If anyone's out there with stomach issues and taking daily doses of proton pump inhibitors or antacids, please get yourself checked for h.pylori. You can get DIY tests on the internet for very little money. H.pylori is a bacteria that lives in your stomach and creates problems like excess acid and ulcers. It has been proven to be the cause of ulcers.
Treatment is with antibiotics and lasts one or two weeks, depending on your doctor and his favourite method (in the States I believe the 2 week method is the norm). Your stomach will - ultimately - thank you for it.
Though taking the antibiotics can make you feel a bit queazy, but its only for a short time.
Anna
Just for the record, h.pylori bacteria is not the only cause of ulcers...
What causes Stomach Ulcers?
The direct cause of peptic ulcers is the destruction of the gastric or intestinal mucosal lining of the stomach by hydrochloric acid, an acid normally present in the digestive juices of the stomach. Infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori is thought to play an important role in causing both gastric and duodenal ulcers. Helicobacter pylori may be transmitted from person to person through contaminated food and water. Antibiotics are the most effective treatment for Helicobacter pylori peptic ulcers.
Injury of the gastric mucosal lining, and weakening of the mucous defenses are also responsible for gastric ulcers. Excess secretion of hydrochloric acid, genetic predisposition, and psychological stress are important contributing factors in the formation and worsening of duodenal ulcers.
Another major cause of ulcers is the chronic use of anti-inflammatory medications, such as aspirin. Cigarette smoking is also an important cause of ulcer formation and ulcer treatment failure.
http://www.mamashealth.com/stomach.asp
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/peptic_ulcers/page2_em.htm
http://www.medicinenet.com/peptic_ulcer/article.htm
Lynn
If you have symptoms of a stomach ulcer, the first thing a gastro will do is test you for h. pylori. That has been standard here for at least a decade. If you are negative, they will look at lifestyle issues. If you are positive, they will treat you with antibiotics. There is no question; that is Standard of Care now.
Suzanne, I've posted the warning because I was treated with antacids for over a year before I got tested for h.pylori. Also, I know of two people who have been on antacids for two years whose docs have never even suggested the test. A lot of docs, apparently, in the uk, still dont routinely check for h.pylori even though the test is easy and cheap. Anna Been there done all that had the antibiotics, cleared it up thank God, but have to be checked regularly as I have so many problems now with GERD from all the antiinflammatories! (Gastrooesophageal reflux disease). Thanks for the info though, regards Janie. Yep, I had some bad stomach issues a few years back. I was really hoping it was h. pylori (because it's easy to treat), but the culture came back negative. "Chemical gastritis", from too much coffee, NSAIDs and crap food.I have a gastroscopy every two years and I am always tested for h pylori. I take proton pump inhibitors and have GERD and a hiatus hernia and did have ulcers from aspirin years ago. H pylori can cause stomach cancer, that is what you really have to be careful of. It is something that is so easy to fix but can do so much harm if left untreated.
When H. pylori was first identified as the major cause of peptic ulcers, it was found in 90% of people with duodenal ulcers and in about 80% of people with gastric ulcers. As more people are being tested and treated for the bacteria, however, the rate of H. pylori- associated ulcers has declined. For example, a 2001 study suggested that about half of ulcers are not caused by H. pylori . Instead, they tend to be caused by regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which include aspirin and other common pain relievers. Genetic factors or, rarely, Crohn's disease or Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, also cause ulcers.