How I cured my gastritis

Hiya Daniel!

We're on the same boat, bro. I really hate going Batman every night, it's the worse. Try eating light meals 4-5 times and at least 3 hours before you sleep on an elevated bed, that is, your head should be elevated by 4 inches. I hope that helps!

Hi Daniel,

Nexium is a PPI like dexilant. I was taking dexilant and it is what helped me most. There is not natural supplement that will help you as well as Nexium or dexilant. If you tolerate Nexium well, my advice is to keep taking it until you are completely cured. I tried all the natural supplements for a while then seeing no improvement anymore I gave up, took dexilant (same as Nexium) for two months than I got cured completely.

Once you are better with Nexium, don't stop too quickly. Follow your doctor advice. When I was better with dexilant, I still took it full dose for another month, than I slowly decreased the dose over two months.

Recovering from stomach pain takes time and taking Nexium + following the diet is the fastest and most efficient way to do it. You will probably not have any side effects or problems taking it for a few months. I was worried taking dexilant but I totally fine with it for a few months and it got me cured. Good luck and try not to worry too much about it, just be patient. I am glad you are following the diet, it is very important too.

By the way, Nexium is also a PPI.

I know you wrote this awhile back but I want to junk you for the words of encouragements you give. I've been suggesting with gastritis for about a month now and have been on ppi for 3 weeks. The first two weeks I barely saw an improvement but the doctors changed the brand and increased the dosage. I started to feel better after a few days to a week with the new strength. I'm not a hundred percent after a week a week on this new meds so I sometimes worry. But I'm glad to read your encouraging words. I will try to also not worry and be patient with these medications.

Do you suggest not to bother with the natural supplements as you once stated and just take the ppi? I told the doctors of the supplements and she told me to just stick to the ppi and a strict diet.

To thank you*

Suffering*

(Sorry for the typos. Hope you can understand what I wrote)

You are welcome, I am glad it is helpful. I don't remember exactly if I took any natural supplement when I took the PPI. I certainly would not bother with the pepzin since it is to heal your stomach in the presence of acid and you suppressed the acid, there is no evidence that it helps when you take a PPI.

For the DGL licorice, you can test if you feel that it gives you some relief. I would take it far away from the PPI though just in case. It is up to you really to take it or not. In all cases I am sure the PPI and the diet alone are enough to heal you if you give it enough time.

Thank you so much for your reply. I retract your posts over and over which helps me to be patient with this progress. I've put myself on such a strict and limited diet that I just eat the same thing over and over for breakfast & dinner. I'm hoping that I can soon incorporate at least some fish or even chicken but I'm fearful since all meat products are considered acidic.

I hope you have continued to do well & are healthy again and thank you again for sharing your experiences here.

I am healthy, thank you.

From the acid-alkaline point of view related to the stomach, proteins are not acidic. Chicken and Fish are good, they are the best choice of proteins for you now. Try lean fish (no salmon/tuna or very little). Turkey is good too.

I will try some fish this weekend! I miss that so much!

Hi Ahmad,

This is a very depressing illness but it will get better. My stools were very very soft all the time when I was sick, and a weird color, very light. I am better now so I don't remember in all details but I think I had diarrhear quiet often. Don't worry about it, it will get better when your stomach will get better. I did not have much belching though. My stools became firmer (and darker) as I was recovering. It was a slow progression over a few months.

My advice would be to avoid the restaurant from now on until you recover and eat the diet I recommend. You will feel better with it. But you probably have figured that out already with your recent experience at the party. It is not easy to resist food at parties. I always eat a full meal at home just before I go to a party and take snacks I can eat with me.

If you think there is something abnormal though, ask the doctor. Some people get C. Difficile but it is quiet rare and the symptoms are quiet extreme from what I read. You probably don't have it. I did not get it personally.

If you worry you might have IBS and want to starve the bacteria making gas in your gut, you can always follow the FODMAP diet. I follow it personnally as I have IBS. The main offenders to avoid are beans, lentils, chickpeas, cabbage (and all from the cabbage family: broccoli, cauliflower, kale), gluten (wheat, rye, barley). Just eat easy to digest food like chicken breast, lean fish, vegetables other than cabbage, rice (good against diarrhea). Cooked carrots are good against diarrhea too.

