Antibiotics and H. Pylori

[tic chick]

hey everyone!

after months of stomach probs, i received a diagnosis of h. pylori bacteria in my stomach that was causing gastritis.

today i start a 2-week course of 3 antibiotics and an acid reducer every morning and evening.

i know taking antibiotics can cause other flora that are in one's system to get out of whack. i plan to eat a lot of yogurt during these next few weeks.

some questions i have are:

should i take probiotics during the course of treatment or after i am finished with them?

i take b-12 and iron and other supplements. the acid reducer will make my stomach unable to absorb any of these vitamins. is there anyway around this, like waking up early and taking them an hour before the acid reducer?

i welcome any advice on this subject and anyone's thoughts who has dealt with h. pylori or taking massive doses of antibiotics.

thanks, jean

[rose]

The acid reducer will not prevent, but it can further interfere with what may already be inefficient absorption.

Regarding the B12, I would take it alone an hour prior to the acid reducer. And I would make it at least a 1000 mcg dose. You may already be malabsorbing severely, and if that is the case you will only be able to absorb at all from a large dose.

Many of the other nutrients are better taken with food.

Have you been tested to see whether you actually have too much stomach acid? Many people are given acid reducers when they actually are having problems because of too little acid.

rose

[tic chick]

the acid reducer comes in the pack with the antibiotics. the dr. said to take them all, so that's what i was going to do.

i didn't know you could have too little stomach acid. is there a test for that? i had an endoscopy and biopsy of the stomach and esophagus. would that have shown if i had too little stomach acid?

thank you for the feedback :).

jean

[rose]

Diminishing stomach acid is very common. If you are more than a few decades old, it would be common.

Too little stomach acid is one reason for H pylori to get out of control. And if there has been reason to believe you are low in B12 (and low iron can be related), it is even more likely that you have low stomach acid.

It may be that those would show it, but possibly not. It might be helpful if they checked for antibodies to parietal cells and intrinsic factor. Those aren't 100%, but sounds like it would be a good idea for you.

Is your esophagus being eroded?

Gastritis frequently precedes malabsorption of B12 from food. Sometimes it produces symptoms, and sometimes not.

Anyway, acid reducers or not, you can get your B12 even if you malabsorb severely. Just make sure to take at least 1000 mcg a day, alone.

rose

[tic chick]

yeah, am 52 here. time flies.

that makes sense, because i read that h. pylori is not an uncommon bacteria in your stomach. i was surprised to find that i had it.

my esophagus is not eroded, there is just an area of inflammation that tested positive for h. pylori at the entrance of my stomach, past where the esophagus goes into it.

i had changed my eating habits about 2 years ago and have lost almost 100 pounds since then. i have never been a big meat eater and eat even less now. i am committed to this new life style because i want to keep the weight off and possibly lose some more, but at a slower rate.

i had a complete blood panel last year and a certain level in my bloood profile was just slightly elevated. my doctor said not to worry, because my iron level was okay. i looked up the indications for that level being higher on the internet and saw that it could be b-12 deficiency. i have been reading about b12 deficiency here in the forums for a long time, so i started taking methylcobalamin 1000mcg. sublingual tabs about then.

i also had gallbladder tests and found that it was also functioning at a borderline-low level. so i will see if that issue needs further addressing after i get rid of this gastritis and pain and nausea that i have had for the last 6 months.

thanks again for this feedback. i will ask my primary care physician about this.

jean