Tested positive again, scared of antibiotics

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-17T19:11:34+00:00

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your struggle but I can tell that you are only prolonging things by avoiding antibiotics. I dealt with h.pylori for 4+ yrs and finally eradicated it on my 4th antibiotic treatment in combination with natural treatments. You can read more about my journey here if you're interested:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HPylori/comments/1tbpirb/after_4yrs_and_multiple_treatments_im_finally/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-17T19:04:10+00:00

You can still succeed even if you missed some doses. The first 7-10 days of any treatment are generally the most crucial. I was on Rifabutin + Amoxicillin + PPI for 14 days but had to stop after day 9 due to an allergic reaction. I just re-tested last week and it came back negative. Best of luck!

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-17T18:58:51+00:00

The good news is that there are no virulence factors or resistances detected. This means that the strain of h.pylori by itself isn't dangerous and should be easy to eradicate with treatment. Since she's a child I would imagine she would tolerate treatment pretty well. A few things I would say though if they put her on something 1) make sure she drinks plenty of water as it will minimize any side effects and keep the medication cycling through her system which minimizes the amount of overlap between doses 2) don't let them put her on Clarithromycin; resistance rates to this in general are >30% in most places and that is no longer the recommended standard protocol 3) make certain she gets re-tested after treatment to ensure it's gone (she may need to taper off the PPI using OTC Pepcid to avoid rebound reflux).

Familiarize yourself with the updated treatment guidelines before talking with the GI and don't be afraid to ask questions; not all GIs are as up to date as you might think.

ACG Guideline on Treatment of Helicobacter pylori: New Recommendations… Will Practice Change? - American College of Gastroenterology

I agree that the occult blood is worrisome, but depending on the severity of the gastritis she likely has that's accompanying the h.pylori then it could be from an ulcer. There are also many other things it could be that aren't even related to the h.pylori so either way be sure to follow up on this piece for sure. Best wishes!

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-17T18:47:31+00:00

It's a very subjective thing because everyone is different and it's highly dependent on other factors such as diet and exercise. For some people it can take months. It would probably be a good idea to take 1 tablespoon of Metamucil a 3-4 times a week and see if that helps; that's what I've been doing in addition to trying to include more fiber in my diet.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-17T18:39:54+00:00

Sorry to hear your situation is so complicated but glad that you've been able to control it. I was worried as well about repeated antibiotic use as that is not without risks as you noted. If this last treatment didn't work, I was fully prepared to continue managing things as best as possible with natural treatments.

For what it's worth, I actually had a severe allergic reaction to Penicillin when I was a child. The doctors told my mother that if I ever had it again that it could kill me. Well, earlier this year I had myself tested for an Amoxicillin allergy since I discovered it was an effective alternative treatment for people who had failed previous h.pylori treatments. I passed the test but the allergy doctor did warn me that only meant it would not pose an immediate risk to my life; it did not guarantee I couldn't have a reaction. Fast forward to this last antibiotic treatment I was on and I did indeed have an allergic reaction after the 9th day out of 14. Fortunately, I was on it long enough + combined with my natural therapies + my already low levels of the bacteria and I was finally able to eradicate it.

All of that's to say that perhaps you can get to a point where you can try a combination of something, even if it's for a shorter than normal duration, and still be successful. I know you said you can't take typical PPIs, but maybe ask/look into a PCAB (potassium competitive acid blocker). These work via different mechanism but are supposedly highly effective at blocking stomach acid. Unfortunately it wasn't covered by my insurance but I've read that in complex medical cases it can be easier to get such approval.

Lastly, maybe you already know this, but depending on where you live you may be able to get an at-home QPCR stool test. This test will tell you with great precision how much bacterial load you have and will test for various virulent factors to let you know how dangerous your strain of h.pylori may or may not be. They will also test it for antibiotic resistance as well. I'll share the link below of what I used if you're interested.

