14 replies to this topic

[mlarson]

Does anyone have any experience with having celiac and h. pylori?

I tested positive for celiac back in May 2009. Just this past week I tested positive for h. pylori bacteria after a few months of on and off stomach burning, bloating, etc.

They want me to take the Prevpac and I wondering if anyone has taken it? I'm hesitant to take it because of all the side effects people have reported. Is there an alternative option???

Thanks!

[AnneM]

I had H-pylori 4 yrs ago, i am allergic to penicillin, so my dr gave me a combination of different antibiotics to get rid of it. It was a grueling time taking all those pills for 2 weeks, but it was well worth it. I personally only had a yeast infection from the treatment. I was told once you have H-pylori and treat it you can never get it again, so that's a good thing. I found out i had Celiac disease about 3 weeks after I had H-pylori.

[shendler]

I took the prevpac. I did have some unpleasant side effects, but it wasn't too bad since I took it for two weeks. Good luck!

[mlarson]

Thanks for your advice! I started a "modified" Prevpac today, same stuff and dosage just not in the pre-packaged box. I hope it works and that I dont have to many unpleasant side affects. I'm sick of feeling sick so here goes nothing!

[ravenwoodglass]

Thanks for your advice! I started a "modified" Prevpac today, same stuff and dosage just not in the pre-packaged box. I hope it works and that I dont have to many unpleasant side affects. I'm sick of feeling sick so here goes nothing!

You may have done this already but just in case- make sure you have your pharmacist check to be sure it is gluten free.

[mlarson]

Does anyone have an experience with the side effects of the Prevpac medication?? I have been on it for 8 days and have felt fine until now. I feel SOOOOOOO awful i'm on the verge of going to the ER. Stomach pain, cramps, bloating, gas, nausea, not really any D though. It comes in waves practically bringing me to tears from the discomfort (and frustration!). Is it common to have such a delayed reaction to this type of antibiotic treatment? I am not sure where to go from here!!!! HELP!!!!

[Tinkerballerinaa]

I tested positive for h pylori and celiac at the same time on a blood panel. I took helidac because I'm allergic to azithromycin and couldn't take the prevpac. My GI did the endoscopy for celiac only 1 week after finishing the helidac medicine. It came up negative. The GI DR told me that the helidac would have an effect on teh results if I did the endoscopy during the time I was taking the medicine. Could the fact that I did the endoscopy only one week after finishing the medicine affect the results? That was in July 2010 and now Jan 2011 I am still in pain. I started a gluten free diet about 10 days ago at my own discretion and already my abdominal pain that I get after I eat has gone away. Should I go back to the GI doctor? Should I keep the diet going for longer before I approach the GI Dr or should I see him before I do my self test and reintroduce gluten in a few weeks?

[beefree11]

Does anyone have an experience with the side effects of the Prevpac medication?? I have been on it for 8 days and have felt fine until now. I feel SOOOOOOO awful i'm on the verge of going to the ER. Stomach pain, cramps, bloating, gas, nausea, not really any D though. It comes in waves practically bringing me to tears from the discomfort (and frustration!). Is it common to have such a delayed reaction to this type of antibiotic treatment? I am not sure where to go from here!!!! HELP!!!!

Hi, sorry about all those probs. I am keeping an eye on this for my daughter hasn't healed from a recent gluten incident and this sounds like her. Are you taking a good probiotic to help replace the beneficial bacteria that the meds are pretty much destroying? Mega-Flora? Are you taking any other meds/supplements not known to the prescribing doctor? You are definitely having reactions. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR.

I found this info :

What side effects can this medication cause?

Lansoprazole, clarithromycin, and amoxicillin may cause side effects.
Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

diarrhea
stomach pain or cramps
vomiting
nausea
change in ability to taste food
headache
dizziness

Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:


blistering or peeling skin
rash
hives`
swelling of the face, eyes, lips, tongue, arms, or legs
difficulty breathing or swallowing
hoarseness
sore throat, fever, chills, and other signs of infection
watery or bloody diarrhea with or without stomach pain that occurs during your treatment or for up to 2 months afterward
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000064

Is/was the h. pylori causing problems to require treatment? Did you ask about alternative measures to treat H.pylori? Licorice?

