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
mahesh1976 ines6375
Posted
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19091823
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19220890
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19221071
cathy95385 ines6375
Posted
After reading all your post here today I want to try the Pepzin GL and the slippery elm and the DGL Licorice.right now I'm going through an attack of an inflamed easophagus ,from eating a BBQ hamburger late at night at a friends party and going to sleep about 1 hr after ,this I never do ,so wish I had not did it ,as I'm suffering now. Thanks in advance for your reply.
ines6375 cathy95385
Posted
Let us know how the diet works for you.
I read the posts about lack of acid related to aging. I don't know more than you about it but what I know is that if your stomach is inflammed, it is not going to do well with the vinegar.
cathy95385 ines6375
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ines6375 cathy95385
Posted
If you have gastritis/heartburn, my suggestion would be to start by following the diet very strictly for at least two weeks and taking as little supplements as you can except if you are taking something to reduce acid-production. If it does not help, than it might be worth it to look into enzymes. I am personnally a bit afraid of taking them because I read of people getting gastritis because of some enzymes. But my chiropractor swears by gastrazyme for heartburn. I tried one or two days but did not continue as I was afraid it would irritate my stomach but maybe it would help you.
cathy95385 ines6375
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charistusvincit ines6375
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One major difference in my diet from yours is that I eat sequentially. Mixed meals cause acid to form, e.g. tuna leaves the stomach in 20 minutes, green leafy vegs in 30; potatoes in one hour; peas in 1 and a half hours, and chicken in two hours; bread in 3 to 4 hours, etc. So when we eat these things together, whatever has broken down first begins to ferment, producing acid. If the pyloric sphincter at the base of the stomach is blocked by bread, the acid produced for the lettuce or tuna will stay in the stomach for 3 to 4 hours until the bread is broken down. Obviously, this acid will not do the stomach wall any good, and may damage it over a period of time, if this pattern of eating is habitual. So I eat sequentially, starting, e.g., with the greens, then the potatoes, then the chicken. I didn't like it much at first, but have got used to it now, and am beginning to appreciate the unique flavour of each food, without salt!.
The cabbage juice for the number of days you recommended, the smaller meals, elimination of all dairy, I have stuck to and found very useful. So God bless you for an excellent contribution to the care of gastritis! Christus Vincit.
ines6375 charistusvincit
Posted
I am glad I was helpful.
Be careful with the raw cabbage though because of the effect on the thyroid.
It is true that eating different categories of foods at different moments help ease digestion, unfortunately some components from different foods need to be eaten together to be well absorbed. For example some amino acids in chickpeas complement other amino acids in rice (most common traditional vegetarian meals are well paired in this regard), the iron in meat is better absorbed when eaten with the vitamin C in the vegetables, etc. I have turned the question of optimal nutrition in all directions and I always come back to the basic rules of healthy eating (each meal containing a vegetable, a protein, carbohydrates and a little bit of fat). There is one category of foods that I try to keep separate though, it is fruits. I do eat bananas with carbohydrates (they contain starches anyway), but I try to eat the other fruits alone (or with coconut water only).
sirivinay1786 ines6375
Posted
you our story if curing gastritis is very impressive! Are you completely cured and eating normally again?
I am 28, was diagnosed with mild gastritis (due to pylori) and esophagitis. I have been on PPI for about 2months now. My symptoms of gastritis before diagnosis was mild stomach ache and more of back aches, gnawing pain actually, especially between shoulder blades. They did all possible tests-upper GI, CT scans, blood tests, ultrasounds and finally diagonized this.
I went to a naturopath before I started the PPI and it didn't work, made me worse and I lost more than 15lbs so I decided to go with PPI and antibiotics. My antibiotics course is over and I hope the Hpylori is gone. Need to take the breath test. But I am still dealing with the gastritis due to this.
I am from India, currently living in the US. The weird thing is that now I can tolerate most of the foods (I eat an Indian diet) including normally spiced foods and can also eat most fruits. I am going on vacation this week to Las Vegas. Once I am back I am planning to try the cabbage juice(I have no health issues like thyroid etc). I can tolerate milk products (cottage cheese, yoghurt, butter, ghee, cheese)very well, and I avoid milk though and I am on a low fat diet to not strain my stomach.
Aloe Vera and pepsin GI hurt my stomach. I do not get any stomach pains most of the time(even before I started treatment I never had severe stomach pains). My main problem is the LPR. How is your LPR, is it gone?
My LPR symptoms are strange as well. It's mainly a sore throat sometimes, a minty feeling in the throat and some burping. What I eat makes no difference. I do stick to a low acid diet mostly but even if I eat onions, garlic or anything acidic it makes no difference(it does not increase my symptoms or decrease it). I do not have any heartburn and also no problems at Night while sleeping. My throat feels fine when I wake up and till I remember about it in the morning, then it starts so I don't think I have night time reflux. I am thinking of trying out a low dose of amytriptine(anti depressant) as I have heard it has healed some people with LPR. Have you heard of that?am only worried about the effect it may have on my gastritis.
guess I just wanted to share my story
ines6375 sirivinay1786
Posted
I eat almost normally. At home I still follow the diet, when I go out I eat normally. I am fine with tomatoes, cooked onions, cooked garlic, spices, a little bit of cheese. I feel a little bit bad with all types of yoghourts and chocolate and very bad with anything strongly acidic, especially citrus. I have not tried alcohol.
