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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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  • acakes
    acakes ines6375

    Posted

    So are we not supposed to have any protease again (digestive enzyme)? I want to do the Candida diet but you have to take either oil of oregano or protease or whatever to kill off the yeast.
    • ines6375
      ines6375 acakes

      Posted

      Oregano oil is very irritating. Put a drop on a plastic cup and you will see it dissolve, so I really do not recommend it. I don't know about the protease.
    • ines6375
      ines6375

      Posted

      I might be wrong but my feeling is that if you do not eat foods (sugars) that the candida feed off, your gut flora is going to reorganize itself. It might take longer but it might work too. Things that are supposed to kill the candida are probably going to be irritating.
  • maryam324
    maryam324 ines6375

    Posted

    Has anyone tried zinc supplements?

    I have been reading about zinc and would like to try the supplement. I heard chelated zinc is the best to take but will it cause stomach irritation? And what about calcium I am not planning to take that much perhaps two pills a week just because I am taking the vitamin d and magnesium and dont want too low calcium.

    Would be so easier if doctors just checked these vitamins for me. But they are always so difficult about it. All I had checked was vitmin d and b12.

    Also would anyone know if I have to take hyaluronic acid pills to increase my stomach acid to absorb all these vitamins??

    Its all so confusing.

    • sirivinay1786
      sirivinay1786 maryam324

      Posted

      Hi Maryam, with gastritis I think most supplements irritate the stomach. I have tried everything-magnesium, zinc, calcium, vitamin E etc. the only supplement that helped me was vit D and that had nothing to do with the gastritis. But you could always try it might work for you 😄
    • sirivinay1786
      sirivinay1786

      Posted

      Also, with gastritis I wouldn't suggest any pills to increase the acid in your stomach..it may cause more inflammation.
    • acakes
      acakes maryam324

      Posted

      Do not take HCL. I take Pepsin GI which you can find online. It has zinc in it and is good for the health of your stomach lining. Just try it and if it irritates your stomach, stop taking it.
    • alice10848
      alice10848 acakes

      Posted

      Hi Ines

      What about soda has it any effect.  I use it for cooking okra mixed with pumpkin leaves.  Some people are saying its no good if taken regularly.  I use this as my relish and gives a sothing effect in my stomach.  I want to reduce intake of pills and concentrate on the diet.

    • ines6375
      ines6375 maryam324

      Posted

      Hi Maryam,

      I have seen articles about zinc too, supposedly it helps protect and repair the stomach lining. And it works even better when mixed with an amino acid. This is how Pepzin GI was invented. It is made of zinc and the amino acid.

      Calcium like carbonate calcium absorb the acid at first, which is soothing but then the stomach reacts and produce more. However I found one supplement that does not cause problems, it is called bone health from NewChapter. It is made with calcium from seaweeds.

  • maryam324
    maryam324 ines6375

    Posted

    I dont have gastritis ( sorry but is that when you cant tolerate food?) I am actually really confused. I had abit of upset stpmach. Sore for few days and now its fine. I eat normally. Didnt continue my candida diet. Only for a week. However I have cut out junk food alot.

    My main problem is acid reflux but it wasnt too bad once or twice after food for three weeks. Which is slowly calming down alot aswel. I had an episode of it two night back and nothing again yet. I know its slightly there it comes up a little bit but doesn't come to my mouth. So should I treat it? Or shouldn't I mess about with it? Will it get worse and give me more problem if I dont try to treat it?

    I dont know how to test if its less acid or not? Can doctors check that? Without an endoscopy ( I panick even with the name of it) I am taking the vitamin d. But I know I need the other vitamins too. B12. Especially n magnesium I feel so calm when I take magnesium so much better sleep since I have started vit d n magnesium. Plus I fear that if I do have less stomach acid causing all this after a course of antibiotics I am not actually absorbing my vitamin d which must go up so I can get rid of my back pain etc.

    • ines6375
      ines6375 maryam324

      Posted

      Hi Maryam,

      It is good you don't have gastritis but maybe your stomach is a little bit sensitive, this is why you get a sore stomach and acid reflux. Did you identify which foods cause you acid reflux?

      I can't tell you how it will evolve but it is better if you can avoid having acid reflux. The diet from "Dropping acid" is specially designed to avoid acid reflux. Why don't you try it and if after two weeks, if it does not stop, it is still time to look into low acid. There might be way to test but I am not a doctor, I don't know. Also I don't know much about the low acid problem, I just read some things on the internet but personnally I never had that problem or met online anybody who did.

