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"Howard Berkowitz" wrote in message
...

It seems like a fairly benign drug, but does have some warnings about
use with ulcers -- I'm not immediately sure, given what it does, why it
should be a problem.

My more fundamental question, however, is about your ulcers. A very
substantial percentage of ulcers are curable with medication, if they
are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Testing for
this is quite simple--the preferred method is a breath test after you've
taken a test drug. More often than not, two weeks or so of an
antibiotic in combination with anti-ulcer medication will cure it. Some
people may need a couple of courses of antibiotics.

Do you know if you have been tested for H. pylori?

No, they found the ulcers right after my gastric bypass surgery because I
kept throwing up and was sent back to the hospital three times (we all
thought there was a problem with the surgery). The third time in the
hospital they finally did an endoscopy and saw three ulcers in the upper
part of my stomach (the part not stapled). They put me on Protonix and were
supposed to do another endoscopy after two months on that, but my insurance
crapped out so I just got another month's refill of the Protonix, felt
better after that, and never did go back for the Endoscopy. That was about
3 months ago that I stopped taking the Protonix.

Then, about 5 or 6 weeks ago, I started with the kidney stones again after
15 years!!! My GP did a 24-hour urine study and then prescribed the Urocid
K. I think I told you about how many drugs he had me on before my surgery,
and how bad the withdrawals were when I took *myself* off of them, so I am
*VERY* leary about getting on *any* long-term medications again - especially
something that may have side effects that would cause still another medical
problem.

Thanks for all your help, Howard.

Hugs,

CatNipped

"Howard Berkowitz" wrote in message
...

It seems like a fairly benign drug, but does have some warnings about
use with ulcers -- I'm not immediately sure, given what it does, why it
should be a problem.

My more fundamental question, however, is about your ulcers. A very
substantial percentage of ulcers are curable with medication, if they
are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Testing for
this is quite simple--the preferred method is a breath test after you've
taken a test drug. More often than not, two weeks or so of an
antibiotic in combination with anti-ulcer medication will cure it. Some
people may need a couple of courses of antibiotics.

Do you know if you have been tested for H. pylori?

No, they found the ulcers right after my gastric bypass surgery because I
kept throwing up and was sent back to the hospital three times (we all
thought there was a problem with the surgery). The third time in the
hospital they finally did an endoscopy and saw three ulcers in the upper
part of my stomach (the part not stapled). They put me on Protonix and were
supposed to do another endoscopy after two months on that, but my insurance
crapped out so I just got another month's refill of the Protonix, felt
better after that, and never did go back for the Endoscopy. That was about
3 months ago that I stopped taking the Protonix.

Then, about 5 or 6 weeks ago, I started with the kidney stones again after
15 years!!! My GP did a 24-hour urine study and then prescribed the Urocid
K. I think I told you about how many drugs he had me on before my surgery,
and how bad the withdrawals were when I took *myself* off of them, so I am
*VERY* leary about getting on *any* long-term medications again - especially
something that may have side effects that would cause still another medical
problem.

Thanks for all your help, Howard.

Hugs,

CatNipped

On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 13:51:42 -0400, Howard Berkowitz
wrote:

snip
My more fundamental question, however, is about your ulcers. A very
substantial percentage of ulcers are curable with medication, if they
are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Testing for
this is quite simple--the preferred method is a breath test after you've
taken a test drug. More often than not, two weeks or so of an
antibiotic in combination with anti-ulcer medication will cure it. Some
people may need a couple of courses of antibiotics.

I remember being surprised when this first came out - treating ulcers
with antibiotics didn't make sense until I learned more. One of my
younger brothers, and my younger sister, were plagued by ulcers from
and early age, and had them cured by antibiotics - though my brother
endured them for a couple extra years because he was too macho to be
tested. He has a high stress job and insisted that that was the cause,
and said he'd rather just drink maalox or some such as it was cheaper
than the treatment. Sure the maalox or mylanta may be cheaper in the
short run, but the cost just adds up.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 13:51:42 -0400, Howard Berkowitz
wrote:

snip
My more fundamental question, however, is about your ulcers. A very
substantial percentage of ulcers are curable with medication, if they
are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Testing for
this is quite simple--the preferred method is a breath test after you've
taken a test drug. More often than not, two weeks or so of an
antibiotic in combination with anti-ulcer medication will cure it. Some
people may need a couple of courses of antibiotics.

