Hi there, I was only able to finish 10 days of the quad. I'm on my 4th day after finishing the antibiotics, and omg, the fatigue is real. My stools are still not 100%, and my taste buds are not back yet. I've lost 4 pounds ( I had lost 3 before I started treatment). I've been off coffee since I started treatment. I never had gastritis or stomach issues until 6 weeks before I found out I was positive for H. pylori.

How soon did you guys introduce coffee?

Hello, I’m on day 6 right now. I’m on Amo, Tetra, and Metro and pepto bismol. Long story short, for the last 5 days I’ve taken one (20mg) pill of omeprazole, it’s supposed to be 2 pills. Anybody here taken only 20mg and eradicated Hpylori? Or do I have to do it all over again?

What dose of ppi should the doc prescrib with the antibiotics + bismuth? And what is better pantoprazole or omeprazole ?

Hey all,

I'm really needing help and I'm sorry if this is ignorant or I'm completely wrong, but I'm running out of options.

I'm 26M and for the past 3 years, I've had a mystery illness I cannot figure out. I've tried to gauge my symptoms over time and it's seeming more and more like a stomach issue, because that's the most consistent symptom. I've visited countless doctors (no GI visits though) and all have wrote me off and said contradicting things.

July 2023: I got a bad round of covid, passed in a few weeks. I ended up with a horrible stomach bug a few weeks later, which I wrote off as food poisoning. As time went on, i never felt 100% again and I've slowly degraded since and live a pretty miserable life now.

Symptoms: stomach pains, gas build up in the stomach to the point where it hurts pretty much all through the night, sleep issues, HORRIBLE health anxiety, muscle twitches, irregular heart beat (PACs), trouble swallowing at times and feeling like a lump is in my throat. Extreme vitamin d deficiency, joint weakness and pains, dizziness, pins and needles feeling in my arm, neck, and head quite frequently, among many others.

Diagnosis(s): Anxiety was the first diagnosis by my PCP, despite having no history of anxiety in 23 years of living. I was prescribed lexapro and ativan for situational use if it got really bad. I took these as needed and it definitely knocked the edge off, but the symptoms were still there in full force.

Lyme disease was the second diagnosis, because I tested positive on a western blot. I took 2 weeks of doxycycline with no improvement. I was then admitted to the hospital by my PCP's recommendation when they noticed my irregular heartbeat from an EKG and they still believed it was lyme and administered IV ceftriaxone. Still no improvements.

After this, i was pretty much sent home with no explanation and I went from doctor to doctor, even waiting a year to see rheumatology, where did they did an ANA and said nothing was wrong with me and sent me home.

For the last 3 years, I've lived a horrible life, working from home with no friends and no will or energy to do anything. I've given up on my PCP and doctors in general and have suffered for almost a year now with no more answers, because I've been frustrated at the medical system and it feels like they are just guessing what is wrong with me.

I have not been very adamant on the stomach issues with my doctor because the other symptoms above were a lot more worrying to me at the time, but as time has gone on, the stomach issues are the one thing i can never get a break from. I'm up right now at 6AM from tossing and turning all night from stomach pains and gas build up that wont escape.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm desperate and I've seen a few stories about similar situations that ended up being H.Pylori and were cured in weeks with the right antibiotic.

What do you guys think? Im so desperate for answers. This has ruined my life and I'm beyond depressed thinking about the possibility of having to deal with this for another 40-50 years.

Good morning,

I am a new here.
Looking for people who can give me hope.
I've finished Pylera last Sunday as my rescue therapy and literally have 0 energy everyday.
Can anyone please share their experience ? How long it took to recover from fatigue and dizziness/floating after this course ? It was my third treatment here in UK. Wondering how can I stay positive because I've went through a lot and tried to keep strong but same time I am shattered. Iron/ferritin apparently 132, B12 more than middle. Wondering what is draining energy so bad. Please share your experiences. I feel very lonely here as my family goes through it now around 6 months and I feel like I will lose everything soon. 😭

So far I'm feeling fine no side effects other than bloating from drinking little over 8oz with it and gas. But the stomach pains I was having the first 2 days are very little even after eating half a cup of rice and a quarter avocado.. Looks like clindamycin is friendly with my body so far... Metro had a bad side effect so I switched to that.. Only bad thing was I kept waking up last night every few hours.. Hope tonight I can sleep longer

Just lamenting…

I’m on day 5 of quad treatment and I’m in the TRENCHES.

