Worsening Symptoms after H.Pylori

It was in October 2021 when I was suffering big time with gastritis. My anxiety was at an all-time high and I couldn’t handle certain situations, especially work AT ALL. Any kind of stress aggravated my symptoms. I would have that terrible tightening sensation around my neck making it difficult to breathe. That was probably the most uncomfortable symptom of all.

Other symptoms were sharp pains to my midsection, and occasional sharp pain around my chest areas. Sharp back pain right below my rib. Yes, it got pretty scary at times. Nausea, loss of appetite, heartburn, and acid reflux were my main symptoms. I also felt a lot of anxiety, stress, and depression. I had been prescribed anxiety medication but was afraid that would be too reliant on it, so I did not take it.

The more symptoms I had, the more anxiety I felt. The thought of thinking about my discomfort gave me anxiety and it was an ongoing vicious cycle. I was starting to feel a little depressed due to the ongoing nature of my condition. I just wasn’t myself and had not been myself for more than 6 months.

November 2021

About November 2021, I was still trying to pretty much survive and not wither away. I was down to 115 lbs and I couldn’t afford to lose any more weight! All my symptoms prevented me from eating well and taking on more calories. At this point, I felt that everything affected me and I resorted to the meager diet that only helped me stay alive during this time. If I overate then I would immediately have a flare up and I just couldn’t bear it.

Mid November I figured out what I was able to tolerate and feel somewhat ok. By the end of the day, I had to be careful with what I ate. It was either cereal, eggs or soup. So I wouldn’t eat after 7:30pm, otherwise I would not feel very well and not be able to sleep. I didn’t deviate much from my diet. I kept it pretty basic, with soup and vegetables every day or what gastritis sufferers called a “bland diet”.

I also had just turned 45 and needed to get my colonoscopy. It was important that I get this done as I was having other GI concerns that had me worried.

Consequently, I wasn’t getting the answers I needed from my current doctor, so I decided to consult another doctor to get a second opinion. This was due to the early h. Pylori treatment that I received and the rapid weight loss for the past couple of months. When I finally did see another doctor, he wasn’t surprised to hear these common symptoms after h.pylori. He mentioned that people would suffer more after they had gone through the antibiotic treatment. The antibiotic treatment messes up your gut so badly that recovery can be brutal. In my case, I was suffering due to having more acid production which caused difficulty eating.

The new doctor prescribed a higher dosage of PPIs and h2 blockers than my previous doctor. I was so adamant about taking so much medication. Learning the long-term effects of these medications really made me feel uneasy. I just couldn’t go back to the major discomfort I was having and a host of other problems. 

So I agreed to just take the h2 blockers for a short amount of time. I was really hesitant to take any medication at all. With the colonoscopy procedure, I anticipated not being able to eat and then losing more weight, eventually dropping down to 108 lbs from 113, so I decided to put the procedure off with them. Needless to say, it been a long time since I’ve been this weight.

Sadly, I later decided to not continue with the new doctor. I thought he was going to give me more guidance on what could be the cause of my rapid weight loss and how to improve my diet. It was not like that at all. I felt like I was just another patient passing through with gastritis, being prescribed the same medication like everybody else. I was nobody special; so I decided to move on. It was difficult accepting the fact that this was something I was going to have to deal with ALL ON MY OWN.

Personally, I don’t think they have any sympathy for their patients. It’s sad that not all of us are lucky and have a positive outcome. I felt like I was one of the unlucky ones who was just suffering and trying to find answers all on their own.

So I thought it would be best to go back to my previous doctor who performed my endoscopy. I had gained a lot of trust with them and they performed my endoscopy beautifully so they were able to see me after two weeks.

When I got to the office, I had to do what they call a prep which is one of the most difficult things I had to do in my life so far. I know I am being a little dramatic, but I really couldn’t eat for a couple of days. There was this clear mixture what seemed like a whole gallon that I had to be consumed that evening.

This was pretty much the laxative that will help clear out your stomach. I almost didn’t make it through because I was having symptoms at the same time. It was around 3 am and I was still trying to finish it. There were moments when I had nausea and just could not bear drinking it anymore.

