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How I cured my gastritis

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ines6375
ines6375

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).

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  • christine35186
    christine35186 ines6375

    Posted

    Hi Ines,

    I also wanted to ask about your bowel movements. I too experience soft and light colored stool. When did you notice it changed to a darker color and firmer texture? I've been on dexilant for 6 weeks now and it is still a light color. 

    Thanks Ines

    • ines6375
      ines6375 christine35186

      Posted

      Hi Christine,

      I really can't say because at first I took dexilant for two months, than I tried the natural supplements for a few months, than I took dexilant again for 4 months, than my stools became darker and firmer. So I would say it takes a few months. Also it is not a stable thing. If I start eating more acidic things now, my stools will start being more of a light color and more soft, than if I return to a strict diet, they will get darker and firmer again. It keeps changing but overall it is much better than it used to.

  • cata27289
    cata27289 ines6375

    Posted

    Hi Ines, first of all I wanted to thank you for opening this forum, it is great to share with all of you our experiences. I am new with gastritis, I consider myself a healthy person, I am very active, a mother of little ones and work full time. A couple of weeks ago, I had a minor headache (sinus pressure) and I decided to have a couple of cup of coffee, the headache didn't go away and I wanted to work out so I decided to take an exceedrin (the headache wasn't bad I was impatient) and the my quasiness started, since then I've been having nausea and an upset stomach accompanied with bad taste in my mouth. I went to the dr. And had some blood work and the h-py test. Blood work came good and no bacteria, great news!! I went to a gastroenterologist and he thinks that I have gastritis.the nausea has lingered for two weeks with heartburn. Dr. Prescribed nexium 40 mg a day and brat diet. I've been feeling better but the nausea is still here. It comes and goes away, today for example I was ok until 5pm then it started again. I am going to have an endoscopy next week. I've been watching my diet but today I decided to have a banana smoothie with soy milk, my stomach doesn't hurt, just a little acidity in my mouth and of course nausea. I started taking the ghl licorice that you recommended and I ordered pepzin gl, I should receive it by this Friday. I wanted to know if you or anybody experienced nausea and how long did it last? It worries me that I doesn't go away completely, why? Is this normal?
    • daniel_80
      daniel_80 cata27289

      Posted

      I experienced nausea only when I woke up in the morning due to the acid travel down to my throat during my sleep. sad But after taking nexium for 2 weeks, the nausea part lesser and getting better. I guess it need patience for it to go away, but it will come back if i never watch my acid diet at times. So diet is very imprt.
    • daniel_80
      daniel_80

      Posted

      Do take note that nexium can cause side effect like nausea too. So its better to judge whether you get better after you finished the med. A side note, do not take nexium for too long like not more than one month as it is quite a strong dosage.
    • cata27289
      cata27289 daniel_80

      Posted

      Thank you Daniel, I was debating whether stop it or continue taking it. The nausea has forced me to make changes in my routine. I have two options: stop it now and take anti-acids or continue taking it until my endoscopy. What is interesting is that I had the nausea before I started taking nexium so I am not sure if it is a symptom of my gastritis or a side effect of nexium.
    • daniel_80
      daniel_80 cata27289

      Posted

      I understand the terrible feeling of nausea, as I read from your post which you did drank coffee and also took exceedrin which is a contribute to become acidic in your stomach. You need to stop coffee for the time being or maybe just a small cup a day will do, as coffee is super acidic. As for exceedrin, they contain aspirin which will cause harm on your stomach if you took it often or for long period of time which can cause gastritis easily. 

      For my case, I took 3 days nexium before the endoscopy which i have terrible nausea in the noon out of sudden. After endoscopy, doc asked me continue for another 1.5 weeks - with 5 days of nexium 2 times a day and the another 1 week with nexium taken once a day. I felt so much better after the medication ended, as they gave me many terrible side effects like terrible stomach cramps, lots of winds, depression and anxiety. My advise for you maybe just try take a week or two week then stop. Nexium is to help you stop the acidic - so for many case maybe its help and I do not have nausea anymore during my wake up in the morning. 

      For now i am taking chamomile tea which help to soothe the stomach and also relax your body. And doc change my med to omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate instead of nexium, i took this alternate days with once a day only before dinner. I also took Pepzin GI in the morning with empty stomach. I will say so far i do not have nausea and terrible cramps with all these supplements. But if i ate too much in a day, i may encounter pain again and also loose stools. So diet is still very imprt with what you drink n eat. Maybe you should invest in alkaline water, this help to neutralise the acidic in your body. Just take note whatever you ate and drink in a day which might trigger your nausea, maybe that the cause of it. Hope this helps. 

