May I ask why the green tea? Green tea, as far as I understand, still contains caffeine. (Or at least that is what the cardio doctor tells me). If it does and you have been drinking it, it could be part of the reason that your gastritis is acting up more.

As for the questions regarding the flaxseed oil, try Soretum if you can. She is a little more up-to-date on most of the natural therapies. Hang in there and I hope you feel better soon!

Hi Ravenfish well I only had some green tea last night. Its meant to be anti-inflammatory but I didn,t know that it had caffeine in it. Sometimes I do have caffeine tea when Im out,a lot of places don,t do decaff unfortunately. Its not good. What do you drink? I know a lot of drinks are unsuitable for gastritis.

If you can do chamomile instead, I would probably recommend that. I don't know for sure where green tea sits on the caffeine scale, but I found out that I usually was better off without it.

Honestly, when I had gastritis I drank a lot of bottled water and a low-acid watered down electrolyte drink. (The chamomile was out for me, due to allergies). You may also want to look at nut milk as another option, if it doesn't agitate your stomach. I know it is bland, but consider cutting the tea out for a few days that you have been drinking and see if it improves. Or if you can't quite cold turkey, try watering it down quite a bit. Good luck and best wishes always.

Hi! I would cut out the tea completely. Tea is still very acidic - caffeine free or not. It's very boring, but I just had tons of water... it helps to flush the acid out of your body. I would forget about the fish oil for now. My iridologist got me to stop all vitamins until my stomach was just about pain free. Keep it simple until you can get yourself back on track. What are you eating during the day?

Hi thanks Ravenfish I actually bought some hazelnut soya milk today before I read your post,so thats good. I don,t think I can cut tea out as I like hot drinks. I will try to be careful with it. I would use chamomile sparingly as I don,t like it. My stomach pain has eased a bit but I have period pain and my chest is playing up again,Ive been having a viral infection on it. I can,t win. I agree 2fastforward about the fish oil,I don,t get on with it. Ive cooked some pancakes today in Olive oil which is anti-inflammatory. It will be good if I can fry more stuff in it. Have you tried Canola oil? Thats down as an anti-inflammatory as well on the food pyramid. I haven,t tried it.

Hi 2fastforward Ive been eating some stuff that I shouldn,t so I am going to try to stay off them. I am going to try to eat more vegetables,the soya milk and lean meat. What do you have? Do you eat wholemeal or white bread? Ive been mostly having white bread. Have you eaten rye crackers or any other grain crackers? Sometimes I have an omelate with cheese and mushroom. I know I need to cook more stuff from scratch too as ready meals are not too good.

Poorlygirl41, I've just been reading through all your other posts... and unless you have a serious re-think about your current situation regarding food intake you are going to really struggle to heal that stomach lining... can't your husband eat his chocolate at work? How understanding is he of your situation?

Why don't you try and eat only root veg and protein for 10 days and see how you feel?

PPI's are not magic pills - it does not give you licence to eat whatever you want - even if you are having 2 a day. Look online at what foods are acidic - eggs are there, as is the white bread. If you insist on eating eggs - why not try them boiled, eat the white and toss the yolk. Omelettes are FRIED. Cheese is also not a smart choice - it's acidic and the fat if not easily digestible.

I did not touch any crackers, and certainly nothing wholegrain for the first 7 months.

You've said it yourself more than once - you know you should be eating better. WELL THEN DO IT! All this self-inflicted pain... you are such a sucker for punishment! It does not have to be like this, but you have to get your head around it sooner rather than later. I know, I've also been there (we all have!) - we've had bad days and I regretted it big time, but 99% of us got back onto the root veg and protein wagon (or whatever wagon worked for us) because we knew it's what eased the pain.

The mind is a very powerful thing and to heal it's mostly mind over matter. You really do need to get over the "angry, non-acceptance" phase, and flick that switch to "acceptance = healing". This is ALL up to you... so you have gastritis, yes it is a big deal, but it could be a lot worse, it's not terminal. So your eating habits are going to be a lot different for quite a while - but the bonus is if you stick with it you ARE going to get better. Initially (before the switch flicked) felt like a social outcast, going out and not having a drink - I felt angry and I was envious of my husband and friends (can eat and drink anything), I had to divert my attention and refocus on my friends and the conversation otherwise I probably would have cried!! It's not a life sentence (only if you want it to be). You're not going to starve to death, you will loose weight and chances are with all the junk you're cutting out your skin will glow! So flick that switch in your brain and get into the "acceptance phase". Once you're here you can really start the healing process. You'll soon see that you feel a lot better and you won't want to eat bad things all the time - I don't work, so I'm at home 99% of the day - I don't have any diversions only temptations (so I know it's not easy). The pain WILL ease I promise you - yes you WILL still have those bad days that just seem to appear out of nowhere, but the recovery time will get shorter and shorter. Just keep the simple... and like I said in the beginning - do yourself a favour and just TRY it for 10 days.

I never tried anything fried, but that was because even at my best oils of any kind did not sit well. Just remember to try to keep it low-fat and small bites to start with. You are on the right path and you will get there in time.

It is so hard to stick to the gastritis diet, isn't it? So many tempting foods and drinks. But if you take it day by day, and choose what you know will be the best foods/drinks for you, you will eventually be rewarded.

We are all here for you! Please take that important first step, and get rid of anything your body doesn't handle well. Your're in my prayers. Keep us posted.

Hi 2fastforward thanks for your advice. How did you know my husband eats a lot of chocolate? He is a bit overweight and its hard to resist those chocs in the cupboard. I do stay off chocolate and I will try with my diet. My doctor advised me to quit the chewing gum I was eating. I don,t have sweets. I have slipped up with coffee and even had the odd tomato. I will have to be strict yes I will try. When I first got it I was able to eat chocolate and have coffee but its got a lot worse than it started off. Proberly why. What about good fats like Omega 3? I have some of those flaxseed oil capsules. I need to get more Slippery elm as the capsules I have Ive had ages. Thanks all

We all slip up in regards to the diet, at one point or another. Try not to beat yourself up for it when it does happen and do your best to resist the rest of the time. Eventually most people do gain control over it a little more. Patience is key with gastritis- even in this regard. Treat yourself the best you can every day and at the end of the day, know you have another chance tomorrow. There are no "wrongs" here. Just a lot of trial, error and when you are lucky- success.

Stay strong and remind yourself that you are on the right path. You CAN and WILL find a way through this.

Hi Poorlygir4l! LOL! You mentioned the chocolate in another post. I am praying that you start feeling better soon... this is NOT an easy path, but it can be beaten. I still take it one day at a time. Look after youself.

Poorlygir4l - my advice at this stage is keep it as SIMPLE as possible.
I've seen you mention a few times the slippery elm capsules in the cupboard. Unfortunately there is no single 'magic pill' for gastritis & NOTHING is going to compensate for food choices that cause you pain anyway.
Also I've seen you say that last time you had gastritis you could eat chocolate & doughnuts. Unfortunately it seems your gastritis is much worse now, so perhaps it's time to let go of what you could eat last time & focus on finding out what you can safely eat now?
I ate a piece of cheesecake at Christmas & managed it fine, but I know there is NO WAY I could manage it right now.

I know you've had a rough time with asthma, ulcers, gallblader & now gastrits. I just can't imagine what you've been through. You must be so fed-up of it all, but you are a practical, resourceful, intelligent person. You know what you can do to improve this current condition.

First & foremost the most relief you're going to get is from following a very, very simple bland diet. It will help.
I've been over-complicating my diet lately & I am going to go back to basics & take 2fastforward's advice & try the root veg & protein.approach.
I know it won't be easy, but I know I am responsible for improving my own health & well-being. I know I can't control everything, but what I can control I WILL.

It's like that saying or prayer...

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference

Take care poorlygir4l. Sending you thoughts of strength & courage & support.

T

Thanks kayella, well Im in agony today after yesterday not being too bad. I will as you say be careful of what I eat. This seems very severe compared to how it was. It did settle down for about a week but since its flared up again its horrendous the pain. I hope it eases soon as I can,t cope with it. Its my friends on this forum that keep me going.