Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Sometimes it's "just" helicobacter pylori.

I had a particularly widespread infection a while ago, so my GP prescribed Amoxicillin.

Suddenly the stomach pains, which used to be a regular thing for me whenever I ate something hard to digest, disappeared altogether.

Turns out this antibiotic is part of the concoction they have you take to deal with stomach ulcers, as it deals with the bacteria responsible for them.

I have no confirmation that was indeed the case here aside from a previously diagnosed chronic doudendum inflammation, but the difference was night and day, so this is my working theory.




You also need a proton pump inhibitor taken one hour before the antibiotic and before food for a more effective treatment.

The chronic duodenum inflamation could also be linked to gut microbiota depletion. I had mild lactose intolerance for years until I took probiotics for a few months and started eating whole milk youghurt (as unfermented milk the question) as part of my regular diet. It needs to be real yoghurt, not the phony sweeter one with corn starch, sugar or fruit added to it. Also UHT milk might screw up your gut microbiota. Make sure you take probiotics during and after the antibiotic treatment.


Seconding this.

I'm unsure of interactions between antibiotics and detrimental gut flora such as Candida albicans, but Western medicine pretends that doesn’t exist anyway


> but Western medicine pretends that doesn’t exist anyway

What do mean by that? The leaflet for my tablets against throat infections specifically mentions candida strains taking over as a risk when overdoing the drug.


I've heard of Candida infections before. I also know what preem probiotics are and antibiotics, but what's a detrimental gut flora and how do you get rid of it?


Gut flora are just the bacteria that live in your gut.

Some are good (e.g. what you take probiotics to get more of), others are detrimental (e.g. h. Pylori, candida)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candida_albicans

Candida is not microbial. Candida is a genus of fungus [yeast].

Gut fungus is in an entirely different class of treatment; antibiotics will not eradicate fungi, and fungus tends to grow tendrils and spores and generally work into every moist/dark crevice.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori#Treatment

Bacteria can be vanquished by digesting antimicrobials, but viruses are simpler/smaller, and fungus ain’t even in the same kingdom.


I understand all of this; what i meant to ask, i think, is: How do these detrimental gut flora get in to our systems, and how do we prevent that, or get rid of them? Is taking more bacteria helpful, in that it can out-compete the fungus? My experience with lacto and yeast is that both of those are well-equipped to outcompete nearly everything, especially if you give them lots of pure sugar.


That's why you take fluconazole with your first dose of antibiotic.


Man, I ran a plan of some mental anagrams on that drug word, and all that’s missing is an “i”

https://xkcd.com/2422/

https://xkcd.com/2425/




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: