5+ Years of dealing with H.Pylori.

I'm typing this out on my phone, so I'll do my best to format it properly!
My encounter starts after a day out drinking with friends. For 3 to 5 years prior, I had been complaining about random, internal chest pain that almost felt like heart or lung issues.
The day after going out drinking, I had a light breakfast. During lunch, I suddenly felt like someone had punched me straight in the stomach. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. To make matters worse, I had just been laid off from my job a week prior, so my health insurance had just cut off.
I turned into an internet detective and stumbled across a post on this subreddit. My symptoms matched everything to a T. I also hadn’t realized that the weird minty taste in my mouth was a symptom! I thought I was losing my mind and that it was just from brushing my teeth earlier.

My Symptoms: Chest pain, a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach when empty, heartburn, pain when eating spicy foods, and severe acid reflux.
I had gone to doctors over the years complaining about stomach and chest pain, but they never offered to test me for H. pylori. All they ever did was prescribe a proton pump inhibitor and tell me to take it religiously or it wouldn’t work.
After reading the Reddit post, I ordered an antibody test off Amazon.

Mind you, my wife’s uncle and grandfather both passed away from stomach cancer. Her uncle used to complain constantly about his stomach and acid reflux. I also learned that a friend's dad had 1/3 of his stomach removed due to cancer caused by H. pylori. Another friend's mom passed away from cancer that spread to her spine, which was later found to have originated from H. pylori and stomach cancer.

My wife and I both took the test. My heart sank when mine came back positive (luckily, hers was negative). Since an antibody test doesn't 100% confirm an active, current infection, I had to wait.
It took me about 8 months to get my health insurance sorted out so I could finally see a doctor. Two weeks prior to my first appointment, I started taking H. pylori prebiotic and probiotic capsules from Amazon, ate super clean, and stuffed myself with broccoli sprouts.

In May 2026, I got my first Urea Breath Test done. It came back positive—a mix of disappointment and instant validation. It felt terrible knowing I had carried this around for years, and it scared me. As a father, the thought of leaving my children early terrifies me. But at the same time, I felt validated. I wasn’t crazy; I knew something had been off all those years.

On May 30th, I started my 14-day treatment: Clarithromycin 500 mg once a day, Amoxicillin 500 mg twice a day, and Pantoprazole 40 mg once a day. I spaced them out and took Nature’s Bounty probiotics, ate yogurt, and stayed hydrated. The medication was brutal and completely wrecked my gut flora.
Treatment side effects: Headaches, nausea, and a super bitter taste in my mouth. It was so bad it would wake me up from sleep, and all day my mouth tasted like I had licked a Nintendo Switch cartridge.

After the 14 days, I started drinking Feel Good’s Gut Guardian (a probiotic mix I picked up at TJ Maxx). Shortly after, I developed the worst gut pain of my life. It felt like I was dying, and I was terrified it was C. diff. I went back to the doctor to get tested for C. diff. The pain and runs subsided about three days later (lasting about 6 days total), and I eased up on the probiotics before slowly reintroducing them. Thankfully, my C. diff test came back negative.

As of July 30th, 2026, I am officially H. pylori free!
Thank you to this community for enlightening me and making me feel validated. Thank you to everyone who has shared their story and symptoms. To those who are currently suffering: do not give up. It really does get better, and I am happy to answer any questions about the steps I took or what I used.
Lastly, I now tell everyone to be careful about sharing food or drinks. Although the risk is low, it’s not zero. I share my story and the stories of those around me in hopes to bring awareness to those in the dark.