My Endoscopy update and results!
#9305 - 05/18/03 08:00 AM
|
|
|
|
GEA
Reged: 04/06/03
Posts: 32
Loc: San Diego, CA
|
|
|
Hi All!
It's been a while since I posted here. I have been through a lot the last couple of weeks, but I'm trying to get back to reading all the posts.
I just thought you would want to know the latest with my endoscopy. I had a harder time recovering from it than the colonoscopy for some reason... I was sore from the tissue samples that the Doctor took, I guess.
I had been tested for H. Pylori before with a blood test and it came back negative. But H. pylori came back positive! I was surprised. I started on high antibiotics, like 2500mg a day, and Aciphex. I felt a lot better right away. I could eat things without getting sick! I have been so happy about that.. cause just about everything I ate made me sick. I think that H. pylori was really giving me all kinds of problems!
I had no celiac, cancer, or ulcers, thankfully. He said that I had a lot of acid and that it was inflamed. I asked him if maybe that was it, and maybe I didn't have IBS(?) and he said no, you have IBS. Oh well, I was hoping!
So, I am surprised about this H. Pylori thing and if you have had the blood test come back negative, it's still possible that you could have it.
I have to go get some probiotics today. I will finish the antibiotic course on Monday. So I want to get the good bacteria going again.
I appreciate this board and all of your great posts and helpful information!
--------------------
~GEA~
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I'm glad to hear you are feeling better. May I ask, what is H. Pylori? I have never heard of it.
Thanks, Karen
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Gea,
I am so glad your endoscopy went well and you are feeling much better. My endoscopy went fine too, but i have no idea what i was tested for! All I know is that my doc said I had a flattened villi (what the heck?!) I also had lots of mucas and acid. I wish i knew if i was tested for celiacs or not. Can someone tell me what a flattened villi means?
--------------------
-Angela
Healed in Jesus' Name 
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Thanks, Karen,
I should have explained what H. pylori is. It's called helicobacter pylori and this is the 'bug' that is really responsible for people developing ulcers. I have done a lot of research on the net and found that it is a nasty little bug. They don't know how one gets it. They say maybe bad water but they don't really know. I have always drank bottled water, so I doubt it. I also found out that the condition 'roseacha'(sp) or whatever it's called where people break out with a red rash on their cheeks... Well h. pylori causes that too. I have had adult acne for quite a few years and it is already getting better!
Thanks again,
--------------------
~GEA~
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Hi Angela,
Villi are small finger like things that line your digestive system and help your food to be absorbed, because they increase the surface area of your gut. If they are flattened, obviously nutrients aren't going to absorbed as well.
I hope I remembered that right, I learnt it in school a long time ago LOL !
Sarah 
--------------------
Sarah
Looking for inspiration...
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Hi Angela,
Thanks for your reply! From everything I have read on the net, a flat villi means Celiac disease. Celiac disease inhibits the villi and that is what happens, it just flattens it! Look it up and you can find information on it.
They certainly should have checked you for Celiac when you had your endoscopy!
--------------------
~GEA~
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Thanks guys for filling me in on the villi thing. I think its pretty screwed up that my doc told me that i had a flattened villi but didnt bother to take the time to tell me what that meant  But, oh well, I have an appt. with her May 29th, so i'll def. ask her then. Im also gonna ask her for a diff med, this Levsin just isnt cuttin' it. 
Thanks Again Guys! 
--------------------
-Angela
Healed in Jesus' Name
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Angela
#9332 - 05/18/03 04:42 PM
|
|
|
|
Karin
Reged: 02/11/03
Posts: 483
Loc: Southern California
|
|
|
Angela: It sounds like you very possibly are Celiac and you will not need a medication at all as you just have to avoid gluten and all wheat products. Many times oat is also a culprit, and modified food starch, and and and.......the list is very long and detailed. If your endoscopy biopsy shows celiac, you'll be on the celiac board learning about what obscure foods contain gluten. You won't have IBS at least.......k
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
hey Karin, thanks for your response and your concern. I am now very confused though, because i know my doc confirmed that i my villi was flattened, also i know she took biopsies. If she took biopsies, wouldnt she have checked for celiacs? I had this test done in January of this year and i think if she suspected or have even actually tested for celiacs, she wouldve told me. Im def. gonna ask her about it, and ill make sure to update you. Thanks!
--------------------
-Angela
Healed in Jesus' Name
Edited by ConcreteAngel (05/18/03 05:13 PM)
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Yes that's the main thing they check for with a endoscopy biopsy. Your doctor should have told you all of this, checking for celiac was the first thing he told me when I set up my endoscopy. My doctor's office called with the results before my follow up office visit, maybe yours will also. That way you could do some research and ask questions pertaining to your exact test results.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
They found H.Pylori when they did my EGD almost a year ago. My doc said it looked like it had been there awhile too. It had already started eating away the lining in a couple of spots. They medicine gave me the absolute worse taste in my mouth. Do you have the little packs with AM & PM sets with about four pills each?
