Hello my fellow gastritis sufferers. I'm new at DS, just signed up. I discovered this place when i was doing searches on gastritis and acid reflux. I've been suffering from stomach problems for the past 2 years now and I was just diagnosed with mild gastritis back in jan of 2014 when I had an endoscopy done. Before that I had an ultrasound done on my gall bladder which came back negative. Back in november of 2014 I had a Upper GI, from that I was told i had mild acid reflux and they discovered a very small hiatal hernia. They told me the hernia was so small that its not even an issue. I used to be on omeperazole twice a day and pepcid ac 40 mg at night time. I stopped taking the omeperazole because It was making me way to constipated and just stuck with the pepcid ac 40mg. Bowel movements are better now. I also used to take tums but stopped that as well. I just started taking Pepzin GI, actually its my second day on it so its to early to say if its workign. I really feel theres more going on with my digestive problems, like theres something going on that hasnt been detected by the docs. How can "mild" gastritis and acid reflux cause me to loose 40 lbs. When i hear the term "mild" i feel like it's saying mild discomfort. At first i thought all this was cause back when i had a bad respiratory infection and i was put on arythromicin (not sure of the exact spelling) which has been known to cause stomach problem because it kills both the good and bad bacteria. after that i was getting mild nausea every two weeks like clockwork which would last 2-3 days and would go away. I could still eat and sometimes the nausea would go away, but it just go worse by the months. I read that anxiety can cause acid relfux and gastritis. SO i thought maybe its because i got laid off from a job of 12 years, then i thought it cant be that because that job sucked, it was such a negative working environment filled with back stabbing people, i even felt releived when i got laid off. I moved back with the parents to save money and went back to college to work on getting an A.S. degree in computer information. Thats when i felt the anxiety return. It was very uncomfortable being in a classroom with kids who looked like theyre fresh out of high school and here i am a 40 yr old man. also felt alot of anxiety before quizes, exams, mid terms, and finals. my stomach also gives me anxiety because i fear throwing up. I even get so anxious when my family and I go out for dinner. I keep thinking what if i get sick and throw up in front of people, what if its a resturant where theres only one person at a time in the bathroom and i dont make it and throw up. Thinking about that and fearing that makes me more sick and i only end up eating a few bites and have the rest boxed up. Thirty minutes after i get home im able to eat my food with no problems. its so frustrating. I even took the spring semester off from college cause of my stomach problems. Hard going to class and hard to focus when you feel sick. I just started to run again after taking a 2 1/2 month break from it because the nausea was really bad and acid reflux was bad. So far so good on the running. Running helps so much with the anxiety. I also started to do some weight lifting, no problems there except for the sore arm muscles. I even tried doing situps and after 40 reps i felt my stomach cramp up so i stopped right away and the cramping went away. I've never felt that before when doing sit ups. I wonder if its because of the gastritis or just because I havnt done in a year.

-I avoid eating/drinking dairy, citrus, nuts, spicy things, chocolate.
-Only taking pepcid ac 40 mg once a day, if feeling bad twice.
-stopped taking omeperazole band tumsecause of the constipation
-tried aloe vera juice but it made me more sick.
-digestive enzymes made me worse, i was taking a highest dose
-probiotics made me worse.
-started pepzin GI, hope it works.
-i put flavor enahncers in my water, i use Vitamin Water and Crystal light with truvia. I sometimes drink apple cide or cranberry juice.
-is almond milk safe to drink?
Do any of you recommend anything that i should try?

One last thing I wanted to ask, its kind of embarresing to ask. At times when I feel I have to go to the bathroom for a bowel movement. Well that "pressure" i feel in my gut that lets me know "its time to go poop", sometimes makes me sick, its as if i dont get to the bathroom within 5 mins I feel like im going to through up, which hasnt happend yet. And after i go the sick feeling goes away. I told my doc about this and he's clueless about it, doesnt know what to say. He just keeps telling me I have to be patient....i think 2 years is far too long...

Sorry for the long book like intro.....im glad i found this place and all of you....