school. I was administered a blood test that came back with a jaundice diagnosis and I was advised that a colonoscopy was unnecessary and that I likely needed therapy. Regardless I had pressed the issue that something had been wrong for a while, and had the colonoscopy done in January of 2018. I was given four different medications to take and was only advised not to drink milk. The follow up from my previous doctor only reminded me that I had jaundice and proceeded to make me undergo a third blood test that they never told me the results of.
After all the medication, I had completely lost my tolerance to dairy, among other foods that I had previously been comfortable with. Foods such as tuna, fatty foods (such as pork), caffeine, and whole fruits were just some of the things that I could not eat without having severe digestive issues with later. Before my colonoscopy, the doctor had given me a prognosis of IBS-D and gave me these pills that had helped nothing at all. I've never had such physical reactions to these foods until after taking all of the medications to eliminate the bacterial infection in my stomach. It severely affects how I live my life and go out with friends, as I always have to be cautious of what food I am intaking. Is this common after heavy antibacterial medication? Or is this something that is caused by something else? I've made a lot of dietary changes but it is still difficult to learn what I can and cannot eat through constant trial and error.

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Profile picture for LAteacher @lateacher

Mary, I did not have your particular issue, but you can read about mine if you click on my link in the moderator's reply to you. I had taken at least 3 different antibiotics in rotation and it was not helping my IBS issues at all. I finally got an appointment with an excellent GI doctor's P.A. and long story short, she put me on 30 days of Xifaxan for small intestinal bacteria overgrowth, and that worked. I do follow a pretty strict diet. I think you need the best GI doctor you can find in your area. You are so young. You want to get this condition cleared up if at all possible. Amanda, the moderator, has given you some excellent links from the Mayo Clinic. I wish you the very best.

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I did the antibiotics for 14 days, and hope I never have to do that many again. They seemed to just tear up my body. I've been off of them for about a week now and cannot seem to get any strength. I feel so weak. Is that normal? I've been eating fairly normal, so far no problems. I had horrible diarrhea on the antibiotics & now that's over.

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Profile picture for mary0thomas @mary0thomas

Hello, I'd just like to report that it has taken three years and one capsule endoscopy later, but I've been diagnosed with Chrons Disease. I took myself more seriously when I noticed oil in my stools and noticed that it's from malabsorption which is not a symptom of IBS. I still haven't been able to gain any weight since falling ill three years ago, which is keeping me at 130-135lbs for a female who is 6'1 and turning 20.

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Hi friend, I have the same problem as you after taking the H-pyloric treatment. I've been in bad shape for 5 months. Could you give me some advice please? My calprotectin is at 1900. The doctors haven't diagnosed me with anything yet.

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Profile picture for rozy288 @rozy288

How are you doing now ?
I’m on a 10 year journey of this plus many diagnoses.
Non stop deep wet belching 1000’s x a day and night . Can’t digest anything, very small selection of foods I can tolerate. I haven’t had one day symptom free no matter what I’ve tried ( everything) in 10 years.
I cry every day esp 12 pm - 3 pm because I’m soooo hungry but know how sick 🤢 I’ll be eating the smallest amount of healthy food .
Had over 20 tests done , seen 6 Gastro Drs , FM Drs tried everything under the sun . Holistic and RX . You can hear my gut churning in next room . Wakes me up ⬆️, the gas is tremendous. Now so nauseous too .
I’m at wits end .
I just started lowest dose anti depressant medication, I have anti anxiety med I take sometimes. This kicks up my PVC’s too .
Done the Keto Diet and allergy food tested .
It’s like I don’t have a stomach lining anymore?
My intestines are terrible too .
Hope you are better , you are so young .

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Hi friend, I'm having the same problems. Have you improved?
Could you help me a little?

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Firstly you should ask the GP to refer you to a specialist gastroenterologist. Then ask them to do an Endoscopy and take a biopsy to confirm that helicobacter has definitely gone. Stool test are very unreliable. Breath test may slightly better but Endoscopy is the best way to find out if the bacteria has gone.

I am managing my condition with 40mg pantoprazole daily and following strict diet of no spicy, fried or heavy meals. Small and frequent easy to digest meals will help with flare ups

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