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Length of time to heal Ulcers or stomach irratation

I would like to know if anyone has any experience on how long it takes for stomach ulcers ( or stomach irratation) to heal once the H. Pylori is erradicated.  I finished PrevPAc one week ago and am now taking 40 mg of Nexium and 150 mg of Zantac at night.  My main discomfort is in the morning, when the clenching and slight burning starts.  My symptoms seem to be going down, but it seems ever so slow!!

Any experience???
Wheatonmom
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Avatar universal
JH
I really don't think current antibiotic treatment for H pylori is approproate method to erradicate the bacteria.  Duration is too long and dosage is too potent that there are too much risks of screwing up your digestive balance in your stomach and intestine.  The flora that you have built up over your life span can be demolished by this potent treatment and consequence can be quite devasting.  I am suffering from this horrible digestive problem after going through two rounds of treatment.
The worst part was after two treatment, there were still bacteria present.  Damaged stomach and intestine flora can take years to recover and some damage can be irreparable.  

What worked for me in erradicating H pylori bacteria is Mastic Gum.  I took it for one month twice a day and after second endoscopy, it was confirmed that I am h pylori negative.  

Although it is recommended that you erraidcate this bug if you have ulcer or gastritis, for asympotomatic patients with this bug, it may be prudent not too eliminate this bug.  There are some studies saying after erradicating this bug, people experience increased frequency of heartburn and hence increased risk of developing esophagus cancer.  The bug is known to produce substance (base) that conteract acidity in your stomach so that for some people it can actually protect from too much acid.
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Avatar universal
Hello everyone,

I am new to the board and I'm pleased to have found a discussion of H Pylori eradication and ulcers.

We are collecting patient expereinces about what life is like to live with ulcers or stomach problems and their treatment.

I'm with the BMJ Publishing Group (a London-based publisher of medical research and health information, including the British Medical Journal which is free at www.bmj.com).

We're in the early phases of building a new web site in the U.S. through a partnership with United Health Group, and I'm hoping that you might know people who would be willing to contribute their stories about how H Pylori has affected them.

It's totally anonymous.  We don't use real names or email addresses, but we will ask for a nickname we can attach to the story, along with the person's age and occupation.

Please email me if you or someone you know might help,

Many thanks,

Tamara
Information Specialist
BMJ Unified
BMJ Group
***@****



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A related discussion, stomach ulcers was started.
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A related discussion, H Pylori was started.
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A related discussion, Surgery as last resort was started.
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Some have written that after taking the H. pylori medication they still have lots of stomach/gut irritation, burning, ect.

Eating non-irratating foods can help the healing process.  I know folks that after treatment return to the same refined fried foods diet they had that inflamed the problem in the first place.  That diet included lots of donuts, cookies, pies, cakes, chips and dips, pizzas, candies, soda pops, beer by the case, mayonase, coffee by the gallon, etc., then complain that the treatment caused them more problems than what they had before the treatment!

An upset gut needs soothing foods and liquids for quite a while after the treatment (like a whole lifetime).  Fresh carrot juice is very soothing to the gut as is plain water, sweet fruit juices such as Welches Grape juice, etc.  (Orange Juice is very acid and might be introduced later after the irritation has healed). Fresh sweet fruits like melons, grapes, mangos, bananas, etc., are essential parts of a good human diet.

Spicy foods and condiments simply are not tolerated well by an inflamed gut.  Quickly and lightly steamed fresh vegtables with a little "Kosher Crystal Salt" (available at most supermarkets) are usually the heart of creating delicious meals easy to digest and which are easily tolerated by the irritated gut.  Fats (lipids) are also an essential part of a good diet.  They should include mostly olive, canola, macadamia nut oil, etc. (Monounsaturated oils).  A healthy diet it is believed should include a total of at least 5 tablespoons of such oils daily.

Frequetly, gut problems are also helped immeasurably by 3 or 4 colonic irrigation treatments given by a person professionally trained to administer such.  Modern appliances make this treatment easy to administer perserving your modesty.  Look in the Yellow Pages of your phone book for such therapists.

