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! I stumbled across this forum the other day when I was desperate for answers and support. I had seriously broken down to tears when I came across this AMAZING support group and it seriously lifted my mood...so THANK YOU all...for everything I was able to read.
Just a little background info on my situation...
I'm 27 and have had random issues with my stomach for the past two years that were never diagnosed. I had "attacks" every couple of months that I did not understand and always blamed food or possible contamination. But for the past month, I have been sick EVERY day, and the dull pain under my bra line is CONSTANT...sometimes even my back would hurt. I've been having terrible chills and swelling in my upper abdomen(assuming this is the inflammation). I've had a terrible taste in my mouth in the mornings and whenever my tummy would be empty. But worst of all, is the ANXIETY! I couldn't help thinking the worst all the time, assuming cancer or some sort of life-threatening disease. I would wake up in the middle of the night in complete panic and feel like I could not breathe. I went in to the hostpital ER twice when it was really bad, did all the blood work and was sent home with "gastritis". They were'nt very helpful and and pretty much laughed that I'm too young and healthy and gastritis is nothing to worry about(and no reason to go to the hospital) and EVERYONE has it. My family DR has been acting like I shouldn't be so concerned and that it's not a serious issue...so all my scheduled tests have been SO SLOW. So far I've done blood tests and a full abdominal ultra sound(came back normal). Doing a Urea breath test this week, and STILL waiting on my gastro/endoscopy to be scheduled!! I have been going through hell and have felt so alone. After reading all the info about gastritis, I'm not too surprised I have it either. I have been using advil/ibuprofen regularly for YEARS to treat serious menstrual cramps. The day this all started was when I took two extra strength liquid-gel advil and had a strong cup of coffee. So I can only imagine how badly I damaged the lining of my stomach.I'm just worried that maybe I have peptic ulcers? I discovered only ONE thing that has seriously helped ease the pain and bring down the inflammation...and that's CABBAGE JUICE! Sounds awful and isn't the tastiest but I can not stress enough how amazing it is. I drink a glass of it before bed and finally slept through the night (the gastritis has been keeping me up all night). It had completely affected my mood and my work. I would spend a lot of time hiding at home. I am still very afraid since I haven't had the official tests yet, and I have been doing everything in my power to learn about this illness and what I can do to recover and repair. I don't want this to last years! I can't imagine my life with this pain lasting so long. Because of the breath test I will be doing soon, I will not be able to take any medications until after(I was prescribed a PPI). Any suggestions on natural remedies are GREATLY appreciated. I've heard great things about Zantac on here and am seriously considering it. Also, I am very interested in what I can do to rebuild the lining in my stomach. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I can't tell you all how important this forum is to me. Until now I felt SO ALONE!!
Just a little background info on my situation...
I'm 27 and have had random issues with my stomach for the past two years that were never diagnosed. I had "attacks" every couple of months that I did not understand and always blamed food or possible contamination. But for the past month, I have been sick EVERY day, and the dull pain under my bra line is CONSTANT...sometimes even my back would hurt. I've been having terrible chills and swelling in my upper abdomen(assuming this is the inflammation). I've had a terrible taste in my mouth in the mornings and whenever my tummy would be empty. But worst of all, is the ANXIETY! I couldn't help thinking the worst all the time, assuming cancer or some sort of life-threatening disease. I would wake up in the middle of the night in complete panic and feel like I could not breathe. I went in to the hostpital ER twice when it was really bad, did all the blood work and was sent home with "gastritis". They were'nt very helpful and and pretty much laughed that I'm too young and healthy and gastritis is nothing to worry about(and no reason to go to the hospital) and EVERYONE has it. My family DR has been acting like I shouldn't be so concerned and that it's not a serious issue...so all my scheduled tests have been SO SLOW. So far I've done blood tests and a full abdominal ultra sound(came back normal). Doing a Urea breath test this week, and STILL waiting on my gastro/endoscopy to be scheduled!! I have been going through hell and have felt so alone. After reading all the info about gastritis, I'm not too surprised I have it either. I have been using advil/ibuprofen regularly for YEARS to treat serious menstrual cramps. The day this all started was when I took two extra strength liquid-gel advil and had a strong cup of coffee. So I can only imagine how badly I damaged the lining of my stomach.I'm just worried that maybe I have peptic ulcers? I discovered only ONE thing that has seriously helped ease the pain and bring down the inflammation...and that's CABBAGE JUICE! Sounds awful and isn't the tastiest but I can not stress enough how amazing it is. I drink a glass of it before bed and finally slept through the night (the gastritis has been keeping me up all night). It had completely affected my mood and my work. I would spend a lot of time hiding at home. I am still very afraid since I haven't had the official tests yet, and I have been doing everything in my power to learn about this illness and what I can do to recover and repair. I don't want this to last years! I can't imagine my life with this pain lasting so long. Because of the breath test I will be doing soon, I will not be able to take any medications until after(I was prescribed a PPI). Any suggestions on natural remedies are GREATLY appreciated. I've heard great things about Zantac on here and am seriously considering it. Also, I am very interested in what I can do to rebuild the lining in my stomach. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I can't tell you all how important this forum is to me. Until now I felt SO ALONE!!
I'm about 80% healed and can eat most of my old foods again now but I will manage this for life.
Most doctors don't get how life altering this illness is. sadly it doesn't fall under the glamorous illness banner. Keep pushing for that endoscopy. Its the only diagnosis for gastritis.
Ask all the questions you can think of. Someone here will have some advice for most things.
I can eat them again so don't give up hope of getting pizza etc. back.
When I couldn't eat tomatoes etc. I would make pizza sauce with pured pumpkin with Italian herbs.
Hang in there and in this room we all get it.
A family member who is from Russia suggested cabbage juice to me. Swears up and down that it is one of the best treatments you can use (my understanding is that it is a commonly used treatment in Russia for gastritis). I never understood how it worked exactly, but I am happy to see you discovered it and it is helping you also.
Regarding your question about the relation to IBS, it really depends on the person. Soretum and I both have it. I think a few others on the board do also. Mine developed from a lower GI infection, so it was not related to having gastritis (in fact, if anything, it would be the other way around). As for using PPI's, that is a personal choice. Some people find it very useful (as I did before I healed), others have not had much luck with it. There tend to be three major types of treatment- western medicine (PPI's and that lot), NP (natural treatments- soretum will be able to offer wonderful support on this) or a mix of the both. There may be other areas out there as well and on this board that have not come to my attention lately, but traditionally, one of those three does at least provide most people with some level of relief.
Try to remember, as rough a road as it is, first you are never alone. Second, every step is still a step- even if it feels like sometimes you aren't getting where you want to be. And most of all, there are a lot of people here with varying experiences, all full of support. No two people are alike, the treatments vary, the diet varies, but we are alike in the fact that we know gastritis can be painful and difficult to deal with.
Good luck with the tests and warmest wishes always.