How I cured my gastritis
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When I got diagnosed with mild gastritis (but no H. Pylori) and esophagitis, I looked all over the internet to find what to do. I did not find many accounts of people who have cured themselves successfully and how they did it. So I thought I would write my story once I am cured. Here it is. If you have cured yourself from gastritis too, please share your experience below as well.
Many people ask how long it takes to be cured. At first I started on dexilant for a month but I did not see any improvement. After a month I kept taking dexilant and I started the low acid diet in parallel. I got much better in 2-3 days. After two months on dexilant and one month on the diet, I felt completely good. Then I stopped the dexilant cold turkey and got a lot of pain and acidity back in my stomach. Now I regret I did not take the dexilant a little longer as my stomach was obviously not healed and not strong enough to go through the rebound effect of stopping dexilant. I regret also that I did not stop dexilant slowly taking it every other day for a week, then every three days for a week, .... I felt anxious about taking a medication that has so many side effects taken long term and I wanted to stop immediately, which was not reasonable.
Anyway there I was back at the beginning with stomach pain and acidity day and night. I felt pain related to the esophagitis as well which really scared me. I hesitated to take dexilant again but I decided to try to cure myself the natural way. Below I describe what I did. I got cured in approximately two months, getting slowly better week by week. After two months of natural cures I had no stomach pain anymore and no excess acid, I was able to sleep again, felt like a new healthy (and lighter -- I lost a few pounds) person. However after those two months, I felt that I needed to follow the diet another month for my stomach to get strong and be able to handle a less strict diet.
THE CURE
Books
Most of what I did is summarized in two books which I found very useful:
The first book is "Dropping acid: the reflux diet cookbook & cure" by Jamie Koufman. This is the book I based my diet on. The only disagreements I have with the author regard dairy products that I stopped taking as they make the stomach produce more acid (very clear for me), and the use of ginger, manukka honey and aloe vera which I find too irritating and/or acidic (and I don't feel that they help). Also she does not talk about salt which is known to be irritating for the stomach lining in excess, I felt an improvement when I lowered my intake in salt. I will explain the diet more in details below.
The other book is "Ulcer free! Nature's safe & effective remedy for ulcers" by G. Halpern. I know you may have gastritis and no ulcers but the two conditions are related and what cures one usually cures the other too. I used some of the natural supplements recommended in this book. In particular slippery elm (this one is actually not mentioned in the book) and DGL licorice for stomach pain (coat the interior of the stomach lining), Zinc-Carnosine (reduce inflammation and protects stomach lining - I felt a great improvement after starting to take it especially with acid production at night), and cabbage juice (finished my recovery with this one, after two days I had no stomach pain anymore at night). I describe the supplements more below.
What did not work for me
Mastic gum hurts my stomach. It is supposedly helpful against H. Pylori which I knew I did not have (I had been tested).
Prelief removes the acid in food and stomach very efficiently but causes constipation.
Tums works well for 45 minutes but then there is a rebound effect with the stomach producing more acid.
Manukka honey hurts my stomach (Too acidic, Ph level 4, but maybe also because of the tea tree essential oil in it). It is supposedly helpful against H. Pylori.
Aloe Vera is too acidic (around Ph level 4), and I don't feel it is doing anything positive.
Ginger is irritating and I don't feel it is doing anything positive.
Probiotics helps with digestion but not really for the stomach.
Zantac works very well at removing the acidity but makes me feel dizzy and incredibly tired.
PPI worked very well at removing the acidity and pain in my stomach while I was taking it while doing the diet, but I had a bad rebound effect when I stopped (one must stop slowly by taking it every other day for a while). Also having too low acid in the stomach because of PPI might cause problems in the long term (problems with Calcium and B12 absorption, bacterial infection more likely).
39 likes, 3077 replies
judit55416 ines6375
Posted
Hello
Im Judit from Hungary
Im new to this forum. I have been diagnosed with gastritis and functional dyspepsia. My main symptomes are stomach burning and burning in the upper abdomen....
My stomach burning started after taking a PPI-Controloc 40..I have never had stomach problems before...after that they switched me to Controloc 20..and then Refluxon (its lansoprazole)..nothing helped and my stomach burning continued. Later I also tried H2 antagonists-no success.. I can feel these all day every day...
Do you have any experience with Amytryptiline or lyrica as a treatment fro these illnesses?
Its such a misery living with these pain really and nothing helps...my burning is even worse after i eat anything:(
Thank you in advance
basten judit55416
Posted
my burning hasnt stopped for 5 year. I have bile induced gastritis hh and oesophagitis. pain burns always up back through shoulders all down back I have no gallbladder. I take oesomaprazole and doc now added Femotodine plus Gaviscon. not helping. can you get Dexilant here UK, I have sent off for DGL and slippery elm etc hope it works
DavidInEurope ines6375
Edited
Thank you ines6375 for taking the time to write this out. Your experiences reflect mine exactly and it's great to know that with all the conflicting information out there, you have done such similar research to me and others I know, and ended up with similar successes (and discovering what doesn't work too).
