Pylera Treatment (Quad) Journal – First 2 Days
After having an upper endoscopy, I was diagnosed with a 2 cm hiatal hernia, H. pylori infection, and chronic gastritis that has probably been there for years because of the bacteria.
To be honest, the H. pylori itself wasn’t causing me major symptoms. I only found out about it because of the endoscopy. I always had some mild stomach pain that I could live with, but the main reason I decided to get checked was my silent reflux, which has been my biggest problem for a long time.
So I started the quadruple therapy (Pylera). My goal is to get rid of the bacteria so the chronic inflammation can finally heal and the stomach pain improves. I’m also hoping that if the infection has been making my reflux worse or harder to control, treating it will make managing the reflux a little easier while I figure out what to do about the hiatal hernia. Dealing with one problem is definitely better than dealing with three at the same time.
Side Effects
So far, after the first two days, the side effects have been pretty manageable.
Nausea hasn’t been much of an issue. I only felt nauseous once after working out because I got extremely hungry afterward. Other than that, I haven’t really experienced nausea.
Thankfully, I haven’t vomited at all.
I’ve also noticed some bloating, especially after meals, but it’s mild and hasn’t been difficult to deal with.
My diet hasn’t changed. I’m eating the same foods I’ve been eating for a while, and my diet was already about 90% reflux-friendly before starting treatment.
Reflux
One thing I’ve noticed is that my reflux seems to be a little better.
It’s still hard for me to judge because I normally sleep sitting upright due to the hiatal hernia. However, before starting Pylera I would still get reflux even while sleeping in that position. During these first two days, that hasn’t happened, which is encouraging.
The only episode I had was a minor micro-reflux event when I tried to sleep on the bed on day one and that’s expected since I slept on the bed.
Sleep
Without a doubt, sleep has been the hardest part of this treatment.
I’m doing my best to stay committed because it’s only a 10-day course. I’d rather push through the side effects, get the full benefit of the treatment, and hopefully start feeling better afterward than go through all of this, spend the money, and end up not getting rid of the infection.
The problem is that I can barely sleep. I’m only getting about two hours at a time, and that’s while sleeping upright. I never really reach deep, restorative sleep.
Honestly, I don’t know how I’m going to make it to day ten. I’m worried that at some point I’ll be so exhausted that I’ll end up delaying or missing a dose just because I’ll desperately need one proper night’s sleep to feel like myself again.