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 know I haven't been on in a while, things have been a mess. Since I last posted I was in Albany Medical Center in April in their refeeding center. It was horrible. They thought I had an eating disorder because I lost so much weight, and I couldn't convince them it was because I'm in so much pain constantly. They forced me to eat foods that made me worse and drink Boost, which gave me horrible cramps, because I'm allergic to dairy. I also got a stomach virus there which made me not be able to eat anything so they put a feeding tube in me and pumped Boosts and Ensures into me. I felt worse than I do already. They sent me home and said I had to wait for a bed at a residential eating disorder facility (because they were determined I had, like, anorexia), and since I came home and felt sicker than I already did, I had less of an appetite than I already had, so I re-lost some weight. When they finally had a bed for me at this eating disorder place 3 and a half hours away in Waltham, MA, I had lost 10 pounds. I was trying so hard but I constantly had acid reflux and nausea. I was even taking Protonix, I think it was, on top of all my herbal supplements and antacids. In MA, they told me I had to go to the inpatient unit, and I spent a month and a half there, from May 28 to July 7. It was like a prison. They did not care whatsoever that I have a severely inflamed stomach and have horrible acid reflux and nausea. They forced me to eat cold food for the entire month and a half. Three meals and three snacks. If I couldn't and since I couldn't have the nutritional supplements because they have dairy, they threatened to give me a feeding tube. I felt sicker than ever. Again, they made me eat foods that irritated my stomach worse. They said, "don't worry, your stomach will learn to adjust to it." It was just the opposite. A couple times there I had severe gastritis attacks where I literally couldn't get out of bed. I could tell they thought I was exaggerating, and I definitely wasn't. And the staff was incredibly incompetent. All they cared about was forcing me to eat and didn't care how I felt on the inside, they made me feel a lot worse. I pushed through it and gained about 23 pounds. I'm home and feel sicker than ever. I mean, some days are better than others, but I really get full fast when I start eating. I don't have as bad of acid reflux because I've been taking Pepcid AC Maximum Strength. I am worst between 3 and 11 pm. Dinner is the hardest meal for me. No matter what I eat my stomach constantly feels nauseous and "acidy." One day not too long ago I had a day of bad diarrhea and that made me feel worse. I know I'm starting to lose weight and I can't. I don't want to keep losing!!! I'm going in for a second endoscopy on August 5. Does anyone have any suggestions to help me gain weight without causing too much extra pain??? I really need advice.
Sorry for such a long message!!!
Thank you,
Caleigh Miller :)
I know I haven't been on in a while, things have been a mess. Since I last posted I was in Albany Medical Center in April in their refeeding center. It was horrible. They thought I had an eating disorder because I lost so much weight, and I couldn't convince them it was because I'm in so much pain constantly. They forced me to eat foods that made me worse and drink Boost, which gave me horrible cramps, because I'm allergic to dairy. I also got a stomach virus there which made me not be able to eat anything so they put a feeding tube in me and pumped Boosts and Ensures into me. I felt worse than I do already. They sent me home and said I had to wait for a bed at a residential eating disorder facility (because they were determined I had, like, anorexia), and since I came home and felt sicker than I already did, I had less of an appetite than I already had, so I re-lost some weight. When they finally had a bed for me at this eating disorder place 3 and a half hours away in Waltham, MA, I had lost 10 pounds. I was trying so hard but I constantly had acid reflux and nausea. I was even taking Protonix, I think it was, on top of all my herbal supplements and antacids. In MA, they told me I had to go to the inpatient unit, and I spent a month and a half there, from May 28 to July 7. It was like a prison. They did not care whatsoever that I have a severely inflamed stomach and have horrible acid reflux and nausea. They forced me to eat cold food for the entire month and a half. Three meals and three snacks. If I couldn't and since I couldn't have the nutritional supplements because they have dairy, they threatened to give me a feeding tube. I felt sicker than ever. Again, they made me eat foods that irritated my stomach worse. They said, "don't worry, your stomach will learn to adjust to it." It was just the opposite. A couple times there I had severe gastritis attacks where I literally couldn't get out of bed. I could tell they thought I was exaggerating, and I definitely wasn't. And the staff was incredibly incompetent. All they cared about was forcing me to eat and didn't care how I felt on the inside, they made me feel a lot worse. I pushed through it and gained about 23 pounds. I'm home and feel sicker than ever. I mean, some days are better than others, but I really get full fast when I start eating. I don't have as bad of acid reflux because I've been taking Pepcid AC Maximum Strength. I am worst between 3 and 11 pm. Dinner is the hardest meal for me. No matter what I eat my stomach constantly feels nauseous and "acidy." One day not too long ago I had a day of bad diarrhea and that made me feel worse. I know I'm starting to lose weight and I can't. I don't want to keep losing!!! I'm going in for a second endoscopy on August 5. Does anyone have any suggestions to help me gain weight without causing too much extra pain??? I really need advice.