I had ulcers a year ago and have long suffered from GERD. I felt severe symptoms come back a couple of months ago, but have been using DGL, slippery elm and short term use of meadowsweet herb and plantain herb to make a tea, which is super powerful for both stopping GERD and healing irritated throat and digestive tract. I recommend that. In UK those herbs (in dried leaf form) are available from Neal's Yard Remedies for example.
I just had an endoscopy and it showed I have almost no inflammation at all now, and no ulcers. The doctor was surprised after my long history of acid exposure to the digestive lining tissues.
Also - raw cabbage and cabbage juice have surprised me by how quickly they gave relief. Cabbage seems to literally switch off gastritis and abdominal discomfort for me. I'm sure it causes gas for some, especially too much of it, but having read about its properties, notably glutamine combined with other elements that help the digestive lining, I am totally sold on it and it's the first "miracle solution" / simple fix I have found that actually works. It doesn't make it go away forever, and there are always underlying causes for these digestive issues. But cabbage is a star.
Thanks again for sharing.
shaliniVINAY ines6375
Posted
Eight best home remedies for gastritis
Follow an anti-inflammatory diet. ...
Take a garlic extract supplement. ...
Try probiotics. ...
Drink green tea with manuka honey. ...
Use essential oils. ...
Eat lighter meals. ...
Avoid smoking and overuse of painkillers. ...
Reduce stress
basten ines6375
Edited
are you UK? can you buy Dexilant over counter as never heard of it I take oesomaprazole and now also Femotodine but still awful burning throat clearing etc
I have Dr J Avivs the Acid Watchers Diet.
anne53212 basten
Edited
have you ever considered that that the PPI might be prolonging your illness? i just quit my PPI and i feel better! more reflux but not as bad as it was and it is calming down. docs will never admit or even entertain idea that PPI can cause gastritis and it's crazy how they just keep pushing and even upping the dose!
sean76610 ines6375
Posted
How long did you take Slippery Elm for and what dose? I have got some 370mg and the dose recommended is 1 to 2 three times a day for no more than 8 weeks.
nea ines6375
Posted
Hello, thank you so much for your post! It's been really nice and helpful to read. I have been on a strict 'diet' now for 10 days and i'm still feeling about the same. I was thinking that I would start feeling better quickly (which I know now was wishful thinking), and it's been a little demotivating. I'm curious to know for you how long after you started eating like this did you start to feel better? Thanks so much!
kendreka59461 ines6375
Posted
Hi, I've been having bad stomach pain for over 2 months now and i recently found out that i have gastritis. My blood pressure is elevated, I'm dizzy alot, tingling in hands and feet, stomach burns after anything i eat, and elevated heart rate. Exactly what did you do to cure this?
basten kendreka59461
Posted
hello me too high bp burns all inside. have gastritis. how are you are you hesling and what have you tried.
Cheryrelle ines6375
Posted
Thank you. This is very good information. I think I'll purchase the books you mentioned. My gastritis is due to an autoimmune condition. I was told there us no cure, but you can keep it in check, by not overly indulging in foods that trigger flare-ups. I try to stay away from any processed foods. They irritate my stomach. I primarily eat turkey, chicken and fish. I don't eat anything spicy and limit salt and sugar. I'd gotten to the point where my stomach wasn't bothering me, but then I over did it. Eating things that inflamed my stomach. I think it's OK to indulge a little every now and then, but not often. I read your stomach can be inflamed, and yet you don't have symptoms. I too use Zinc Carnosine. It was a God send. One thing I learned is what works for one doesn't always work for everyone. Chamomile tea with little fresh ginger works for me. Ginger has anti-flammatory properties, but you must use a small amount. When I was first diagnosed I could only eat oatmeal. I did that for a while until I could stand other things. I added bananas, blueberries and other non-citrus fruits. Sometimes you just have to try different things to see what you're able to tolerate.
virginia33810 ines6375
Posted
Just got on the same journey. so happy to find your very helpful and hopeful comment. i have been a month on Omeprazol and just started this week with the addition of the natural remedies you mentioned. glad im on the right track, i was loosing hope. this pain is so insidious and debilitating. mostly for a good & healthy eater like myself!
77265 ines6375
Posted
diagnosed with mild gastritis in 2018. 5 years of chronic burping (burping up to 200 times a day) and acid reflux. tried everything and only fasting seemed to work.
finally started taking psyllium husk (one teaspoon in water twice a day) and i'm completely cured.
it worked instantly. i still cant believe it.
when i stop taking psyllim it comes back
kareen88163 ines6375
Posted
Hi Thank you Ines this conversation is very very helpful. On top of all these problems I am very constipated...ad the only medication that works is Movicol. but I think it is full of salt...i think it might contribute to my stomach pain.