How Long Does Recovery From H.pylori Infection Take?

Posted on Sat, 15 Oct 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 15 Oct 2016 Answered on

Fri, 4 Nov 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I finished taking my medicines after being diagnosed with H Pylori on 9-29-16. Today is 10-15-16 and I still feel a little ill and losing weight from 159 pounds to 147 pounds. I asked my doctor if I could take another test for H Pylori and he said that I had to wait. How long is the waiting period. He did prescribe Omeprazole DR 20 Mg. I still have chills but no fever.

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
4 weeks is what is recommended

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thanks for the question,
It somewhat depends upon the type of test being done but generally it is recommended that you wait 4 weeks before retesting is done.
A positive urea breath test, culture or rapid urea test any time after treatment is evidence of failure.
The reason for the recommendation to delay testing for 4 weeks is that it is felt that it may take that long for an incomplete treatment to allow bacteria to build up to a sufficient quantity that the test is negative. So you could have a negative test right after treatment, but still be positive it tested again in 4 weeks with an ineffective treatment.
The only exception to the 4 weeks if you are being tested with a stool antigen test, then you should probably wait 6-8 weeks before retesting.
Regards,
Dr. Robinson

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar