Hi everyone,

I’ve been dealing with a frightening squeezing, crushing pain behind my breastbone. I do not have the typical burning or “heartburn” sensation at all — it feels much more like pressure, tightness, or an angina-type squeezing pain. Sometimes it honestly feels cardiac, which has been very anxiety-provoking.

The pain is highly unpredictable and can happen both at rest (sitting or lying down) and during exertion, even something as simple as walking. Because of the squeezing nature of the pain, I underwent a full cardiac workup. Thankfully, my EKGs, echocardiograms, and stress tests were all completely normal, and my cardiologist has cleared my heart.

To investigate a digestive cause, I recently had an endoscopy (FOGD) with biopsies. I translated the reports from French to English below, and I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced something similar.

1. Endoscopy Report (FOGD) Reason for exam: Retrosternal chest pain.

Esophagus:

• The lower third of the esophagus was very red and inflamed (erythematous), without ulcers.
• The Z-line was irregular.

Stomach:

• Grade 1 hiatal hernia (Hill classification).
• Diffuse redness/inflammation throughout the stomach (pangastritis).
• Biopsies were taken.
• No ulcers or tumors seen.

Duodenum:

• Completely normal.

Conclusion:
Marked inflammation/redness in the lower esophagus, Grade 1 hiatal hernia, and erythematous pangastritis.

1. Biopsy / Pathology Report

• Four small stomach tissue samples analyzed.
• Mild chronic inflammation with congestion/swelling.
• No precancerous changes (no metaplasia or dysplasia).
• No cancer.
• Positive for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori).

Biopsy conclusion:
Mild chronic inactive gastritis associated with H. pylori infection, without malignancy.

My concern is that despite the reassuring cardiac tests, I still struggle mentally with the squeezing “angina-like” sensation because it can feel so intense and convincing, especially when walking or during physical activity. My doctors believe the inflamed esophagus and small hiatal hernia may be causing esophageal spasms or pressure sensations rather than classic burning reflux symptoms.

Has anyone else had H. pylori, gastritis, reflux, or a hiatal hernia cause severe squeezing chest pain without actual heartburn — especially pain triggered by walking or movement?

And for those treated for H. pylori, how long did it take after antibiotics and acid-reducing treatment for the chest tightness/spasm sensations to improve?

Thanks a lot for any insight or shared experiences.

Hey everyone, I am in my 40s. Just wanted to share a major win to give hope to anyone recovering from H. pylori.

My Journey & Strict Protocol:

The Treatment: Completed 14-day Bismuth-based Quad Therapy. During and right after, I dealt with intense brain fog, insomnia, muscle sensations, bloating, a vomiting-like feeling, and persistent lower stomach/navel burning.

The Discipline: I followed my medication timing and strict diet precisely during and after the treatment. I used to wake up at 6 AM everyday to follow the medication timings and gaps between them. I also waited a full 31 days post-antibiotics before taking my Urea Breath Test (UBT).

The Status Update:
My UBT came back NEGATIVE! I am now 2 months post-treatment and feeling absolutely fantastic. The brain fog, bloating, nausea, and lower stomach burning are completely gone. No issues anymore—I am even able to eat a bit of spicy food again with zero problems! It took a month and a half before I started feeling better. I did however had a bit of stomach burning for a month and a half post treatment and had severe insomnia (like waking up after an hour falling a sleep and then cannot fall asleep for two or three hours. Happened multiple times every night.). For both of these issues my doctor prescribed me a few things as I mentioned below in my routine. I am able to hit 95 to 99 sleep score on my Apple watch now and the stomach burning is completely gone.

My Current Recovery Routine:

To maintain this, heal my GI tract, and fix my sleep, here is my daily stack:

1 After Every Meal: Consuming probiotic yogurt to continuously support my gut.
2 Morning: A non-GMO probiotic (NOW Probiotic-10). This probiotic tablet has been massive in actively helping heal my gut and restoring the microbiome database the antibiotics wiped out.
3 Night (9:00 PM): Magnesium Glycinate (240mg). This has been highly effective for sleeping and calming the muscle sensations. It is incredibly gentle and won't irritate a healing stomach lining.
4 Bedtime (10:00 PM): A cup of warm milk before bed, which was a lifesaver for soothing the stomach heat and helping me sleep.