I realized that after just drinking liquids it’s what my body needed. I mean, I didn’t feel hungry or lightheaded from not eating. It actually was tolerable. I was pretty surprised that we truly can survive with just liquids for days. Although I was gagging through the whole process, I felt like I was going through less symptoms.

It was awesome to have made it through this stage of the prep. It was similar to the endoscopy that I went through. The setup is almost the same once you arrive at the clinic. I am honestly am not sure how long it took because they put you to sleep and it is completely a painless process. I remember them putting an IV in one of the veins on my right hand and then a second later you’re in la la land. I literally woke up in the other room when we were all done. 

They give you something to drink like some fruit juice to help wake you up. Then afterwards, you are allowed to leave with the person that brought you there. It could be a friend or family member whom you trust. Since I was having all these gastrointestinal issues, I thought the worst. My prognosis was that I had a pretty good amount of inflammation in my lower intestine (the duodenum). Figured out why there were moments when I would have a lot of cramping and some pain down there. It’s only when I eat too much pasta or a lot of carbs when I get this sensation.

Could this be the early Signs of Crohn’s Disease?

Furthermore, I was relieved I didn’t have other complications like polyps that needed to be removed.  I felt so relieved that I finally got the colonoscopy and I didn’t have any major issues. They wanted to analyze the inflammation down in my lower intestine so they had me take some blood work specifically for Crohn’s Disease. Thankfully, I felt so relieved that it came out NEGATIVE for any cells that indicated Crohn’s. I was so worried because they were talking about how I could get some treatment and it could go into remission.

So if you don’t know what crohn’s disease is, it’s an inflammatory bowel disease that causes chronic inflammation of the GI tract. I was pretty convinced that I had Crohn’s disease, but I am glad it wasn’t. Since I don’t fully understand the implications of Crohn’s and I failed to ask the right questions to my doctor, what I am understanding is the inflammation can come and go due to diet, but It does not completely go away.

So I can totally still have inflammation and not know it. This can improve if I follow a healthy diet to lower my chances of causing more inflammation. And I definitely don’t want to feel more discomfort in my body. What I don’t understand is if it’s inflammation but not Crohn’s Disease, then what is it? Just inflammation of the lower intestine?

But there’s no cure, so I am not sure what it is and if will EVER go away. I just hope it does, and not turn into something worse in later years.

They didn’t give me any medication for it which confirmed that it wasn’t severe. All they told me was to let them know if I am having bouts of discomfort down in my abdomen to ensure it didn’t need immediate treatment. So far so good.  I am just trying to stay away from heavy pasta, bread or anything that is going to worsen my symptoms. I mostly try to eat gluten-free bread which helps relieve some of this discomfort. 

After this procedure, I continued with my daily suffering of gastritis. I was surprised that this ordeal was an ongoing endless illness. Like this was going to be my new normal. It was still around November and didn’t feel I was getting better. I started taking omeprazole and pepcid like my doctor recommended. I was back to the medication for a little while longer. 

As a mother of two, I also had to take care of my family and it was very difficult. I had to cook and feed the kids and I wasn’t really able to feed myself. I always had to cook a separate meal – usually it was tasteless bland soup. My son always needed help with his math homework and I just couldn’t with my flareups. The stresses aggravated my symptoms so much that I had to often take frequent breaks. I figured out that I needed to do a lot of meditation. I would sit out side in the backyard in complete silence and it would help relieve my symptoms. Or I would turn on relaxing music with my headphones on to try to ease my discomfort. I did what I could to try to get by from the extremes of this condition. 

November 2021

Mid November I figured out what I was able to tolerate and feel somewhat ok. By the end of the day, I had to be careful with what I ate. It was either cereal, eggs, or soup and usually, I would stop eating by 7:30pm, otherwise I’d have uncomfortable symptoms. I wouldn’t be able to sleep and would be uncomfortable. I didn’t deviate much from my diet. I kept it pretty basic, with soup and vegetables everyday. 

There was a handful of things I was able to tolerate. December I did get some other tests done because the problem was the endless tightening of my neck. It felt like I was suffocating. It even constricted my swallowing somewhat so they did a motility study. 

