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.
I have been browsing this board for a few months now and today I finally decided to post something.
First off, I'd like to thank you all for all the helpful advice, tips and support you've posted. I have probably read nearly every post on this board and it has helped me in a big way.
I'll give you a quick background on what's been going on with me. In March, I developed terrible heartburn and an unsettled, nauseous, gnawing pain underneath my ribs. When the heartburn went away, it was only then that I felt how unbearable the nausea/stomach pain was. I had an endoscopy in May and it revealed "mild" gastritis - to which my doctor basically wrote off as no big deal and prescribed me carafate. I've been taking it for nearly 4 months now and have only seen slow and minimal improvement. I've tried pepzin gi and a few other things that didn't seem to help either. I am currently also awaiting the results of an ultrasound to see if there's anything funky going on with my gallbladder.
I feel like I hit a breaking point tonight - I'm struggling to get support from those around me and just feel a little lost. My birthday is coming up and a time that's usually met with excitement, friends and family, and delicious food (wine! brownies! fancy starbucks beverage!) seems like a bit of a downer now because of how I'm feeling. I try to stay positive and to count my blessings, but it just gets hard on days like these.
I titled this post "small victories" because I think it's important to remember the small victories as we all try to heal from this. Mine would be driving without feeling like I'm going to throw up and seeing a reduction in my in-between-meal nausea.
It seems like this thing takes forever to heal, so i think even in our worst moments (like the one i was having tonight), it's important to remember the small steps we've made. I know I'm probably a long way from feeling 100%, but at least I know I'm better than how I felt a few months back.
If you have a small victory, I invite you to share it.
And as for my questions - has anyone ever gotten a second opinion - and has it helped any? It seems like from what I've been reading all GI doctors are the same. Has anyone ever tried acupuncture? I just feel helpless and am really grasping at straws here.
Thanks for listening.
First off, I'd like to thank you all for all the helpful advice, tips and support you've posted. I have probably read nearly every post on this board and it has helped me in a big way.
I'll give you a quick background on what's been going on with me. In March, I developed terrible heartburn and an unsettled, nauseous, gnawing pain underneath my ribs. When the heartburn went away, it was only then that I felt how unbearable the nausea/stomach pain was. I had an endoscopy in May and it revealed "mild" gastritis - to which my doctor basically wrote off as no big deal and prescribed me carafate. I've been taking it for nearly 4 months now and have only seen slow and minimal improvement. I've tried pepzin gi and a few other things that didn't seem to help either. I am currently also awaiting the results of an ultrasound to see if there's anything funky going on with my gallbladder.
I feel like I hit a breaking point tonight - I'm struggling to get support from those around me and just feel a little lost. My birthday is coming up and a time that's usually met with excitement, friends and family, and delicious food (wine! brownies! fancy starbucks beverage!) seems like a bit of a downer now because of how I'm feeling. I try to stay positive and to count my blessings, but it just gets hard on days like these.
I titled this post "small victories" because I think it's important to remember the small victories as we all try to heal from this. Mine would be driving without feeling like I'm going to throw up and seeing a reduction in my in-between-meal nausea.
It seems like this thing takes forever to heal, so i think even in our worst moments (like the one i was having tonight), it's important to remember the small steps we've made. I know I'm probably a long way from feeling 100%, but at least I know I'm better than how I felt a few months back.
If you have a small victory, I invite you to share it.
And as for my questions - has anyone ever gotten a second opinion - and has it helped any? It seems like from what I've been reading all GI doctors are the same. Has anyone ever tried acupuncture? I just feel helpless and am really grasping at straws here.
Thanks for listening.
To answer your question I've gotten three other opinions and unfortunately I've not been pleased with the three GI doctors that I've seen. I have faith that I will find a doctor who is knowledgeable, compassionate, an excellent listener, who is will to work with me in regaining my health. Someone who knows that gastritis causes dizziness along with a wide array of other symptoms; so far I've not found a GI doctor to state this obvious fact.
I've never tried acupuncture.
Good people healing is right around the corner. Just hold the faith.
The one thing I am certain on is that you have to nip it in the bud as quickly as possible and if that means taking Zantac regularly or a PPI I would do it for gastritis. You can manage heartburn/reflux much easier without medication.
gastritis becomes chronic quickly. It is not like heartburn and reflux. the esophagus is much easier to heal. The stomach does not heal as easily. The key to not having it become chronic and not have to be on meds for many years or have chronic gastritis really damage the lining of the stomach without meds is to reduce the acid in the stomach very quickly.
Check out shihonage and his recommendations for using Zantac or get yourself on a PPI. I am not keen on meds at all but a short term PPI is a better solution than long term gastritis that never goes away. Gastritis should be taken more seriously and the same with heartburn but gastritis is way more challenging to get rid of.
Many people on this site try to treat it naturally and most have found it doesnt work well for gastritis. Many regret not going the acid reduction route right away for gastritis. Your doctor should have been way more concerned.
Diet is the key as well. You can treat heartburn without any meds and clear it up fairly quickly being careful with diet but gastritis not so much.
You are young. You can heal this more quickly. Start using acid suppression now. I dont want to see another young person with gastritis that wont go away.
I am very direct about this gastritis issue now. I have seen too many people who have had it chronically for years. Dont allow yourself to go down this road.
And Lesley, you are absolutely right. I've started working Zantac back into my routine just this week and I agree that's the way to go. It's time to be proactive so that I can heal.
Thanks again for your words and kindness.
I remember how excited I was when I could eat and walk from the table to the kitchen without pain.
My small victory is that I woke up this morning not feeling dizzy/lightheaded/woosie!!!!!!!!!!
Oh well back to the drawing board. But I do think this site is really really good.
Regards to all G x
I am happy for you! That is a good sign!
I've been struggling since May, and have felt abandoned by my doctors "just wait for your GI specialist appointment" I've been waiting since July and still haven't heard from them. The PPIs make me feel sick and achy all over, I keep having yeast infections and UTIs which I think is related to my diet high in simple carbs ....my anxiety is through the roof. I'M SO SICK OF EATING CHICKPEAS AND ZUCCHINI. I WANT TO BE ABLE TO LAY ON THE COUCH IF I WANT AFTER DINNER AFTER A LONG DAY AT WORK BUT I CAN'T. I get so embarrassed at restaurants when I brave venturing out..."no I can't have dairy, or fat, or citrus, or spice, or these vegetables because they are too fibrous" I'm sure you all know the struggle.
I've been struggling with depression also. I've had such a bad attitude lately. I feel like I've hit a wall.
I need to work on acceptance, it's just hard because I feel like I can get better eventually, it's just taking so much longer than anticipated. I am getting better...I don't have the shooting pains I used to. My scope showed I'm not inflamed...but my lining is too thin.
All this because I took too much advil in April....
Acceptance can be the hardest challenge but for me it opened the door to better healing. Sadly doctors believe it heals in a few months and that kills us after a few months and no end in sight.
One day I promise the light at the end of the tunnel will be the sun, not another train.
Living alone was easier in a way as I rid the house of all foods I couldn't eat, regardless of the possibilities down the track. I wanted to focus on possibilities and look at what I could eat and not the foods I couldn't. My friends did very well out of me.
Anxiet is so hard too. I pray we all find healing.