Thanks, Inces!

Yeah! My stools are light in color and loose. Sometimes (like the last 2 days) it becomes almost fully liquid. It doesn't disturb me much but I thought it might be a concern. I may have cheated on my diet by continung eating tomatoes. I'll be sure to exclude it and follow the FODMAP diet. I guess I have to be mentally prepared that this will take longer than I had initially anticipated. By the way, there have been some problems with my sleep. I wake up early feeling bloated. Is it a part of this illness? And is dry mouth also assosiated with it too? 

And thanks for the quick reply. I really appreciate it.

PS, WHoa! I read that you have been battling this illness for a year! Damn...If that were me I would have been admitted to a mental asylum for all the stress I was gonna take. That's really something.

Yes I used to wake up at 4-5 am every day with stomach pain. It is part of the deal but it will go away. I use to take a DGL licorice then.

About the dry mouth, maybe you should drink more? Especially with the diarrhear, you might be dehydrated. But don't drink two hours before bed.

Hi ines and ahmad. This is my story. Sorry Ahmad diagnosed gastritis last February after being ill since November, I've had omprazole, pantoprazole and lansoprozole all gave me bad side effects. Had a spell on ranitidine but this caused my WBC to drop very low.. Had a couple of months off all meds, just juicing and eating very carefully. Then got too cocky and my stomach gone bad again. I was up between 5 and 6 am every morning for over a week stools pale, and bad stomach pains, discomfort lasted all day.

back to docs, esmoprozole, trying out taking at night so head not so dizzy.

back to juicing and eating clean, things seem to be settling.

gastritis is depressing and so debilitating. Wish I had a magic wand! 

Keep posting it really does help. I thought I was only one suffering like this. 

Happy new year x

You are not alone Jayne! I think Ines commented a ways back on how recovery involves much trial and error, which I am also finding to be the case... feel some improvement with the diet, then get cocky and relapse. Instead of getting depressed about it, I'm trying to think of it as part of the learning process hoping these mistakes will finally sink in.

Yes  Jayne! you will and can recover fully.. I know .. I got a juicer, did cabbage juice ( 1 liter a day), and then did the JJ virgin diet for 21 days.. no soy, eggs, salt, sweets, dairy, wheat *(bread, pasta etc.) and began eating really really good whole home cooked meals. I journaled my food and my stools, and eventually found what needed done. I also used slippery elm, and a PPI for 3 months after diagnosis. I also monitored very very closely my physical activity and began exercising.. but mostly it was the cabbage juice & not eating salt, onion, tomato, wheat, dairy, ice cream or yogurt, and eatting free range meats, quinoa, almond milk, coconut milk, apples, fruits, nuts (NO peanuts), berries,  and salads made fresh from organics... 

Did your diet include beer on the weekends?? LOL! I know I know  You didn't find some of the fruits esp berries to be too acidic? Did you go off the PPI ?

Before nexium, I actually took omeprazole but this med doesnt work on me much which why the doc changed to Nexium which is stronger dose than omeprazole. If you are doing well with omeprazole, then continue. Then again, do try to avoid tomatoes which is also my favourite as they belong to acidic food.

when I drank beer, it hurt me. the fruits and berries were carefully mixed in my diet, I had to watch the portions closely and journal. I went off the ppi once , but ate bad (after 45 days after initial diagnosis) , then I learned my lesson that getting rid of this was going to mean a longer term change.. .perhapse even better for me because I would have to eat right to be out of pain.. I starte dth ppi again, but with a better diet.. and to tell you the truth.. it never helped me as much as cabbage juice and & not eating salt, onion, tomato, wheat, dairy, ice cream or yogurt, and eatting free range meats, quinoa, almond milk, coconut milk, apples, fruits, nuts (NO peanuts), berries,  and salads made fresh from organics... 

Can you eat yogurt or beer now?

I can eat yogurt fine 2- 3times week. I drink non alcoholic beer, and I haven't tried it since my last episode that threw me back 30 days worth of healing... I don't drink alcohol much at all period for the past 5 years... 

Thanks Max, I'm sure i need to eliminate it, but just breaks my heart. How long have you been totally recovered?