If you are stuck in the middle of the brain fog, bloating, or stomach burning, hang in there and stick strictly to your protocol. Your system will heal! Happy to answer any questions.

None of this is a medical advice. Please talk to your doctor before starting any medication.

Thanks and good luck guys. Don’t give up during the treatment.

I know there's a high false positive rate for blood IgG tests as it doesn't show if you have a current or past infection. I have not been treated for H. pilory before though so this problem doesn't apply to me.

I have had one H. pylori test before and it came back negative but I found out recently I wasn't prepped properly for it (had no idea I was supposed to stop my ppi, probiotic, and pepto bismol which I live off of). I'm getting the blood test to bypass these problems. I just don't want to be paranoid about another potential false negative due to improper prep.

Hi ! I was first diagnosed with H.pylori in 2015 . I took two rounds of antibiotics to eradicate. Im suspecting that it returned in 2021 because of minor symptoms. I recently checked two months ago by stool test and tested positive. I’m taking quadruple therapy in the next two weeks. My questions are :
Did I take too long to treat the second time ? Is something sinister brewing wrong?
My main symptoms are burping ,bad breath , mild loss of appetite and constipation . I’m riddled with the thought of having something sinister;(

Was going to get a stool test in two weeks but I googled how long I should wait if I was taking mastic gum (I had taken it for less than a week) should I wait a full month instead? Also if I cut change my diet cutting off sugar and junk food, and eating a bit cleaner will that affect my results ?

my doctor said to take them together but i read online and the pharmacist told me to separate them by 2 hours apart. is that a must?

I recently tested positive. This is my second time, I had it over 10 years ago and it supposedly cleared up but I've had stomach issues ever since then and now I'm wondering if it's been lurking in there this whole time. Any-hoo, I have 2 young kids, 7 and 4. No concept of personal space. They're always drinking from my cup or waterbottle, and asking for bites of my food. My oldest has somewhat of a sensitive tummy, but other than that no symptoms from either of them. I'm wondering if I should push to have them checked due to their proximity to me?

i was tested positive for H Pylori back in 2024. I completed the meds and was tested negative twice throughout that time.

Ever since I had H Pylori though my gag reflux has gotten worse and my stomach is a lot weaker than it used to be. I throw up a lot more than I used too. I even throw up from coughing too hard, while before that never happened.

Has anyone else experienced this before?

Estou atualmente no 8 dia de antibióticos, claritromicina, amoxicilina e pantoprazol. Tudo se iniciou com uma dor nas costas e depois surgiram outros sintomas como: falta de apetite, queimação, refluxo, gases, ânsia e vomito; praticamente tudo ja sumiu, mas a dor nas costas (especificamente no meio e que piora ao forçar para frente ou forçar as costas para trás). Mais alguem passou isso ?

I've been part of this community for a while. Posted here before about my initial experience and then about developing dysautonomia after clearance. I hope this helps even one person feel less alone.

• Who I am and what happened:

I cleared H. pylori in December 2024. Before that I had months of vomiting, significant weight loss, anxiety, panic attack, all that horrible stuff that makes you feel like a different person. I was 20.

I compare my life before and after constantly. I think most of you do too. There's a version of yourself you remember someone who lived in their body without thinking about it, who woke up and just got on with the day, who didn't know what a heart rate monitor was and then there's whoever you became after this infection. The gap between those two versions is one of the loneliest things I've ever experienced. Because it's invisible. Because you often look completely fine. Because doctors look at your tests and say normal and you're sitting there knowing that normal is not how you feel.

I'm not going to tell you I understand exactly what you're going through because everyone's experience is different. But I'm going to tell you what happened to me. And if any of it sounds familiar you're not imagining it and you're not alone.

