Giving it another go to try and cure this....help needed!

[jab9780]

As far as I know, I have had BB for about 8-9 yers now...at least that's how long I have been aware of it. As most of you no matter how good my oral hygiene is, the smell persists. I've tried everything from Blis k-12 (back in 04-05ish) various over the counter mouthwashes, toothpastes, mints, gums, etc. I had surgery on my sinuses to help alleviate my PND. blah, blah basically everything under the sun all with abolutely no permanent relief.

Well after reading the posts on this board regarding H. Pylori and the efectiveness of metronidazole, I scheduled an appointment with my doc. I told him that I would like to be tested for it and he stated that he would get me scheduled with a GI for an endoscopy.

I also told him the real reason I was there was for halitosis. I explained to him that close friends have told me in the past I have a problem with BB, to ensure that he didnt think that I was just making this up.

Well after some covnersation he prescribed me Omeprazole and Metoclopramide. I came home to find out that Omeprazole is merely Prilosec and the other is Reglan.

Before leaving I asked that even if I were to report negative for H. Pylori if he could still prescribe me metronidazole and he said it wouldn't be out of the question.

My appointment with the GI isnt for another week and a half, so during that time I am going to take the prescribed meds and see how they perform.

Also during some research on H. Pylori and Halitosis I came across a resin extract called Mastic. Apparently it is only grown in a certain part of Greece, and has been linked to the eradication of H.Pylori as well as used in ancient times to cure bad breath. Well I found a local Greek/Mediterranean Market near where I live and they had the raw form of this material. It comes in a form of little crystalline rocks. Well I have already chewed one and it is like a tough gum to chew on but it doenst break down but rather reacts like a wax or something that kind of hardens up a little bit, but still chewable. Anyways it definitely increased my salivia flow and from what I could tell it somewhat helped temporrily with the BB.

I guess the real test is when Im in a social setting and see how people react to me when Im chewing it.

Anyways I was curious to know if anyone has tried any of these treatments I listed above and how it performed.

Thanks
-J

[halitosisux]

Hi jab9780,
I just did a few searches to find out about mastic. I found this...

---------------------
Objective: To determine whether mastic gum suppresses or eradicates Helicobacter pylori infection in humans.

Patients and methods: Nine patients with H. pylori infection, and without gastroduodenal ulceration, were recruited from day-case endoscopy lists and treated with mastic 1 g four times daily for 14 days. [13C]Urea breath tests (UBTs) were carried out immediately before, on day 15 and 5 weeks after treatment with mastic.

Results: Mastic had no effect on H. pylori status in any of the eight completed patients; all remained H. pylori positive by UBT with no change in scores [pre-treatment mean ± s.e.m. 19.1 ± 3.7, day 15 (post-treatment) 18.7 ± 3.8, P = 0.8, paired t-test].

Conclusion: Despite reported anti-H. pylori action in vitro, this preliminary study shows that mastic has no effect on H. pylori in humans.
-------------------------

[Archimonde]

Well after reading the posts on this board regarding H. Pylori and the efectiveness of metronidazole

Where did you read that? or rather, what's your definition of 'effectiveness' ? Because it didn't work for just about everyone. You shouldn't mess with antibiotics, they do real damage.

Seriously, if the cure to chronic BB was a common antibiotic, don't you think we'd all know by now? I would've been cured 20 years ago. The same applies to other things like probiotics, vitamins, mouthwash or ANY product: if the solution was that simple, we wouldn't be on this forum.

[jab9780]

Well after reading the posts on this board regarding H. Pylori and the efectiveness of metronidazole

Where did you read that? or rather, what's your definition of 'effectiveness' ? Because it didn't work for just about everyone. You shouldn't mess with antibiotics, they do real damage.

Seriously, if the cure to chronic BB was a common antibiotic, don't you think we'd all know by now? I would've been cured 20 years ago. The same applies to other things like probiotics, vitamins, mouthwash or ANY product: if the solution was that simple, we wouldn't be on this forum.

Seriously you need to learn some tact when replying to posts. I didn't ask for your snide comments as matter of fact I asked for input from anyone with pertinent information regarding what I posted.

I am seeking a doctors assistance for my BB its not like Im self-medicating antibiotics you idiot. If the doc thought there was serious harm he wouldn't allow me to take them, IF he decides to prescribe them.

I already stated that I tried most other OTC products and they were not effective...did you actually read the post or were you so clouded by your own anger at how pathetic your life is that you couldn't read my entire post?

You seem to just be bitter, you can blame it on the halitosis, but in reality you probably just have a bad personality and probably a loser in life.

So do me a favor and keep your toxicity from my post.

[jab9780]

Hi jab9780,
I just did a few searches to find out about mastic. I found this...

---------------------
Objective: To determine whether mastic gum suppresses or eradicates Helicobacter pylori infection in humans.

Patients and methods: Nine patients with H. pylori infection, and without gastroduodenal ulceration, were recruited from day-case endoscopy lists and treated with mastic 1 g four times daily for 14 days. [13C]Urea breath tests (UBTs) were carried out immediately before, on day 15 and 5 weeks after treatment with mastic.