Life is too short and precious to suffer due to a wrong diet and inpacted colon!
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Avatar universal
can anyone help i have gas all the time and can not get rid of it it runs around in my stomach but will not exit i have tryed all kinds of otc meds with no relief i have so much pressure that i get light headed and a hard time breatheing. thanks mlmount
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Avatar universal
Iam 31yrs old and about a year ago went to dr.  with bad nausea and weight loss,tested positive for h. pylori went on helidac therapy.months later tested again positive and went on the same treatment.four weeks later went to check if i was bacteria free and finally came negative but i still feel sick after i eat,mostly nauseated and weak.i am still taking the h2 blocker but so far no change.
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Avatar universal
OH, How I feel for you :( I couldn't believe when I read your post. This is EXACTLY what happened to me. Just a tad-bit of gastritis and than once H-Pylori was eradicated...BOOM,
Here came the chronic gastritis and inflammation from hell! It's worse without the H-Pylori. At times I wish I never took the meds to rid myself of this bug. There are SOOOOOOOOOOO many people out there INFECTED with this that don't even KNOW IT and 50yrs latter, they're STILL fine. No problems what so ever! Must be something...It's been 8months since readicating H-Pylori and I'm still in pain.
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Avatar universal
................H Pylory is very difficult to erradicate, I was on a prevpack trio for about 14 days, it did me more damage than what I can ever explain here. I strongly believe that the real help in that package is the ppi, why?...........simply because it allows your ulcer to heal. As per the antibiotic (I was on a 1000 mgs) they completely destroyed my intestines, causing me enormous pain and acid beyond belief. I was subsequently on Priolesec which helped but has not completely cured my acidity, further, I have read over 1000 docs, from physicians opinions and they strongly suggest that you get off them (acid blockers) asap, although this in itself is difficult to do, they insist is just a temporary solution to a lifetime condition. So what is one to do?................I have done the following: educate my self as to what the "real" damage is, how it can be either controlled or cured utilizing the least invasive methods, and what to expect in the event that it takes to live with it my entire life.  A- Doctors now aday are (just as attorneys) inclined to cut you open as a the quickest way to fix your problem, i.e. gallbladder, fundoplication yada yada yada.....remember this playing with your tids an bits is never reversible, thats why do not fall for a "quick" fix. B- if life treatment can be controlled by dieting, excersising then lets do it,try to keep away from the mentallity that a pill will take u back to ur old u.

You may be wondering " why is this freak explaining these horrible stories, when all Ive got is a pylory infection?."
......................... Cause you will be back.

Take care,

ta ta
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Avatar universal
It is a little rough to be on two antibiotics and Prevacid but if you have ulcer disease and have H-pylori this does need to be treated.  The other option is a regimin called Helidac (which is two antibiotics and a whole lot of pepto) and is really no better tolerated.

Just hang in there.

Now the 14 days of antibiotics may get rid of the h-pylori, it may take longer for the ulcer to heal (6-8 weeks) and even then long term acid suppression may be needed to keep the sympmtoms at bay.

GI-PA
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Avatar universal
What experience do you have with prescribing the H. Pylori medication Prevpac?  Are the horror stories I am reading the norm?
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Avatar universal
yes, i had the h plori and was placed on prevpacx14 days.my entire esophaeougs felt like it was burned and i had a metal taste the whole time and for months afterwards.i was placed on prilosec20mg.2xaday for 6 weeks.a friend told me about aloe vera geland i started this 1oz.3xaday for 6 weeks.it really help i told my dr. what i had been doing and he said he usually told his pts. to do the aloe but had failed to tell me.that's been about 4 years ago and i'm still battling ulcers.larkin

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weeks to months...everyone is different.

GI.PA
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Larkin,
Thanks for the information. Did you also have H.Pylori?  You said Prilosec worked the best for you, did you ever try Nexium.

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Avatar universal
sorry i should have addressed my previous message to you.  Were you diagnsoed with H. Pylori?  If so, what treatment did you take?  Have you used Nexium in place of Prilosec?

Thanks,
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Avatar universal
it's my experience with the right medication it's usually 4 to6 weeks.I have battled ulcers for 12 years had stomach surgery x3 because they wouldn't heal and when they did scar tissue formed and prevented the stomach from empting.Prilosec is good it worked for me better than anything.Ihope you get better real soon.but if you continue to feel this of a morning i would consult my dr. good luck larkin
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