Hey VSG folks, so I'm 14 days post-op and just started the antibiotics for H Pylori! Anyone else have it? I am on my second day only and it's making my stomach hurt!! Ugh and those pills are HUGE! They make me feel as if I'm choking. Any tips on taking the pills or H Pylori on a whole?

I feel like I'm going to loose even more weight cause it hurts to eat today!

Thanks,

L

I found out that I have this as well. Waiting to get into the GI specailist now..I heard that the pills are huge. I am sorry that you are taking them after ur surgery. Keep me posted

Yeah, those pills were a treat. They can't be taken as powder, broken, or cut. I took about 3 days worth before the surgery and then waited until the second week before I took the rest. I was on a PrevPac which was 8 pills a day for a 14 day course. My only advice is to space them out a little bit and take them with a couple of sips to help them slide down. First thing in the morning didn't work so well for me, so I took them mid-morning and later in the evening. I want to have another test for h.pylori now to be sure I knocked it out given that I broke up the series into two parts (before and after surgery). I took them sometimes with a shake and that seemed to slide them down better. Good luck!

I too had a [pos on this pre-op on blood. Probably half of all people will have a pos with serum. I then had another test, blowing into a bag, this was neg. Once you have a pos. serum it will always be positive in blood, but the ther test shows if it is active. It is a costly test but for all you who have had pos. with blood, you could opt for the other test before you go on meds. In fact my surgeon after the pos wanted to do an esophogoscopy for a visual and bx., that's when I took the other test instead. Depending on what antibiotic you are on, you could ask your pharmacist if there is a liquid equilivent. Otherwise try and coat them with something slippery, like maybe pudding or dip them in olive oil.

Thank you everyone! Yea, these pills are horrible... I swear I have every one of the symptoms from taking them... dizzy, diarrhea, nauseated, horrible taste in my mouth!! Ugh I wish I caught this prior to my surgery! Well, I will definitely lose more weight cause i'm hardly eating! The positive of it. I have to do the same thing .... 8 pills a day for 14you days! Boooo good job on completing it Terry!

Thanks,

L

Believe me Laura, the last day of that course was a happy day. I'm down to 3 pills a day and they are tiny. Just taking my ppi, bp med, and allopurinol for gout. Really hoping to lose the bp med soon and maybe the allopurinol one day. Take care and hang in there.

Where there any symptoms?

The symptoms are burning feeling in the stomach, bloating 24-7, sharp pains in the stomach.... I'm sure there are others. A lot of people have H Pylori without even knowing they do, the statistics are high with 3 out of 4 people having the bacteria.

Hey Terry, I'm getting better with the pills.... still can't wait to finish!! Thanks

Ciao,

L

I have to blow in a bag to assure the doctor I don't have stomach bacteria. I already took a Upper GI Endoscopy and the doctor said everything is perfect. However, the test results which finalize the test will take 7 to 10 days. My blood results were inconclusive, which mean the numbers were not low enough to tell I didn't have stomach bacteria and not high enough to show I had stomach bacteria. Today I have an appointment to get clearance for surgery and then I have to go back to the doctor to blow in a bag. This is nerve racking. ughhh!