sure enough it was a prescription and a newbie on the phone who was giving out garbled messages. at the health centre they couldn't even tell what type of bacteria in my stomach was causing too much acid, and preventing me from keeping food down. bacteria in the stomach seemed like saying "blood in the veins". what do i know about biology though?
electron scanning microscope pic of helicobacter bacteria. i think they look pretty cute.
the pharmacist told me that the medication was probably for helicobacter. pharmacists train for nearly as long as gp's and usually have a more friendly manner. my sister had the same thing a few years ago, and suffered from acid reflux too. i wonder if there is a link there? my sister studied biology at university, and heard somewhere that a lot of people in the Glasgow area have helicobacter. According to wikipedia:
The most widely known species of the genus is H. pylori which
infects up to 50% of the human population.
it also says:
i have no idea what that means, if anything, but the medicine is making me feel pretty pukey as the pharmacist said it would. i'm keeping food down better so hopefully this will work.Acid reflux and esophageal cancer
As the incidence of gastric cancer has
decreased,
the incidences of gastroesophageal
reflux disease and esophageal cancer have
increased dramatically. In 1996, Martin J. Blaser put
forward the theory that H.pylori might also have a beneficial effect: by regulating the acidity of the stomach contents, it lowers the impact of
regurgitation of gastric acid into the esophagus.[3]
While some favorable evidence has been accumulated, as of 2005 the theory is
not universally accepted.
to get rid of the helicobacter bacteria, i have to take 8 pills a day. 4 in the morning and 4 at night. they give you a horrible 'medical' taste in your mouth all day. chocolate spread helps but the taste comes back. it's only a few more days until they are all finished though, so hopefully all will be well then.
4 comments:
"medication, medication, medication... that's what you need..."
Mate, that's a whole bunch of pills there! So no alternative therapy for that aye?
sure was a whole lot, but they are done now and the medical taste has gone, yay, but the acid hasn't completely gone, boo.
alternative therapy? don't know one for that, but i'm on the lookout for a new body. if you find any mind transplant therapies, let me know.
:)
Bleah! Well, that's no fun. Especially when you've taken all of your meds and it doesn't really help, eh? It's scary that you can find a cure faster on the internet, then by visiting a doctor nowadays...
very true, Summer. weird thing is doctor's often seem less helpful when you present them with information that could help you. many don't like people self-diagnosing. obviously that can be a bad thing in some cases, but when you don't get the answers you need well...
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