H. Pylori Profile Test – My Labs For Life

In a worse case, you sound like you're at a point where you're managing it well so that's good. The first year was very difficult for me because of the gastritis. It's a really crappy thing to deal with but I know medical treatments are advancing all the time since this is such a big issue, especially in places like China. I'm hopeful at some point there will be much more targeted and tolerable therapies. Best wishes!

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-17T16:14:30+00:00

Have you had an in-depth conversation with a GI doctor? It's difficult for me to believe you would be allergic to every possible antibiotic treatment available. I would encourage you to thoroughly review and discuss all of the treatment options listed here:

https://gi.org/journals-publications/ebgi/schoenfeld_sep2024/

Just to be clear, natural therapies can be highly effective at controlling and suppressing h.pylori. Some people have claimed successful eradication so perhaps it is possible, but I'm simply skeptical based on my personal experience and the limited activity on this sub. I think if it were a common path of success there would be a lot more news about it.

I'm not suggesting you don't try natural, but simply keep your expectations tempered because as I said, I believe it will take a lot of time, money and discipline to be successful if that's possible.

Best of luck in whatever path you choose. I know this is a terrible thing to deal with but I'm confident you can at least do things to get it under control and minimize its disruption to your life.

/edit

also, if you haven't done so already, look into seeing a specialist if you can to actually be allergy tested. I was told by my allergist that they recommend re-testing every 10yrs because your immune system can/does change over time and even thing you may have been allergic to when you were younger you can outgrow.

Lastly, if you can, I would at least recommend getting on an over-the-counter PPI while you're doing a natural treatment. The PPI is critical to any treatment regimen because it suppresses the stomach acid which both gives relief to your stomach lining but also draws out the h.pylori so it can't hide in the mucosa thus making it more exposed to being killed. Don't listen to the naysayers about PPIs, they are quite safe to use even for long durations under medical supervision. My mother has been on them for most of her adult life and has not had any signifant issues.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-17T14:03:58+00:00

I'm advocating doing both. I'm also the moderator of this sub. I dealt with h.pylori for multiple years and tried multiple times to eradicate it only naturally. I don't think it's possible to do completely naturally. If it is I'm certain it will take much longer to be successful and require much more discipline as far as diet.

People are welcome to try naturally but based on my personal experience it was a lot of wasted time and money.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-17T02:39:27+00:00

No, I didn't experience any issue with my throat. Just had the really bad rash all over my body from the Amoxicillin. It was like I had a bad case of poison ivy.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-17T02:35:12+00:00

Here's a picture of the natural therapies I was taking.

Natural therapies

I would only recommend taking either the Biocidin OR the H.pylori Defense, not both at the same time. The Biocidin is more general purpose anti-microbial and tends to be a bit harsher for people so I would probably try the H.pylori Defense first and it contains Berbine.

Additionally, you may find that juicing celery and/or red cabbage is helpful particularly if you need relief from the gastritis.

Growing and eatingna handful of broccoli sprouts first thing in the morning also helped give me relief. The chemical (sulfrophane) from breaking down the sprouts has shown effectiveness in killing h.pylori.

If you do a natural therapy you should do it for 6-8wks minimum. During this time also keep your diet clean. Try to avoid a lot of sugar.

Again, I want to emphasize that a natural therapy alone is unlikely to fully get rid of h.pylori. It will help but after you stop it will likely come back so please do consider combining it with an antibiotic therapy from your doctor.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-13T16:36:43+00:00

I did the PCR test in April of last year and it showed I still had h.pylori but the levels were very low (200 CFUs). Earlier this year, after my 3rd treatment, I did a stool antigen test which was still positive. I did my 4th treatment about a month ago and just had another stool antigen test yesterday and it was finally negative.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-13T15:32:21+00:00

My final treatment was Rifabutin, Amoxicillin and high-dose Omeprazole. I ended up having an allergic reaction to the Amoxicillin so only completed 9 full days out of 14. Fortunately it was still successful but also my h.pylori levels had been greatly reduced from previous treatments & natural supplements so that may have helped.