Sorry for such a long message!!!
Thank you,
Caleigh Miller :)
In the past, I've given you extensive advice but you mostly ignored it.
Nonetheless, I am worried about you and will try again.
Nauseous and acidy means your acid suppression protocol is not enough. This could be due to what you're taking, your diet, or both.
Stick to small bland meals every 3 hours. Start with just oatmeal and mashed potatoes for a few days.
Switch from Pepcid AC to Zantac... I've been on both, and in my experience Zantac just works better.
Pepcid 20mg approx. equals Zantac 150mg in potency.
In my experience, when all else fails, taking Zantac 150mg every 8 hours is the most stable H2 blocker regimen I've been on.
Some people may experience a bit of a mind-fog on it, but I got used to it I guess... and there are supplements to battle it, like Cognitex by Life Extension.
Take 4 PepZin GI per day...
You may consider taking 4 Gastromend HP + 2 PepZin GI in the beginning, because you're pretty far gone. Gastromend may have side-effects, theoretically, but it works a lot faster for me in closing the gap between "compromised" and "semi-normal" stomach situation.
Also consider taking probiotic "Align" or its generic semi-equivalent called "4X Probiotic" which has b.infantis bacteria in it.
Take Source Naturals digestive enzymes seconds before food intake. 4 capsules at once.
Since we last talked, I started making a website aggregating information on healing gastritis. It's linked in my profile... don't want to link directly as not to be accused of spamming.
Thank you for your advice. I don't know if I still have Zantac. If I do, can I take it in the same day as Pepcid? I took Pepcid before breakfast, at 7:40. And I'll buy PepZin GI on Wednesday. Is miso soup okay for gastritis? I bought some yesterday and I love it. And how about for drinks? I drink pH water with a pH of 9, Vitamin Water, coconut water, aloe vera water, and herbal teas. Oatmeal doesn't sit right with me. What should I do for breakfasts? And what about for snacks? And about the medicine. You said to take Zantac 150mg twice a day? Can you take it on an empty stomach? Like, 7:30 am and 7:30 pm? I'm usually done eating my 6 pm because that's when my stomach gets really bad and I don't want to aggravate my acid reflux more. Is there anything I can take that is similar to PepZin GI that I can take while I wait for the actual product to arrive?
Thank you!
Caleigh Miller
"I drink pH water with a pH of 9, Vitamin Water, coconut water, aloe vera water, and herbal teas."
Stop doing that. Just drink water. You do want to get better, right?
"Can you take it on an empty stomach? Like, 7:30 am and 7:30 pm?"
Yes. Zantac 150 every 12 hours is a safe standard regimen. It may or may not be enough for you, however, in which case... well, I describe that on the website.
I don't know where on digestive ability scale you are, but if you can't eat oatmeal, you should try white rice and maybe mashed potato.
For snacks you could try dry plain cookies, like "Bordeaux" ones sold in Walgreens. I also found Nature Valley's "Fruit&Nut" bars to be a pretty reliable snack. In your condition you should eat those after food, probably.
I don't know anything about miso soup.
Generic Zantac can be bought very cheap on Amazon.... I also link to it on the website.
Thank you,
Caleigh
I don't know about muffins or why you choose gluten-free foods. You'll quickly find out if your stomach doesn't like them, since you appear to be, despite all of your troubles, still in the mood to experiment.
Bordeaux are dry plain cookies, often sold in Walgreens:
http://www.amazon.com/Pepperidge-Farm-Bordeaux-Cookies-6-75-ounce/dp/B0051OQ23E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438117825&sr=8-1
Are you taking your PPI properly? It should be 30 mins before food and on an empty stomach otherwise it doesnt really work.
I cant really think of an easy way to stop weight loss besides just eating little but often, even if you aren't hungry just a few bites when you can unless you are really in pain or nauseous.
You can try adding a little fat to your meals, its very hard to keep weight on when on a zero fat diet, and a little shouldn't hurt your stomach.
I found I recovered much faster though when I stopped worrying about my weight, force feeding yourself can just end up prolonging the stomach healing time.
Also when I'm feeling particularly awful, I do Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Autogenic Training, it really helps me feel better - less stressed and anxious and even feel physically better.