Originally Posted by indigogo

Rick - I didn't know that about antibiotics and leftover bacterial toxins.

18 months ago, because of an infected cat bite on my hand, I ended up in the hospital for three days on continuous IV drip antibiotics followed up by 3 more weeks on high-spectrum oral antibiotics, and did not experience any side effects. By the time I was able to start treatment, my hand was swollen to the size of a softball and I had red streaks radiating up the entire length of my arm.

Is the danger when the infection has gone untreated for a length of time, the placement of the infection (closer to the gut), or if you don't get all of the infection?

Just so that I don't sound like a complacent doofus letting the infection get so bad before treatment, the injury occurred a few hours before I left my house on the West coast to fly to Washington DC. By the time I landed, only 12 hours after the bite, my hand was totally swollen; I went directly from the airport to the emergency room; after 6 hours in the emergency room I was finally admitted and treatment was begun. By that time the infection was so bad that I was attracting medical students sent into see the "fabulous example of agressive infection," and photographs were taken for teaching purposes!

This occurred at George Washington University Medical Center in DC, where I was really impressed by their staff - when I told the night nurse I had PD, she said, "well then it's important you get your meds on the right schedule!" and she let me keep my own until the next morning when I was given theirs.

Originally Posted by Chemar

just wanted to share our success eradicating h.pylori with Mastic Gum (aka Gum Mastica from Greece) which kills the bug (we got ours in capsule form at our local Vitamin Shoppe branch (www.vitaminshoppe.com) and also DGL- licuorice root, which heals the ulcerated areas.

It *must* be DGL-liquorice (usually comes in cheawable wafers- we like the one by NOW Foods which i get at www.iherb.com ) Other forms of liquorice root are not the same in GIT mucosal healing properties, and regular liquorice root can elevate blood pressure, so do be sure to only use DGL-liquorice root for this (DGL = Deglycyrrhizinised liquorice )

hope that can maybe help if you need to try to avoid the chemical rx drug route.

Originally Posted by reverett123

leonore, there is some serious danger here so be careful. Do a forum search and you will find the full story, but the condensed version is that the standard way of doing things is to hit the HP with a mix of antibiotics and wipe it out.

A healthy person can do that but for a PWP it can be the end and I'm not kidding. The problem is that all those dead bacteria flood the system with toxins. Our slow GI tract, leaky gut wall, and leaky BBB combine to spread the toxin to places that we definitely don't want it. It can do serious nerve damage and even put you into a wheelchair.

You may remember Ron's experience with his infected tooth recently. Same toxin but in the case of HP eradication there is a lot more of it, it hits all at once, and it is in areas beyond your defenses.

So, what to do? Good question. My own answers are tentative so don't put too much faith into them, but....

First, consider the possibility that HP is not the problem but that its overgrowth is. There is reason to suspect that it may be beneficial in lower numbers. It lives nowhere but the human stomach. Killing one's host is bad design.

Second, get the GI tract working before doing anything. Whatever it takes.

Third, one thing that both stimulates the GI tract and kills HP is rhubarb root. I try to take it a few days evey now and then and it seems to have it under control. But remember hat the idea is reduction of numbers, not eradication.

Fourth, follow up with probiotics. I know that HP is in the stomach and everyone else is downstream, but I do it anyway.

Finally, and I haven't tried this yet, there is an intriguing treatment using healing clays to absorb toxins from the GI tract. Seems like it would fit right in.

Anyway, be careful.

Originally Posted by Chemar

just wanted to share our success eradicating h.pylori with Mastic Gum (aka Gum Mastica from Greece) which kills the bug (we got ours in capsule form at our local Vitamin Shoppe branch (www.vitaminshoppe.com) and also DGL- licuorice root, which heals the ulcerated areas.

It *must* be DGL-liquorice (usually comes in cheawable wafers- we like the one by NOW Foods which i get at www.iherb.com ) Other forms of liquorice root are not the same in GIT mucosal healing properties, and regular liquorice root can elevate blood pressure, so do be sure to only use DGL-liquorice root for this (DGL = Deglycyrrhizinised liquorice )

hope that can maybe help if you need to try to avoid the chemical rx drug route.