Hi sjh,
Thats brilliant news :) well done, It's great to hear you are well now..it gives us all hope and confidence that we are doing the right thing with the meds and diet. What medication did you take throughout and what dose? also how long did it take to heal the gastritis?.. It would give us an idea on the time scale to get rid of this horrible thing. Also was wondering ..when you mention the Vagus nerve..is that to do with the gastritis..I only ask because I have a condition of the heart called ectopic beats..they are benign but a pain in the butt....but they are connected with the vagus nerve..just wondering if my gastritis is connected with it in some way!....again well done and thankyou for giving us all hope for recovery.. :)

Hi Boobear, I was prescribed Protonix 40 mg once per day and took that from April 20 until May 25 when we determined I was experiencing some strong side effects. I began Pepcid on May 18 as the Protonix wasn't quite getting the job done. I took Pepcid 20 mg twice a day from May 18 until June 8 when we determined that was giving me severe side effects also. As of May 4 the burning in my stomach ceased so I felt ok going off any stomach acid medicine. I am not a dr. but I think this vagus nerve plays a HUGE roll in all things gut related. My dr. has me taking Lexapro (started out with .5mg per day for this first week then I'll increase to .75 or .10 next week) to calm the vagus nerve down and hopefully my anxiety over all of this. Never in a million years did I think I would be dealing with something like this. I wouldn't be surprised at all if your vagus nerve was connected to your gastritis. Hope we are all able to get relief from these stomach issues soon!

Hi SJH - great news. Congrats and really happy for you :)

Anxiety is at the root of many stomach issues, yes - so I'm glad you are attacking that front now :)
I'm not a doctor but I would like to make the following point to you: lexapro is one of the hardest antidepressants to get off of. It's easy to get on them, but then you can be trapped for life with its own side effects to deal with. . I don't mean to scare you but I have a lot of examples in front of me. If possible, do without it. Do CBT and relaxation, yoga, mindfulness, etc. **mind over matter. If you must take Lex, take the least possible dose ( that could be a fraction of the "therapeutic" dose that the dr. recommends).
That's my advice to you.

Really happy things are getting better.
Best wishes,
Asli

Hi Anne1, I am taking a very minimal dose to begin, if that works, I'll keep with that. I'm working on the other items you mentioned, relaxation, mind over matter, etc. My plan is to be on the Lexapro for a very short time (my allergy PA has used Lexapro short term and has had no difficulty getting off of it but I do know there is a proper way to go about it). I have never been one to take medicines but these last 3 1/2 months have proven that sometimes, you need the medicine even if just short term to get you over the hump. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)

Can you expand on what were the side effects you were getting from protonix and pepcid? I'm currently waking up every day feeling decently fine, then I take the protonix and about half an hour later I feel like I have this pressure on my stomach. Did you feel anything like that?

Hi John1990, I suffered extreme fatigue from Protonix, like could barely function, it was strange. Also had nausea and extreme backed up bowels, none of it was any fun. The Pepcid caused muscle fatigue from my hips to my toes and also a severe bowel back up. Never experienced what you are describing but if this is happening to you every time after you take your Protonix it sounds like you are having some sort of side effect from it. Maybe the dr can switch you to something else if this persists. Take care!

I am so happy for you! Please keep us updated on your progress!

Thank you Shelleyk! I know it's going to take some take to get the anxiety knocked down and for me to start feeling better. I never knew anxiety could cause you to feel so poorly :( But it does seem as though the nerve is settling down, I'm having some less nausea days and some periods without the overall sick feeling. Can definitely feel when my anxiety is up though, it's a work in progress :)

HI SJH,
Thankyou for the info on which meds you were taking, it really helps to see how the meds will work and an approximate time it takes to heal, I have been on the meds for about 10 weeks, but at the moment I am on 15mg lansaprozole which I think is a bit low.. and I can often feel a bit acidy in the evening , so going to check with Dr next week. I was just wondering if you could tell how you can tell when you are healed, do you feel that you can eat most foods while still on the Hmedication? or is it when you can't feel the burning in chest anymore. Did you have to tapper down the meds so as not to get rebound? I kept thinking today....I will get better..I will get better..SJH did it so I can too lol....you have given me hope. Prays to all. :)

Hey Boobear, I ended up having to go off both the Prontonix and Pepcid cold turkey due to the side effects but at that time I was no longer having the burning, that was a sign for me that the gastritis had healed. I didn't think I would ever get over gastritis, so hang in there, you will get over it! I am now battling another issues (the vagus nerve/anxiety issue) and let me just say it's almost more difficult than the gastritis, never thought I'd say that cause gastritis is no picnic!! Praying for healthier days ahead for all of us :)

Hi SJH, boobear and everyone else-
SJH, to follow up on what you said with the burning of the stomach having been gone, do you have any unpleasant stomach sensations lingering? In my case, I get heartburn, but in addition to that, I have mild pain that comes and goes in my stomach ( mostly the left side).

Does anyone else have mild stomach pain still after being in acid reducers? Thanks :)

I have nausea which is from the IBS now :( But no burning pain and no gastritis symptoms.

HI hopeful. Thank you for telling us about the vagus nerve....frankly I would not be surprised if that is the cause for me and will talk to my doc about it. The past number of years have been super stressful and now I am my mother's main care taker...AND I am a counselor so I listen and support others all day long...I am allergic to several different meds so this may be helpful. Thank you.

Hi Ruthroll, I firmly believe this Vagus nerve affects more of us than we realize. It made total sense once my gastro dr. explained everything to me. This nerve is called the wandering nerve as it goes from brain to gut and touches so many organs along the way. The stress that so many of us are under (for various reasons) sure doesn't help. I hope you are able to get to the bottom of your issues and start feeling well soon! Day 12 of the Lexapro and I'm doing SO much better! So very thankful and praying for all my friends here on the Gastritis board that health and healing come for all soon <3

Hi SJH,
just wondering how you are feeling and wondered if I could ask... when you finished the PPI's did you have any type of flank pain?...I am asking because I have stopped the PPI from Saturday (long story will tell soon)...and off and on have been experiencing both sided (at the same time)..flank pain...it tends to come on when I'm hungry (could be acidrelated) and goes after eating..some times stays after but is much milder. I am thinking that it may be something to do with coming off the PPI quickly...did you taper off them or come straight off?. I don;t think it's a gastris pain which tends to be more ache/acid. would it be the vegus nerve pain? what does that feel like. Hope you are healing well. :)