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"H." stands for helicobacter pylori, a fairly common spiral-shaped bacterium that is transmitted through contaminated food or by the fecal-oral route (yuck!)  It makes me wish all restaurant employees would be subject to hefty fines if they don't wash their hands in the restroom!

I tested for it through a blood test that measures the active antibody in the bloodstream.  Keep in mind that a test showing antibodies could mean that you were exposed and effectively got rid of the organism on your own.  There is a breath test that measures any trace that might still exist actively that is highly accurate.  This is the preferable test which is used to determine whether you've been "cured."  The triple therapy Dr. G. was talking about is namely two antibiotics combined with an anti-acid pump or plain and simple pepto-bismal (which has some ability to kill it off).  I did a search on these therapies and was disappointed to note the dismal cure rates, though.  After weeks of antibiotics there's still sometimes a 50% chance you'll harbor the infection, depending on the drugs used.

Back in the 1980's it was determined that H. pylori was the main cause of stomach ulcers and ultimately also caused many cases of stomach cancer.  The "bug" burrows itself deeply into the mucosal (protective) lining of the stomach and hides from the damaging effects of stomach acid, which would kill it with no trouble if it could reach it.  Therefore, those people with low stomach acid to begin with are more susceptible to becoming favored hosts.  The bug causes inflammation and requires your body to use its stores of copper to fight the continuous inflammatory response.  It also inactivates iron, though it's been weeks since I found this info and would encourage you to dig further should you want more detailed info.  Doctors are told that because the bacteria is so widespread in the population (especially after age 50), treatment with antibiotics is not used unless symptoms of ulcers are present.  Many carry H. pylori without any symptoms of nausea, pain or burning alleviated by eating food.  I suspected it because of that as well as wondering why I was so anemic and copper deficient.

Hope this helps.  Again, I searched for this info a while ago and am just going on my recollection, so I encourage you to do a search if you'd like to verify it!

Take care,

Stef  :))