Gastritis Support Group

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. Gastritis has many underlying causes, from infection with the bacterium H. pylori, bile reflux, or excessive consumption of alcohol or certain foods or drugs like aspirin.

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carolinak1979 04/26/2015

Hello everyone!

Perhaps someone could give me their two cents. My specialist has explained that I have "mild gastritis"- however my symptoms seem anything but mild! Extreme nausea, stomach cramps, gurgling and pain followed by bathroom runs and exhaustion...The specialist told me that nausea is not really a common symptom of gastritis- which confuses me to no end?! Is it possible to have such severe symptoms with "mild gastritis"? Has anyone on this forum experienced the onset of gastritis after cancer treatment such as radioactive iodine or radiation? Finally, I have one last question regarding various tests that could potentially find the various foods that my body can not handle. Has anyone taken a food allergy test? (There is a medical term for this which escapes me at the moment) Could a test like this help narrow down what foods do not agree with me at the moment? I realize gastritis is not a food allergy problem but I am assuming that any food that is a problem for my stomach would show up on this test. I will post a link to a description of the actual test and what it measures as soon as I am back home. If anyone has had experience with this test or any other (except for an gastroendoscopy which I have already done) that could help me find answers. I'm not sure I have the full story here and I don't want to leave a single stone unturned. I would be very grateful indeed for any feeback or advice...

I am in the middle of trying to find a new GI doc who is more knowledgeable on the subject- I can't say I've had much luck...Would anyone here recommend I see another specialist? Should I be taking a closer look at the intestines/ have a colonscopy? Any feeback is extremely valuable to me. Thank you all so very much for your support- without which I would be feeling extremely alone...Much strength to everyone and my apologies for the long post...

Karolina

smilelikeyoumeanit 04/26/2015

I don't get nausea, but loads of other people on this forum do get it, so it is a common symptom.

I doubt an allergy test will tell you what foods are safe for gastritis. Only your stomach can tell you that. A lot of those food allergy/intolerance tests are based on pseudoscience anyway.

You can do all the rounds & have all the tests, but chances are a few factors aligned that damaged your lining & what you're left with is the aftermath. The original cause could be long gone.

carolinak1979 04/26/2015

Thank you smile- I greatly appreciate your reply! Though I'm sure a food allergy test will not help me find the reason behind the gastritis- I'm wondering whether it can at leat help me find what foods seem to aggravate my stomach. Again, I'm not sure of the exact science behind the test and whether or not it could pinpoint certain foods that don't sit well with me but I am so desperate to have a better idea of what I should stay away from. It feels like a bomb is constantly about to go off! Exhausting and frustrating to say the least...

smilelikeyoumeanit 04/26/2015

I think only your stomach itself can tell you what aggravates it as it is a localised reaction inside the organ.

I'm sure you have already read lots of posts so apologies if I am repeating myself. The 'aggravation' you feel can either come from the food or drink you put inside it... or from the acid that the stomach itself produces once the food/drink is inside there.

So it is not always the food itself that hurts, but it's how the stomach reacts to that food by pumping out acid. In a healthy stomach this is no problem... but when your lining is damaged it is painful. It is like pouring acid into a wound.

The acid the stomach itself produces is the biggest problem which why acid suppression meds or coating the lining are the most important.

Food/drink needs to be bland & not acidic. Beyond that we all have our quirks of what our stomachs tolerate. Fat, protein & fibre are all tough for the stomach to digest which is why simple carbs seem to safest for most in the early stages.

Keep a food & symptom journal to help pinpoint your safe & dangerous foods. Also "grey area" foods. As the lining heals you can tolerate more. You will have ups & downs, but will make progress with patience & finding a good regime of bland, low-acid diet, meds & supplements.

Unfortunately stress & anxiety also make the stomach produce more acid so keep this under control too.

Andy1986 04/26/2015

I get nausea all the time, I dont understand how the stomach being inflamed DOESNT cause nausea!

I was also diagnosed with 'mild gastritis', I think it isn't common for people to have symptoms from it, but certain people do. It is like people with IBS are very sensitive in the bowels so they have to avoid foods that produce gas and things. Except with us we are very sensitive in the stomach, and we actually have inflammation which means its very painful.

I've been through colonoscopies, endoscopies, capsule tests, barium swallows, MRI, CT scans, the works, it was all pretty much a waste of time as the gastritis is the thing causing me pains, nothing else really wrong.

I'm actually going for allergy tests soon but I doubt they will show anything.

donicarose 04/27/2015

I love how they say "mild." Mine was "mild" too when I was initially diagnosed, but I got a load of photos from my scope back in 2009..holy smokes. My stomach looked like a raw piece of meat. It was even referred to as "watermelon gastritis" because that's exactly how it looked. If that's "mild" I'd like to see severe!

Andy1986 04/28/2015

I think severe is when the inflammation goes deeper into the tissue, or causes ulceration. It takes prolonged periods of time for this to happen, and is usually caused by excessive abuse of the stomach by either alcohol, stress or an autoimmune disease.

Believe it or not most people are pretty asymptomatic when they have gastritis, which is how these severe cases of stomach damage occur without early warning signs in some people.

So your stomach can be very inflamed but still classed as 'mild' as long as it hasn't done significant damage to the stomach.

bethelbee 05/05/2015

This morning I had an endoscopy secondary to having belly pain for several weeks.Colonoscopy 2 weeks ago was fine. Found out I have an ulcer, gastritis and duodenitis. My GI doc took 3 biopsies, including one for H. Pylori bacteria, which can be a major cause of all of the above. She's starting me on Protonix, and I assume she'll start me on heavy duty antibiotics if I test positive for the bacteria. Most people have this in their system without symptoms, then there are those that have it and end up with ulcers, etc. I do have nausea with my gastritis, along with pain, decreased appetite, and just feeling crappy. Had been feeling great until several weeks ago. Had a heart attack in Oct and since then have been eating healthy and until all this was using the treadmill. So far have lost about 40 lbs. I am a little concerned though, because lately I've been losing more than usual. I have to try to eat since I also am diabetic.

smilelikeyoumeanit 05/06/2015

Yeah most people have H. pylori in their system.... Just like we all have E. coli & Salmonella bacteria in our system... but there's a big difference between carrying the bug around & it turning into an active infection.

Problem with H pylori eradication is we're still often left with the aftermath to deal with - gastritis, scarring, visceral hypersensitivity, dyspepsia, dysbiosis, IBS. Also acid producing cells can be left permanently damaged so they produce too much acid.

H pylori eradication can eliminate the bug, but not always the symptoms or damage.

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