Did you ask if you can be reinfected? And how? What is the long term benefit to such powerful meds, as well as effects? Do you have ulcers? Are you on treatment for those? Could a change in diet heal the ulcers? One with LESS processed foods. Less foods containing ANY preservatives and/or additives? Do you smoke? Tested for anemia??


http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/929452-overview
H pylori has been associated with iron-deficiency anemia. The 2 main hypotheses that potentially explain this relation are (1) sequestration of iron due to antral H pylori infection and (2) decreased non-heme iron absorption caused by hypochlorhydria.


Possibly taking Carafate for a short time to get things to heal, along with a clean fresh new diet of NO processed foods at all! And practice some yoga, drink chamomile tea and be sure to have ALL results of blood tests for allergies, iron/anemia, vitamin deficiencies, etc.

Hope this helps.

[ravenwoodglass]

I tested positive for h pylori and celiac at the same time on a blood panel. I took helidac because I'm allergic to azithromycin and couldn't take the prevpac. My GI did the endoscopy for celiac only 1 week after finishing the helidac medicine. It came up negative. The GI DR told me that the helidac would have an effect on teh results if I did the endoscopy during the time I was taking the medicine. Could the fact that I did the endoscopy only one week after finishing the medicine affect the results? That was in July 2010 and now Jan 2011 I am still in pain. I started a gluten free diet about 10 days ago at my own discretion and already my abdominal pain that I get after I eat has gone away. Should I go back to the GI doctor? Should I keep the diet going for longer before I approach the GI Dr or should I see him before I do my self test and reintroduce gluten in a few weeks?

I don't know if the drug could have effected your endo results. I do know that there is a fairly high rate of false negatives with endos for various reasons. With positive blood work you need to be on the diet. Your doctor should have told you that. Since the diet is helping I would stick with it. I would not go back on gluten for more celiac testing as your blood work and response to the diet are telling you that you need to be gluten free.

[Looking for answers]

I personally don;'t like taking antibiotics so I want to an alternative doctor to get treated for hpylori (Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, Calif). She said my digestive track was too sensitive anyways for the antibiotic regime and gave me six supplements to take for two months. It seemed to do the trick. The only time gastritis flares up now, is if I accidentally eat gluten or one of the myriad of other things I’m allergic to.

[CathyG]

I was recently diagnosed with h pylori and was given two courses of hp7. The first one was probitor hp7 which gave me a bit of diaorreah, but if I took metamucil (soluble fibre) once a day the diaorreah went away and I had no problems at all. The second course was nexium hp7 and this gave me a weird taste in my mouth like I'd eaten an awful grapefruit. I also had a few days of mouth sores after I finished it, but other than that I was fine.

Other than those symptoms I had no problems whatsoever and the inflammation and stomach problems I had have gone. I still take losec as I've been left with a bit of gastritis but I'm going to stop taking that today as I've cut so much acid out of my diet that I think I'll be ok.

It's worth getting the treatment for hpylori - it's an awful thing to have and you don't want to end up with ulcers or esophagus trouble if you leave it. I'm sure there are celiac friendly medications you can take to sort it out.

Goodluck

[Tinkerballerinaa]

thanks. i'm going to stick with the diet for now. the gi dr told me he doesn't think the h pylori was causing the stomach pain that i originally went to the regular dr for. he said he wouldn't have given me the meds for that but i had already started taking it so i needed to finish it. from my understanding the meds for it completely kill the lining of the stomach so thats why i was thinking it was the reason for the neg results. i'm feeling much better with the diet so thats my self diagnosis. i'll go back to the gi dr after doing the diet for a while and see what his opinion is.

