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...
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I am new here and hoping to get some input. I have been ill for over 9 months with stomach/GI issues. My symptoms started out feeling like I had the flu. Chills, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. When it first started, I would feel ok for a few days and then I would eat pizza, or chinese food, fatty foods etc. and get sick again with the chills, nausea and vomiting. It then progressed to where I have severe pain under my right rib cage with these spells of nausea and vomiting. The pain is almost always under my right rib cage around into my back. It is an aching/burning/swollen feeling like something is going to explode. I've had three episodes of very intense pain worse than childbirth where it felt like someone had put there fist underneath my ribs and was squeezing my insides. I also keep having these spasms of really sharp pain in the same spot (right side, under my ribs) that take my breath away. It is very tender to the touch and often times I can't even sleep on my right side because it hurts too much. I did test positive for H.Pylori via blood back last November, was treated but didn't feel any better. All tests since for H.Pylori have come back negative. I did have an endoscopy back in February which showed Gastritis (but no H.Pylori). Acid reducers don't seem to help me at all. I've been on Prilosec, Zantac, etc. and they don't make a difference...in fact, they seemed to make things worse and actually caused my stomach to hurt and I had terrible heartburn going off of them (which I didn't have at all before). I lost a ton of weight from this and it wasn't from not eating...in fact I was eating twice as much to try to gain weight and I still couldn't keep weight on. I also have had my gallbladder checked and they say it is within the normal range. I don't know what do at this point. My doctor thinks it is Gastritis and wants to put me back on Acid Reducers but I think the acid reducers may have actually caused the gastritis as I was on them when I had my endoscopy. I want to know if these symptoms sound like anyone else. Coffee, Chocolate, and anything really fatty or sugary bother me but sometimes it can be anything I eat. Spicy foods and alcohol do not for the most part. Does this sound familiar to anyone out there? Should I ask for another endoscopy? I just want to feel normal again and I am so tired of being sick without getting any answers. Thank you so much for listening!
Posted on 08/03/09, 10:08 am |
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Hi, sorry you are feeling so bad. Your right side? Most stomach pain is on the left side and so if it is on your right side it might something else and you should get back to your doctor and maybe even a different doctor for a second opinion. I know about gastritis and how hard it is to treat. If you want to talk more please feel free to contact me. Take care. 
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Thank you for the response! I don't really think it is my stomach either...but that's what the doctors keep trying to tell me. The pain is definitely on the right side under my ribs and in my right side and back. They think it is Gastritis but from what I've read, the symptoms don't fit. It gets very frustrating dealing with the doctors as they don't seem to want to take the time to figure it out. Honestly, I really think it is my gallbladder but the tests say otherwise so the docs won't listen to me. I'll keep trying though and thank you for your input!
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hey...well my gastritis is always right side under rib cage...mine started from taking antibiotics...anything acidic is a problem for me or some medications are irritating, if it flares i get nausea and weak and feel horrible...my gall bladder too was fine...i am allergic to prevacid and proton pump inhibaitors so all i can take is tums and drink lots of water...medications can cause gastritis, not sure if you were on any...sorry to hear of it, i know it sucks, and although it will settle down, when u follow the no acid diet..it goes away only until u have something irriating again...then it is back...if i eve needed long term antibiotics they would most likely have to give them to me IV to avoid the stomach..
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Hi there i joined this group today after reading your story. It reads as if i could have written it apart from my pain is from my upper tummy and down my left hand side. I had an endoscopy yesterday and they said i have gastritis. I find that like you my acid reducers worked initially then they started to feel like they were pushing the acid down but pushing it down to a place that caused immense pain which got worse until i felt like something was going to burst - this then made me afraid of taking them as that pain could go on for days. I go through periods of three or 4 weeks when i cant do anything as i feel so nauseaus through the day and am in so much pain at night. My tummy is so tender to the touch and it makes me so miserable i am also so tired of feeling this sick and there seems to be nothing i can do to make it go away. I also suffer from IBS which also sets itself off whenever i have an attack of gastritis. I like you can tolerate the spiciests of foods with no problems - so i cant understand how it can be gastritis - however when i feel really ill with it i cant eat at all which then makes me have loads of acid and i also get trapped wind that can stay trapped for days its so unbearable. So your not alone let me know if you get any advice that helps you
karyn
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I'm sorry to hear that you are going through something so similiar! It seems that there are a lot of us out there. I hear you about the feeling horrible for weeks on end..I have times where I feel ok and then I am down again for days/weeks with the pain/nausea etc. It is just awful. I have been trying DGL in the chewable tablets which seem to help a bit before meals and before bed. At least it is a natural remedy and I don't seem to have any side effects. I am scheduled to have another endoscopy in the next couple of weeks and I'm hoping that helps to figure things out.
