How I cured my gastritis

ha georgik, no how your feeling luv i am exacly the same, lst a stone  an cant aford to loose any more  but  cant eat nothing to keep weight on, really depressed at the moment, suppose to go away  in 6 weeks  for a special anniversary, so peed of , hope we soon get well

Hi Georgik,

I don't know where you saw that you can't eat carbs. It is really good for you to eat carbs, whole grain carbs are alkaline, not irritating for the stomach at all, some of them are actually soothing (potatoes, rice, oat, ...). Eat them as often as possible. If you have problems with gas, try to eat carbs without gluten.

There was a very interesting article in the New York Times this week called "for evolving brains, a paleo diet full of carbs". Apparentely natural selection has made us particularly adapted to digest complex carbs. The hypothesis is that when human started eating complex carbs, it allowed them to fuel their brain and help its development.

The idea of flax seeds is interesting, somebody mentioned cod liver oil has healing properties, could it be that both contain omega fat acids? How are you these days? What helped you eventually? I am from Czech republic too, nice coincidence.

An idea for you to look into. Based on my situation, supplements that would aid your digestion might help. They have helped me and I can eat most things. The supplements recommended were mastic gum in a.m., a probiotic b.i.d.., a dgl before meals and before bedtime and another that contains marshmallow root extract, slippery elm, gamma-oryxanol  with meals. I was already on a PPI that I want to get off. I gave up coffee and alcohol and fried foods. It has been 2 mos. I feel better. I am going to continue until my follow up endoscopy in Sept and will start weaning the PPIs then and once off those will start weaning from supplements. 

so you take mastic gum in the morning,  whats a probiotic bid, an what is the marshmellow one  dont drink coffee or eat fried foods, but  like a drink but had none for 5 weeks, but would like to have a couple  when i go away to celabrate

My desire is to get off the PPIs permanently so I am taking these supplements to try to heal my esophagitis.  In the morning I take the mastic gum along with my regularly prescribed medications.  I take a probiotic twice a day (one in the a.m. and one in the p.m.).  I take DGL about 15 min. before meals and I take another supplement that is a combination of slippery elm, marshmallow root, gamma-oryxanol and plant enzymes (you'll have to google it to get the brand name) with my meals.   The supplements were all recommended by a naturopath.  It does cost to see a naturopath--it is not covered by insurance.  I can't say this regimen would work for you, that is why I recommend you speak with a professional.  In my case, I am pleased to have done it--I am enjoying my good night's sleep.  Recently I have had some alcohol but I do it very minimally.  And I  am also careful about not overeating because that makes me feel awful waiting for it to digest. Good luck.

Hi Ines.  Yeah, I've read that book.  I've been eating low acid foods for about three years now.  It may have helped somewhat.

I developed LPR four years ago, and began experiencing stomach burning sensations about a year ago.  I recently had an endoscopy and they found gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining).  But they didn't find a cause (no h. pylori, and I don't use NSAIDs or other pain killers).

My wife has been having the same LPR symptoms for about the past three years.  She had an endoscopy recently and they also found gastritis.

I think the real underlying cause of our stomach problems is an infection.  About 5 years ago, my wife and I both got terribly sick with some kind of bad stomach bug.  We were both vomitting -- serious vomitting.  That was the first time in about 15 or 20 years that I've vomitted.  It was several months later that I began noticing the LPR symptoms.  And then several months after that my wife also began having symptoms.  

We can minimize our symptoms by avoiding large quantities of high-fat foods.  But the problem never goes away entirely.

Also, there was a study done recently linking functional dyspepsia to anxiety.  I've been taking a probiotic for the past week, and my symptoms, while still present, are causing me much less discomfort.  I feel much calmer.  It is known that certain probiotics are anxiolytic (they reduce anxiety).  I've seen many reports of people who have largely eliminated their symptoms by going on anti-depressant medications like amitriptyline or anti-anxiety medications like alprazolam.  I'm hoping that the probiotics will continue to have this calming effect on me.

I don't think the underlying problem will ever go away entirely.  Many experts believe that functional dyspepsia is often a life-long disorder.  If I can learn to accept this as the new normal -- and not spend so much time struggling with it or trying to "solve" it -- I think I can learn to enjoy life again.  So probiotics, and anything else that can calm the mind, are good things.  And I can minimize my symptoms by avoiding foods that are too high in fat or fiber.

 

Scott,

That's so interesting. My family had a similar illness. My husband, my son and I all had bad stomach aches for a few weeks. My husband got better within a couple weeks. My son still has stomach problems. He is autistic and isn't really in tune with his senses but he is hungry all the time, even after he has a big meal. I have a stomach ache all the time. It seems different than some others because eating seems to help me a little. It has been about 18 months now and mine is really bad most of the time. I had several ulcers in my stomach, duodenum and esophogas. My son is having an endoscopy in two weeks so we'll know more how he is then. My husband is totally fine. We are all taking a probiotic but I'm not sure it is helping much. I am at the point where I think I'm going to try the anti-depressant though.