--------------------
Laurie 
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
--------------------
-Angela
Healed in Jesus' Name
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Angela,
She wouldn't necessarily have checked for Celiac. Also, you might have tested negative for Celiac then (when was the endoscopy) and you might test positive now. Endoscopies are considered the gold standard test for Celiac...but they're not 100% accurate. This is what's so frustrating for a lot of folks--and this is why many people simply go off gluten after negative test results, find they feel better, and are self-diagnosed.
If you decide to go off gluten and you feel better, you have your answer regardless of the tests.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
Ruchie
--------------------
Formerly known as Ruchie
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Hi Laurie,
So how are you doing now? Are you all better from it? The pharmacist told me there was a 90% chance of killing it. It's pretty hard to get rid of, so I have been reading. No, I didn't have any packets, but what I have been taking also leaves a gawd awful taste in my mouth too!
--------------------
~GEA~
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I can definitely give the men a run for their money if I belch, but I don't know if that has anything to do with the H.Pylori. My husband's aunt is a nurse and ran the endoscopy floor, she told me that more than likely the medicine would get rid of the H.Pylori. She never made it sound like it was to terribly difficult to get rid of. It's been about a year since it was found. It's almost a year since I went to the GI doc. I probably should go back and ask him if I need to be tested or have another EGD. That H.Pylori was doing a number on my stomach. I thought to myself afterwards, no wonder I had burning sensations on occaision. I've read that it's pretty easy to transmit. I'm wondering if I should get my husband tested for it. Are you taking anything besides the super antibiotic? They gave me in the little packet, previcid (sp). I had four pills I took in the morning and again at night. They were all horse pills too. I don't envy you and that horrible taste in your mouth.
--------------------
Laurie
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
My Endoscopy is scheduled for Monday. I'm kinda nervous. I have never been put under any kind of anesthesia (sp?) and I have never had any kind of procedure done. Is it hard to wake up after its over with? Is it that scary?? I know a few people thats had it done and they say its really not a big deal and it doesn't last long.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Hi Leanne!
I know just the anticipation is really scary! I have to say honestly that the colonoscopy was easier for me than the endoscope but everyone has a little different experience. I just had a harder time recovering after the proceedure. That was the only part that was hard for me. Maybe it was hard on me because of my age (58). The actual time when it was being done, I was fine and it was not scary. They give really good drugs and I actually felt happy from them! Before I got the drug, I was scared but determined to get it overwith to find what was going on with me.
I have had to take very high doses of antibiotics for the H. pylori. My blood tests had come back negative, by the way. The antibiotics left me with a very bad candida flare up that I have been having to fight lately.
Good luck, Sweetie! Please let us know how it goes and what the doctor finds out.
--------------------
~GEA~
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
GERD
#12552 - 06/26/03 09:14 AM
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you! I will let you know how it went. My problem seems to be in my throat, it feels like I have something in my throat and sometimes my throat burns. I don't know if anybody else has had this problem with GERD.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I understand that if you are on anti-acids AT ALL prior to the H. Pylori blood test, it will come back a false negative. You need to be off all OTC and prescription anti-acids for weeks before taking the H. Pylori blood test to get correct results. (Can't remember now the exact number of weeks you need to wait after discontinuing them but it is a different waiting period for different classes of anti-acids.) Ask your gastro about this as this might have been what happened to you....or...do a web search on "false negative H. Pylori tests".
Glad you are starting to feel better............and now on the right track.
Kandee
--------------------
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Gea,
I can't believe that your doctor didn't have you taking acidophilous while on antibiotics!
You can take it everyday as a supplement.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I do know about that, but I thought that you took it after the round of antibiotics. I am taking it now, like a lot of it every day.
It is very complicated with me. I had such a bad case of candida five years ago, it almost did me in. I was extremely sick. I was in bed 24/7 with a lot of pain in my pelvis. I think it was in my blood, brain and organs. I was treated very poorly by a doctor and it went on for so long with improper treatment that they finally told me there was nothing left to give me and basically gave up on me! At the end of this night mare, I was taking diflucan like candy and it did nothing! I also had tried every natural remedy out there and the candida diet.(no sugar) Nothing helped me.
I did find a proceedure called "UVI" where they extract 15% of my blood through a closed machine and run it through ultra violet light. The ultra violet light kills the candida in your blood. It's expensive, and no insurance will pay for it. This was given by an MD in San Diego. It really saved my life. I have had to go back for a few treatments lately because of my flare up. I developed CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue) as a result of the candida. It has been really a difficult road.
--------------------
~GEA~
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Thank you for that information! I didn't know that. I was not on any antacids at the time or in the preceeding weeks either. I wonder why it came back negative..strange... Thanks for your help and encouragement...
--------------------
~GEA~
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
and everything was fine, he didn't see any ulcers or polyps. They took blood and I am suppose to call my PCP later this week to see if I have H Pylori. the reason why I had it done was because my throat would burn all the time and it felt like I had something in there. I also suffer from allergies and read somewhere that can cause your throat to burn. I took Zyrtec all last summer and it worked and I want to talk to my doc to see if she can prescribe me some. Its nice to know my esophagus is ok!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Posts
