since i have gastritis and it was the first major thing i had, h. pylori was one of the first things i was tested for. a few months after i developed the gastritis, NIH came out with a statement that most ulcers were caused by either h. pylori or nsaids. so it was all very new back then. but since then the doctors who discovered the connection have won a nobel prize for their discoveries so now it is well accepted.
i did not / do not have it.
back then, 1993, the only way it could really be tested for was by a biopsy of stomach tissue.
but because false negatives were common, my husband (with really bad GERD) and i went on the triple antibiotic cocktail for two weeks: flagyl, peto (bismuth sulfate), some other antibiotic, and an acid inhibitor (prilosec). the flagyl was nasty! but i stuck with it, though had to cut my dose in half cause the flagyl was causing nerve damage at the normal dose.
but when it was all over, still had the gastritis. then found out that gastritis / ulcers / stomach cancer runs in my family (a great grandfather died from stomach cancer, an aunt died from a bleeding ulcer, grandmother had ulcers, mother had ulcers); i think i've "only" had gastritis because 1) i've been on prilosec every day since 1993 (i know of the potential health risks thanks to molly here, but for me, i can't live without it) and 2) a little gastritis (as seen by upper endoscopies) translates into severe pain so i can nip it in the bud early with mylanta for a few weeks til it settles.
and my husband still has really bad GERD as that runs in his family.
and yes, i think i've heard something about h. pylori and arthritis.
anyway, now days its very easy to test for. no more stomach biopsies are necessary. it can be detected through blood work or a breath test, very easy now. i'd have to read up to see which test gives the fewest false negatives and false positives.
http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/helicobacter-pylori-testsi'd say it certainly wouldn't hurt to get tested for h. pylori. and if you are found to be positive, supposedly its a fairly short course of an antibiotic cocktail, though that may have changed a bit over the years as well, as its been almost 20 years since we've been through it.