• What developed after clearance and how I didn't even realise at first:

After H. pylori cleared I expected to get better. Instead I got worse in ways that seemed completely unrelated to my stomach.

Dizziness every time I stood up. Heart rate spiking. Constantly lightheaded. sleeping. Brain fog. A strange not-present feeling like I was watching my life from slightly outside it rather than living it from inside.

I didn't connect any of this to H. pylori. How would I? The infection was gone. My doctors weren't connecting it either. My GI literally said you are fine now, didn't give any probiotics or say anything at all. He thought it was ridiculous and I was making a big deal.

What was actually happening is that H. pylori had triggered a cascade. And I didn't even realise until months later.

• The iron infusion and what came after:

Eventually my ferritin got low enough that I needed an IV iron infusion.What nobody told me was that my iron kept struggling not just because of gut damage from H. pylori but possibly because I had developed celiac disease silently, my intestinal lining continuing to be damaged every time I ate gluten, unable to absorb iron properly regardless of how much I took or how it was delivered.

• The fear that came next and how my body became something I was afraid of:

I want to be honest about this part because I don't see people talk about it enough and it was one of the hardest things I went through.

After my iron infusion I started getting lightheaded. It kept happening. My body was producing sensations that genuinely scared me. And when something scares you enough times, something changes in how you relate to your own body.

I don't know exactly when it happened. It was gradual. But at some point I realised I was checking my heart rate constantly. Like, constantly. Before I stood up. After I ate. When I was sitting doing nothing. I was running this continuous background check am I okay, does this feel normal, is something about to happen that I couldn't turn off.

And here's the thing the lightheadedness was real. I want to be clear about that because I spent a long time doubting myself and I don't want anyone else to do the same. This wasn't me being anxious for no reason. H. pylori had left my body genuinely depleted and my nervous system genuinely disrupted. I had lost significant weight during the illness weight my body couldn't afford to lose and that weight loss had taken blood volume with it. My autonomic nervous system, which regulates how your heart rate and blood pressure respond when you move and change positions, had been directly affected by months of being sick. H. pylori doesn't just damage your stomach. It damages the network of neurons in your gut wall that talks to your autonomic nervous system constantly. My body had become so weakened and so dysregulated by everything H. pylori put it through that it simply couldn't manage blood flow the way it used to. That's POTS. That's what was causing the lightheadedness that started everything.

And then I was monitoring the sensations generated by the fear of the original sensations. A loop with no obvious exit. The more I focused on how I felt the more I felt. And the more I felt, the more I monitored.

• Derealization

But then things got worse before I had any understanding of what was happening to me.

The derealization started. And if you've never experienced it I don't know how to fully explain it except to say that it feels like the world stopped being real. It was one of the most frightening things I have ever felt because there's nothing to point to. You can't explain it to someone who hasn't felt it. You just feel wrong in a way that has no name and no obvious cause.

And then the visual overstimulation started. Malls became almost impossible too much movement, too much visual information, lights and people and motion all hitting at once and my brain unable to filter any of it. Busy environments felt genuinely threatening in a way I couldn't explain. I started avoiding things without fully understanding why. The world had become visually loud in a way it never had been before.

All of this every single bit of it started after H. pylori. I want to say that clearly because it took me a long time to connect it and I don't want it to take you as long.

I eventually came across the term PPPD literally this year persistent postural perceptual dizziness. And for the first time something made sense. PPPD is what happens when your vestibular system the system that processes balance and spatial orientation gets destabilised by a period of genuine physical threat. Mine was destabilised by POTS, by iron deficiency, by the disruption from H. pylori itself. And then my brain, trying to protect me, went into permanent high alert. Processing every sensation. Monitoring every movement. Amplifying everything visual and physical and spatial because it had learned that my body was a place where frightening things happened.

The attention became the amplifier. The more I focused on how I felt the more I felt. The more I avoided the more my world shrank. The fear of the sensations generated more sensations to be afraid of.

My brain doing exactly what brains are designed to do after prolonged threat had learned something incorrect. And unlearning it while also managing the real physical conditions underneath has been the hardest thing I've ever done.

