Overlapping symptoms can be confusing…
And these can lead to unnecessary treatments…
There are many overlapping symptoms that are commonly found in a number of gastrointestinal tract illnesses, diseases, and infections. Make sure you are aware of these, or you may end up taking an unnecessary treatment that’s not going to help you.
Unraveling the confusion…
This is a very important topic as there are many symptoms that overlap when it comes to gastrointestinal tract illnesses, diseases, and infections. It is absolutely necessary for you to understand this so that you are not confused by these before, during, or even after any treatment you take.
For example, you may have experienced certain symptoms and your doctor or health care professional then does a diagnosis and pathology test that concludes you are H. pylori positive. Next, you complete treatment to clear your H. pylori infection – only to find the same old symptoms show up soon after treatment.
This does not necessarily mean that your treatment has not worked and that you are still infected with the H. pylori bacteria. You might be thinking that this doesn’t make sense.
So, let us explain…
When doing the initial diagnosis, doctors normally tend to assess symptoms for the more common illnesses, diseases, and infections. This also applies to the range of laboratory tests that they request. A good example of this is that we have found that between 65 to 70% of patients that test positive for H. pylori, will also test positive for candida albicans.
The symptoms of H. pylori are VERY similar to the symptoms of candida albicans.
HERE’S THE PROBLEM! The pathology tests used to determine the status of H. pylori and candida albicans are usually different – and unfortunately candida infection/overgrowth, is largely overlooked.
Yet, most patients being treated for H. pylori have symptoms that relate to both H. pylori and candida albicans. Testing for both h. pylori and candida would prevent doctors from getting confused as a result of using a symptoms-based diagnosis. Accurate testing ensures that the right condition is treated right away.
An incorrect symptoms-based diagnosis can lead to the wrong condition being treated over and over again, simply because the wrong condition/problem is being treated and the symptoms are not going away.
The golden rule is that if you experience persistent symptoms after a successful treatment, this is an indication that you may well have a further underlying complication that needs to be investigated, identified, and treated.
Staying with the example above, and with the point about persistent symptoms, please note the following differences between H. pylori and candida albicans infections.
CANDIDA ALBICANS – When candida albicans is activated, the yeast infection tends to multiply very rapidly. This is because the normal 60:40 ratio of ‘good versus bad bacteria’ becomes something like 20:80 where the bad bacteria take control, leaving no hope for the good bacteria to cope.
H. PYLORI – By comparison, H. pylori can take years to colonize in your stomach. It happens so slowly that this bacteria is sometimes referred to as a ‘stealth invader’.
What to do if you still have symptoms after treatment
As we have indicated above, some symptoms are common to a number of gut-related issues.
Once you have been treated for h. pylori, for instance, make sure that you get tested properly after treatment with either an HpSA or GI-MAP stool test, to establish if the treatment has been successful. If the treatment has been successful, you will need to look further into the cause of the ongoing symptoms.
As a starting point, you may find it interesting to search Google to find what can cause the symptom or symptoms you have. As an example, if you Google ‘what causes bloating in my stomach’ you will find 20 or more possible causes. (Bloating is a good example because it is a common ongoing symptom.)
In some cases, bloating is caused by two or more factors, and even when one of those is eliminated, the bloating continues. The same can be said for a host of other symptoms.
Of course, we don’t promote self-diagnosis and always recommend that you are referred for testing by a competent health practitioner.
*Information Disclaimer: Please note that we cannot guarantee specific results as quoted in testimonials, or in any general claims made. Results are individual and can vary from person to person. For more information on our Money-Back Guarantee please click here.
Bibliography & References
These articles relate to the symptoms of all types of ulcers found in the gastrointestinal tract;
- Laine, L., Jensen, D. M. (2012). Management of patients with ulcer bleeding. The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 107(3), 345-360.
- Tytgat, G. N. J. (1995). Role of Helicobacter pylori in peptic ulcer disease. European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 7(1), 79-85.
- Fischbach, W., & Malfertheiner, P. (2018). Helicobacter pylori infection and non-malignant diseases. Helicobacter, 23(Suppl 1), e12528.
- Chey, W. D., & Wong, B. C. (2007). American College of Gastroenterology guideline on the management of Helicobacter pylori infection. The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 102(8), 1808-1825.
- Peterson, W. L. (1991). Helicobacter pylori and peptic ulcer disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 324(15), 1043-1048.
- Thompson, A. B. R., & Barkun, A. N. (2005). Peptic ulcer disease: recurrence and long-term management. BMJ, 330(7491), 61-63.
- Sonnenberg, A. (2013). Review article: historic changes of Helicobacter pylori-associated peptic ulcer disease. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 38(4), 329-342.
- Lanas, A., & Chan, F. K. (2017). Peptic ulcer disease. The Lancet, 390(10094), 613-624.
- Sleisenger, M. H., Fordtran, J. S., Feldman, M., & Scharschmidt, B. F. (1998). Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. Saunders.
- Malfertheiner, P., Chan, F. K., & McColl, K. E. (2009). Peptic ulcer disease. The Lancet, 374(9699), 1449-1461.