I remember being surprised when this first came out - treating ulcers
with antibiotics didn't make sense until I learned more. One of my
younger brothers, and my younger sister, were plagued by ulcers from
and early age, and had them cured by antibiotics - though my brother
endured them for a couple extra years because he was too macho to be
tested. He has a high stress job and insisted that that was the cause,
and said he'd rather just drink maalox or some such as it was cheaper
than the treatment. Sure the maalox or mylanta may be cheaper in the
short run, but the cost just adds up.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

In article , "CatNipped"
wrote:

"Howard Berkowitz" wrote in message
...

It seems like a fairly benign drug, but does have some warnings about
use with ulcers -- I'm not immediately sure, given what it does, why it
should be a problem.

My more fundamental question, however, is about your ulcers. A very
substantial percentage of ulcers are curable with medication, if they
are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Testing
for
this is quite simple--the preferred method is a breath test after
you've
taken a test drug. More often than not, two weeks or so of an
antibiotic in combination with anti-ulcer medication will cure it. Some
people may need a couple of courses of antibiotics.

Do you know if you have been tested for H. pylori?

No, they found the ulcers right after my gastric bypass surgery because I
kept throwing up and was sent back to the hospital three times (we all
thought there was a problem with the surgery). The third time in the
hospital they finally did an endoscopy and saw three ulcers in the upper
part of my stomach (the part not stapled). They put me on Protonix and
were
supposed to do another endoscopy after two months on that, but my
insurance
crapped out so I just got another month's refill of the Protonix, felt
better after that, and never did go back for the Endoscopy. That was
about
3 months ago that I stopped taking the Protonix.

Given that you had the gastric bypass. that does bring up a range of
causes of ulcers. Still, I think it's bad medicine not to test for H.
pylori, because if you have it, the ulcers are _curable_, not just
controllable.

Then, about 5 or 6 weeks ago, I started with the kidney stones again
after
15 years!!! My GP did a 24-hour urine study and then prescribed the
Urocid
K. I think I told you about how many drugs he had me on before my
surgery,
and how bad the withdrawals were when I took *myself* off of them, so I
am
*VERY* leary about getting on *any* long-term medications again -
especially
something that may have side effects that would cause still another
medical
problem.

That's one of the reasons I suggest the H. pylori test -- if you are
"lucky" enough to have it, once it's eradicated -- and most people only
need one course of therapy -- they are forever gone.

In article , "CatNipped"
wrote:

"Howard Berkowitz" wrote in message
...

It seems like a fairly benign drug, but does have some warnings about
use with ulcers -- I'm not immediately sure, given what it does, why it
should be a problem.

My more fundamental question, however, is about your ulcers. A very
substantial percentage of ulcers are curable with medication, if they
are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Testing
for
this is quite simple--the preferred method is a breath test after
you've
taken a test drug. More often than not, two weeks or so of an
antibiotic in combination with anti-ulcer medication will cure it. Some
people may need a couple of courses of antibiotics.

Do you know if you have been tested for H. pylori?

No, they found the ulcers right after my gastric bypass surgery because I
kept throwing up and was sent back to the hospital three times (we all
thought there was a problem with the surgery). The third time in the
hospital they finally did an endoscopy and saw three ulcers in the upper
part of my stomach (the part not stapled). They put me on Protonix and
were
supposed to do another endoscopy after two months on that, but my
insurance
crapped out so I just got another month's refill of the Protonix, felt
better after that, and never did go back for the Endoscopy. That was
about
3 months ago that I stopped taking the Protonix.

Given that you had the gastric bypass. that does bring up a range of
causes of ulcers. Still, I think it's bad medicine not to test for H.
pylori, because if you have it, the ulcers are _curable_, not just
controllable.

