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've been reading so many posts that are making me bawl, because finally I have someplace where people understand what I'm dealing with.
I've been dealing with this for over a year. I retired because my job was the biggest stress factor.
I've had every test done including Upper GI, cat scan, xrays, blood work many, many times, etc. I've been to the ER for severe pain 5 times. I was admitted on New Years Eve for 5 days I was on a liquid diet. I've lost so much weight it's scarey! I see the pity in people's eyes when I'm out. They probably think I have cancer or something. It's stressful being out because I hate the looks.
I can't be away from home for long. Now, since the hospital stay, I'm on Elavil for the nerve pain & I haven't had the severe pain - so far... It's an antidepressant which helps keep the anxiety & panic attacks at bay. The best thing about all the testing is knowing what I don't have. It was such a relief to know there's no cancer or lesions.
Just thinking of certain things causes my stomach to go crazy with nausea still. I wake up every morning, dreading the nausea battle!!!! No vomiting though - knocking on wood..
I've learned there are lots of stressful things I can't think about or deal with. That's a survival skill I'm learning. When stress levels rise, I walk away & refuse to deal with anything that will make me stress!!!! I have to shut down a lot of conversations or walk away. I've delegated a lot of stuff at home to the fam. Hopefully, someday they will understand.
Life with constant, unrelenting gastritis is hard! I've tried diet changes & diet eliminations to find the cause & it just keeps coming back to stress levels, because no matter how I adjust my diet it doesn't work.
I guess this isn't going away, so now I'm just trying to focus on some kind of quality of life with it?
Mary
I've been dealing with this for over a year. I retired because my job was the biggest stress factor.
I've had every test done including Upper GI, cat scan, xrays, blood work many, many times, etc. I've been to the ER for severe pain 5 times. I was admitted on New Years Eve for 5 days I was on a liquid diet. I've lost so much weight it's scarey! I see the pity in people's eyes when I'm out. They probably think I have cancer or something. It's stressful being out because I hate the looks.
I can't be away from home for long. Now, since the hospital stay, I'm on Elavil for the nerve pain & I haven't had the severe pain - so far... It's an antidepressant which helps keep the anxiety & panic attacks at bay. The best thing about all the testing is knowing what I don't have. It was such a relief to know there's no cancer or lesions.
Just thinking of certain things causes my stomach to go crazy with nausea still. I wake up every morning, dreading the nausea battle!!!! No vomiting though - knocking on wood..
I've learned there are lots of stressful things I can't think about or deal with. That's a survival skill I'm learning. When stress levels rise, I walk away & refuse to deal with anything that will make me stress!!!! I have to shut down a lot of conversations or walk away. I've delegated a lot of stuff at home to the fam. Hopefully, someday they will understand.
Life with constant, unrelenting gastritis is hard! I've tried diet changes & diet eliminations to find the cause & it just keeps coming back to stress levels, because no matter how I adjust my diet it doesn't work.
I guess this isn't going away, so now I'm just trying to focus on some kind of quality of life with it?
Mary
Try giving it a month of perfect diet, combined with a high reduction in stress and you'll probably be on your way.
That is a combo that works for a lot of people.
One thing to consider though is that it is normal for it to take a long time to experience any relief. Some people are still recovering after being diagnosed years ago.
Try to keep your head up. I know it can be difficult, almost impossible at times.
Hang in there, keep a clean diet free of irritants, control the acid in your stomach and keep taking the anti-D meds.... I am on amitriptylene (elavil) too very low dose and I don't have pain anymore.
Nausea is likely a sign that you should start taking OTC ranitidine in standard protocol that doctors used to prescribe before PPIs became fashionable.
I've had a long battle going nowhere until discovering PepZin GI. Also, Mastic Gum can be helpful.
See the website in my profile for more information that may be helpful.
Your existence is not supposed to be that of "unrelenting gastritis". You can have gastritis and be able to do most things you want to do.
This doesnt have to be a lifetime issue and frankly it is a scary scenario to have chronic gastritis for years.
Get help with managing your anxiety/stress/ mental health issues.
it is often the underlying source of gastritis as you are learning.
For 3 years I suffered with constant nausea and left ab pain.
No appetite, weight loss, and no answers from the 6 specialist doctors I went to - my life was a wreck! Plus, I had every imaging test known to medical science, along with every blood test. I prob spent about $12K, since my med plan was a catastrophic high deductible one. I was diagnosed with a bad gallbladder, a bad pancreas, IBS, gastritis, and whatever else they could guess. Tests showed no cancer, no Chron's, no obstructions. I kept a diet log for over 2 years looking for what might be causing my symptoms. I stopped drinking alcohol, and ate bland foods - but felt the same. Finally, I decided to eliminate acid from my diet - esp. coffee. Also, OJ, tomato sauces, etc. then I read an article about coffee and gastritis/digestion. I never stopped drinking coffee - 2-3 cups of black decaf every day. Well, as soon I stopped the coffee, my symptoms slowly disappeared - after about 3 days. It was amazing! When I felt better and had coffee again, bam! The symptoms returned. From what I read, coffee contains a compound (as of now unidentified) that causes certain people (1 out of 8 they say) to produce super excessive amounts of stomach acid. The studies show that it is not caffeine. You can look all this up online.
Maybe other beverages and foods react negatively causing gastritis. Gastritis was the only correct diagnosis my doctors made. They wanted my gallbladder out at one point, and put me on Creon for pancreatitis. Plus, I prob tried every drug they could recommend. I did find that Xanax did help me to get through the night. Ask your doc for a prescription.
My routine now is: NO coffee, no OJ, limit tomato sauce. I take 1 Omeprazole 20mg (a PPI) a day and probiotics. I started drinking my wine again. After 3 years of pain and inflammation, it takes a while for the old bod to heal itself. But I am feeling 99% better.
Also the stress and anxiety for me was the result of my physical symptoms, not anything external. The more nauseas and pain, the more anxious and jumpy I became - a vicious cycle!
I hope some of this info helps you lacemuse. Believe me, I def know what you are going through. Hang in there, and try everything you can. Do research online too if you can. I pray you find an answer as I did.
I started on high doses of B12 during my 3-year ordeal because I was just trying anything. I tested negative for H. Pylori after a biopsy.
But Atrophic Gastritis can be caused by other factors.
Just some more info for you to consider . . .
Encouragement here guys.
Nothing showed up on any testing. I've been tested for everything you can imagine. Nothing but gastritis.
I haven't had coffee or tea for over a year. Those were the first items off my diet (soda was eliminated years before.)
I'm feeling good today. Whew a reprieve. I get those once in a while, then it all blows up again.
Blessed so far this a.m.
Lacemuse.. Just dont eat the stuff you know is bad for you. The soups etc.. The longer you keep eating the bad stuff the longer you suffer. You have to refuse to eat that way from today onward. Then you will get much better.
Discipline and determination are the key here.
Once you stick to it you will get way better.