Dealing with an Ulcer

I'm not a Dr and don't even play one on TV, but I thought they generally used antibiotics to treat ulcers now since it's been proven they are largely bacterial?

From http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hpylori/

"... usually involves a combination of antibiotics, acid suppressors, and stomach protectors....The use of only one medication to treat H. pylori is not recommended. At this time, the most proven effective treatment is a 2-week course of treatment called triple therapy. It involves taking two antibiotics to kill the bacteria and either an acid suppressor or stomach-lining shield. Two-week triple therapy reduces ulcer symptoms, kills the bacteria, and prevents ulcer recurrence in more than 90 percent of patients."

I wouldn't say they're largely bacterial.  Many are caused by H. pylori, but you only get treatment for that if you have a positive test for it.  Nexium or one of the equivalent PPI's is standard for all ulcers.  In fact, you'll heal an H. pylori induced ulcer without any antibiotics at all.  All you're doing is trying to eradicate the organism so that it doesn't cause problems in the future.

 I'm not trying to argue, I'm really just curious (that's what you get for letting people who deal with numbers all day on the boards)

It would seem to me that by treating the ulcer with just PPIs, you're treating the symptom more than the cause.  If I have bacteria X that causes Y, and I can take meds to get rid of Y but don't necessarily kill the bacteria (I'm thinking like say sinus infection Advil + decongestants make them largely ignorable unless it's a terrible one), I can see that you would reduce population of the bacteria by aiding the immune response, but the bacteria is still likely present to some extent and re-occurrence would be a possibility (at least by my logic)

The point is that they're not all caused by H. pylori.  Unless it was diagnosed, it's not an indicated treatment.