oh lu2013...coffee is brutal for gastritis... brutal. I also thought I wouldn't be able to give it up, and it really delayed me getting better. Water or coconut juice are your best bets now, no other juices. I feel for you, because I LOVE coffee. I want to drink it again, that's why I had to stop for the foreseeable future.

I'm sorry about the coffee. I have to admit that I do have that one cup.

So basically no juices? (I haven't tried but am guessing they are acidic). Or anything else? Guess I won't be taking advantage of 'drinks' included.

it sucks... but you have to get better first. the worst thing to do is let this go on and become worse. if you can still handle coffee without shrieking in pain it means you're a mild case, it's a slippery slope if you don't take care of it though.

i have a vacation coming up in december and ... i'm concerned...:(

You can try Grain Coffee (Caro in Germany). It's not a problem for Gastritis!

If you're feeling better and want to try real Coffee, switch to Espresso!

Why would espresso be any different than coffee? I thought it would be worse?!?!

The brew time is much shorter, that's why Espresso has less acidity:

http://www.rohebohnen.de/Practical-Coffee-Knowledge/More-stomach-friendly-Filtered-Coffee-or-Espresso

I don't like the taste of espresso so it figures it might be more tolerable than regular coffee, lol.

Thanks Herrlehmann - Learn something new every day :)

TreeofStars - Try adding some hot water to the espresso...It'll taste that much more similar to coffee :)

"now I manage with popping zantac when nausea comes or I take it beforehand if eating at a restaurant. Still get regular nausea, and it can be from eating say one cracker (i.e. little things can set it off)"

______________

It's April 1986 all over again, and you're a nuclear plant operator at Chernobyl. You are flipping the safety valves off one by one.

Soon there will be a meltdown, and it will change everything.

What I believe you should do now is:

a) Start taking one Pepcid 20mg (equivalent to Zantac 150mb) before you go to bed. Don't "pop a Zantac when you feel like it", but try to have this specific regimen.

b) Drop coffee, or try to find the one herrlehmann mentioned, which at least has less acidity.

c) Generally start avoiding acidic foods and drinks, i.e. pizza, orange juice.

d) Start taking PepZin GI every day to reverse your stomach lining damage. It's a harmless, simple, homeopathy-level drug with clinical studies confirming its effect in speeding up stomach lining recovery threefold.

e) Consider carrying a baggie with digestive enzymes when you eat outside. Source Naturals brand is good. You may need to take up to 5 enzymes before you eat something, to avoid nausea. It helps the stomach digest while it is trying to heal. Take them before every meal.

If this regimen removes random bouts of after a couple of weeks, you may be improving, and the Chernobyl meltdown may not happen.

If you still get nausea, and aren't doing anything extraordinarily careless (like eating spaghetti, spicy Mexican foods, drinking alcohol), then shift to the standard advised dose of taking Pepcid 20mg exactly every 12 hours, and see if nausea goes away.

Consider eating cottage cheese (w/sugar for edibility), it's a good acid neutralizer, probiotic and soother.

The reason I replaced Zantac with Pepcid (I also did it for myself recently) is because Pepcid is one generation above Zantac and has no interactions with alcohol, and almost no interactions with any drugs. Both pills are well-studied and have a good safety profile, but Pepcid appears to be "cleaner".

Love having Caro again. Don't care if coffee touches my lips again. Can you manage any herbal teas at all?

Thank you for the responses. I see a lot of comments about the coffee (which I'm more asking about the others since I am ok drinking coffee lightly).

One thing I should clarify is I'm not at my worst anymore. I was able to wean off the prevacid in the Spring and only take zantac when needed or if going out as an attempt to prevent a flare. I haven't tried Pepcid 20mg, but I can see if we have it here in Canada and give it a try. I am careful with what I eat. My issue isn't pain so much but nausea, which at least isn't constant anymore but it does come and go. Sometimes I know what triggers a nausea bout, sometimes I don't.

shihonage, you mention Pepzin GI. I saw this recommendation on this site before and i believe this is what has helped me heal. I was sick for awhile and then tried it and after a bit, I noticed a difference. This was the only change I had made. I still take it (and maybe will stop after our trip).

Hello, I'm late to the party as it were, I have CFS and had a few bad days.
I might suggest, if you can find it in CA that you try "prelief" with any drink that is acidic. It's a form of calcium that helps blunt the acid.

Otherwise - I can drink most herbal teas and tea bags are easy to carry along and put in warm or cold water. For you especially I'd say Yogi ginger tea. It has a nice warming feeling and ginger is better for nausea than dramamine, in fact they give it to the astronauts.
When I have nausea, a cup of warm ginger tea (hot hurts for me) with a shake of cinnamon and some granulated maple sugar in it helps the most. I know granulated maple sugar is different but being from Canada I'm sure it's not so odd to you. I'm from NH (waves over the border) and it's the only sugar I use.
Have you tried a food journal to see if you can tell if certain foods are causing your nausea? It can be up to a day later if it's IBS related. So many of us have IBS as well as gastritis!