    • ines6375
      ines6375 cata27289

      Posted

      Hi Cata,

      I think I had nausea every now and then when things were really bad but to be honest it has been a few months now and I don't remember very well. From what I remember I did not have it very often though and mainly at the beginning.

      In your case, it seems that the nausea is not due to the medication but to your problem. It will go away once you get better.

      I disagree with Daniel regarding Nexium. I did not take Nexium, I took Dexilant, but it is a similar drug (PPI). Except the first day I took it (I got a headache, might have been from something else), I never had side effects from it. The first time I took it, I took it for 2 months than I stopped cold turkey. It was a mistake to stop so early because even though I felt good I was not cured and immediately after I stopped all my symptoms came back. So a few months later I took it again but for 4 months this time, and that cured me. I talked to some other people who got cured as well, some took it for 6 months, some for longer. It really depends and I would listen to your doctor. Also when you stop it is important to do it very progressively. I decreased my dose over a period of two months to avoid rebound and make sure everything was fine with less medication.

    • cata27289
      cata27289 daniel_80

      Posted

      Thank you Daniel for your comments, I really appreciate them. Yes, I stopped drinking coffee. I am also paying more attention at my food schedule as I used to skip meals before this problem started. It is good to know that your doctor changed you from nexium to omeprazol, I will keep this in mind and ask my doctor. However, what through me off guard is that the nausea started at the same time as the high acidity in my stomach. I was more worry about the nausea and not been able to be active and "on the go" at all the times. I am very positive that this is going to go away, however, I need to help my stomach heal. I am having the endoscopy next week and I am hoping I can find some answers to the constant nausea.
    • cata27289
      cata27289 ines6375

      Posted

      Thank you Ines, i also believe the nausea is related to the high acidity in my stomach. Today I've been very careful with my foods, right now I feel a mild nausea, so i am drinking a herbal tea, which usually helps me. By tomorrow, I should receive the pepzin supplement and I really hope it helps me with my recovery. I am also chewing Dgl licorice before my foods, I am totally committed with going back to my normal me. Hopefully, I will find some answers with the endoscopy. One more question, I get minor headaches (I believe they are related to sinus pressure) would you take Tylenol?
    • ines6375
      ines6375 cata27289

      Posted

      I don't know about tylenol, check the side effects carefully in the notice or on webmd. You are right to be careful about medication with this condition, you want to avoid anything irritating for the stomach lining. Does drinking a lot helps with the headache? If your headache are reccurent and make you miserable, it might be worth it to try tylenol, you will know quickly if it is good or bad for your stomach. But if you can avoid taking it, it is probably better.
    • ines6375
      ines6375 cata27289

      Posted

      I just checked webmd for side effects of tylenol and they don't list anything, so that is good.
    • daniel_80
      daniel_80 ines6375

      Posted

      Hi Cata,

      It best if you wait for the endoscopy result, as we both are not doc afterall. The debating of whether to take nexium, its best for a specialist to advise on you. All of us have different bodies which will depend whether our bodies can react to diff medicines, even age does matter too. You need to feedback to doc that even taking nexium, you still feeling the nausea part. Nausea part can be many areas in our body causing it, doc might check on your other area other than stomach. I felt it best if you do a whole body checkup. But go with a light heart and do not worry so much, your body works best when you are less stress.

  • acakes
    acakes ines6375

    Posted

    I have a GI and a Functional (Naturalistic Doc). The Functional Doc wants me to do the Ketogenic Diet (less than 50 carbs). It's high fat, medium protein, low carbs. But I am not comfortable with that. I am not sure what my stomach issue is yet, but if it's gastritis, I don't think high fat will be helpful. I will do Paleo, but that's as far as I go. Supposedly grains can interfere wih gut healing. So I have read and so did my Functional Doctor say.

    My issue is upper abdominal inflammation/swelling. I thought I was healing, but then during the holidays I ate normal and now mys tomach burns! Even if I drink just bone broth. I'm not healing. I try to stay away from acid blockers but am trying Zantac now. I am trying to avoid a $2,000 endoscopy! Especially when they may just say you have inflammation or an ulcer. Well I can just fix that with diet / acid blockers / supplements. May be a waste of money.

    This all started the week I came back from Cayman Islands. Hpylori blood test said borderline. Breath test said negative. Waiting on the stool test to come back. Abdominal ultrasound is normal. During the time I went to Cayman I had ALOT of stress so maybe that caused it. I have no idea. I don't have any other symptoms except inflammation / swelling / and now burning. I sometimes get inflammation in my head which causes anxiety, depression, and OCD.

    I had a food sensitivity test so I will avoid these foods too. I have no idea my problem or what caused it and I miss my life! It's stressing me out so bad!