What I want to say to anyone who recognises this is it didn't feel like anxiety. It felt completely physical. Because it was rooted in something completely physical. That's what makes it so confusing and so isolating. You go to doctors and they say you're anxious and you want to say no you don't understand my body is actually doing something and you're also right that you're scared and both things are true simultaneously and it's exhausting to hold both of those things at once when nobody around you seems to understand either of them.

I am still working through this.

But having a name for it and understanding how it developed starting from real lightheadedness after a real illness has helped more than I can explain.

• Silent celiac the thing I want you to know:

I feel nothing after eating bread. no obvious reaction.

And yet my Endomysial IgG antibody is positive. My Anti-TTG IgA has nearly quadrupled in eleven months.

Celiac disease is silent in a significant proportion of people. The damage happens deep in the small intestinal lining where you have no pain receptors. Your immune system quietly destroys the villi the tiny projections that absorb nutrients every time gluten is present. No immediate symptoms.

Which means iron that doesn’t respond to treatment because the machinery absorbing it is being progressively destroyed. Which means ongoing gut sensitivity and immune activation feeding the whole cascade.

I am not yet on the other side of the celiac diagnosis. I’m in the process of confirming it. But understanding that it might exist that there might be a dietary change that could heal my gut, normalise my iron absorption and quiet the immune activation that has been running since H. pylori feels good.

If your iron won’t respond to treatment. If your thyroid is hard to control. If your gut sensitivity persisted after clearance. If you feel nothing obvious after eating gluten but something still feels wrong. Please ask for the full celiac panel. Please keep eating gluten until you’re tested or the results won’t be reliable.

• What I want to say to you directly:

I’m not recovered fully from the after effects. I want to be honest about that. I’m 22 and I’m still in the middle of this and some days it’s really hard and some days I compare who I am now to who I was before this infection and the gap feels enormous.

But I understand what happened now. And understanding it having names for things, having a map of how one thing caused another caused another has made it less frightening.

You are not imagining your symptoms. You are not weak. You are not someone who just can’t handle things.

You had a serious infection that attacked multiple systems simultaneously and left consequences that the medical system is often not equipped to connect or explain. You deserve better answers than you’ve probably been getting. You deserve a doctor who looks at the whole picture not just the test that comes back abnormal.

Keep pushing. Keep asking. Keep connecting the dots.

You are not alone in this. I mean that from inside it, not from the other side of it. We are in it together.

Happy to answer questions in the comments. Not a medical professional. just someone still working through it who has done a lot of research along the way.

Sending everyone here so much strength 🤍​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Hey all,

My partner and I have been together 10 years for the last 7 he has been in agony. We have been in and out of hospitals dealt with him constantly losing weight, vomiting, stomach pain, severe bloating, stomach ulcers.

The doctors treated him like he was crazy. Saying r was his anxiety sending us home time after time. This year we looked into it more ourselves, we asked for a H.pylori test and where told it probably wasn't that and they wouldn't test for it because he is not Polynesian.

We got a second opinion, he took the test. 7 years of struggle and he is positive for H.pylori. we cried maybe he can finally live again, work again, go for walks, eat good food.

He's on treatment today, what can he expect going forward. What do we need to watch out for? He already had ulcers and some bleeding from them, how long do these take to heal.

Hi guys, I am on day 8/14 of bismuth quad therapy. On day 4 I started experiencing dizziness, tinnitus, and my ears felt very clogged. This was accompanied by confusion. This has come and gone over the last few days, but my hearing is getting worse and so is the tinnitus.

I messaged my doctor and they told me it’s likely due to the pepto, and should be fully reversible (stop after treatment) and to continue with my treatment. Did anyone else experience this? I’m afraid my hearing won’t go back to normal even though my doctor has expressed it will.

My stool test for H. pylori came back negative. I was really hoping it would be positive so I could finally understand why I've been feeling so bad. My endoscopy was clear too. So why do I still feel so awful?

