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.
Hi all,
I figured it would be a good idea to create an account and join the discussion. I've been diagnosed with gastritis in Feb of of this year, and I hope I can contribute with my experience.
Looking back, the gastritis seemed to have started sometime last summer, but it was so mild that I barely noticed. I had a terrible habit of going out for Vietnamese food 2-3 times per week - pretty much all of last year. I'm a breakfast skipper, so coffee on an empty stomach first thing and soup and spring rolls at 11am...yea. My idea of food was that if it doesn't have several chillies in it, it's not food... I'm a spice hound. That, combined with enjoying cider last summer (I KNOW that I don't take well to it, but hey, it wasn't a lot so no big deal I thought) means that I developed a nasty case of gastritis that won't go away. It SUCKS. I want to punch it in the face.
I've been tested for everything under the sun by now, negative for H.Pylori, and I'm currently waiting to have a scope done just to be prudent. I started treatment in February, but didn't take to PPIs well (was on Nexium first, then Prevacid). Things were still not dire early this year, and the couple of weeks that I was on the PPIs was pain-free. I thought I was cured, and... I went for Vietnamese soup. It's been hell on earth since - March 24th, to be exact. In the most acute phase, I had trouble walking...
My problem with PPIs was that my throat swelled, I had a tightness in my chest and wheezing. I was going around yawning all the time, trying to get oxygen in. I was put on Cimetidine and Sucralfate - both of which do nothing for me. I get a general stomachache regularly, but also have a strong pain on the right hand-side, right where the breast bones meet. It's almost like it goes underneath the ribcage. That pain can go from 1/10 to 9/10 - and let me tell, you, at 9/10 I feel like someone took big metal pliers, grabbed my stomach and twisted it! It is absolutely excruciating. Luckily, that only happened twice so far...
Food. Not exciting these days. I've been on a strict gastritis diet for the past two weeks -
- breakfast and snack: oatmeal with honey, hemp seeds and ground chia seeds (to get a bit more nutrition) + rice milk
- to keep myself alive: homemade chicken stock - no salt, alternately pureed with steamed butternut squash, green peas, or zucchini.
- poached chicken breast & good quality wholegrain bread - I add this to the soup
- mashed sweet potatoes - no seasoning, or dairy
- steamed white fish fillet like sole (I add this to the soup too)
I tried almonds, but they seem to aggravate my pain. I'm afraid to eat anything else at this point... and the sad thing is that after 2 weeks of this my condition hasn't budged. In fact, I have more pain the last couple of days than when I started.
I was put on PPIs again because the doctor suggested my allergy description didn't quite match what he would expect - I'd get it a few days into the drug, not immediately. It's possible (i hope to God) that it was something else and I can take PPIs. I'm desperate.
Home and natural remedies:
- Gaviscon. Okay it's neither home, or natural, but when the pain gets bad, gaviscon does work. I say pain as in the constant ache, or dull pain - NOT the sharp pangs... :(
- Slippery Elm - it WORKS to coat the stomach, but for a very short time, so you need to be rigorous about taking it again. It's safe to use from what I researched, with no side effects, and I ordered the pure powder on Amazon. You mix it with warm water and down the paste. It sure beats Sucralfate for me!
- Aloe Vera juice - the 100% pure kind. I find that it works for heartburn, like when I had to stop the antacid 3 days prior to my H. Pylori test and I got acid rebound. I'd be careful with Aloe Vera though, as if most definitely dehydrates !!
- DGL Licorice tablets - sorry, but the taste is so repulsive that I can't stand them...
- Mastic Gum - I don't think this applies to food/drink induced gastritis, only H. Pylori. Also, I've read that people actually burned holes in theirs stomachs after taking it. I threw it out.
- Pure Organic Honey - the jury is still out, I read that dissolving a heaping tbs of honey in 1/4 cup of hot water sooths the stomach and inhibits acid. Might be an old wife's tale, but it doesn't seem to do harm for me..
