# h. pylori bacteria, mastic gum and IBS...



## the doc (Feb 8, 2005)

with all the recent focus on excessive bacteria in the small intestine as a possible cause to IBS, it got me thinking about which bacteria it might be. for example could it be H. Pylori?this is the bacteria that has been found to cause stomach ulcers mostly because it has the unique ability to protect itself and withstand stomach acids. eradication of H. Pylori bacteria usually involves a mix of two or three antibiotics with varying degrees of success.however, the New England medical journal has reported on study findings showing that mastic gum, from a tree grown on an island of Greece, has been quite effective in eradicating the evil H. Pylori.read more about mastic gum here: www.life-enhancement.com/displayart.asp?ID=313 i am ordering both the chewing gum form and capsules to see what effect they might have on IBS-d.anyone else heard of any connections or already tried this?[This message has been edited by the doc (edited 01-22-2001).]


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## atp (Jan 18, 2001)

They can test for H. pylori with a fasting blood test.I was tested for it several years ago after having bad stomach acid pain, but it was negative. (That was before I became a D-queen.)H. pylori is erradicated with a strong dose of antibiotics.I'd be cautious about the gum... don't want to mess with my intestional fauna too much... amoxicillin seems to make things worse for me. (Or maybe it's just all that drainage from the sinus infections!)


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## Guest (Jan 22, 2001)

Interesting. Please tell us what if any effect the gum has for you.Brian


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## HipJan (Apr 9, 1999)

yes, interesting about the gum.exactly which bacteria could be bothering our intestines is a BIG question for everyone...medical science is not "there" yet, from what I understand. I'd been wondering for a long time, too, if H. Pylori could be bothering both my stomach and intestines -- esp. since my problems shift back and forth btw. my stomach and intestine (and elsewhere too). finally, my newer GI doc is giving me an endoscopy next week and will do an H.P. tissue biopsy; he listened to me and did not dimiss the possibility of H.P., even though I'd had an earlier H.P. bloodtest (which can apparently provide false negatives). if it's not H.P. for me, then back to the drawing board for the umpteenth time over the past 2-3 years.


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## the doc (Feb 8, 2005)

actually they now have a fairly accurate breath test for H. Pylori. it was approved by he FDA in 1996 and is non invasive and non radioactive. takes about a half hour at the doctor's office.i keep wondering if H. Pylori can withstand stomach acid why wouldn't it travel downward also?


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## HipJan (Apr 9, 1999)

That's what I wonder too....Yup, a friend of mine had the breath test a while back (I thought, a few years ago?). H.P. was in fact found. I'm doing the more-expensive endoscopy because the doc thinks that my problems have gone on far too long to mess with the breath test at this point.


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## dianne (Jan 16, 2000)

There's a New Zealand honey that is being widely used internationally in hospitals for treating H Pylori.It's a distant relative of the well-known ti tree ( as in tea tree oil )that the bees use in making their delicious and helpful nectar... it's called Manuka honey. The active strength varies so there is an identifiable factor called UMF that the label will show if it has the active ingredient alive in the honey.It grows only in New Zealand but has been shown to have the highest anti-bioitic qualities of any honey in the world, even with things Golden Staph.Easy to take -- just a few spoons a day can heal a stomach ulcer! I thnk we export to the USA -- check a good health store and ask for active New Zealand Manuka Honey... and does it have a UMF factor on it.Email me for help if you can't find it ...Good luck.Dianne


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## the doc (Feb 8, 2005)

thanks for the tip on the honey. here's a link for a USA source of it. www.manukahoneyusa.com


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## the doc (Feb 8, 2005)

just found a jar of this honey at whole foods, fyi!


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## HipJan (Apr 9, 1999)

good, I'm going there today (WF); I'll check it out!


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## dianne (Jan 16, 2000)

What a good site, I've just been in there. But be sure to order the Active with the UMF 10 rating. ( I'll check with an NZ company how high that rating is for activity and get back to you )It is a delicious honey and a remarkable natural product, especially with burns and even gangrene has been stopped with its topical application.No-one with an allergy to bees or bee products should take it by the way ...Good luck to you all -- please post again your responses with it.Kind wishesDianne


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## the doc (Feb 8, 2005)

received my bottle of Bye-Lori Mastic Gum from Life Enhancement today. Dosage calls for 4 caps in the morning before breakfast and 4 at night before bedtime. each cap contains 250mg of Mastic Gum, Hyperforin from St. Johns wort, thyme and cinnamon.the magazine that came in the package claims that the H. Pylori bacteria has been found in 95% of all intestinal ulcers -- an even greater percentage than with stomach ulcers! they also sell a Mastic Gum toothpaste which helps kill these bacteria in your mouth (first line of defense) and freshen your breath.this will be interesting to see what results i get.[This message has been edited by the doc (edited 01-24-2001).]


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## the doc (Feb 8, 2005)

further information i have found on mastic gum indicates it is effective against at least 7 strains of H. Pylori, other bacteria and fungus.see further this report from the University of Athens in Greece: http://www.forthnet.gr/mastic/masticoil.htm i am now entering my third day of taking it and i definitely feel that it is causing positive benefits. the more i study and investigate, the more i am convinced that a great percentage of IBS sufferers probably can benefit from taking Mastic Gum.