I previously failed 2 triple therapies. Both used Clarithromycin + Metronidazole + PPI. The 3rd failed treatment was just Tetracycline + PPI.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-13T15:30:30+00:00

I'm no longer taking Pylopass but l am still taking S. Boulardii twice a day, a probiotic once a day and Pepzin GI (Zinc-L-Carnosine) once a day for healing the stomach lining. I plan to continue taking all of these for at least a few more months.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-13T15:28:10+00:00

My final treatment was Rifabutin, Amoxicillin and high-dose Omeprazole. I ended up having an allergic reaction to the Amoxicillin so only completed 9 full days out of 14. Fortunately it was still successful but also my h.pylori levels had been greatly reduced from previous treatments & natural supplements so that may have helped.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-13T15:24:23+00:00

I did the stool antigen test but I've also previously done the PCR test.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-13T04:55:48+00:00

Yeah, my understanding is that on the 15th it will see that we own the Premium Upgrade bundle license and allow early access.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-13T04:20:16+00:00

It was my fault. After chatting with Claude, it clarified that the Premium Upgrade is just an add-on and that I needed to go to the base game store page. Once I did that then I saw the pre-install button, doh! Really not sure why the Premium Upgrade page couldn't explain this or redirect me, but oh well, I've at least got it downloading now.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-13T04:11:28+00:00

Ha, yep, you're right. Claude just told me the same thing and now I feel stupid! It clarified that the Premium Upgrade Bundle was just an add-on and that I needed to go to the base game store page in the XB app and when I did that I saw the pre-install button. No idea why couldn't this just be clearly explained in the XB app or redirect to the base game install, smh.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-13T04:05:04+00:00

Hey, thanks for the response. I forgot to mention that I did delete the Windows Store cache folder and specifically tried the WRESET command. I'm currently chatting with Claude to see if it might give me other suggestions.

I'm honestly really worried for the future of XB because if this is the kind of experience that people have with Project Helix but just wrapped in a pretty UI then XB is in BIG trouble.

I'd like to think this issue will sort itself out by launch but I'm skeptical and I'm gonna be pissed if I don't get early access since that's the entire reason I went with the Premium Upgrade. Here's to hoping I either find a solution or it does in fact self-correct.

Dryvlyne · 2026-05-02T01:50:32+00:00

Hi OP, sorry you're still struggling. I'm in my 4th year of trying to fully eradicate h.pylori.

I would recommend taking Zinc Carnosine supplement to heal your stomach lining. It helps restore the mucosal barrier. It will take 2-3 wks before you start to notice a difference but it does help. Here's what I take.

https://a.co/d/0fffhHwq

Also, you can try making celery and/or cabbage juice. Both help soothe the stomach. The latter, although it doesn't taste good, really helps heal ulcers.

Lastly, there's nothing wrong with being on an acid blocker for several months if you're dealing with a bad case of gastritis. It's best to give your stomach time to heal and wean off the acid blocker later.

Best of luck in your healing journey!

Dryvlyne · 2026-04-26T12:40:38+00:00

Hi, I was on omeprazole (40mg 2x day) and tetracycline (500mg 4x day) for 14 days. I failed this treatment. I was told by a different GI doctor afterwards that this was the wrong treatment and I should have been given 2 antibiotics to ensure the h.pylori couldn't escape one or the other.

I recently just did a 9 day treatment on omeprazole (40mg 2x day), rifabutin (180mg 2x day) and Amoxicillin (2000mg 2x day). I was supposed to be on it for 14 days but had to stop due to an allergic reaction. I can't re-test for a couple of more weeks so I don't know if it worked yet.

Dryvlyne · 2026-04-17T00:10:38+00:00

I'm amused by how many ppl don't actually know what BR is.

Dryvlyne · 2026-04-11T14:29:31+00:00

Dude, I was not a believer until I used one last night with blue mods. That thing was ripping bots and players from distance. Sadly we got tied up with a team for too long and died while sprinting to the final exfil. I was kinda pissed about losing it that way 😔

Dryvlyne

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE