Hang in there. The first appointment I had with my GI went awful. But in the end, he really helped me. Additionally, consider what they are saying about the anti-depressants and discuss it with your GP if you trust their judgement. Stress does add a lot into the situation. Take good care of yourself and chin up. You will make it through this, no matter how frustrating things are right now.

Thanks Ravenfish did you have really severe pain at times with the gastritis? Its really kicked off tonight to severe pain. It seems to flare up a lot like this and its agony. I don,t want to be on too many different meds as they are not good for you. Im already on 2 Tramodol,Amitryptaline,paracetamol,Diazepam as well as the PPI and Sucralfate or Gaviscon. Also did you ever eat ginger biscuits? I don,t think they agree with me. I will have to get some plain ones. I hope I make it through this Ive never felt so desperate in my life.

I really hope you get better! I usually see my family doc for my gastritis. She is very wonderful though so I'm lucky with that. I am like you where I'm not getting the burning as much as horrid pain right now. I talked to my doc today to get some nausea meds and we discussed possibly starting me on low dose anti depressant for pain sometime soon so I may do that. I will be thinking of you! Feel better and watch out for that oh so tempting coffee!

Thanks well with taking Sucralfate and not having coffee I hope that helps. Its really very painful today. I really do hope it gets better soon.

In the beginning, yes, the pain was constant. It goes through periods where it is better and worse. Hang in there. And no ginger biscuits were not on my list of foods. Not even sure what they are honestly. But ginger is a spice, so in general, it may just be a little too much for your stomach to handle right now. It will change in time. For now, deep breaths and just keep going.

ravenfish you dont know youve lived until youve had a ginger biscuit but then again it could be just a british delacacy

Perhaps a recipe is in order then? It appears that I must taste a bite of this delicacy one day....

Ravenfish you will have to tell me what you ate during your gastritis spell. It really is driving me mad. The gastro says that gastritis isn,t that painful,he ought to have a dose of it. Do you think garlic bread is ok to eat? I feel a bit sick when eating that so I will leave that off too. Its awful having to leave things, like tomatoes or a glass of wine. I can,t wait for a healthy stomach again. A ginger biscuit by the way is just like a cookie with ginger in it. It tends to be a bit hard though. You could make some shortbread and put a teaspoon of ginger powder in it,I wonder if that would work. Have you heard of Garibaldi biscuits? I don,t think I have ever eaten one though its popular in England. The custard slice is too. In Scotland they have a kind of pineapple tart and a fried Mars bar,not for me. Another one is the Manchester tart with bananas,jam,pasty base and custard in it,ugh.

poorlygirl: Those foods sound delicious! I have not heard of them here in the States.

I would guess garlic bread would not be a good idea, because garlic can cause flares. I know I have had to cut out most foods for several months, and stick to the blah, rather boring diet for days on ends. It gets tiring, but really is worth it. As someone else on this forum said, many foods/drinks that we enjoy are not good and it's like pouring salt on a wound. Better to stick to those few foods/drinks we can tolerate. Even they may be a bit painful for a while, but continue on them for a month or two, and I think you will find some relief (along with taking slippery elm, aloe, DGL, or meds, of course.)

Hang in there and take it day by day. I think you will find improvement if you put aside those favorite goodies, just temporarily. Remember--there's light at the end of the tunnel, so hang tight, and look down the road a ways.

Hi poorlygirl41,
I know how painful gastritis is. I have been suffering from gastritis for two years now. Just hang in there, watch what you eat. Don't eat anything that is spicy, greasy, fried. Don't drink any alcohol, coffee, carbonated drinks, anything that will aggravate your stomach. It is hard because I am still trying to find out which foods are OK and which foods cause me pain. As well don't large meals, eat smalller portions of food. I have been in a lot of pain due to the gastritis for about two weeeks now, but it does get better.
I sincerely hope you feel better.

Honestly, I ate as simple and plain as I could- and yes, I ate practically the same thing for days, weeks and months before I healed. But a controlled diet worked in my case- as did stress reduction and finding the RIGHT treatment (it took several tries).

As for food, the Dietary Assistance post was started by me when I first got here. You can read for yourself what I started out on. Eventually, I cut anything that either I knew for a fact cause a problem for my stomach or that had over 8g-12g of fat per serving, any spice other than salt (because I handled that one thing well), lots of wheat grains, was difficult to digest or was raw/with skin. Skinless chicken and white fish, baked or steamed- great. Skinless potatoes, fantastic. Saltine crackers with a low-fat cream cheese- decent. (The Saltines yes, the cheese, iffy. But I live in one of the highest producing diary states in the US, so I had to try). Lots of bottled or filtered water. No tea, because I couldn't handle chamomile and mint hurt. A little watered down electrolyte drink that was light on the sugar to make sure I was getting that in. Baby rice cereal, then rice cereal. White tortillas, again with a little low-fat cheese (just a pinch), cooked. Carrots and peas, no skins, cooked fully and diced into bites. Bananas and yogurt. And eventually, white rice.

That was it. And I still haven't altered that diet much now. I also supplemented with a nutritional drink called "Boost Breeze" that I had to order of of Amazon. I cost a lot but it sat well with me and it helped me get some vitamins in. (I ate children's gummies too, which my GI recommended despite the sugar or other ingrediants).

It is a lot of hard work to find what anyone person can eat and I remember more than once the tears that come with that journey in particular. I burst out in tears just trying to find soup one day (and eventually ate homemade chickenbroth). Sweets though and carbonated drinks are some of the worst. It is also it seems what we all crave the most. Just know though once you cut it out and get yourself working with some food that feels good in your body, the cravings do eventually stop. And honestly, you don't really miss them anymore either.

Hang in there and treat yourself with kindness. I know things a bleak right now, but the sun is always right around the corner.

P.S. No to the garlic or butter, yes to the white bread but careful with the crust.

Hi Ravenfish thanks for all your advice,you are an expert on gastritis by now. How long did yours take to heal? When I first started with it I couldn,t keep anything down,I had oesophaghitis too though. I struggled a lot to find anything to eat and was in hospital a lot. The hospital do not cater for bad stomachs and it was hard to know what to eat. I must admit that I had orange juice in there and sometimes the marmalade. I would just keep throwing up. I did cut having the orange or juice. I had some good days after a while and would go for a meal with my husband. He took me to a Chinese restaurant once and I ate loads on the buffet. Needless to say I was very bad afterwards. Since about the autumn last year its been flaring up bad and Ive been having worse pain. Last summer I would have a coffee and get some pain but now its worse Ive got to give it up. My gastritis has been up and down but like I say its got worse. Its proberly worse because I haven,t made good dietary choices. Im ready now for it to go for good,Ive had enough. Im going to keep taking Sucralfate as it seems better than Gaviscon. I really hope it will start to ease up soon.

Hi Maradeur Im sorry you have had your gastritis for two years like me. It seems it sticks around the nasty thing,you are still getting bad pain too. I hope you heal soon. Lets hope we can get back to any food or drink we want soon. I live near a pub and see people outside drinking. I never went drinking much but oh wouldn,t it be nice to have the odd lager or glass of wine?

I had mine for around 7-8 months if memory severs me correctly, but it took almost two years after that for me to be able to eat even some foods comfortably again. (Others I will probably try because of a different condition that effected my lower GI). My case though was mild honestly. From other people I have spoken with on here it can last a months to years. The one thing we all have in common though is that at some point it does honestly get easier to handle and the pain does get less and less. Hang in there, stay strong for yourself and most of all, know it WILL be okay. Hugs my friend. Many, many hugs.