    • ines6375
      ines6375 acakes

      Posted

      Hi acake,

      I do think that gluten might cause problems but I never heard anybody have problem with rice or even potatoes. One must be careful with arsenic in rice those days though but if you wash it and choose white rice, that is better.

      Fat is hard to digest and if you avoid it, the only way to get calories is carbs.

      Also I am not sure it is the best moment to make your body go through the stress of a ketosis state.

    • acakes
      acakes ines6375

      Posted

      Ya, I am not going to do Ketogenic Diet. Especially with all that fat. I don't really know if Gastritis is my problem yet, or leaky gut. I thought if you want to heal your gut from leaky gut that you have to take out grains.

      Also experimenting no grains because I read Brain Grain and how maybe taking out grain can help with anxiety and depression.

    • acakes
      acakes ines6375

      Posted

      Green smoothies and even bone broth butn at the moment. Andmy upper abdomen is so swollen. It's chronic i flammation and swelling. What gelped me at first was drinking Raw Meal Shakes, banans, eggs, sweet potato. Then eventually my stomach let me add ground turkey. I am suspecting H pylori, gastritis, dyspepsia, or ulcer.. In that order. I am freaking out because it happened after Cayman Islands trip. I panic because I don't want something crazy like stomach cancer!
    • acakes
      acakes

      Posted

      I had taken Nexium for 2 werks and it didn't seem to help.
    • john03683
      john03683 acakes

      Posted

      If anyone needs the endoscopy, it is you.  It sounds like you have no medical insurance.  But, I would encourage you to take this seriously and have the test done.  It sounds like an ulcer to me.  You don't want a stomach perforation to occur.  You may also have picked up a parasite on your trip.  But, I'm leaning toward an ulcer.  Let me know what you find out.  Take care.  John
    • acakes
      acakes john03683

      Posted

      I do have insurance but it's a new year and the duductible has to be met so that's going to cost almost the price of the endoscopy itsef. I have an apointment soon for an endoscopy. I have one more test coming back today for h pylori. It's just such a coincidence that this started the week I got back from Cayman.
    • ines6375
      ines6375 acakes

      Posted

      What kind of food did you eat during your trip?
    • acakes
      acakes ines6375

      Posted

      I'm currently doing Paleo, but no results yet. I thought Paleo was great for healing the stomach. Maybe it takes awhile? During Cayman I ate boiled eggs, snack bars, sushi, some type of meat and potatoes dish. I didn't eat much there. And only a few drinks, not alot. I don't know what diet to do because I don't know my problem. No one will tell me. I'm going to do the HIDA scan next week to check gallbladder function. And I'm goign to go ahead and get an endoscopy. This is getting rediculous.
    • acakes
      acakes

      Posted

      "If" I have gastritis, what fats are safe to eat? Avocado, nuts, olive oil?
    • acakes
      acakes ines6375

      Posted

      Is 93% fat ground turkey considered high fat? "If" I have gastritis, what fats are safe to eat? Avocado, nuts, olive oil?
    • ines6375
      ines6375 acakes

      Posted

      If you can find 99% lean turkey it is better, or turkey breast. The less fat you eat the better it is for your recovery. I used a little bit of olive oil for cooking and a few walnuts on my oatmeal. The key is to keep the amount minimal.
    • acakes
      acakes ines6375

      Posted

      Update: Finally had an endoscoy. It shows chronic Gastritis, inflammation and blood. I've done so many other tests, but found nothing. I have no idea where this chronic Gastritis came from and it happened the week after I came back from Cayman Islands. All my h pylori tests showed negative (stool, blood, breath, biopsy) and so did my parasite tests. I am clueless. I make all my own meals like ground turkey, banana, boiled eggs, fruits, veggies, etc. I don't know what else to do. I tried Nexium for 2 weeks and it didn't help with anything. So am I missing something? Do I need to do a colonoscopy or check for ovarian cancer via ultrasound? My GI doctor (who had excelellent review and many years of experience) said that Gastritis is a funny thing because sometimes it never really heals.
    • acakes
      acakes muhammad24448

      Posted

      It's possible, especially because this is keeping me stressed. So how do I heal though? I've been eating such a healthy diet. I took a food sensitivity test and even removed the foods that showed I was sensitive too. A few days ago I decided to stop all supplements (DGL, Glutamine, Seriphos which was to help lower cortisol). I'm at a loss. The doctor said if Nexium didn't work then acid blockers problably won't do anything for me. I'm very lost. I'm healthy everywhere else.
    • acakes
      acakes muhammad24448

      Posted

      I am starting to feel bloating, inflammation, and burning in my lower abdomen too.
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