r/HPylori

I’m a 23-year-old male, and I want to share my H. pylori journey because these past few months have been the hardest time of my life.

Before all this started, I used to have frequent stomach burning and sometimes vomiting after food, but I ignored it. Then in November 2025 everything changed.

One night I ate very spicy food for dinner, and around 2 AM I suddenly woke up with what felt like a massive panic attack. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest, I had severe anxiety, and genuinely thought I was dying. My family rushed me to the ER, but all the tests came back normal.

The next day I went to a regular doctor (not a gastroenterologist). He told me to get an ultrasound, and it showed fatty liver. The doctor said all my symptoms were because of fatty liver. I took medicines for a week and started feeling okay again.

Then at the end of January, the same panic attack happened again. We rushed to the ER again, and once again everything was “normal.”

After that, the real symptoms started.

Suddenly I developed a fear of heights and traveling. Whenever I sat on a bike or in a car, I felt terrified for no reason. I started having constant pressure on the left side of my head. I had severe burping after eating anything — even drinking water made me burp constantly. I couldn’t digest food properly, felt extremely weak, and completely lost my sleep.

The anxiety became unbearable. I had dizziness, vertigo, fear of dying, fear of cancer, and doctors couldn’t understand what was happening to me. Nobody could diagnose me.

I’ve always considered myself an atheist and I was never religious. My father told me to go to the mosque. At first I refused, but eventually I went. I remember crying there because I truly didn’t understand what was happening to me.

Then things got even worse.

I started having black stools (melena) for 3–4 days continuously. My condition became so bad that I couldn’t even get out of bed, and eventually I fainted. I had to be admitted to the hospital for 2 days and was put on IV fluids.

After that, the doctor finally told me to get an endoscopy.

The results showed:

• H. pylori positive
• Gastritis
• Lax LES
• 5 mm duodenal ulcer

Honestly, when I got the report, I actually felt relieved because I had convinced myself I had cancer and that I was dying.

The doctor started me on triple therapy, but those 14 days were a nightmare. Severe anxiety, dizziness, weakness, head pressure, pain on the left side of my head, and I became completely antisocial. I could barely walk sometimes.

When I told my doctor about all these neurological and psychological symptoms, he said I was just overthinking and that H. pylori doesn’t cause symptoms like that.

After the 14 days, I changed doctors. The new doctor told me that yes, these symptoms can happen in some people. He said first we need to heal the damage caused by H. pylori (like the ulcer and gastritis), and then focus fully on eradication if it’s still present.

I’ve been on his treatment for about a month now, and I’d say I’m around 60% better.

But I still have:

• Burping
• Morning anxiety
• Heart palpitations in the morning
• Brain fog after meals
• Dreamy/high feeling after eating
• Trouble focusing
• Blurry vision

I also noticed small lumps on my stomach area, which turned out to be lipomas.

Recently I noticed 2–3 drops of fresh red blood on top of my stool (not mixed inside). This has happened a few times. My doctor thinks it could be piles/hemorrhoids and gave me medicine for that. He said if it doesn’t improve, I may need a colonoscopy.

My current diet: Breakfast:

• 2 bananas
• 2 apples

Lunch:

• Rice
• Green vegetables
• Dal

Dinner:

• Fruits
• Rice
• Vegetables

I’ll continue updating my journey. I just wanted to post this because before my diagnosis I felt completely alone and thought I was losing my mind. If anyone else has experienced anxiety, panic attacks, dizziness, brain fog, or weird neurological symptoms with H. pylori/gastritis, please let me know.

Edit 2

I'm a firm believer that natural therapies are helpful in fighting h.pylori but they are very unlikely to eradicate it on their own. That said, studies have shown that combining natural therapies with antibiotic treatment can boost successful eradication pretty substantially. I was taking Pylopass (it binds to h.pylori while it sheds to help clear it), S. Boulardii (a healthy yeast that helps minimize the risk of developing a c.diff infection while the antibiotic kill all the good + bad bacteria in your digestive system), multi-strain Probiotic to help "seed" the gut with good bacteria while the antibiotics kill off the bad, and NAC (a "biofilm buster" to help the antibiotics more effectively get directly at the h.pylori).

After finishing the antibiotic treatment, I'm continuing to take the S. Boulardii and Probiotic daily. Additionally, I added Pepzin GI which is a Zinc-L-Carnosine supplement (can be found on Amazon) that specifically helps to heal the stomach lining from the effects of the gastritis. I plan to continue taking these supplements for the next several months until I feel fully healed.