I did have another HIDA Scan on my gallbladder which revealed that I have an overactive Gallbladder. I think that I may be having bile reflux due to this condition which is causing my gastritis and a lot of my symptoms. Having too much bile in your system (especially your stomach where it is not supposed to be) is not a good thing. If my endoscopy is non-revealing, than I am going to push to have my Gallbladder removed as I really think that is the underlying cause of my problems especially where I have such severe pain on the right side, have been vomiting bile, and my symptoms are set off my eating fatty or sugary meals. I will let you know if I find anything else to help with the gastritis issues. So far, I haven't found much but if my problems are related to my GB malfunctioning, than nothing will help me other than surgery. Have you tried Nexium? I've heard that it works much better than most but I have not tried it yet. It will be next on my list if all else fails. I have had no success with Protonix, Prilosec, Zantac or Pepcid so far. Just know that you are not alone out there and I do feel your pain! It is so hard to deal with sometimes but I just keep telling myself that it will get better eventually...I just have to be patient and try to live my life the best I can and enjoy the good days.
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hi thanks for replying so soon. I am in the uk and have been on all sorts of drugs including omeprazole which is an acid inhibitor but i still get huge flare ups regardless. I have suffered from irratable bowel for years and my Doctor tried telling me it was just that flaring up. My IBS didnt ever produce the symptoms i was getting and i have had to fight and fight to get it taken seriously ...i have been admited to hospital twice with the pain and finally my doctor agreed to me having an upper and lower endoscopy. I was told i had mild gastritis...'mild'...how can something thats 'mild' keep me housebound for 3 to 4 weeks at a time and bbe so debilitating with constant nausea that i am unable to do anything when i feel like this? I was not feeling at my worst when i went for the endoscopy so i can only guess that i sometimes suffer from accute gastritis. MY tummy is always tender to touch though is yours?
I havent heard of nexium it might not be available in the UK i am on anti sickness tablets anti wind tablets anti spasm tablets and more and none of them ease any of my pains ...i think i take them...just incase this time they will work. I couldnt bare to think i was going to be like this for the rest of my life ...its as if its taken the real me away..do you know what i mean?
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I do know what you mean by taking away the "real you". I have been healthy my entire life up until 10 months ago when this hit me out of nowhere. I just want to feel normal again...like my old self. My stomach area is very tender as well...but it is on my right side under my ribs. Most of the time it hurts to lay on that side and if you touch it, it is extremely tender. When it is at it's worst, I can not even bend over as it hurts too much. Nexium is the brand name of Esomeprazole...similiar to Omeprazole but supposedly works better for some people. I was told that I had mild gastritis also...and I feel the same way-how can it be mild when it makes me feel so awful? I have tried to be admitted to the hospital on four seperate occasions during my attacks and was told they couldn't find anything wrong so they sent me home even though I was in excrutiating pain and have lost over 20% of my body weight (I was small to begin with). I've kind of given up on doctors and decided that I am going to have to figure this out myself. I am still going to the doctors but now I am telling them what I need instead of waiting for them to make decisions for me. You have to be your own advocate. Have you ever been tested for H.Pylori? I tested positive via blood but it never showed up in my endoscopy so I don't know if I have it or not. It is a bacteria that can cause ulcers and/or gastritis and can only be treated with strong antibiotics. Just something you might want to consider if they haven't already tested you for that. Good luck to you and if you come up with any good ideas/solutions/treatments, please do share.
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hi yes ive been tested both blood and during the endoscopy both negative i was hoping to be positve to be honest so i could get treatment. I have never suffered in this way ever i normally have an enormous appertite and can quite happily stomach the hottest spiciest food going so it makes no sense to me at all. Im going to try taking a homeopathic remedy ive read about from tomorrow called Nux Vomica i think it reads as no vomiting...could be wrong but im prepaired to try anything. Ive had such a crap year i started sufferring with alopecia last year which came out of nowhere luckilly i have a lot of hair and the patches were quite small and easy to cover then psoraisis came then my stomach illness i just feel that i am never ever truely healthy anymore. I worry about my employment status as i have worked solidly all my life and always had a good mamagement role but the recession has hit the uk hard and i got made redundant on xmas eve and i have started a new job quite recently ...thankfully they have been understanding about my time off....but how long will they be like that for. even if they did let me go and i got another job....How employable am i now as when i get these flare ups im out of play for 3 weeks plus.....i worry about how any employer would put up with this. Its a nightmare but like you im determined to try and beat it and i will let you know if i find anything that helps me i did find this site which ive linked you to ....i might try the diet tips and just see http://www.greattastenopain.com/fr...
are you on facebook? if so look me up search for Karyn Thompson newcastle upon tyne england thanks for the hug today i needed it x
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I will check out the web-site-thanks for sharing! One more thought...have you been tested for Celiac's? With the skin rash that you mention it comes to mind as a possibility.
Thank you again for listening to me and hang in there!
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