Then, about 5 or 6 weeks ago, I started with the kidney stones again
after
15 years!!! My GP did a 24-hour urine study and then prescribed the
Urocid
K. I think I told you about how many drugs he had me on before my
surgery,
and how bad the withdrawals were when I took *myself* off of them, so I
am
*VERY* leary about getting on *any* long-term medications again -
especially
something that may have side effects that would cause still another
medical
problem.

That's one of the reasons I suggest the H. pylori test -- if you are
"lucky" enough to have it, once it's eradicated -- and most people only
need one course of therapy -- they are forever gone.

In article , Steve
Touchstone wrote:

On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 13:51:42 -0400, Howard Berkowitz
wrote:

snip
My more fundamental question, however, is about your ulcers. A very
substantial percentage of ulcers are curable with medication, if they
are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Testing for
this is quite simple--the preferred method is a breath test after you've
taken a test drug. More often than not, two weeks or so of an
antibiotic in combination with anti-ulcer medication will cure it. Some
people may need a couple of courses of antibiotics.

I remember being surprised when this first came out - treating ulcers
with antibiotics didn't make sense until I learned more. One of my
younger brothers, and my younger sister, were plagued by ulcers from
and early age, and had them cured by antibiotics - though my brother
endured them for a couple extra years because he was too macho to be
tested. He has a high stress job and insisted that that was the cause,
and said he'd rather just drink maalox or some such as it was cheaper
than the treatment. Sure the maalox or mylanta may be cheaper in the
short run, but the cost just adds up.

There are an assortment of drug combinations used, usually at least two
antibiotics plus one or more drugs to suppress acid while the treatment
is going on. One drug, probably not first line any more but still used
and safe, is bismuth subsalicylate -- the active ingredient in
Pepto-Bismol. Turns out that pink goo may have had much more power than
anybody realized, for decades.

In article , Steve
Touchstone wrote:

On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 13:51:42 -0400, Howard Berkowitz
wrote:

snip
My more fundamental question, however, is about your ulcers. A very
substantial percentage of ulcers are curable with medication, if they
are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Testing for
this is quite simple--the preferred method is a breath test after you've
taken a test drug. More often than not, two weeks or so of an
antibiotic in combination with anti-ulcer medication will cure it. Some
people may need a couple of courses of antibiotics.

I remember being surprised when this first came out - treating ulcers
with antibiotics didn't make sense until I learned more. One of my
younger brothers, and my younger sister, were plagued by ulcers from
and early age, and had them cured by antibiotics - though my brother
endured them for a couple extra years because he was too macho to be
tested. He has a high stress job and insisted that that was the cause,
and said he'd rather just drink maalox or some such as it was cheaper
than the treatment. Sure the maalox or mylanta may be cheaper in the
short run, but the cost just adds up.

There are an assortment of drug combinations used, usually at least two
antibiotics plus one or more drugs to suppress acid while the treatment
is going on. One drug, probably not first line any more but still used
and safe, is bismuth subsalicylate -- the active ingredient in
Pepto-Bismol. Turns out that pink goo may have had much more power than
anybody realized, for decades.

"Howard Berkowitz" wrote in message
...

That's one of the reasons I suggest the H. pylori test -- if you are
"lucky" enough to have it, once it's eradicated -- and most people only
need one course of therapy -- they are forever gone.

Thanks Howard!!! You've given me great information to take back to my
doctor - grrrrr that *HE* didn't bring that up (I really need to see someone
else, but my guy is a really good diagnostician, just real rushed - but he
is the one who diagnosed my fibromyalgia and specializes in that, not many
of those around).

Hugs,

CatNipped

"Howard Berkowitz" wrote in message
...

That's one of the reasons I suggest the H. pylori test -- if you are
"lucky" enough to have it, once it's eradicated -- and most people only
need one course of therapy -- they are forever gone.

Thanks Howard!!! You've given me great information to take back to my
doctor - grrrrr that *HE* didn't bring that up (I really need to see someone
else, but my guy is a really good diagnostician, just real rushed - but he
is the one who diagnosed my fibromyalgia and specializes in that, not many
of those around).

Hugs,

CatNipped