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.
I recently was diagnosed by endoscopy with Erosive gastritis,Reflux esophagitis and Hiatal Hernia. Monday I will be going in for more in depth info in the followup appt.
Thinking back I started to feel uncomfortable about 1.5 years ago. I had been drinking close to a pot of coffee a day and pounds of Jelly Belly Jelly beans in the am on an empty stomach before work(brick to the head!). That is the only thing I can think of off hand that could have corroded my stomach. I did not take any NSAIDS or drink much alcohol. My overall diet was OK most times. I started t notice reflux waking me up gasping and coughing at nite here and there, but not terrible.
I broke my arm and during recovery I had perplexing other symptoms come up. Extreme dry mouth, yellow coated tongue. My throat got so sore and I could not get much down it,,. It escalated after had lost 5#.. which for me I'm pretty small 5ft 2, 115.. Got down to 108.. really worried..I was told to eat fattening dairy foods which I did but the symptoms even magnified and I suspected I had a dairy allergy. Also I was diagnosed with a Vitamin B12 and D deficiency.. maybe aggrivated by my GI troubles..?
I went in to the ENT for a scope down my nose/throat and said the only thing he saw was my inguinal tonsils were huge and inflamed. That was Feb 2013..I even ended up in the ER for throat closing up so bad I was so scared.. they took a regular X-ray and said it was OK..
In about May 2013 I had a horrible burning attack. It was so bad I'd never had anything like that before It was sore for days then subsided and seemingly went away. Then in July 2013 is when something snapped in my system and I had stomach ouchies.. It went on for over a year til today now.
I tried to journal and find things it could be I ate.. I cut dairy couple of weeks .. then gluten.. nothing seemed to help. I started taking Zantac 75 a couple of weeks then Z 150 a bit. helped a little but still not OK.
THe last 4 mos my bowl moves have been light yellow and not normal though little diarreah here and there. I also had a ultrasound to lok at organs all looked good no stones- gall bladder looked ok.etc..
So now up to today taking 2X 150 Zantac but still some moderate reflux, stomach still hurts off and on, throats a little sore.. and I am eating bland.. no coffee tea etc.
Seems like since I had my endscope it has acted up now.. was feeling better a few weeks prior..??
I DONT want to take PPIs, They gave me sample Dexilant to try but I havent. I dont want t get hooked ..so many horror stories plus I already have osteoporosis..so I am at real high risk for fracture.
I almost want to just take the PPI.. but I dont.
I'm at my wit's end folks!! HELP!! When will relief come? Any suggestions or insights?? Is it all the hernia? I dont know the kind or size but no way having a surgery that is maybe succsessful!
I have been forcing myself to eat to not lose weight and so far have been maintaining it pretty much. I really dont feel much like eating, but cant afford to lose any weight. Seems like I'm burning after taking some suppliements// could be bad? WOW bad!
Thinking back I started to feel uncomfortable about 1.5 years ago. I had been drinking close to a pot of coffee a day and pounds of Jelly Belly Jelly beans in the am on an empty stomach before work(brick to the head!). That is the only thing I can think of off hand that could have corroded my stomach. I did not take any NSAIDS or drink much alcohol. My overall diet was OK most times. I started t notice reflux waking me up gasping and coughing at nite here and there, but not terrible.
I broke my arm and during recovery I had perplexing other symptoms come up. Extreme dry mouth, yellow coated tongue. My throat got so sore and I could not get much down it,,. It escalated after had lost 5#.. which for me I'm pretty small 5ft 2, 115.. Got down to 108.. really worried..I was told to eat fattening dairy foods which I did but the symptoms even magnified and I suspected I had a dairy allergy. Also I was diagnosed with a Vitamin B12 and D deficiency.. maybe aggrivated by my GI troubles..?
I went in to the ENT for a scope down my nose/throat and said the only thing he saw was my inguinal tonsils were huge and inflamed. That was Feb 2013..I even ended up in the ER for throat closing up so bad I was so scared.. they took a regular X-ray and said it was OK..
In about May 2013 I had a horrible burning attack. It was so bad I'd never had anything like that before It was sore for days then subsided and seemingly went away. Then in July 2013 is when something snapped in my system and I had stomach ouchies.. It went on for over a year til today now.
I tried to journal and find things it could be I ate.. I cut dairy couple of weeks .. then gluten.. nothing seemed to help. I started taking Zantac 75 a couple of weeks then Z 150 a bit. helped a little but still not OK.
THe last 4 mos my bowl moves have been light yellow and not normal though little diarreah here and there. I also had a ultrasound to lok at organs all looked good no stones- gall bladder looked ok.etc..
So now up to today taking 2X 150 Zantac but still some moderate reflux, stomach still hurts off and on, throats a little sore.. and I am eating bland.. no coffee tea etc.