  • Jovan
    Jovan ines6375

    Posted

    Don't know where to start.  Two months ago, had a sore throat that would't go away.  Then it felt like I had a lump stuck in my throat.  I went to my ENT.  He scoped my throat and said it looked mildly inflamed.  He wrote an RX script for a PPI, and said to come back in a month.  Couldn't take the PPI.  Made me feel worse. I called my Gastro, and within the week, he did an endoscopy to see what was going on.  He said my esophagus looked healthy, but my stomach was mildly inflamed.  Diagnosis: mild gastritis.  He took a biopsy of my stomach for bacteria. (Waiting for results.)

    Past history:  Had IBS since I was 15, I am 57 now. About two years ago, my Gastro did an endoscopy and a colonoscopy on me -- everything came back normal, but it did show just a tiny bit of redness on the esophagus.  He said my stomach looked perfectly healthy back then.  He also did a HIDA scan, which showed my gallbladder ejection fraction range was very low. He also said I did not have stones or sludge and no thickness of my gallbladder walls.  My gallbladder just doesn't preform right.  (In the past, I've had serious gallbladder attacks, even though I've never had stones, sludge or thickening.  As a result,  I try to not eat large amounts of fat, which has kept the attacks at bay.)

    Whether my resent acid reflux problem is a result of my poorly functioning gallbladder is not known at this time.  It's possible that bile may be entering my stomach, he's just not sure at this time.  More tests will be done if I can't get it under control with a different PPI.  I have been following the "Killing Me Softly From Inside" diet and it's been a tremendous help.  Going on five weeks now.  The sore throat comes and goes.  My symptoms are: lots of belching, reflux -- which is worse at night (sleeping at an incline now), sore throat, a lump feeling in throat and regurgitation.  I do not have heartburn or stomach burn or stomach pain.  

    Thank you to ines6375 and everyone who have posted what has and hasn't worked for them.  All the great information is a big help for me!  I feel less confused and more empowered after reading your stories.  I empathize and I understand.  Reading all this has helped me to not feel so overwhelmed and alone.  

    • acakes
      acakes Jovan

      Posted

      Jovain, if you can't take PPI's can you take H2 Blockers? What about Carafate? It protects from bile and acid. Just throwing that out there.
    • Jovan
      Jovan acakes

      Posted

      Haven't heard of either of those.  I am definitely going to call Monday morning and ask my gastro about your suggestions.  Not sure why I have problems taking PPI's, seemed to cause me more problems than not.  Thank you very much for your help!
    • acakes
      acakes Jovan

      Posted

      An example of an H2 Blocker is Rantidone (Zantac). You can get it in a prescription or the drug store. Carafate is prescription only. I have problems taking PPIs too! They cause me anxiety and heart palpitations. I found one that is tolerable, still bothers me alot, but toughing it out. And still I'm not even taking the full strength. But its helping.
    • Jovan
      Jovan acakes

      Posted

      That was me with PPIs.  Heart felt like it was racing, and I became stressed.  Plus a headache and stomach ache.  Oh, my gastro mentioned Zantac (didn't know it was an H2 Blocker) to me, but I haven't picked it up from the pharmacy yet.  My endoscopy was done yesterday.  I've been tired all day today.  Is the H2 Blocker different than a PPI?  I need to Google it.  He wants me to stop Pepcid Complete (OTC) and start taking Zantac, but I hate giving up the Pepcid, because it really helped me get through the night.  Hopefully the Zantac will work for me.  

      Sounds like you're sensitive to meds?  I am, too!  Hope it works for you!

    • acakes
      acakes Jovan

      Posted

      Yes I am very sensitive to meds and supplements. Pepcid is also an H2 blocker. PPIs and H2 blockers both block acid but in different ways. PPIs block 90% of acid and H2 Blockers block 65% acid. So PPIs are stronger. I found that Prevacid (lanzoprazole / PPI) was more tolerable than the others I tried. Nexium and Prilosec I could not even tolerate for one day! And that was OTC, not even prescription strength. I can only handle the Regular Strength (75mg) of Zantac. But it wasn't helping me enough.
    • Jovan
      Jovan acakes

      Posted

      Well, since I do well on Pepcid (I thought Pepcid was like Tums redface  ), it's my hope that Zantac will be even better.  I really hate taking meds, but it's my hope that with diet and meds, I can start healing.  I just wish coffee was on the good list of foods to eat. I miss it so cry

      Nexium (was on it for a week) was what caused me so much grief.  

      Thank you again for all the help!

    • acakes
      acakes Jovan

      Posted

      The pharmacist told me that Nexium and Prilosec were from the same isomer. So that's why I finally decided to try one last PPI, which was Prevacid. So much more tolerable! I hope the Zantac works for you!
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