I just want to again reiterate, if you need to stay or get back on a PPI that's OKAY. If you've dealt with moderate to severe gastritis while infected with h.pylori then your stomach lining is likely very raw & irritated. In these cases you want to keep your stomach acid reduced so it doesn't aggravate the problem. I would suggest tapering off the PPI whenever you think you start to have things under control. Coming off a PPI too fast can cause hyper-acidity and make you feel terrible (I know firsthand).

Edit 1

For those interested in my treatments, I was originally given triple therapy which was Clarithromycin, Metronidazole, and PPI. I was never re-tested after my 1st treatment. A few months later I told my GI doctor that I was still having symptoms and he just told me it was likely the after-effects of the treatment. Unfortunately I took him at his word and for the next year suffered with gastritis. I finally convinced my family doctor to re-test me and it was positive; I requested to be referred to a different GI doctor. The 2nd GI doc put me on the same triple therapy for some reason (I should have questioned this at the time) and did not do any resistance testing prior. It wasn't until after this treatment that I learned resistance testing was possible AND that Bismuth Quad Therapy was now the standard treatment protocol.

In between my 2nd and 3rd treatments, as well as my 3rd and 4th treatments, I began trying different natural therapies + more strict diet changes. I really believe this helped me get the gastritis under control and helped lower my overall h.pylori load. I had done a PCR stool test in April of 2025 after one of my natural interventions and it said my levels were down to 200 CFUs which is pretty low. Fast forward to earlier this year and even though things were better I knew I still had h.pylori due to loss of appetite & gnawing feeling in my stomach. My family doctor put me on a 3rd treatment which consisted of Tetracycline + high dose PPI. Unfortunately this was not enough as my re-test in February was still positive; I was referred to a 3rd GI doctor.

The 3rd GI doctor wanted to put on the Bismuth Quad Therapy but I politely refused because I had experienced heavy side effects from the Metronidazole in my prior triple therapy attempts. He agreed to put me on a "rescue" therapy since I had already failed multiple previous treatments. This last treatment consisted of Rifabutin + Amoxicillin + high dose PPI for 14 days (there is a combo pill called Talcia but it's rarely covered by insurance so I was prescribed the medications separately). I completed 9 full days of the treatment but had to stop on the 10th day due to an allergic reaction to the Amoxicillin. Fortunately though I was on the treatment long enough that it was successful but I also think it helped that my bacterial load was already low & I was continuing to supplement with natural options.

Original Post

I've been hoping that I could eventually make a post like this and today is finally the day! It's been almost 4 1/2 years since I first got h.pylori and after a long and winding road I finally had a negative stool test today.

There's a lot I want to share/say and I don't really have the time to do it all at once but I will come back and add more to this post over the coming days.

The main things I want to say right now is educate and advocate for yourself. Don't be afraid to get multiple opinions from other doctors. Politely pushback and ask questions if you don't understand something or it doesn't make sense; this is YOUR health and responsibility so take control.

Familiarize yourself with the latest published treatment guidelines from the American College of Gastroenterology.

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

YOU have the final say in the treatment protocol, not the doctor. If you're uncomfortable with a protocol that's being recommended then talk to your doctor about it and explain why. This is how I ultimately got onto the treatment that worked for me.

Remember that everyone is different. Some people are barely affected by h.pylori and others suffer greatly. The same is true when it comes to treatment options. There is no one-size fits all. What may or may not work for you, may or may not work for others and vice versa so always keep this in mind.

That said, DO NOT be afraid of treatment just because others may have had a bad experience. Remember, the Internet, and specifically this sub, represent just a fraction of the people dealing with h.pylori. Unless you've personally had a bad experience with a particular medication do not assume that you will just because someone else has.

While you're on medication, I highly recommend that you supplement with at least S. boulardii, Pylopass and a multi-strain Probiotic. The doctors don't generally tell you this but it really does help minimize side-effects in my experience.

Also, drink a lot of water. Most adults are not drinking anywhere near the recommended amount of water in a day but it really helps to minimize side effects in 2 ways. 1) it minimizes the pills from just sitting in one spot in your stomach and helps to spread it out. 2) it flushes the medication in/out of your system which helps ensure it doesn't overlap too much with other doses. You should be peeing every other hour or so and it should be relatively clear unless you're on something like Rifabutin, which I was, but even then it should be light color. If your urine is dark or foul smelling then you're definitely not drinking enough.

Lastly, for now, make sure you do follow up testing after treatment. Don't assume it's gone. But also don't freak out if you still have what you think are symptoms. Coming off medication, especially PPIs too quickly, can cause you to experience symptoms that are difficult to distinguish from h.pylori.

After doing treatment multiple times, I think most people should wean off the PPI. Stopping cold turkey can be difficult. There's absolutely nothing wrong with tapering off and allowing your stomach lining more time to heal. Allowing your stomach acid to come back to full strength too soon can aggravate things. You have to be off a PPI for a minimum of 2wks before you can re-test so that sucks, but it's better to heal and postpone the test in my experience.

