I was told by the gastro that gastritis causes the reflux ....i will see the new gastro doc. on friday and im hoping he has answers for me or at least that he will listen ...i dont have a hernia ...but i will ask the doc. all kinds of questions ....i will also ask him about the digestive enzymes cause i did read about em and the doctor that came to the health food store told me they would be good for me, but i should not start them until the gastritis is gone ...

Thanks dagmar68 I have the gastro tomorow. I will need to think what to say to him. I will ask him about the natural remedies etc. I wish we could go together. I dont know what to think as this gastro hasnt been much help up to now. Ive been having a few bad days too with pain and reflux. I also had a fall in my bedroom and bruised my knee. My husband says I just tripped but I just fell down outside a few months back. I wonder if thats related to gastritis. I had a flu jab the other day just before the fall though,it could have been that. Some people on the GERD forum take digestive enzymes. Im not sure what they are will have to find out and if they are safe. Someone also said they were told gastritis can last 18 months or longer. Im being referred to a new gastro in my nearest city soon. I want to find out if a lot of the problem is the hiatus hernia or not,if an op would help. I hope you get some help and relief soon too.

I went to see the gastro and I have to double up on the meds and add Ranitidine. I

I am not too optimistic as meds havent stopped reflux in the past or the pain though they have helped a bit. I dont know now what the answer is,he said I may have to live with it. I already do. Ive to have a ph test and to consider the Nissen fundoplication op. He doesnt know if its the acid causing my pain but he doesnt think its my gastritis. He says that doesnt give much pain,he ought to have it. Also Ive got to have a stool test for H pylori which they could have done months ago. Im just hoping that I will get somewhere. Lets hope these stomachs heal soon. I found I couldnt ask questions to him he wasnt really listening. Im no further on really. I will have to keep hoping I get some answers soon.

I don't think GERD can cause gastritis, but the two conditions can be related -- both may have a root cause of motility issues (the muscles in your stomach and esophagus are not functioning correctly).

Hiatal hernias are very common with GERD, although it's difficult to say if hernias cause GERD or vice-versa.

Have you tried anything other than just meds? I don't have gastritis, but meds only helped a little with my GERD and hernia. Changing my diet and sleeping on a wedge pillow at night have made a huge difference though! Every person has different trigger foods, but here's the diet I follow to get you started:

http://www.dailystrength.org/people/508274/journal/1912231

Plus some other tips:

http://www.dailystrength.org/people/508274/journal/1997732

I haven't tried many natural remedies, but some of the more common ones I hear mentioned that you might want to research include ginger, apple cider vinegar, aloe juice, slippery elm, digestive enzymes, probiotics, I think one of the B vitamins, some special type of licorice (I forget the name....)

Good luck!

Hi Geekchick thanks for sharing that stuff. Did you get severe burning like pain? I get pain that is very bad some days. Today it has come on bad again it just flares up. Ive been to see the gastro today and he is doubling my Pantoprazole and I have to take Ranitidine as well. I have bought some of that licorice stuff and Silicol gel which is expensive. Im going to try to keep off coffee too though I love it. I could have it but as its flaring up bad Im now going to have to cut it for a while. There are different kinds of digestive enzymes. I read about them on Holland and Barrett shopping site. Have you got your GERD under control then? What meds are you on now? My stomach feels fried its difficult to know if its the reflux or gastritis. The gastro doesnt think that gastritis causes much pain. I know a lot of people on the gastritis site in a lot of pain. I dont agree with him. If its the GERD then acid must be coming up. I will try to keep off trigger foods. It makes sense to me that if the stomach comes up into the chest then some of that acid is going to splash up and cause pain. Ive read that low acid can cause heartburn too so dont know if cutting the acid is a good idea.

I rarely get any sort of burning pain or even true heartburn -- my symptoms were nausea, chest pain that felt like pressure behind my breastbone, and a lump in the throat feeling. But I'm in the minority; heartburn is probably the most common symptom of GERD. Also, as far as I know I don't have gastritis.

I took Nexium for over a year but it only helped my symptoms a little. For the past 6 months or so, all I've done is follow the diet in my journal and sleep with a wedge pillow at night, and I almost never get symptoms *if* I'm strict with the diet! And now I'm even 4.5 months pregnant and only occasionally get reflux, despite the fact that pregnancy hormones can make reflux worse. However, we'll see what happens once baby gets big enough to squish my stomach ... I have a bad feeling the reflux might come back then! ;)

However, I realize everyone is different. Some people have different trigger foods and need different diets; some people may not be able to get by with diet and lifestyle changes alone and may still need meds. Unfortunately, GERD often requires a lot of trial-and-error to see what works for you.

Good luck!

Thanks Geekchick I guess I will find out if its true GERD I have after the ph test. Its really a horrible thing to have and the more I read about it and struggle to eat things,the more depressing it is. I supose I knew hiatus hernia need operating on to fix them. One website suggested diaphragm breathing. Im not sure how to do it. Its suposed to strengthen the diaphragm muscle. It depends why we have GERD I supose. My symptoms coulod be just from the gastritis,I don't know as Ive only had them since the gallbladder came out. Congratulations for the baby. Lets hope it goes ok. Where do I get a wedge pillow? Are they comfy as I don't want to prop up the bed with books. I am used to lying flat thats the problem.