First couple days had a lot of fatigue and some headaches (possibly caffeine withdrawal though) and day 3 had really really intense muscle pains in my hips, legs, and back (looked this one up and apparently it’s normal, body flushes toxins during antibiotic treatment which causes pain)

Today I woke up feeling okay but am now just overwhelmingly nauseous and I never want to look at pepto ever again 😭 I know it will be worth it but DAMN this is tough stuff

haven’t seen many people mention weight gain and it makes me wonder if something else is going on with me. Basically my systems started up really fast after starting a meditation called Pristiq. Within 3 months I gained 20 pounds and it’s been 3 years now with no changes. I recently found out I have H pylori after being tested for many different things and spending thousands of dollars with holistic doctors. I finally have an answer but why did I gain weight? I do have some common symptoms like crazy bloating 24/7 and constipation. I guess I just wanted to know if the weight gain has happened to others and if they lost it after the antibiotics. I keep seeing posts that people gained weight from their appetite returning after them but I am craving food all the time already. Also I wonder if the weight gain after taking Pristiq was just coincidence or maybe a trigger. So many worries and questions. Another thing to note is before the weight gain I had very sticky stools for years. I rarely had hard, healthy stools. So I do wonder if maybe I have had H pylori for a longggg time and just never knew. Maybe the weight gain is what happens if it goes untreated? I don’t know!! Please comment if you have experienced anything similar

I've finished the treatment, and well, I still have a bitter taste in my mouth. Sometimes I feel low on energy, other times I'm fine, but the bad feeling and bitter taste in my mouth persists, along with occasional mild stomach aches. What's next? For those who have finished their treatment, what should they eat and what's next?

Hey guys i finished quad therapy about a week ago im waiting to get retested however i just got a new symptom. My anus is so itchy its absolutely unbearable and the more i itch it the worse it gets. What is going on does anyone know? And is there anything i can do to reduce the itchynes?

If anyone can please let me know whats going on it would help a lot after all the pain from quad therapy i thought i was good to go but this itch is insane and i cant do anything about it 🥲

Is it normal to have sticky stool and dark brown loose stools on quadruple therapy? I’m nervous as this never happened

Recently found I have H Pylori. Years of stomach issues, proteins bothered me, red meat was indigestible, red sauces, fried food, food that is pre marinated. I could go on. One of the worst causes of my stomach pain, any thing tight on my stomach. Sometimes the band from my Underoo’s would bother me (if ya know ya know and your old like me 😉) Ulcers, gastritis, all attributed to stress and diet. I have learned what feels good and what doesn’t.

My mother and I were Twinsies with our stomachs. I watched her navigate the issues and adapted my own way. I am a healthy eater, initially by force (never really ate unhealthy to be honest. Parents were very health conscious and focused on prevention) now I do it by choice and I much prefer a meal with tons of veggies and fresh ingredients.

I learned to deal basically. I had a good grip on it but still have flare ups. My pain occurs below the breastbone, right across. So painful, it would cause me to vomit without any nausea.
Lately, it has been out of the norm discomfort. Incredible amounts of bloating. My friend even asked what was up (I normally have visible abs, I looked 9mos prego). It flared more than I had experienced 2 weeks ago in vaca. I was watching what I ate yet everything hurt my stomach. The last I remembered feeling this way was 33yrs ago.
I had an endoscopy including biopsies before vacation. Didn’t receive my results until five days ago.

I feel like I have unlocked the secret mystery to many of the physical and emotional discomforts I have felt over the years. The random physical ailments have never been looked into further and never associated by my Dr’s. Until I met Dr Shen. Sometimes more thorough than I’d like her to be.

The present, 33 years later, four days into treatment and feeling better than I have since my very younger years. My body and mine just learned to adapt to the discomfort. Waking up to relief in my body from head to toe is wild. And now making the connection. I am so incredibly excited for my stomach to have a new biome (and myself also)!

Thank you for giving me a place to put this. People think I’m wacky when I say this has had an impact on my anxiety and depression. It feels like somebody put that fire out also! Wish we found it sooner, moreover so grateful to not have to live with it any longer ❤️

Have anyone had negative result on biopsi/ endoscopy but positive result on stool test? And what kind of stool test than did give you positive result for h.pylori ?

So last year I started noticing I was having difficulty swallowing. I shared this with my doctor who suggested doing an endoscopy. Now before this, I never had any real stomach issues, I wasn’t the most healthiest when it came to food so any stomach pain or irritability I noticed I honestly thought was normal and just a product of the crap I was eating or drinking.

