Q: I wanted a clarification from you. I have been taking medications for headaches which include the tablets Anxicalm (1-1) and Tryptomer (1 at night). In the past I had a stomach infection by a bacteria H.pylori and followed by gastritis. The doctor had told me that the stomach trouble was triggered by a medicine named Meftal Forte which I had taken previously for about two months. Now that I am having irritations in the stomach for the past 5 days I wanted to know if the above medicines that I am taking can affect the stomach in any way. I had asked it to the neurophysician who had prescribed them, but he told me that it wont have any affect on the stomach. Please clarify my doubts.

A:First of all let me explain that Anxicalm and Tryptomer are not meant for headache as mentioned by you. Anxicalm is not an allopathic medicine. However Tryptomer is the brand name of a medicine called amitriptyline that is given for depression. One of the side effects of Tryptomer is gastric irritation. Therefore one cannot rule out this medicine being responsible for your stomach irritation. You have mentioned having consumed Meftal Forte. This is again the brand name of a combination product that contains two medicines called mefenamic acid and paracetamol. This medicine can also cause stomach upset. In all probability, as your doctor has mentioned, this drug may have caused dyspepsia and stomach irritation in the past leading to the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. H. pylori is a stubborn infection of the gastro-intestinal tract, causes heart-burn, dyspepsia, gastritis and needs a course of two or three drugs for 7 to 14 days. It is not clear if you were given the appropriate treatment for this infection. In case you have not taken the course please consult your doctor. To sum up: your gastric irritation could be due to Tryptomer or uncured H. pylori infection. One thing is clear: you should avoid medicines like aspirin and other Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) such as mefenamic acid, diclofenac sodium, piroxicam, indomethacin, naproxen etc. These are chemical names that are always printed on the strip of medicines sold under various brand names.