After years of unexplained digestive issues to finally finding the culprit to the antibiotics almost taking me out- we made it out on the other side friends! There’s light at the end of the tunnel, you got this!!

I am 26 F, from Mumbai, India.

Recently diagnosed with stomach erythema (erosions) because of H Pylori bacteria and mild gastritis.

My symptoms  (why I got endoscopy / colonoscopy):

Constipation - is the main reason I got colonoscopy/endoscopy done because no matter what I ate, it was always there. I can eat only 15 food items (mainly light green vegetables, jowar/bajra/ragi roti, sweet potato, fruits) which help me get good bowel movements the next day. My mom says I’ve had constipation since childhood, but I have only noticed it being prominent and severe since last 4 years (July 2022) - that is also when I started my job.

Stomach Bloating - used to go away once I passed stools but since 4-5 months or so, it is always there.

Extreme heaviness, difficulty to move after meals - which are very light like 1 jowar roti + 1 green veggie.

I’ve had some serious brain fog, i think i am less smarter than i was in school/college since past 4 years. 

Constantly sluggish, tired, no motivation / energy (mentally and physically) for anything.

I haven’t had extreme symptoms like most of the people on reddit (not sure why)

Doctor has prescribed me following meds : 

Sompraz - Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI), reduces acid secretion in stomach.

Acotibien - Addresses the slow gut motility, It helps the stomach empty more efficiently into the small intestine, which reduces food sitting in the stomach for too long.

Rifagut -Typically used to treat bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine (SIBO) or to manage symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Consulted another doctor based on reports: 

Advised to start taking meds asap, but also suspects that since i haven’t been prescribed HP kit, it might be mild.

Said gastritis etc can b treated, but bacteria cant b treated w/o medicines. IS THAT TRUE AS PER YOUR EXPERIENCES?

How you can help me:

I have seen more than 20 posts with people having mixed opinions - someone says it can only be treated through antibiotics, someone says antibiotics mess up the gut lining so bad & only diet can fix it. 

I am ok to do any method that just fixes it - and doesn’t worsen my existing symptoms.

I am essentially trying to know your experience in dealing with it : 

• Are you relieved now / still struggling?
• In either case, which route did you follow ? medicines / natural way? 
• If you did meds - were you also taking care of your diet - what are the things you were strictly avoiding? 
• How many years did you struggle / have you been struggling? 
• What are the mistakes you made (because of which it took longer to heal / still not healed) / what is the best thing you did (because of which it healed quickly)?

What about naturopathy companies like Thavira health, any recommendations of doctors in Mumbai who have healed it before & can help with it? I am specifically looking for doctors who have treated it earlier.

My questions based on research so far:

• If H pylori is in 70% Indians, and in less quantity its present in all bodies, is it really necessary to eradicate it OR reducing amount is also fine?
• I don’t get why I am not given meds to kill H pylori?
• What kind of food we have to take - should it be more of alkaline forming in body?
• Antibiotics disrupt gut lining & good gut bacteria - So take probiotics + extremely light food so that gut lining can repair fast & food is not damaging it, or eat such food items that help in gut lining repair. Is disruption statement true?
• As per what i have gathered on the internet, people who have been able to master it said that take meds prescribed & then keep your lifestyle in check for 6-12 months. And after H Pylori, we will get gastritis (bcs of the meds) - so have to deal with it. Is that true?
• I also want to know if because of this I can get constipation issues bcs my doc said that constipation is only due to just slow gut motility. 
• People who did test again (especially for India) did you do test again to confirm negative. Which tests you did - which is most reliable? Stool test?

My plan as of now based on research so far:

As mentioned above, by eating 10-15 food items that help me get good bowel movements, I have been observing my constipation has gotten better because of my boiled diet, and least stressful lifestyle. If I eat extreme foods like MAIDA once in a while, I feel ok.

I am thinking to continue this extreme diet w/o cheat and lifestyle enhancement & gym - and see difference to start with, and keep researching side by side.

And then introduce food items that kill bacteria - like sprouts, mastic gum, cabbage juice, and get tested again.
Doctors are rushing that I need to start meds asap - but i feel that this bacteria might have been there for years, so 1-2 months of research before starting meds wont do much harm, rather taking meds mindlessly will harm gut more.

Please feel free to call me out on any aspect of my analysis - based on your experience!

To be honest - I would try my best to not take meds and treat it naturally & go to extents of it, if anyone has cracked the code for it, please share.

But if someone has treated it 100% with both medicines & natural ways, I am willing to go down that road too.

I would be very grateful if you could share your experience, especially Indians, because of the commonality in environment, food, medicines, etc.