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## HipJan (Apr 9, 1999)

very interesting!I couldn't find the honey in my Whole Foods (boo, hoo), but maybe I'll keep checking around....


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## dianne (Jan 16, 2000)

HipJan -- try the site the doc found in the post above -- you'll have it in days !Also, has anyone here ever tried colloidal silver ? Searle, the original of Searle Pharmaceuticals, had several papers published about silver, and I understand it was widely used before modern anti-biotics became such a profitable business. Studies have shown it to be more effective than almost anything with bacteria and dys-biosisand there is no build-up of immunity to it. I've read it is excellent with Candida --anyone tried it ? I know many who use it topically on their children and their animals even, for eyes and skin.Interested in any constructive thoughts ..good luck finding the honey HipJan.Kind thoughts ..Dianne[This message has been edited by dianne (edited 01-27-2001).]


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## dianne (Jan 16, 2000)

Bumping to ask how the doc is doing ???


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## HipJan (Apr 9, 1999)

Thanks, diane (by the way, I owe you an e-mail!). Anyone, can our "bad bugs" ever become resistant to "natural antibiotics" such as honey, probiotics, tea tree oil, etc.? I would imagine so....(maybe temporarily?).


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Probably.Bacteria have been combating natural antibiotics (actually most of the pharmaceutical ones are derived from natural sources they are just concentrated and perhapse modified a bit and put in a pill) for billions of years (only 6000 for the strict biblical literalists in the crowd). K.[This message has been edited by kmottus (edited 01-28-2001).]


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## dianne (Jan 16, 2000)

There are some wonderful natural anti-biotics-- maybe you could keep changing them round ? And I think maybe they are more bacteria-specific than so-called broad-spectrum anti-biotics. I've always imagined the 'band width" of bugs like a pie chart, and the broad-band anti-biotics knock out most of them --- which is why you get D attacks and worse from taking them -- kills the bad ones, but sadly, all the good ones at the same. Not good. I don't believe the natural substances are as unfriendly to living biosis and therefore I don't think the immunity build-up is the same. I mean, honey has been used for a very long time now ... and yes, I appreciate your time differential Kmottus !Other excellent natural and safe anti-biotics are olive leaf extract, grapefruit seed extract, colloidal silver, tea-tree oil-- I use them always as my first port of call. Haven't taken a synthetic drug for probably 30 years now !Olive leaf has proven effective in many of the mycoplasma that defeat the most powerful anti-biotic drugs. Some cases from Europe report as useful with HIV. I think Upjohn Pharmaceuticals spent a heap of dollars on very successful research just a few years ago but stopped when they realized they couldn't patent the use of it ! Oh dear, what more can I say ! And Searle, founder of Searle Pharmaceuticals published many papers of his many success stories using colloidal silver.In fact, silver was an often used anti-biotic before penicillin etc. And it still works !Good to chat ... all info welcomed !!







And how's the mastic gum and the manuka honey doc ??Kind thoughts to you all out there ....Dianne [This message has been edited by dianne (edited 01-29-2001).]


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## the doc (Feb 8, 2005)

the honey just arrived today. i took the whole foods honey back because it wasn't the "active" certified strength. anyway, too early to report anything about the honey.the mastic gum and calcium seems to have done away with my unwanted d, though i had one episode despite them. so far i still have an ongoing situation where about an hour or two after i eat i get a dull, faint pain in what i think is my stomach. i never had these pains before my flu or food poisoning or whatever it was which brought all this on at the end of November. so despite taking the mastic gum, and a few other things (grapefruit seed extract and lugols iodine water) i can tell something still is not right. so, although these things are helping with the symptoms the "cause" still seems to be there.i think that either my system has not yet rebalanced or some stubborn critters are still not wiped out or maybe both? all i can do is carry on with my plans to cure this myself or keep waiting til my systems right themselves.


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## KateyKat (Jan 4, 2001)

Anyone with anything further to report on using Manuka - my friend definitely has a gastro ulcer [h.pylori?] and wonders if it would be worth searching around for?KKat


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## dianne (Jan 16, 2000)

Hi KateyKat ... send your friend into the site doc and I posted above ... they will have all the info for you. If not, email me and I'll get some more details here in New Zealand for you ...Definitely worth a try as no harm can come from it, and who knows what benefits may arise !!







Dianne


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## bellyknot (Jul 24, 2000)

I see this stuff has St. John's Wort. What if you are already taking an antidepressant? Can you get this stuff without that?


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## the doc (Feb 8, 2005)

i have bought and used the mastic gum both ways, with and without the st. john's wort, so the answer is yes.


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## KateyKat (Jan 4, 2001)

Dianne replied: " ..send your friend into the site doc and I posted above ... they will have all the info for you. "Thanks Dianne, we've done that .. was looking more for feedback from folk who'd taken it for gastro ulcers ... my friend, much like meself, is somewhat sceptical of highly promoted products - the local HFS say its used for MS KKat


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