What medications are you currently taking and how much? How long have you've been undergoing this current bout of gastritus?

Hi jim well Ive had gastritis for almost two years I think. It was oesophaghitis before then so I don,t know. Its really flared up since the end of last year. At Christmas time I was getting a good day and a very bad day. I tried to eat what I wanted though. I didn,t stick to a special diet. Its got more painful since then on flare ups. Some days it will settle and only hurt a bit then its back. Ive dropped coffee but still have tea so it may be that. Im on a Pantoprazole a day and the rest of the time I take Sucralfate or Gaviscon. I can,t take both together though. I have to take loads of painkillers like paracetamol and Tramodol to get through. I also take Amitryptaline which do nothing. I take 20mg of them. Medicines don,t seem to work. I have to take Diazepam to get to sleep although its not good for reflux. I only take 1 to 2mg of it though. I don,t know the cause and I can,t get rid of it. I can,t do much for the pain and I don,t work. Its driving me mad. How are you coping with yours?

I honestly think you need to skip some of that stuff and go for the PPI's. I take Prevacid (lansoprazole) but there are many PPI's. Prilosec is another common one. Sometimes you have to change the medicines to find the one that works for you. I don't much about what you're taking (pantoprazole) but I would ask about taking a double dosage to help heal the stomach. Or, again, swapping. Def call and explain that you are in a lot of pain and see if they suggest changing or adding.

I also had to add zoloft as my anxiety was increasing my flares. I'd be hurting, get upset and the hurting would increase. Once I got the zoloft in my system, it helped tremendously. That being said, I got over-zealous in my eating and still had another flare, but my dr told me Tuesday to increase my meds for a couple weeks. So we'll see how that works.

Call tomorrow morning first thing (or now if you're in a time zone that's before closing) and see what you can find out. Don't suffer thru the weekend if you can help it. Hope you feel better soon.

Holler if you need a friend. My email is tonipage@comcast.net

Hi TMPAGE thanks. I will have to phone the doctors yes. Its late at night now here in the UK. I will have to phone in the morning. I have tried taking two PPIs before and not had any relief. It may be worth trying it again though. Do you find relief from taking two of them? I do get very upset and anxious about it as its agony. I don,t know what will work and it can take a while to kick in. Maybe I should phone an out of hours doctor now. I don,t know,it just really hurts and it didn,t hurt like this yesterday.

If you have been taking a medication for more than 2-3 weeks without improvement, always call. Healing is as much about diet and stress, as it is about finding the RIGHT medication or treatment for you personally. It took me awhile to get all the logistics worked out, but not having gastritis anymore is well worth the extra work.

From what I've been told, it takes a couple days for the double-dosage to really work. I have only done it for two days, so I'm not a good person to ask. Jim has done that longer and can probably explain better than me.

Does Tylenol PM help you rest? I do that and it just helps me better than doing nothing. Worth a shot....and it doesn't have asprin in it.

Hopefully in the morning the dr can give you some advice. I'm so sorry you feel so rotten. (I thought I felt pretty bad, but you sound worse off than me.) Let him know how bad you feel. There has to be a solution for you.

Please keep me posted.

I agree with Ravenfish....you may have to change PPI's and a different combination. And see if they will give you something for anxiety. Stress and diet can make it so very much worse. TRUST ME!!!

I'd lay off the tea. I try to drink strictly water til mine settles down. Plain, I know, but doesn't hurt like tea and etc.

Thanks,yes my husband tells me to drink more water. I like a hot drink thats the problem. I was doing ok with decaff tea and even decaff coffee but now I can,t have them without suffering. Last year I had pain but I could sometimes eat Chinese food on odd days. Now this pain is a lot worse. I have a hiatus hernia too. I think I do need two PPIs I will have to ask the doctor. Lansoprazole didn,t work and I was switched to Pantoprazole but its done nothing. Also I take Tramodol and I read it was morphine based so its not good for you. I need to take it though. Its time for a review I think.

From all your previous posts it appears that diet is a major contributing factor to your problem. Good luck.

I'm with those who recommend sticking with the double PPI regiment. It has been the only thing that has worked for me. If you don't stop the stomach acid from interacting with the irritation you won't heal up. It takes me about 10 days before I have any noticeable difference in my symptoms after I start my double doses.

True- double PPI's may help but it is just as important (if not more so) to be on the CORRECT PPI. I say this from experience. Changing PPI's actually helped me heal.

I agree 100%

If this doesn't help me, I will suggest my doctor changing. Thanks again my friend!

ravenfish said
"True- double PPI's may help but it is just as important (if not more so) to be on the CORRECT PPI. I say this from experience. Changing PPI's actually helped me heal.

I agree too. I just recently changed from aciphex over to prilosec. Aciphex worked great as long as it was a single dose. When I doubled up, it did help heal but it also produced it's own set of uncomfortable side effects. It takes time and patience to find what works best for you.

Hi all well I had a terrible night of hardly any sleep. When I did get sleep I got up late. I couldn,t get an appointment with a doctor today. It still hurts really bad so Ive been taking Sucralfate. It does seem that taking a double dose PPI is a good idea. It hasn,t worked before but I will try it again. Also milder foods too. Im hoping it will settle down again soon. Thanks

At least it's Friday night and you can get some sleep over the weekend (hopefully.)

Tylenol PM.....invest in it!