Anyway. I have no choice but to be on this crazy ride. I'd be happy to talk with others and support each other. tx.
I figured it would be a good idea to create an account and join the discussion. I've been diagnosed with gastritis in Feb of of this year, and I hope I can contribute with my experience.
Looking back, the gastritis seemed to have started sometime last summer, but it was so mild that I barely noticed. I had a terrible habit of going out for Vietnamese food 2-3 times per week - pretty much all of last year. I'm a breakfast skipper, so coffee on an empty stomach first thing and soup and spring rolls at 11am...yea. My idea of food was that if it doesn't have several chillies in it, it's not food... I'm a spice hound. That, combined with enjoying cider last summer (I KNOW that I don't take well to it, but hey, it wasn't a lot so no big deal I thought) means that I developed a nasty case of gastritis that won't go away. It SUCKS. I want to punch it in the face.
I've been tested for everything under the sun by now, negative for H.Pylori, and I'm currently waiting to have a scope done just to be prudent. I started treatment in February, but didn't take to PPIs well (was on Nexium first, then Prevacid). Things were still not dire early this year, and the couple of weeks that I was on the PPIs was pain-free. I thought I was cured, and... I went for Vietnamese soup. It's been hell on earth since - March 24th, to be exact. In the most acute phase, I had trouble walking...
My problem with PPIs was that my throat swelled, I had a tightness in my chest and wheezing. I was going around yawning all the time, trying to get oxygen in. I was put on Cimetidine and Sucralfate - both of which do nothing for me. I get a general stomachache regularly, but also have a strong pain on the right hand-side, right where the breast bones meet. It's almost like it goes underneath the ribcage. That pain can go from 1/10 to 9/10 - and let me tell, you, at 9/10 I feel like someone took big metal pliers, grabbed my stomach and twisted it! It is absolutely excruciating. Luckily, that only happened twice so far...
Food. Not exciting these days. I've been on a strict gastritis diet for the past two weeks -
- breakfast and snack: oatmeal with honey, hemp seeds and ground chia seeds (to get a bit more nutrition) + rice milk
- to keep myself alive: homemade chicken stock - no salt, alternately pureed with steamed butternut squash, green peas, or zucchini.
- poached chicken breast & good quality wholegrain bread - I add this to the soup
- mashed sweet potatoes - no seasoning, or dairy
- steamed white fish fillet like sole (I add this to the soup too)
I tried almonds, but they seem to aggravate my pain. I'm afraid to eat anything else at this point... and the sad thing is that after 2 weeks of this my condition hasn't budged. In fact, I have more pain the last couple of days than when I started.
I was put on PPIs again because the doctor suggested my allergy description didn't quite match what he would expect - I'd get it a few days into the drug, not immediately. It's possible (i hope to God) that it was something else and I can take PPIs. I'm desperate.
Home and natural remedies:
- Gaviscon. Okay it's neither home, or natural, but when the pain gets bad, gaviscon does work. I say pain as in the constant ache, or dull pain - NOT the sharp pangs... :(
- Slippery Elm - it WORKS to coat the stomach, but for a very short time, so you need to be rigorous about taking it again. It's safe to use from what I researched, with no side effects, and I ordered the pure powder on Amazon. You mix it with warm water and down the paste. It sure beats Sucralfate for me!
- Aloe Vera juice - the 100% pure kind. I find that it works for heartburn, like when I had to stop the antacid 3 days prior to my H. Pylori test and I got acid rebound. I'd be careful with Aloe Vera though, as if most definitely dehydrates !!
- DGL Licorice tablets - sorry, but the taste is so repulsive that I can't stand them...
- Mastic Gum - I don't think this applies to food/drink induced gastritis, only H. Pylori. Also, I've read that people actually burned holes in theirs stomachs after taking it. I threw it out.
- Pure Organic Honey - the jury is still out, I read that dissolving a heaping tbs of honey in 1/4 cup of hot water sooths the stomach and inhibits acid. Might be an old wife's tale, but it doesn't seem to do harm for me..