Belching burping rib pains. Headache. Anxiety. Tingling hands. Easily irritated , why why why ...

What can I dooooo now.

4 years ago, I started getting a knot sensation in my throat. I chalked it up to being acid reflux and didn’t think much of it. I ended up moving houses, and realized that I wasn’t able to move things the way that I used to. I was getting winded, but I just figured it was from weight gain or something. Fast forward a year, and the knot feeling in my throat became worse, as did my shortness of breath. It caused me really bad anxiety, and that was the explanation the doctors gave me- anxiety and acid reflux. I was already on Valium for a condition I had developed 4 years prior called vestibular migraines, so I was confused why my anxiety was so terrible. Fast forward another year. I had gotten to the point where I couldn’t walk to the bathroom without my heart racing and gasping for breath as I was sitting down. I couldn’t stand up and clean the house anymore, I had to roll around in an office chair. Showers had to be fast cause I thought I was gonna pass out from not breathing right. Presently, a year later, it now feels like I’m breathing through a straw or that I’m being held underwater for as long as possible until I’m let loose to come to the surface doing ANYTHING. Bending over, standing up, laying down, etc. I just feel like my airways are tight ALL the time. Some days are better than others, but I always have shortness of breath in some form. Never free of it. A lot of the time, I noticed that my stomach hurt right under my breast bone when I would get too winded. And the more that hurt, the worse my breathlessness got. I had asked for an h pylori test 2 years ago. Took the steps to take the breath test in the office, just to have the test thrown away because the lab tech went home early! I relocated after that, and every doctor refused to test me. I finally got an endoscopy done and the results revealed h pylori, chronic gastritis, and a jagged Z line in my esophagus (whatever that means). I am on day 9 of my 14 day treatment. The breathing issues aren’t as severe, but they are definitely still there and disabling. I was wondering if anyone else on this thread has suffered from the severe breathing issues with h pylori as well, and did it go away? It has gotten so bad that I had made a pact with myself to leave this earth if I couldn’t find an answer by new years (2025-2026). Thankfully, I met my boyfriend and decided to try harder. I was in a VERY dark place. I still am, I’m just a little more hopeful. I’m only 32. 4 years disabled me due to the vestibular migraines, and once I recovered from that, I got the shortness of breath and stomach pain- so a total of 8 years of my life has passed me by without any indication that I’ve been living- just existing. I am terrified, I am exhausted, and I just want to know that there’s a solution to this. I can’t be “stuck” like this forever. It should be noted that I have been to several specialists, and my stomach was the last resort because all tests came back “normal”. My heart is slightly enlarged, but not enough to cause symptoms. My pulmonology result said that I have Reactive Airway Disease, but that’s supposed to come and go. Like a once in a while type of thing. Not every single day. I also wonder if they see I have RAD, and it’s actually acid induced. I have a mild fatty liver as well- because well, I’m overweight. However, none of these things would cause severe shortness of breath. I’m at a loss of things to check for.

Guys...I am so chronically sick and have done 1 failed round of AB for h pylori as well as 2 natural rounds. I keep saying I can't do AB ever again because I'm already so sick and can't afford to feel worse (I've taken them so many times that they have destroyed my gut) but I've been so sick for 12 days with horrific anxiety, chest tightness, palpitations, dizziness, nausea etc have gone to er twice....I just saw a dr today and she ran so many tests. Still waiting on a few results but so far my SED RATE and CRP are elevated which means inflammation/infection.... I'm assuming it's this damn h pylori and now strongly considering 1 more round of AB.

The ones my gastro prescribed are CLARITHROMYCIN and MEtronidazole. But I'm reading horrible things about how it can cause heart issues and I'm already dealing with that so want to find out what has 100% healed your guys infections with as little side effects as possible.

Thank you

Hello,

Could you provide advice on how to take care of my body pre, during and post treatment for H Pylori?

Recent diagnoses were IMO and milder SIBO(I think), Giardia, and C. Difficile.

