HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

H.Pylori test not accurate??

Support Forums
>
GERD & Acid Reflux
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 6/26/2007 10:38 PM (GMT 0)
Someone just told me that many H. Pylori blood tests done with the PCP are not inclusive enough...I'm wondering if I've been walking around with H. Pylori all this time and that that is why I've had this unbearable lump and burping!!

I will try to find a place that tests it more accurately!!

Anyone else think that they might have h.pylori?  Don't the symptoms mimic GERD??

Post Edited (friendlygal) : 6/26/2007 7:50:27 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/8/2007 11:24 AM (GMT 0)
Friendlygal,
Have the breath test done, very easy.
Posted 7/10/2007 11:45 AM (GMT 0)
Hi friendly girl,
The blood test points to the existence of antibodies. If positive - over 11 - you have had h pylori at some stage and maybe you have it at present. You can do either the breath test or have an upper scope to determine whether you presently carry h pylori. The latter is supposedly the gold standard test.

You ask: "Don't the symptoms mimic GERD??" - well, not quite. H pylori by itself doesn't cause pain - it causes erosive gastritis or
duoenitis, or ulceration. H Pylori might even emeliorate the symptoms of gerd. That said, you must get it treated if you have it because the combination of h pylori and PPIs is lethal.
You will find more info about h pylori here: http://health.ivillage.com/digestion/gerd/0,,6d7z,00.html

By the way, my scope did not indicate h pylori. However, a recent blood test showed 16 and that I had definitely been exposed to h pylori in the past (probably within the last 3 years). I am getting a second scope anyway and will get it checked again.

PS. the danger of taking PPIs with helico poses quite a great risk for stomach cancer in the future. Please, get it checked out!
Posted 7/14/2007 3:09 AM (GMT 0)

Christo, wow!!  that is scaaary (that h. pylori and PPIs can cause stomach cancer)!

I have had an endoscopy (two in fact, one additional one when the bravo capsule was put in me for PH testing).

I also had a blood test.

I had a breath test to test bacterial overgrowth.  THat was tested slightly positive.  So I was given antibiotics for that.

So, DANIE and Christo:  Haven't I had all the necessary tests???  Or am I missing a breath test for h. pylori??

Posted 7/15/2007 8:23 AM (GMT 0)
It sounds like you've done enough. If you don't have the antibodies, you probably don't have it.

I am trying to conduct a campaign at the moment on this very issue. The problem is not PPIs per se, but rather giving them to patients before they have been properly tested for helicobacter.

By the way, I am not quite sure what you mean by the test for bacterial overgrowth. If they found Helico, you should have been put on a week long, multi drug regimen of antibiotics.
Posted 7/15/2007 8:29 AM (GMT 0)
By the way, the current (2007) recommended drug treatments for helicobacter are here: http://www.aafp.org/afp/20070201/351.html

A very good Australian site with information on helico testing is here: http://www.rah.sa.gov.au/nucmed/urea/urea_docguide.htm

Post Edited (Christo) : 7/15/2007 2:49:46 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/15/2007 5:37 PM (GMT 0)
Christo, bacterial overgrowth is something else.  and it was in my colon (like having E. Coli)...about PPIs, i'm not sure that you are right that if you have H. Pylori then you can get cancer by taking them.  Sometimes people are told to take PPIs together with antibiotics, to get rid of h. pylori.  It even says in the prevacid info. that some take as many as 3 a day  when they have h. pylori.

Posted 7/16/2007 1:27 AM (GMT 0)
There is no problem taking PPIs with the two antibiotics, friendly girl. The problem occurs when we use PPIs without antibiotics for people suffering from helico. The acid blockers (when used on their own) actually create an environment in which helico prospers.

What I'm trying to say is that before people start PPIs, they should be tested for helico. If positive, they should start antibiotics with PPIs. If negative, they can take the PPIs on their own. If you have the bacteria, helico must by all means be eliminated! However, you cannot know this unless you are tested for helico first! In order to have a non-ivasive test (for e.g. urea breath test), you must be off antibiotics for 28 days and PPIs for 10 days. That is another very good reason to have the urea test before you start medication.
Posted 7/16/2007 1:35 AM (GMT 0)

Christo, thanks for clarifying!  Sounds like you know a lot about h. pylori!

I was wondering why I never, ever get better no matter what.  Even if I take PPIs, even if I try an alkaline diet, DGL licorice, positive thinking, etc. etc...

so, i thought that maybe I have h. pylori all this time...But since I've been scoped and also had a blood test that showed that I didn't have it, there's no chance that I have it, right??  Sorry if you already answered me on this, I just want to make sure that it's ok that I never took the breath test since I was tested in other ways...

Posted 7/16/2007 1:48 AM (GMT 0)
I don't know how long after exposure to helico it would take to generate antibodies. However, if your blood test is negative, I would be pretty confident that you don't have it. It wouldn't hurt you to repeat the blood test. However, even if you are positive, you would still have to have either a scope or urea test to confirm that you had it.

I really hope you don't have it. Best of luck!
Posted 7/20/2007 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much, Christo!  I also hope I don't have it!  My GI appt. is not till the 24 of Aug.  Does the primary do breath tests?  I don't think my primary will give me one, since I had a blood test for it in her office before...

Posted 7/20/2007 6:55 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, friendly girl.

I live in Australia. The only requirement to have the test here is that you are off the PPIs for up to 14 days and antibiotics for 28 days. Other than that, you simply request the test from a doctor.
Posted 7/20/2007 4:31 PM (GMT 0)

Hi there, Christo.  I'd like to move to Australia, lucky you!  Must be nice!!  I went to Cairns only, but it was breathtaking...

I just tried a sample of In-Liven, a probiotic here that the company says was manufactured in Australia.  Heard of it?

about the h. pylori test, I CANNOT believe that I wasn't told to be off the PPIs when they tested my blood, if that's what was supposed to happen...

I'm not sure that my primary will let me retake the test since I already had the blood test...

Posted 7/22/2007 1:20 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry for the misunderstanding, friendly girl. You don't have to be off the PPIs to do the blood test. You have to be off the PPIs to do the breath and stool antigen tests.
The blood test is an antibody test: it will indicate whether or not you have had the bacteria at some stage in your history. It will not tell you whether or not you currently have the bacteria, but will suggest further testing.
The real scandal is that all patients with gerd symptoms are not given the breath test before they are treated with PPIs and h2 blockers. However, if your antibody test is negative, in all likelihood you don't have it. Please don't worry too much.
Thanks for your kind words about my country. Unfortunately, I live on the east coast very far from beautiful Cairns. It is winter here and the winds from the ocean chill and depress the locals.
I have not heard of the probiotic you mentioned. In fact, I don't know much about probiotics, but I am about to learn more because I have gastritis and I think probiotics are useful for that condition.
Sorry again for all the confusion I'm creating.
tongue
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply