What is Gastritis
Gastritis is a medical term for inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It means that white blood cells move into the wall of the stomach as a response to some type of injury. G...
Join Now
|
Hey folks...new here...
|
Watch this |
| View More Posts Ignore |
38 year old male, married and a father of two...
About a month ago, I started having anxiety attacks that quickly seemed to incite stomach issues and pain. I think it was primarily related to a new stressful position here at work, but it was really making it difficult to function and I was having some diarrhea issues. It was really strange since I'd been completely fine up through February of '09 and had always had an iron stomach. Everything seemed to start in early March without warning and without any pre-existing or known medical issues. When I took a step back and thought about it, I recognized 3-4 major stressers in my life that I was obsessing over in spite of the fact that I was getting positive feedback and despite the fact that they're relatively short term work issues... My problem was that my stomach could just never recover and my appetite was depressed by the stabs of pain and burning that would result from anything stress related or which caused insecurity. So I headed into the doctor's office to check and see if I had given myself a stress related ulcer. I hate doctors and hate medication, I just had no choice. The Doc said I tested negative for the H.pylori infection and my liver, kidneys, electrolytes, pancreas, and blood count were all normal. There are a few tests that haven't come back yet...mostly the stool sample and etc. She suggested that I start treatment for gastritis and said that we'd check back in two weeks to see where things were before we took the more serious step of using a scope to look around inside. I'm essentially on Protonix once a day, Bentyl as needed for cramps, and 125mg OTC semethicone (Gas-X) as needed for gas or bloating. Today is my 6th day on the treatment and the past few days seem to have shown improvement. So I am hopeful. I mainly want to post here and see if anyone had similar experience. My day typically starts with some diarrhea in the morning and I take my bentyl and gas-x. By day 5 I was able to eat some toast for breakfast and a turkey sandwich for lunch without really suffering any side effects. I was able to work through some stressful situations without getting that shot of stomach acid that would have incapacitated me only a few days earlier. I felt completely normal at dinner and felt like myself up through bedtime. No issues falling asleep either. No reflux or etc. The main variable between day 4 and day 5 was the removal of Coke from my morning diet. I have continued that into day 6 and am now mixing caffeine withdrawal with early AM gastritis "feelings". Let me tell you...that is ALOT of fun! *lol* I'm scheduled for another doc visit on day 14 to see where things stand and I'm hoping that I continue to feel more and more normal as my stomach heals and I shake the caffeine withdrawal. My only real concern at this point is working through my stressers at work and putting them behind me while identifying the diet changes I need to prevent a recurrence of gastritis once I heal up. And this brings me to my real questions... 1) If I had an ulcer, my symptoms would be more steady and severe, correct? It wouldn't be a matter of a slow start in the AM and normalcy in the evening...right? 2) If I have the mild gastritis that I suspect I have...is it realistic to expect a return to normalcy once I allow my stomach to heal and get back to a more stable level of stress and anxiety? Thanks for any feedback. It really helps to chat about this stuff with people who have been through it. -Chris Posted on 04/16/09, 12:04 pm |
| 4 Replies | Add Your Reply |
| View More Posts Ignore |
hugs chris...sounds like your doc is thorough which is good..the diaherra is IBS....irritable bowel syndrome...caused somewhat from stress...maybe some foods you eat or drink are irrating it....
its good you dont have reflux or any of that...be careful with what you eat and drink and hopefully you wont get the reflux...good luck and keep up the good work... 
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Chris, I too hate doctors. Until a few months ago I was seeing a naturopath and acupuncturist. The naturopath made me more sick. After 6-8 weeks on the omeprazol and 2 weeks on reglan I'm much better.
Whether its gastritis or IBS ridding yourself of caffiene is a good move because either can be made worse with it.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Hi Chris, sorry to hear you're also having a bit of a rough time.
Anxiety and stress can bring on things like gastritis, once you have addressed your anxiety your gastritis should clear up although it can take time, even when you're taking a PPI. You could always consider seeing a therapist or going on some anti anxiety medication when you feel like you can't cope. It's nothing to be ashamed of and can help you feel a great deal better. I have had it for nearly 3 months now and although it is getting better, I still have my bad days. I think the other posters are right in that, your loose movements are probably due to IBS, which in turn is exabberated by stress and anxiety, so it is probably a really good idea to try to fix that along with a few dietry changes and your gastric problems might just go away. Best of luck and remember this forum is always here for you.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
When you say you never had any medical problems, and had an iron stomach and now this, boy can I ever relate to that!! Isn't it WILD. He thinks possibly I got the gastritis from bile reflux? All other tests are clear with me too. I take 2 Nexium's per day, Liquid carafate 3 times per day, 1/2 Elavil at night for pain and Lebramax for the IBS. Those symptoms really don't pop up unless I'm REALLY stressed about something...I'll have to run to the bathroom..otherwise, it's normal. There really is a mind-gut reaction. TRY not to obsess over it like I did when I first got diagnosed. Try to stay busy...and pray...it helped just to get out of the house and visit with neighbors, anything to take my mind off of it. I figure if it's going to interfere in my life so much, I'll at least be productive! But it can be VERY distracting, this I know. Keep the faith! If ever you need a shoulder, I'm here for you.
Blessings glenda
|
|
|
|
||
| Add Your Reply |