[Hil]

My most recent lab tests show that I have h. pylori among other things. I am thanking the Lord because despite being gluten-free (and dairy, egg, sugar, soy, corn,.....-free) for years, I have seen NO improvement. I know my tests showed I had Celiac and many other food allergies, so when I avoided those foods and saw no results, it was more than frustrating. My recent lab test also showed ringworm and more unpleasant bacteria growing in my gut. No Candida though...more likely Disbyosis this time. I am praying to God that it was the h. pylori that was keeping me from seeing results and that the course of antibiotics really will go a long way towards recovery. Happily, but unfortunately I am pregnant and cannot take a full course of antibiotics for the h. pylori until October. I can't treat the ringworm until them either. That's okay. I've suffered for years, what's another 6 1/2 months?

[soyjoy318]

When I was 17 I was diagnosed with an over abundance of h-Pylori in my system. I was super sick, throwing up, lost a ton of weight, diarrhea, horrible reflux... After being medicated, I still felt like crap. But no doctor was able to truly pinpoint what the issues were. My parents never believed me when I told them I didn't feel well.

I am now 32. I had issues with eating and then passing out!! My mood would change after eating a slice of cake!! Over this past holiday break, I became very sick, horrific bloating (a lady at a party asked me when my baby was due), I was stuck in the bathroom for 25 minutes - my friends came looking for me and were immediately hit with the smell that was coming from my diarrhea... it was utterly embarrassing. It was at that point I decided to go back to the doctor.

My doctor originally was going to treat me for IBS, but she stopped and asked me a few more questions about how I was feeling, and she said she was going to test me for Celiac. At that time I had only heard a coworker mention that she had recently been diagnosed with it and that was all I knew about it.

A week later I got a phone call... I tested positive for Celiac - I was told to eat gluten-free and to not stray from that diet. She immediately had a local GI office contact me and they set up an appointment for me - but FAILED to tell me to eat a Gluten-Rich diet.

So the day before my appointment the nurse calls me and asks if I had been eating a G-Rich diet and I said NO. She then told me to eat anything and everything I could with Gluten in it, but no food after midnight. I was miserable!! I broke out all over my body, my coworkers and my students were concerned about me, I kept having to make a mad dash for the bathroom, my mood changed instantly, I was bright red all day. I felt like I was going to vomit, I didn't sleep at all, my joints ached, my hips hurt, and I literally felt like I had been hit by a bus!!!

I make it to my GI appointment and the doctor sits me down and starts talking to me. The first question he asked me was if I had ever been diagnosed with h-Pylori. I explained that I had when I was 17. He said that was when my Celiac first started to appear. So for 15 years I was miserable, thinking that What I was feeling was normal and it was Celiac the entire time... And he said yes. He said he knew I had it, and he wasn't going to waste my time or my money by doing the scope.

He did tell me about higher risks of Osteoporosis and bone loss, lymphoma, and intestinal carcinoma. He said to call him if I had anymore questions or if I started feeling bad.

15 years of feeling horrible!! I'm just glad to know what it is and even happier to be feeling better!!

[Opa3]

.......... if I had ever been diagnosed with h-Pylori. I explained that I had when I was 17. He said that was when my Celiac first started to appear. So for 15 years I was miserable, thinking that What I was feeling was normal and it was Celiac the entire time...

I cannot relate to a celiac-h.pylori link. I've been celiac for 30 years and never had h.plyori. In 2007, I had an endoscopy with total collaspe of villi( I cheated badly) with no evidence of H.pylori.

Again, in Dec, 2012, no evidence of celiac disease in the 3rd and 4th part of the small intestines. No biopsy was taken in the 2nd part (GI Doc didn't see anything unusal).
However, in the 1st part, there was some widened/blunted villi distortion due to mildly active peptic duodenitis(PD). Caused by food (ie: chocolate and balsamic vinegrette). The pathologist report stated PD can mimic celiac disease in villi abnormalities.

I've been drinking green tea for many years. Its listed as a prevention to H.pylori. See link:http://www.en.wikipe...g/wiki/H.pylori