Results: Mastic had no effect on H. pylori status in any of the eight completed patients; all remained H. pylori positive by UBT with no change in scores [pre-treatment mean ± s.e.m. 19.1 ± 3.7, day 15 (post-treatment) 18.7 ± 3.8, P = 0.8, paired t-test].

Conclusion: Despite reported anti-H. pylori action in vitro, this preliminary study shows that mastic has no effect on H. pylori in humans.
-------------------------

Hey halitosux thanks for the informative reply, I have come across contradicting research concerning Mastic as well, see below:

Some in vivo studies have shown that mastic gum has no effect on Helicobacter pylori when taken for short periods of time[7][8]. However a recent and more extensive study showed that mastic gum reduced Helicobacter pylori populations after an insoluble and sticky polymer (poly-β-myrcene) constituent of mastic gum was removed and taken for a longer period of time. Further analysis showed the acid fraction was the most active antibacterial extract, and the most active pure compound was isomasticadienolic acid.[9].

I figured that I would be willing to give it a shot though to see if it works for me however.

[jab9780]

Well after reading the posts on this board regarding H. Pylori and the efectiveness of metronidazole

Where did you read that? or rather, what's your definition of 'effectiveness' ? Because it didn't work for just about everyone. You shouldn't mess with antibiotics, they do real damage.

Seriously, if the cure to chronic BB was a common antibiotic, don't you think we'd all know by now? I would've been cured 20 years ago. The same applies to other things like probiotics, vitamins, mouthwash or ANY product: if the solution was that simple, we wouldn't be on this forum.

FYI this is where I read it was effective for some:

viewtopic.php?t=232

You should read the posts on the website before you go around self-policing it.

[halitosisux]

Archimonde,
There are thousands if not millions of people around the world who have been safely and successfully treated for HP and its symptoms with triple or even quadrouple therapy with antibiotics without any lasting side-effects - including myself.
If you search for information you'll see that there have been many cases of people with long-term chronic halitosis who were seemingly completely cured following this treatment.
This may or may not have had anything to do with the eradication of HP itself.
To me, the feasibility and theory we are discussing here makes it worth the associated risks in attempting to exploit these powerful antibiotic combinations to attempt to eradicate proven BB causing organisms in the mouth and attempting to carefully repopulate it with more desirable organisms.
Some have even reportedly cured their halitosis by just a single course of metronidazole.

[halitosisux]

jab9870,
Thanks for your reply, i hadnt noticed until i'd sent my last one. Its very late here so i need to go, but i look forward to further discussions with you.

[TeamZissou]

PPI's and Reglan didn't do anything for my BB. I have been on both for a period of weeks a few different times.

If you think LPR may be the cause of your BB though, you need to be on double the normal dose of a PPI for at least a few months to see a difference, if it will work at all.

[snoopsister]

Arch is the buzz kill for this site. He is a very negative person, ignore him!

[jab9780]

Alright guys, so far I haven't noticed anything different with the meds but I must say that I think there has been vast improvement with this mastic gum substance. It still is really tricky to chew on at times, but worth the hassle.

The true test is tonight....I have a date with a girl I met at the pharmacy I went to on Wednesday to get my meds. I'll be meeting up with her for dinner in about 45 minutes so needless to say I have gone through my normal ritual:

Sinus irrigation
floss
brush
brush tongue
spray sinus irrigation solution down the back of my throat
and now chewing mastic gum

I'm optimistic and will let you know tomorrow how everything goes.

Really as I stated before the biggest thing I notice is the increase in saliva flow, which isn't as great with regular gum.

Anyways in retrospect with the meds and mastic there's no way of determining right now which may be helping the most (if at all), but maybe I will eliminate the meds later to see just the mastics effects.

Wish me luck!!

[halitosisux]

lol good luck!! watch out for dribbling saliva now though

[April]

Hi jab9780

If you Google Manuka honey and its benefits, you will find h.pylori as one of the diseases it fights.

I have had h.pylori (although I was never too sure I did, but was treated with meds) in the past and have been using this honey for a few years now. I've had a test recently to see if I have it still, but haven't had the results back yet.

I think your enzyme levels might be high due to the antibiotic, so might explain the increase in saliva. I am not an expert, so maybe someone with this kind of knowledge might correct me if I am wrong.

[halitosisux]

Hi April,

Here is a link which mentions the effictiveness of Manuka honey.
But interestingly this article also shows just shows how ruthless the pharmaceutical companies are when it comes to their profits and how potential solutions for us probably face the same deafening silences.

http://www.yourhealthbase.com/ulcer_drugs.htm

[April]

Hi halitosisux (great name by the way )

Thanks alot for posting this, God knows sleep is killing me at the moment, but had to finish reading that article.

I liked this part of the article because I've always blamed my nasal spray for my digestive problems (reflux/h.pylori), although it could also be due to other people's unwashed hands. (I'm a clean freak ):

"H. pylori has a strong affinity for the lining of the stomach and recent research has shown that it is the main cause of stomach ulcers(1,2,5,6,9); the use of aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is another important cause(12,13)."

There is another honey I've wanted to try since last year, but it is quite expensive.

http://www.lifemelusa.com/