That was a really uncomfortable procedure. I don’t know how I agreed to it, but I just wanted to know what the heck was wrong with me. This procedure required sticking a long tube (that was a camera) so they can see what’s going in my esophagus. They first stuck it through my nostrils and down my throat. You had to be awake to perform this procedure. They started out by lying you down at an incline with your head back. And then they would make you swallow some liquid, while analyzing the movement when you swallowed. They kept track of the procedure on a scale that they measured to see if there was anything abnormal with the movement of your swallowing through your esophagus.

I felt it was very uncomfortable because the tube was in my nostrils and down my throat and every movement made I was able to feel. They did try to numb my throat by drinking this thick liquid, but that didn’t help much with the discomfort. I had to sit up more which made things feel a little better. I just couldn’t wait to have that procedure over with.

I heard many people throw up because it hits their gag reflex. I am glad that didn’t happen to me. The difficult part was not swallowing when you weren’t supposed to swallow. I had all kinds of phlegm accumulating and couldn’t help ‘swallowing’. If you do, you had to restart the process. So that was annoying. I got through it though. Thank the Lord up above. I think it was my will to find answers, that I was able to pull through.

As a result, the prognosis was that everything seemed normal. To my surprise I had no major problems with my swallowing. The structure and tests indicated that everything was performing normally. That is what I didn’t understand. So much constriction of my neck and no problems? I had to trust that this was the case. 

December 2021

In December however, I felt that I finally started to feel a little better with each passing day. I didn’t feel perfect but I felt things improving. 

I was able to go and visit my family in December and when my mom saw me she was surprised to see how frail I looked. She did point out that my cheekbones were protruding. I still had to take it easy while I was there. I was very happy to spend time with my family after so long.

I had no care in the world. I didn’t feel stressed and I actually was feeling less symptoms. My condition improved a lot when I am not constantly thinking about my symptoms. 

It definitely has to do with your mental state. I’ve also noticed that when I am out and about doing shopping I don’t feel symptoms either, because my mind is distracted with other things. It’s pretty surprising how your mental state is so important to your well being when you have gastritis.

I am glad that I was able to notice the differences in my condition cause that helped me get better with time. I just knew that I needed to get out of the house and go on my walks or go shopping to not have to deal with the discomfort. Going on walks helped me take my mind off of things and it helped me cope with my current situation.

We were heading into January and my symptoms were starting to improve some more. Although my body was starting to feel better, I was still not eating normally up to this point. My diet was still strict and I kept it that way for a while. My calories were minimal and it remained at 105. It took me about about six months later to see some weight gain. I was definitely making strides slowly but surely. 

I managed to start working a little bit here and there so I won’t be too stressed. At that time, I was actually not working at all. I took some time off. When I did finally start working, I definitely found fulfillment in doing something for myself. I felt it was something that I needed to do to feel happier about myself and my current situation. It definitely helped cope while going through this condition.

After sometime, I was definitely able to manage this condition much better. I was eating a little better. I had mentioned I still was not gaining weight yet. My family and I moved and I was still trying to manage my symptoms, but I made a lot of improvements. At that point I was about 105 and I was just trying to not have flare ups. I survived for the next 6 months and I was able to eat more variety of foods and gradually I started to gain weight.

While getting settled in my condo, I almost immediately started to work consistently part-time at my new job. It was probably the best schedule I could find with my current situation. It was from 10-2pm, M-F. I was happy to be working. Although it was part-time I still felt a little stressed out, but things got better with time. People were very understanding there, and I was able to share what I was going through.

May 2023

Currently, it’s May 2023 and although it’s been a year and half, I have gained about 15 pounds back. So right now I do fluctuate from 118-123 pounds. Ideally I want to stay at 120 lbs. I find this weight perfect for my 5’2 frame. Also, I don’t feel much symptoms anymore, but I do need to still be careful with what I eat. I can’t be thinking I am back to normal, because it all bites you in the ass.

Yes, I will get a flare up here and there if I am not careful. Sometimes, stress does play a major role on how I am going to be feeling. During the week, I do feel like I get heartburn or acid reflux. I try to not resort to taking pepcid or any kind of medication like that. I just try to drink apple cidar vinegar or baking soda in a 8 oz glass of water. This is very helpful.

I am happy that my condition has improved, but I am facing other issues that I will go into later. Next, issues are my neck discomfort. Not sure where this is coming from but I definitely think it’s due to poor posture. I do think these symptoms are definitely due to having covid, but that’s a whole other story.