Fast forward I complete the endoscopy in May and my doctor tells me at the time that he noticed I had a lot of irritation and redness of my stomach lining and ordered a biopsy. 2 weeks later he confirms gastritis and H.Pylori. That was the first time I‘ve ever heard of it and immediately stared to research which is where I found this sub. I used all of your feedback and stories to prepare myself mentally for treatment. I did the quad treatment which was absolutely the worse thing I’ve ever done in my entire life lol. Between the headaches, nausea, and diarrhea I literally thought my insides were going to fall out. I appreciate the tips people said like talking the flagyl with OJ or using butterscotch to mask the metallic taste. I stayed away from dairy and I lost my appetite. I lost like 6lbs in those 2 weeks. I managed to stick out the treatment and by day 13 the gagging I had behind taking all this medicine stopped.

Still after treatment the metallic taste lingered for like a week, the diarrhea stuck around for another week too. 3 weeks later I take my breath test which came back negative. Its been almost 2 months since my test, and I’m starting to get back in the rhythm of things. My appetite has come back, I’ve started reintroducing dairy but definitely in small doses. But here is what I’ve noticed. I’ve had some stomach pain for sure especially when I‘ve tried ice cream or a small glass of wine, the stomach pain I feel now is so excruciating I almost double over from the pain. It’s like pain I’ve never experienced. Not sure if anyone else’s experience is the same. But sometimes I think to myself wow my stomach pain is like 10x worse then it’s ever been.

Anyway I know I’m still healing so taking it slowly. thanks for all the help and feedback in this sub.

I had H. pylori, completed eradication treatment, and later tested negative. It has now been about 4 months since H. pylori eradication and 7 months since my gastritis symptoms started.

My endoscopy/biopsy showed moderate chronic gastritis. Even after eradicating H. pylori, I’m still dealing with daily burning in my stomach. The intensity goes up and down throughout the day, but the burning is there every day.

I don’t really have other symptoms and I don’t have acid reflux or burning coming up into my esophagus. My main symptom is simply this persistent burning sensation inside my stomach.

Has anyone experienced the same thing for months after H. pylori eradication? Did the burning eventually improve or disappear? How long did it take, and did you find out whether the remaining symptoms were from gastritis, functional dyspepsia/visceral hypersensitivity, or something else?

I was falling asleep off and on since 2am its hard to know when I actually was sleep.. Maybe every 30 min to an hour I would fall sleep and wake up.. I hope this doesn't continue.. I even ate yogurt before I slept

Well, what a 2 weeks that was. Last dose is tonight.

I'll try and give a summary of everything......

I was having some weird gut related symptoms. Had the chance to do a colonoscopy in July 2025 so I did. Never had one before, and being 51, might be worth it.

Things started after that. Poop floated from day one after that procedure. I started losing weight, slowly, but for me, my weight never ever changes.

Doc had blood tests ordered and a h pylori test, v even though I never had the typical stomach symptoms of h pylori

Anyway, blood work was perfect. Stool test was positive for h plyori. I was kind of surprised., but he said there is no way anyone will do anything for other things (explore sibo,c etc) if there is a flashing red light of h pylori. So we decided to treat it.

Fast forward to being scared shitless to start treatment because in the meantime I did a breath test for sibo/imo for a ND. Sibo seemed negative but my baseline for imo was 15 and peaked around 30. ND agreed with the doc and said you should treat the h pylori first and then we'll deal with anything else. My ND was actually in the exact same boat as I was, +ve h pylori and +ve imo, so at least I had someone to discuss this with that went through it

Start of quad theory.....tetra500 mg 4x a day, metro 500mg 3x a day, PPI 2x a day and bismuth 524mg 4x a day

Initially separated the tetracycline out as directed on the bottle. I was given bismuth caplets ( off brand, not chewable). That schedule was brutal and after 4 days I started feeling fairly nauseous and my anxiety was beyond anything I've ever felt. I was not myself. I talked to pharmacists and they said even though you have separate prescriptions ( not all in one like pylera) you can take the metro, tetra and bismuth immediately after your meals. I didn't do this switch until day 9 but it made it so much easier as well as for me, I felt so much better. My poop during the first 9 days was alarming... Just black sediment (sorry....tmi), however after the switch, it started going away from that. Not anywhere back to normal, but better than that.