Seems like since I had my endscope it has acted up now.. was feeling better a few weeks prior..??
I DONT want to take PPIs, They gave me sample Dexilant to try but I havent. I dont want t get hooked ..so many horror stories plus I already have osteoporosis..so I am at real high risk for fracture.
I almost want to just take the PPI.. but I dont.
I'm at my wit's end folks!! HELP!! When will relief come? Any suggestions or insights?? Is it all the hernia? I dont know the kind or size but no way having a surgery that is maybe succsessful!
I have been forcing myself to eat to not lose weight and so far have been maintaining it pretty much. I really dont feel much like eating, but cant afford to lose any weight. Seems like I'm burning after taking some suppliements// could be bad? WOW bad!
Sorry to not get back to you sooner, been sick in bed with a summer flu. Still a bit off so this may be shorter than it deserves but I'll try.
This thing can take years to heal, and along the way various things can come along to set you back. I'm at 27 months and am feeling some real relief at the moment, so it can happen.
As you have erosive gastritis you may have no choice but to take the ppi meds for a little while. Believe me I really understand your hesitance. I took the dang things for 16 yrs and just plain decided about 2 months ago that was enough and weaned off of them. Like you I am worried about my bones. But I don't think that taking them for a couple months will do significant damage and you may need to do it for your erosions to heal. Also, I'm sure they took biopsies and you'll see if you have h pylori and need to take antibiotics as well.
That being the case, if it were me (we are the same age, btw), I would immediately start taking high dose probiotics and enzymes with every meal, at the very least. There are many excellent ones, if you have a natural food store nearby ask them but if not a good general one of each is culturelle for probiotic and quick digest for enzymes. Both are pretty gentle on the stomach.
If you can eat yogurt, please do. Greek is better as it has protein.
The vanilla one is tasty, not acidy and as you are not looking to lose weight you can handle the carbs.
. I'm convinced that diet is the major cure for what ails us. It is different for each person so it's great you know to make a journal and pay attention. Do bear in mind it may take months of avoiding a food to note a difference especially with gluten. We have leaky guts, so it takes a long time to get this stuff out of our systems. I haven't had a grain (not just no gluten, no grains at all ) in 3 months and I now feel my first relief from gastritis in all this time. You probably already know some things that bother your stomach, so knock those out immediately and look at their cousins next. For example, if coffee bothers you (obvious) then black and green tea may as well. Most of us have to stick to non acidy herbal teas.
Speaking of herbals, many of us have found that marshmallow root, both as tea and in capsule form is very helpful. Also slippery elm and flaxseed teas. When I first started having these attacks I would be up all night in tears sipping on warm (not hot) flaxseed tea I'd make up myself. It's 3 tablespoons of crushed flaxseed with 3 cups of hot water poured over it. Let it sit til it cools to about body temp and strain to drink. I still drink this on bad nights.
I too have a hiatal hernia. The biggest helps for that appear to be:
1. never wear tight clothes around the waist, ever
2. never fill your stomach up too much, eat many small meals a day, sip your liquids all day long instead of drinking a lot at once
3. avoid gassy foods, if you must then take gasx right after eating or beano with the food
One more thing. After you talk to your doc on Monday, if you decide you still don't want to take a ppi med, I can suggest a natural alternative that has been nearly miraculous for me. It's called Kios-DS. It's available at amazon or in many grocery store natural food sections. It's and extract of the bark of a brazilian pepper tree. Sounds bizarre, but it works to keep the excess acid down and has zero side effects. Just a thought.
Ok, I have CFS as well as gastritis and I'm worn out. Hope some of this helps. back to bed.
Peace - Nina
I hate it when I see I have declined in this last year and a half. It started with a broken arm in 2013 Feb which is when all these other symptoms really came on with the stomach hurt and bad reflux. I wondered whether the trauma set things off. At the doctors I was found to be Vit B12 and D deficient as well. I lost alot of muscle strength and energy along this way. I used to hike avidly moderate to semi strenuous up to 20miles at a time , holding down a full time job .etc.n.ow I'm not working- just trying to keep myself from declining further..
If I can help just let me know. If I don't get back to you I'm not ignoring you I just can't manage the computer some days and using swype on the tablet takes forever....
I have tried many natural supplements than the PPI (dexilant) and the PPI works best with the diet. I have no side effect, just relief. I take DGL licorice as well 30 minutes before each meal. After one month I have no pain anymore from gastritis.
For the diet I can't tolerate any dairy, tea, coffee, spices, sparkling water, onion, cucumber, garlic, fat, bell pepper, tomatoes, most fruits.
I eat all grains, potatoes, oatmeal, rice, lean fish, chicken, seafood, spelt pasta, white spelt bread, a little bit of olive oil, a little bit of salt, chamomile tea, evamor water, bananas, watermelon, papaya, melon, coconut water, a little bit of nuts.