IBS after H. Pylori?

[Gonewiththewind44]

Had a nasty H. Pylori infection earlier this year and was prescribed triple eradication treatment. Since then I have developed IBS. Has this happened to anyone else? Thanks x

[Poorlypatient]

Yes this happened to me several years ago.The pylori infection was sorted out but seemed to send the problem lower down and I don't know which is worst.sorry to say I have had ibs ever since.

[Gonewiththewind44 in reply to Poorlypatient]

Blimey. Thought the pills would sort it out, now looking at the FODMAP plan. Going to give it lots of effort and see what happens. Thank you for your reply x

[LCat]

Yes I had the same situation with a nasty H Pylori infection and also the Triple Eradication Therapy. I also was ill after that and didn’t feel any better and had IBS type problems ever since. I’ve been reading up on medical research after this happened to me : Only 10% of people feel better after the Eradication Therapy. On the one hand it seems important to take the Antibiotics as Helicobacter Pylori is linked to stomach cancer. So I had to do it. On the other hand you’re still feeling horrible afterwards. I was told to take probiotic drugs which made me feel much worse . I stopped them. I was then also told to go on the Fodmap Diet because there is no other way they can help you. Not sure how much that helped but I did it and it took me 7 months to feel any better. But then I felt great for almost 2 years but then it came back again.

[Gonewiththewind44 in reply to LCat]

This is soooo familiar. Have had ultrasounds and a endoscopy, all clear. I know I should be grateful, but it makes me seem a fraud. I have lost over a stone in weight as when I look at food all I see is pain! Have you tried kefir water? I am taking a probiotic but it’s too early to know if it will help. When you say it has come back do you mean the h.pylori or IBS type problems. I have had a couple of ‘clear’ spells and feel so frustrated when it returns. I analyse everything I have eaten in the past 48hours but can never find a link! The FODMAP is hard, not all foods with FODMAPs irritate everyone. I kept a food diary but no real culprits stood out. Keep in touch, it’s hard to explain to people and I think they get a bit fed up with my reluctance to do stuff. Take care x

[LCat in reply to Gonewiththewind44]

No, the H Pylori is gone and didn’t come back. It was the biggest disappointment ever to realise that eradicating H Pylori didn’t solve the problem. I was retested 3-4 times and always negative. But the IBS type problems came back with a vengeance. The worst things to eat (according to Fodmap diet) is onions, garlic, leek and anything that’s fermenting. Lots of vegetables and fruit are fermenting (look at the lists). Beer 🍺 is not good (fermenting). Luckily I hate beer anyhow. Even though allowed according to Fodmap, for me also eating lots and lots of fruit sadly didn’t help. Raw fruit and raw salad (which I love) was not good. Some boiled vegetables like squash, courgettes, carrots etc were ok and felt safe. When I did the Fodmap diet the first time I learned quickly that milk products didn’t cause any problems for me... 90% of Northern European Caucasians don’t have problems with milk products anyhow. So why excluding it if it’s not bad for me ? So I was ok with milk, yogurts, bit of butter, even certain cheeses. I found all these other ‘artificial milks’ horrible like soy milk, rice milk, almond milk...tasting horribly artificial.....What are other people asking you to ‘do stuff’ ? Are they asking you to go out and be in a good mood ? .... only YOU know what works for you and what doesn’t. Don’t let other people get you down ... they have NO IDEA how horrid you feel and doctors can’t help with IBS anyhow. Only YOU can help yourself by observing ... observing your body and what will work for you. I personally also found most important to initially or temporarily cut out any whole grain as it is too harsh ...No whole meal bread, No porridge and definitely never ‘all bran’ or similar. I get enough fiber from those vegetables I eat. Once you’re able to eat it : Boiled chicken and fish is also quite harmless to eat and will give you a bit of protein.

[Gonewiththewind44 in reply to LCat]

Thank you for this. I was the same, just assumed everything would be ok after the treatment. Really miss the beer though. My favourite lol Have had to cancel some trips out. Once I am more confident about what I can and can’t eat I will feel happier about going out more. Thanks again x

[LCat in reply to Gonewiththewind44]

Well if you miss your beer 🍺 you are allowed one glass per day according to Fodmap but strangely you can have always all sorts of other alcohol like Gin & Tonic or Whisky, and similar stuff as they’re not fermenting (in sensible amounts of course).