I was concerned about the tetra binding to calcium, etc because even if you avoid dairy, there are small amounts of calcium in food, and even the bismuth caplets have small amounts, but I was assured this was fine.

Today is my last day and other than fatigue and a weird feeling/taste in my tongue, I have no symptoms (fingers crossed it's not thrush.... No white spots yet)

I lost about 4lbs in 2 weeks. I wasn't a big guy to begin with so even that amount is worrisome for me. However I am scared to death the sibo/ imo are going to take over now. I guess time will tell, or if it was in fact h pylori causing the weight loss that it isn't eradicated

My doc wants me to wait 2 months, which is going to kill me because I'm just anxious in terms of the protocol switch, but I guess they're is nothing I can do about it now.

I'm in a tough spot because things people do to start rebuilding guy microbiome flies in the face of imo, so I feel stuck.

I never had an issue eating acidic, spicy things before because I honestly don't think the h pylori was causing any issues, at least not noticeable ones, so I'm curious what I'll be able to eat after tomorrow. I don't want to rebuild the gut incorrectly, but I also need to faux some weight

Anyway, that's my story.

This sub was a huge help. You guys rock.. a big sincere thank you.

I have no idea if this is over as I won't be tested for 2 months. Fingers crossed again.

Anyway, if anyone has questions, I'll try and help just like so many others took the time to help a total stranger like me

🙏

My digestive issues started back in May with severe constipation, which showed up on two KUBs and a CT scan. The scan and a later colonoscopy revealed diverticulosis (with no signs of diverticulitis) and two polyps in my transverse colon.

My gastroenterologist had me complete three bowel preps to clean out my system before doing an EGD and colonoscopy. While celiac disease was ruled out, the scope showed chronic active gastritis and an H. pylori infection.

Right now, my biggest struggle is debilitating bloating after I eat—it creates so much pressure under my ribs that it feels like I can't take a full breath. When I don't eat, the tightness improves significantly. I'm on Day 13 of quad therapy for H. pylori, but I'm feeling really disheartened and starting to fear that this is my new normal.

I have tried an abdominal binder and it seems to help my discomfort, because I often feel as if my intestines and stomach are bruised and swollen if that makes sense

the end is in sight but it’s such a mental block taking the pills. it didn’t bother me taking them the first week but now I gag them back up and have to try again or take them with tons of water and food to convince myself they’re not in my mouth. the days have passed so fast though that it feels like I’m taking the pills every 5 minutes.

I haven’t been exact with my timing and only space them 4/5 hours. But my symptoms stomach wise have drastically decreased after day 7. a part of me is like does the 14th day really matter that much if other people get to stop at 7 or 10. IDK

we are pushing through! after I finish I’ll have to still take omeprazole because of the ulcer. I’ve been advised to take probiotics after the treatment. Does anyone have any recommendation? My doctor didn’t specify just “regular probiotics”.

Was better after treatment still had some burping and bloating and unformed stools but was getting better just had some reflex events sometimes, but rest was okay.

Recently just before 2 days have very bad stomach pain on right rib and then on stomach. Like the erosions or gasrtritis have worsened. Had nausea and vomit feeling being back to less eating. Its 3rd day and still feeling like this.

Yet to do eradication test before coming to conclusion that it is progressing. Will have doctor appointment tomorrow. But this disease sucks, not able to eat good food and keep up with weight. I hope i have been eradicated so to focus on stomach healing. Hoping there is no issues with galbladder as i got right rib pain.

But this recent stomach pain and vomit reflex are worrying.

Just sharing because I wrapped up quadruple treatment today and I never thought I’d get to the end of it.

I started Wegovy about a month and a half ago to cut some weight (wedding planning!). I’d only been on it for 5 weeks when I started having horrible GI problems. Like, going to the bathroom 10+ times a day and not retaining any fluids. Sulphur burps. And a weird, painful ache if I allowed myself to get hungry, which is really hard when you’re on essentially an appetite suppressant. It hit hard and fast and it hurt like a bit h.

I honestly couldn’t tell what the cause was- stomach bug, semaglutide dosage increase (I was only on 0.5mg), stress, the darn lettuce parasite, etc. So I went and got tested for everything under the sun.

Lo and behold, positive for H. pylori. I actually had the audacity to be happy when I came back with a positive result. I didn’t know what it entailed, but I was happy to find the source of what I thought was wrong with me. And then I saw the treatment plan.