Treated IMO and SIBO with rifaximin and metronidazole last fall.Did not test post treatment for success

Treated Giardia

Treated C. Difficile in December with Dificid. Tested negative after.

Now H Pylori

I’ve had gut issues for decades. Don’t know if this treatment will even work. But want to prepare myself best I can going into it. Because of SIBO/IMO and C. Difficile, protecting my gut is complicated.

I’m looking for advice from those who understand that complication.

Have recommendations for what to take to prepare?

See people taking NAC, Allicin, then probiotics…but with SIBO/IMO that creates issues.

Meeting with my doctor Thursday to make a game plan. Would like to go in with as much helpful info as I can.

Thank you for your help.

Hi everyone I’m almost 4 months post antibiotics for h pylori and my gut it still overly active. It’s definitely a lot better than before and I do experience some GERD symptoms like belching that hurts but nothinggg like it was before the antibiotics. I’m just a little concerned becuase specifically my right lower stomach area is always active. It’s very loud and also only in that one specific area that sometimes leaves me needing to go to the restroom right after I eat. I eat EXTREMELY clean still and won’t have any seasonings or sugar becuase I know it will cause me to have a flare up. I’m just concerned becuase 24/7 that specific part of my stomach is always gurgling(especially after I eat which is normal I know) but it’s too the point where it’s abnormal. Has anyone had this? I just want it to stop being so active becuase when I’m not in my house it gives me anxiety and makes me think that I need to go to the restroom and then many times that ends up happening. I know a lot of people don’t want to slow down their gut and have constipation problems but mine is overly active and it has made afraid of going out. I already had to leave college because of H pylori and now four month post antibiotics it’s still affecting my quality of life.Any advice would help me.Thanks!

34M, moderate smoker.

Since Nov 2025, after taking metoclopramide + fluoxetine, I had what felt like a panic-like episode. Shortly after that, I started developing persistent symptoms that have not fully resolved.

Main symptoms since onset:

• Persistent or recurrent retrosternal constrictive chest pain
• Intermittent “electric shock” sensations in the left chest/retrosternal area
• Tooth/jaw pain with no dental cause found
• Jaw feels mildly tender and produces a dull ache when touched
• Symptoms occur both at rest and during exertion
• Chronic, persistent course without full remission

Medication timeline:

After the initial episode in November 2025, I changed my psychiatric medication from fluoxetine to escitalopram, and was also prescribed a short course of benzodiazepines, as it was suspected that fluoxetine might have been too activating for me.

Following this change, I actually felt noticeably better for about 1–2 weeks.

However, in December 2025, I suddenly developed intense constrictive chest pain, which triggered significant fear and a panic-like reaction. Since then, the chest pressure has persisted as part of the ongoing symptom pattern.

Cardiac workup:

• Resting ECG: normal
• Echocardiogram: normal
• Exercise stress test: excellent performance (117% of predicted workload), no ischemia, no pain reproduction

➡️ Overall, cardiac causes were considered unlikely based on testing.

Gastroenterology workup (endoscopy):

• Grade 1 hiatal hernia
• Distal esophageal erythema (reflux esophagitis)
• Mild chronic gastritis
• H. pylori infection (currently under eradication therapy)

Current issue:

Despite ongoing treatment, I still have persistent chest constriction and jaw/tooth pain, and I’m struggling to understand the cause.

What I’m trying to understand (differential diagnosis considerations):

Given the negative cardiac workup and GI findings, possible considerations I’ve come across include:

• GERD / reflux-related non-cardiac chest pain
• Hiatal hernia–related chest discomfort
• Esophageal hypersensitivity or functional esophageal disorder
• Musculoskeletal chest wall pain (costochondral involvement)
• Neuropathic or referred pain (possible cervicofacial involvement explaining jaw/tooth symptoms)
• Central sensitization or post-anxiety physiological amplification (hypothesis, not diagnosis)

At this point I’m trying to understand what could explain this combination of:

• chest tightness
• jaw/tooth pain
• normal cardiac workup
• mild but present GI findings

Has anyone experienced something similar or has any idea what direction I should explore next?