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.
Hey everyone, I need some advice again.
One moment all is okay, the next I am back to no being able to eat anything at all again. I am fucking tired of this swing back and forth. When I thought I had recovered from the last flare up, I had 1 or 2 pieces of toast too many one night and now I am back into dust again. Now I have to fast a day or two while I have hardly gained any weight. Is this normal? How do you cope with these swings? what is the easiet way to navigate through them without being psychologically taxed so much?
I have very minor bloating and not able to eat. I am hungry as fuck, but when I eat the bloating gets worse and I feel that my stomach is being very strained like going uphill or something. I also get those stabbing pains which I didn't have for a good while ... The only way is fasting now, but it is becoming just way too often. Is fasting someting I should just get used too? Should I just go into the mountains and fast like a saint or something? I wish I could just fast for a couple of months to heal this freaking infant-weak stomach.
Any help would be appereciated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgg7v9TXmqM
Thanks for your answer. The strange thing is that I am really relaxed most of the time. The only mental problem would the occasional nagging doubts that this will never heal. But then I have seen too many people who have been healed and got on with their lives. But the possibility of a relapse in the future makes me depressed sometimes. That I made one mistake and might have to deal with it forever since my stomach is somehow weakened even if it heals. But then again, I might not, and if careful it might never happen again ... but the doubt is there, and that is unsettling ...
Apart from that, I am pretty chill. It has been always due to eating something wrong or too much that flare-ups happen. It is just so exceedingly frustrating that you hit rock bottom all of a sudden. Yesterday you could have 5 rather hearty meals and suddenly you can't even drink water without symptoms. But the severity is much less than the beginning and normally within 10-20 days things will be okay even though not as good as before. At least i don't have pain anymore (only during flare-ups when I eat while not hungry).
I don't know how the site has been before, but now it seems rather deserted. The thing is that I am not sure if I want to go through the natural route. My doctor recommends against it and I have seen people complaining that they have more symptoms while off PPIs. I just want this to heal and go away. At the moment I am well recovered from the flare-up and almost symptom-free. I cannot eat as much as before but in two three weeks I will. But I know another mistake and I am hungry for another week at least. As if life it self is not a roller coaster.
Gastritis is tricky. It is different for everyone. Fasting works but sometimes you get gastritis because the stomach is too empty. I used to have a small piece of whole wheat bread and then the symptoms would go away. It is not easy to figure out this issue. Time makes you good at this. You can go long periods without symptoms but you will always have to avoid certain things like black pepper. Whatever you main triggers are you may not be able to have again. But if it comes back you get good at getting rid of it quickly. That is the key to this issue. Small portions are the key and figuring out what you can and can not get away with. The bigger challenge is going off the PPI. You have to be really careful then for at least a few months. I only took dexilant for 2 weeks and was really good from a diet point of view. The not eating part is terrible but this willg et a lot better. it can take time though. Just stay the course!
I mean I don't even like spicy food and always avoid them, I rarely ever drink, I know after gastritis I won't even sip any alcoholic drink, and I never liked coffee anyway and gave me digestive problems even when I was healthy.
My triggers--from the things I have dared to try so far--strangely enough, are vegetables!!! I can only tolerate baby carrots. I can have a considerable amount of black pepper with no symptoms at all, but no vegetables, even well cooked. Isn't that mental? I just don't want this ever again in my life, and I will do anything not to summon this beast again, assuming that it will disappear at some point. Just let me eat my normal healthy diet with a little bit of unhealthy snack here and there and I am okay.
Oh yeah, coming off PPI's is another daunting thing. But once, to do some tests, I needed to come off PPI's and for 5 days I didn't take any. Nothing happened ... Once before that also I came off cold turkey, and again, nothing happened. The first time during and the second one before my gastritis (I took them for reflux). But I think when the time comes, I will ween off with mathematical precision and lower the dose gradually.
Yes just go slow and be careful when you decide to wean off the PPI.
I think you will get there for sure. It can take a year or so.
Just stay disciplined and determined. That is what gets you there!