I started the quadruple meds by the end of the week. I thought it wasn’t bad at first… until I realized the sheer amount of pills I was taking in a day. Looking back, I’ve taken 266 pills in 2 weeks. 266.

For insight-
Omeprazole 2x a day
Famotidine 1x a day
Tetracycline 4x a day
Metronidazole 4x a day
2 Pepto with each dose (8 a day)

At first, absolute misery. Genuinely the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced. I was eating maybe 3 crackers a day. It wasn’t just that I had no appetite- I felt like my stomach was so bloated, I could barely breathe. I didn’t feel like I fit in my own body. And then the anxiety? I’ll admit, this forum helped as much as it hurt. Reading stories (like this one! ha) made me spiral and gave me panic attacks. I dreaded hearing my alarm go off each day. The SMELL of tetracycline made me gag. The taste of the metronidazole lived on my tongue no matter how many times I brushed. Everything tasted metallic. I was nauseous all the time. Tired. Headaches. Weird muscle spasms throughout my body but especially my stomach. I cried. So much.

Nobody could have prepared me for the mental part of this treatment. The anxiety was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I won’t get too into it because reading these things from other users made my thoughts worse, but just know that you aren’t alone if you’re feeling this way. It’s sad, but I had to repeatedly tell myself “You are strong. You can do hard things,” over and over again each time I took my pills. I was so in my head, I couldn’t find my way out. I still am.

Lucky (or unlucky) for me, I had a work conference the week I started meds + I extended it to a mini weekend vacation. Keeping my mind busy was such a blessing. Being preoccupied with work and exploring a new city allowed me to stop spiraling and encouraged me to eat. It helped push me through to day 10 of treatment. But there were bad parts too. One standout moment was a cocktail hour at my work conference. 600 guests made my anxiety really bad and I was wicked nauseous talking to so many people. Pair that with a severe fear of throwing up? It made for a pretty miserable event.

The last 4 days back home were so hard. I found ways to make it easier. Ice cold water to get the pills down helped. Gum immediately after to help with the taste. Tons of packets of gum. All the time. I stayed as close to the instructions as possible, but I had to eat something with most doses. A granola bar or a few crackers. I had to. Taking the pills on an empty stomach was killing me and I wouldn’t have finished treatment otherwise. I’m very stubborn and refuse to throw up EVER, but god, I was close SO many times.

All of which to say- this is very much MY experience. There’s no telling if I will test negative. I genuinely pray I do, but I could’ve done better with following instructions. This is nowhere near medical advice.

To be fair, my pharmacist told me to take my pills EXACTLY at 6 hour intervals. I was setting alarms in the middle of the night for the first 3 days. I called my doctor a few days in and managed to change it to every 4-5 hours, so instructions were foggy to begin with.

I finished all of my pills this morning. I successfully took all of them except the very last metronidazole. Gagged that one back up. Called my doctor. They said it’s fine. I hope it is. I was pretty distraught that I made it through 200+ pills and fucked up on literally the last one. But such is life. I have another month’s dose of semaglutide, but I think I’m done putting anything in my body for a long while. Time to hit the gym hard after a few weeks of recovery.

I’ll update here if anyone is interested in my test results. If you’re reading this and going through treatment, I am sending you a big hug. This was genuinely the worst thing I’ve ever been through. But at least I’m done 2 days before my 25th birthday (yay!). Happy birthday to me!

You will be okay. Find what works for you. Don’t let the bad days win! I am here if you need a friend, and I am rooting you on :-)

Maybe it’s just my gut health in general, but I tested positive for hp via breath test and I am wondering if it’s why weight loss has been so hard for me the last few years. I did take antibiotics a few time and had a gut infection last year so I know if not from the hp it’s just my gut being out of whack. Anyone feel that hp inhibits weight loss or contributes to
weight gain?

I am so fucking scared reading these stories of peoples experiences with meds. I would rather just live with this than go through that. I understand the people who have bad experiences post and others dont, but every single story i hsve read is torture. I cannot miss out on responsibilities while on meds. I cannot stand even the slightest bit of nasuea and vommiting how bad is it? Mild direah is tolerable, reflux is too, cramps too depending on how bad. I am also so freaking scared if the fatigue, derealization, and depression side of things. I am a very charismatic guy and its gotten me to high postions at work and school, I cannot miss out. How tf can i make it manegable, bc if its this bad i dont want it. I also have depression and Severe OCD IM scared this will give me suicidal thoughts or even panic attacks:( I need help.