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.
Nine months ago I was diagnosed with mild gastritis and esophagitis. I changed my diet, took dexilant for 2 months, and I improved tremendously. Than I stopped the dexilant and the pain came back. Then I took pepzin GI/slippery elm/DGL licorice for 3 months and got some improvement. Than after a strong reaction to an irritating meal I went back on dexilant and improved again completely. Today I have been feeling good for 5 days, the pain is gone but I am still taking dexilant and on a very strict diet. This is to give you a quick background.
Yesterday I decided to see another GI doctor. He did no tests but asked me a lot of questions. Especially a lot of very specific questions on how I felt 9 months ago. I don't remember how I felt 9 months so I answered randomly to half of the questions. Anyway he said that my gastritis was cured in a one week and that I have non-ulcer dyspepsia. He said that my nerves are giving my brain wrong information about pain in my stomach. He said too that I have some amount of GERD. I am not sure what to think of it. I really feel that my stomach lining has been inflamed for quiet a while and just got resolved recently. I had constant pain made worse by eating the wrong foods. Any thoughts? As any of you been diagnosed with the same thing?
I asked too if this can get completely resolved at some point but he did not answer clearly, he said that it can be controlled with the smallest amount of medication possible (PPI and anti-anxiety medecine). I am really not happy about this. First I don't want to take anti-anxiety medecine. Second If my problems are exacerbated by GERD, I read from Dr Koufman that some people resolve GERD with diet.
Yesterday I decided to see another GI doctor. He did no tests but asked me a lot of questions. Especially a lot of very specific questions on how I felt 9 months ago. I don't remember how I felt 9 months so I answered randomly to half of the questions. Anyway he said that my gastritis was cured in a one week and that I have non-ulcer dyspepsia. He said that my nerves are giving my brain wrong information about pain in my stomach. He said too that I have some amount of GERD. I am not sure what to think of it. I really feel that my stomach lining has been inflamed for quiet a while and just got resolved recently. I had constant pain made worse by eating the wrong foods. Any thoughts? As any of you been diagnosed with the same thing?
I asked too if this can get completely resolved at some point but he did not answer clearly, he said that it can be controlled with the smallest amount of medication possible (PPI and anti-anxiety medecine). I am really not happy about this. First I don't want to take anti-anxiety medecine. Second If my problems are exacerbated by GERD, I read from Dr Koufman that some people resolve GERD with diet.
In my opinion and experience doctors have no clue about diet and gastritis/gerd. They prescribe PPI and that's it.
Your situation and history sound very much like mine. I have been a lover of South East Asian food for a while and get anxiety easily. I was also drinking way too much cider last summer...and having a strong coffee on an empty stomach each morning... That's how I got mine...
I believe that there is a cause for everything - you don't just go through life and one day your stomach nerves go wonky. It's very clear what caused it in my situation, and I can trace it back to what I was eating and drinking. My symptoms were so mild in the beginning I just ignored them.
A PPI worked very well for me, its been 2 months since I started them (and more than 7 with this wretched disease) and I felt very good and almost cured within a month. Then I had chili this week..and coffee... I knew it was bad, but I felt better... and now.... you can guess.
This takes a very very long time to resolve. The key is not to eat anything irritating even if you feel better!!!! Give it many months...It sucks so much...Hang in there...I'm glad you wrote, you're not alone.
Anyway it has been 5 days that I am pain free after following the diet very strictly, DGL licorice before each meal and one month on dexilant 60 mg. I am going to do another month on dexilant 60 mg to be sure my stomach is stronger, than one month on dexilant 30 mg, then one month on dexilant 15 mg, than hopefully I can stop it completely and be fine. I decided also to always eat food as simple and healthy as possible. I really don't want to get sick again, it is really not worth it.
I totally relate to you your food history and mine is the same!! I'm a food lover and cooking is a passion, I went through a French cooking phase, too :P Then I was experimenting with Indian food, making spicy Vietnamese sate, eating Pho like every day some weeks...I developed an incredible tolerance level to chilies - to the point that Tabasco seemed mild. I think my gumbo could kill someone.
This is all food related for me, not some crazy stomach nerve theory... It has been horrible to say goodbye to all the foods I love, but I know one day it will get better... I learned to cook with herbs instead - cilantro, rosemary, basil... they all add flavor without making my stomach split.
Butternut squashed baked with fresh sage, roasted potatoes with rosemary, roasted chicken with Tarragon, zucchini with fresh thyme,...
For lunch I had an omelet with parsley, and tonight I plan to make spelt pasta with fresh sage slowly cooked in olive oil until crispy.
The cooking classes are not 100% lost on me.
Thanks for your support.