My LPR/acid reflux is gone, but it comes back every time I eat too much dairy. One evening I had a mozzarella salad and LPR was back all night.
Yes I saw a doctor who wanted to prescribed me anti-depressant to help with stomach problems. I refused and I am glad I did since I can control my symptoms with my diet.
ines6375
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ines6375
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I would like to answer your questions again about being completely cured and LPR as it is something I am still trying to figure out for myself.
I believe I am cured from gastritis as I don't have strong pain and acid reflux anymore. If I stay on the diet I feel 100% fine and normal.
But my stomach becomes irritated very easily. Irritating foods don't cause me real pain anymore just a discomfort that lasts the duration of digestion than leaves a feeling of soreness for a few days. During those days I get LPR but if I get back on a strict diet it goes away after a few days.
I got irritated by soy, almond or coconut yoghurt, fresh ginger (in tea), black chocolate, vinegar, citrus (lemon, orange,...), a bowl of berries, a big quantity of cheese, too many meals at the restaurant in a row. I feel that I would not tolerate alcohol.
I feel fine with having every now and then a reasonable amount of cheese (1-2 tablespoon), cooked tomato sauce, cooked onions, cooked garlic, spices, especially if they are part of a non-irritating meal. Sometimes I have a small amount of white chocolate.
So I have to manage the quantity and quality of irritating foods I eat by listening closely to my body otherwise I get LPR. I believe that if I was not careful for a long time eating everything I want, the gastritis would come back.
sirivinay1786 ines6375
Posted
as Mahesh mentioned, Indian food without spices is impossible to eat, so normal spice levels doesn't bother me. I would still avoid refined foods, highly spicy foods, fried stuff, sweets, ice cream, milk etc.
i believe home made yoghurt actually helps. In India, we are asked to have lots of yoghurt for gastritis. It has helped me. As well as coconut water and chamomile tea. Basil and turmeric are very soothing as well. Ginger is good for digestion but very irritating for gastritis. I don't r commend it. The weird thing is pepsin GI didn't work for me.
Another soothing drink is buttermilk(yoghurt thinned with water). Add some Khaala namak (black salt) and some cumin powder and drink it twice a day. It's really soothing.
Okra is very good too, as well as some other Indian veggies like bottle guard, snake gaurd etc.
sirivinay1786 ines6375
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how long dies gastritis due to Hpylori take to cure?
ines6375 sirivinay1786
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If you have h.pylori, my advice is to ask your doctor for the triple therapy to get rid of it. Once you are rid of the h.Pylori, I am not sure how long it takes to cure the gastritis, one month or two to feel better, a few more months to strengthen your stomach.
I have stopped the PPI a few months ago. I avoid vitamines as much as possible as most of them hurt my stomach (just takes the ones prescribed by my doctor for pregnancy: a mix of B vitamins, I feel fine with them).
Mastic gum really hurts my stomach badly, I do not recommend it.
sirivinay1786 ines6375
Posted
Thank you for taking time to reply. COngratulations on your pregnancy!
I did take the triple therapy for Hpylori. I havent been able to get myself tested again to see if its gone, but I do feel better symptom wise than before taking, so I am hoping its gone. Anyway, I will get tested sometime later this month to confirm if it is gone.
I just got back from vacation. DUring the vacation (5 days) I cheated a lot, ate lots of things that I shoud not have eaten, including muffins, chocolate, coffee etc. I am back on the diet now. The cheating didnt make me feel worse though, so thats a good sign hopefully (but definitely not good for health, I wouldnt do that again anytime soon). My LPR is the weird thing. Food and PPI's dont seem to affect it. I halved my PPI dosage and no difference (no rebound, not better but not worse). I can eat chocolate and potatoes and feel the same with my throat. Also, symptoms are mostly on one side of my throat only. Also, I do not have any night time reflux. My throat feels fine when I wake up. I am thinking it is nerve related (the nerves are probably irritated).I read in another forum where someone had similar symptoms and was successfully treated with amitryiptiline. That is why I want to try it. I dont know if LPR is due to gastritis, because for me LPR started first followed by the gastritis a month later. My gastritis is more bearable than the LPR.
As you suggested, I will not do the mastic gum since I have already done the triple therapy. I will try the cabbage juice and stick to a low acid diet. Also, you were right about the vitamins. I stopped everything except vitamins B & D (I have to take vit D, as I have a deficiency) and I think my stomach feels better.
Does the pregnancy affect your gastritis otherwise, if you dont mind my asking?
ines6375 sirivinay1786
Posted
I don't have gastritis anymore. I have LPR only when I eat too many irritating things. But I have nausea almost all the time due to the pregnancy. It is not too bad though.
About LPR, usually I have it when my stomach is irritated, and it lasts a few days until my stomach feels fine again. If you want to know if it is food related, which most of the time it is, you should wait that your stomach feels good and see if it goes away.
sirivinay1786 ines6375
Posted