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.
On the 13th of May, I awoke from choking on acid.
I went to the Er and they did nothing for me but say take Nexium.
I later found a gastroenterologist. After an endoscopy, I was told I have strictures (which were dilated) and inflammation of esophagitis and gastritis. I also have a small hiatal hernia.
I was put on 80mg Nexium and 150mg Zantac.
I have lost 38 lbs due to not having any appetite.
I bought a wedge to put under my mattress so that I could sleep upright.
I don't eat 3-4 hours before bed.
I have only eaten a few slices of peeled apple at a time, saltines, one scrambled egg and half a piece of dry toast, boiled broccoli, attempted salmon/chicken, and a dry baked potato.
I've been drinking Smart Water for the electrolytes and also Pedialyte.
I'm constantly nauseous, bloated, and miserable.
I get this sweet taste in the back of my throat, and I can tell my throat is a it sore.
I don't think the Nexium is helping me. In fact, I feel worse since I started taking it. Before the acid reflux asphyxiation...I felt fine, aside from the occasional heartburn from highly acidic foods (tomatoes mostly).
I want to get off the ppi's but I am not sure how to heal the inflammation in my esophagus and stomach without them.
Even with them...I still feel reflux.
I've been weaning myself down to two 20mg Nexium a day and one 150mg Zantac before bed.
I would like to do something more holistic/natural, such as DGL, Digestive Enzymes, Probiotics, Apple Cider Vinegar (though I read not to use if you have esophagitis).
How do you know if you have too much stomach acid or too little?
I feel like doctors are too quick to just shove pills at me.
Please, if you have any recommendations...or if you've gone through something similar...and come off the ppi's successfully...I could truly use your advice and suggestions.
Feeling entirely defeated
I went to the Er and they did nothing for me but say take Nexium.
I later found a gastroenterologist. After an endoscopy, I was told I have strictures (which were dilated) and inflammation of esophagitis and gastritis. I also have a small hiatal hernia.
I was put on 80mg Nexium and 150mg Zantac.
I have lost 38 lbs due to not having any appetite.
I bought a wedge to put under my mattress so that I could sleep upright.
I don't eat 3-4 hours before bed.
I have only eaten a few slices of peeled apple at a time, saltines, one scrambled egg and half a piece of dry toast, boiled broccoli, attempted salmon/chicken, and a dry baked potato.
I've been drinking Smart Water for the electrolytes and also Pedialyte.
I'm constantly nauseous, bloated, and miserable.
I get this sweet taste in the back of my throat, and I can tell my throat is a it sore.
I don't think the Nexium is helping me. In fact, I feel worse since I started taking it. Before the acid reflux asphyxiation...I felt fine, aside from the occasional heartburn from highly acidic foods (tomatoes mostly).
I want to get off the ppi's but I am not sure how to heal the inflammation in my esophagus and stomach without them.
Even with them...I still feel reflux.
I've been weaning myself down to two 20mg Nexium a day and one 150mg Zantac before bed.
I would like to do something more holistic/natural, such as DGL, Digestive Enzymes, Probiotics, Apple Cider Vinegar (though I read not to use if you have esophagitis).
How do you know if you have too much stomach acid or too little?
I feel like doctors are too quick to just shove pills at me.
Please, if you have any recommendations...or if you've gone through something similar...and come off the ppi's successfully...I could truly use your advice and suggestions.
Feeling entirely defeated
Now I eat a lot of food in the morning but a year and a half ago I couldnt do that. I would get heartburn. I also eat protein earlier in the day but sometimes I have a small chicken sandwich and veggies for my last meal. Often I save oatmeal for my last meal. I put protein powder in it and use organic soy and maybe a third of a banana. It is actually pretty filling. I do that around 4 30 and most of the time I am not hungry at all later but it helps a lot that I can eat way more during the day and not get heartburn/reflux anymore. So my body is getting a lot more fuel in it for a year now but it took me a while to get to this place.
I dont have gastritis except rarely. Reflux and heartburn are a different issue. Gastritis is an individual thing as far as diet goes but i notice that all of us with a reflux/heartburn issue generally stay away from the same things. I would never have coconut oil in the beginning. I would get heartburn from that. I still might now if I had it 4 days in a row. I stayed away from all fatty foods for a good year. My esophagus had a good break from heartburn and it got way better. Now I can eat most fatty foods and not get heartburn at all. If I get carried away for too many days it will come back mildly. Most of the time I just get really strict with my diet for a week or so and it is gone. If you dont eliminate it quickly it can get much worse, which I have learned. So occasionally I take a PPI for 2 days and then it is totally back to normal and then i am careful for another week.
The downside of taking a PPI regularly for heartburn/reflux is that you dont go through the diet learning curve like I did. You can eat foods everyday that would otherwise give you a major issue if you were not taking a PPI. So it took me a year and a half without acid suppression to get to a good place but I really learnt what I can and cant get away with. Now I just take a PPI because I know really well what I need to do and it gets me to a good place quickly.
Zantac works for me if I catch the heartburn right away and it is mild but now it is pretty subtle and I dont always notice it. It can get way worse quickly.
There is no doubt in my mind that a PPI can get you to a better healing place much faster and then you can get off acid suppression much more quickly. That is what I have learned but you have to be really good at the diet part doing it this way.
Gastritis is more challenging and complex in my opinion and the cause of it can be way more involved and many people with gastritis often need PPIs or Zantac for much longer than I have had to take it.