I am recovered for 2 weeks now ,in so much as I eat right. I 've been symptomatic since Aug 15 2014, via a side effect of taking LEvaquin ( a flouroquinilone antibiotic that I didn't even need as I was mis diagnosed) I then got diagnosed with gastritis Nov 23rd. In that duration I have went thru intermittent times of pain, and no pain. I had to figure out my diet. period. it was a very sensitive chemistry game. I have food intoleranes galore as a result of this mis diagnosis that got me here. I also exercise vigourously, I ama 39 year old male fyi.  I wouldn't say I can jsut got eat like crap and expect to be cool.. life doesn't work like that, nor recovery

Ahh The good ol' days...back when I was a pizza hoarder. I use to eat em' everyday dipped in chilli sause and drinking loads of soda. And BAM, now I'm diagnosed with gastritris and GERD. It's not easy shaking off the feeling that you'll gonna have to deal with this for months, even years. But it's reassuring to know that there are others that have been through this and healed themselves. So yeah, bye bye tomatoes. It's been nice knowing ya, pal. *sniff*

Anyways, it seems like omeprazole isn't gonna work on me effectively anymore. I guess I'll find out more once I meet the doctor again this weekend. By the way, I wanted to know whether it is pain or feeling bloated ( You know, like you got inflated like a balloon or something or just a general feeling of discomfort in the stomach) that wakes you up early. For me it's feeling bloated.

For me is more of pain...at times like stabbing pain that kind during sleep time. And i do release lots of air/gases from my butt at times, but now its seem lesser. I do get diarrhea but not very often...when its came...it will be gone the next day. I will say taking piobiotic do help me in some ways but not getting very bad cramps.

I do get the sharp knife-like pain too but mostly during the day and they  are very mild, not much of a concern but it's still there. The pain actually began after I got cocky and ate a fatty steak just a week after I started the treatment. And then it all came back.

Also, anxiety and depression plays a huge role in your digestion. You won't be able to digest food properly and thus you'll have stomach pain. This will make the situation much worse.

Hiya Jayne.

Yes, it's definitely a really annoying illness. The worst thing is that you feel unsatified with the diagnosis and still think there must be something else wrong with you. But this is a part of this illness and the best way to counter it is by adjusting your diet strictly and taking PPIs (Omeprazole, esmoprozole etc). It's like a game of trial and error. Eradicating the intake of acidic foods and finding alternatives so you're not deprived of important nutrients. I made the same mistake as you. But I got cocky just after a week of treatment and here I am again with all these problems again. I'll readjust my diet and continue taking my medications for another week to see if things improve.

Try to chew slowly or take a bit of rest after five mouthful, this will help in digestion. I am ready to eat low acid diet for at least a month, this will help the stomach to heal first before I can take moderate of acid food here n there. 

Do try chamomile tea as well, this tea has a number of anti-irritant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties. Therefore, it has been found to be effective in treating stomach and intestinal cramps. Chamomile reduces cramping and pain in the bowels and also helps to relieve excessive gas and bloating in the intestines. I getting less gas after drinking one cup in the am and pm. And it help me to rid of anxiety alot. But most important is to lessen the acid, once its lessen and your gastritis will heal faster. I am seeing my specialist next week and hope to get more feedback from him.

Thanks for the tip! Now that I think about it, I have a lot of flaws in my attempt to counter GERD/gastritis. I'll read your thread more thoroughly now. Although the natural medications you recommended is not available in my country, I think taking omeprazole and following a strict diet plan will be more than enough to ease my discomfort. And then I'll gradually lay off the PPI. Thanks a lot, Inces. I might come back with some questions. I hope I don't annoy you. 

I'll be sure to follow your advice. I also heard a lot about chamomile tea and since I easily succumb to anxiety and stress, this one will do the trick. My grandad, who had suffered from numerous stomach diseases, told me to exercise lightly on a daily basis as it helps in sustaining a healthy digestive system. The easiest way to do this is to walk for 20 minutes after eating a meal. He also told me to be on a strict diet for the next 3 months in order to fully recover or else I may be permenantly damaged. Yikes. 

I'm also gonna meet my GI this week to see if my medications needs to modified or not.