Anyway. I have no choice but to be on this crazy ride. I'd be happy to talk with others and support each other. tx.
Yes, I do get anxiety, but I try to manage it and take it one day at a time. I just try not to focus on the pain when it's on a functional level. I found that staying hydrated is key - I have a my gym bottle beside me at all times. I drink water with a bit of pure coconut juice, it's so good.
I could also drink coffee in the beginning, and hindsight is 20/20 on so many things.. if I only took care of it better on the onset, I wouldn't be in this position! No coffee now, no tea... nada.. It is my first day on a PPI and I'm only on a 20mg to start - I already noticed a difference!!! I will be watching what I eat and continuing my bland diet alongside it... I don't want to be on the PPI for longer than 2 months, max. Also, I'm an avid gardener and get about 100lbs of tomatoes every year. I better be able to eat them this year... we shall see...
Take care of yourself, thanks for chiming in.
I still have problems with gastritis flares. I bought the Slippery Elm capsules that everyone was raving about but they caused upset stomach. I just started emptying the capsules into my cereal in the morning. We'll see how that works....no upset stomach so far.
@barelyhangin - yes, I was intially put on Nexium, then Prevacid. That was back in February. Both seemed to work amazing for my gastritis, with the slight side effect of me not being able to breathe... I stopped taking them because I deemed it too much of a risk. The idiot doctor didn't believe me and said I was having panic attacks, and prescribed me Ativan - an anti-psychotic drug used to subdue unruly mental patients. I was to pop one whenever my throat swelled up and I couldn't breathe - yea, so I'd suffocate and not care. I switched doctors, and the new one told me that PPIs work great, except in my case "I could die". I forbade me to use them.
Fast forward to now, and the emergency doctor convinced me to try PPIs again (Protonix), saying I didn't fit an allergy bill, as my episodes happen a few days into treatment, not immediately. I went for it... Guess what... It was all good for 3 days until this morning. I was having a deep sleep and felt a sensation that I couldn't breathe (it became a part of my dream.. a relaxing dream, not a nightmare!) I woke up right then, with wheezing and a swollen throat. It's still swollen, even though I've been up for a half hour... It's the PPIs. I tried 3 times, 3 times the same thing ... It's too much of a coincidence. Maybe it's not an allergy per se, maybe it aggravates my existing allergies - all I know is that it does something that makes this happen. I'm so sad, because other than that the PPIs really really seem to help me... :(
I took a Zantac 150 this morning... I can't risk it anymore. It really sucks, I'm just afraid one of these times I won't wake up when this is happening.
@ lalov1 - Yes, I've been on probiotics on and off, it seems like no harm, I should pick up a new pack, tx for reminding me.
I hope you find something that helps you feel better soon.
It seems, at least for me, that controlling acid is the key to healing gastritis...it's not even what we eat that makes a huge difference, so long as we abstain from the obvious spicy/deep fried/fatty/caffeine/alcohol, etc... I went on a 2 week deprivation diet only to feel worse at the end then at the beginning! I thought that if I avoid foods that "create" acid, I might start to heal faster - not so. I spoke to a dietician who told me that ALL foods make the stomach release some acid. It comes down to finding a drug to stop temporarily reduce the acid in your stomach so that you can heal. Otherwise you're pouring acid over a wound - it will never mend.
The PPIs didn't work for me, and Zantac is only okay. This is not something that's fixed overnight.. I'm tired of it...:(
Being tired of it is okay. Give yourself small breaks when you are able, as you are able. And try to remember, gastritis doesn't define who you are... it is only a part of you at the moment.
Best wishes again and keep us posted.
i'm back on the ppi which seems to help immensely...just worried I might flare up with the weird breathing issues...I just wish it was anything, ANYTHING else for a side effect! breathing is a pretty big one...but I'm desperate, this needs to go away and nothing else works.