I do wonder if an antibiotic would also help, even though it seems like that could make it worse.

Kim

Are you being strict with the diet Scott? I had a big spicy acidic dinner a week ago and it made me very sick so I am trying the diet from that book and after a week, I feel so much better but I still have some LPR at night. I was hoping that if I can be strict with the diet for a full month the LPR would go away completely (that is what he says in the book). Then hopefully I will stay good by being careful with what I eat.

Actually I am wrong, it says in the book that it takes 3-6 months to see some improvements.

Hi Kim.  I don't know about antibiotics.  I think you're right to be concerned.  But if you take plenty of probiotics when taking the antibiotics, you may be just fine.  I tried antibiotics a few months ago (before my endoscopy) and it didn't seem to help.  Nor did it make things worse.  Just the same.  I feel bad for your symptoms; that's awful.  If you try the antidepressant, please let us know if it helps.  I've considered it.  Good luck.

Hi Ines. Yes, I'm very strict with my diet.  I eat the same food every day, and have for the past several months (white rice, chicken/fish, cooked carrots and kale, olive oil, eggs, and sometimes cheese).  Nothing acidic there.  It's also a very low FP (fermentation potential) diet, in keeping with the Fast Tract Digestion diet.  My symptoms are better, but they're still there.  But I know we're all different, so your body may respond better and your LPR may go away entirely.  I hope it works for you.  Your experiments and willingness to share your experiences has helped us all so much.  Thank you.  

I want to clarify:  my LPR symptoms are quite good -- almost non-existent.  But I still sometimes get the burning sensation in my stomach.  And even that is mild.  So it's probably the case that the low-acid diet, and low-FP (Fermentation Potential) diet, has reduced my symptoms a great deal.  The last time I noticed an LPR flare up was a week or so ago when I had some butter, in addition to my usual foods.  So even a low-acid food like butter can (sometimes) cause a flare up.  My wife will notice a flare up from coffee.  So it could be the acid.  Also, she had a UTI a few months ago (after a course of antibiotics).  She drank a bunch of cranberry juice to get rid of the UTI.  It worked, but it gave her terrible LPR symptoms for days.  So I think you're right that the acid can certainly worsen symptoms.

In the book he says that cranberry is too acidic, coffee causes reflux by relaxing the LES valve as well as saturated fats like butter, but you probably know that. He recommends no coffee, no cranberries and no more than 10% saturated fats for 90% vegetal fats at least (and keep the total amount of fat reasonable). That is something I did not know about saturated fats even though I noticed that I react better to olive oil than butter or coconut cream.

You don't get a bad reaction from cheese? I keep going back and forth with cheese, I am trying to go some time dairy free again until I feel perfectly fine again.

You said cranberry does that include cranberry tablets. I take those so I don't get uti

It depends if your tablets are acidic (which depends on how the cranberries are processed and the ingredients). How do you feel after eating them?

Also you might be able to reduce the impact by mixing them with some highly alkaline food.

That's interesting about saturated fat.  I read the book last year, so I don't remember the details.  But I do remember him saying that fat should be kept at reasonable levels.  You know, cheese didn't seem to cause LPR with me.  But too much of it did seem to cause more stomach burning.  And I'm pretty sure too much of it causes migraines (I get really light sensitive, but the headache is mild); but I can't be certain.  I'll try to reduce my saturated fats and replace with olive oil.  Thanks, Ines.

Scott something that happened to me that just might help you. I too used to eat the same stuff everyday. I have since found out that this is the quickest way known to man to develope food allergies/intolerances. When you get these it can take 6 months for them to disappear. I'm messing with SCD as my last diet attempt!

Thanks, Rex.  I think you're right.  I've recently begun gradually adding back more foods.  

How are you, Scott? I am also a strong believer that this persistent gastritis must have some bacterial or viral cause. Your symptoms resemble those I read from coxsakie B virus sufferers. The first onset is severe, then the infected person gets well and after several months he/she develops various GI issues. I assume that any other infection could have similar progress. How are you now?

Hi Maria. That is interesting about the coxsakie B virus. I've never heard of that. I'll have to do some reading about that. I'm fine now, thanks for asking. Fortunately I rarely have symptoms anymore. Only if I eat something oily or spicy, which I almost never do. I get plenty of calories and have gained a few pounds. I'm about 10 - 15 pounds heavier than my lowest weight, when I wasn't eating much. I feel better, and my doctor said I look healthier. My food digests at a normal speed, no bloating like before, and I'm very regular.

How are you doing? Are you having symptoms?

I am glad you are fine! What kind of treatment did you and your wife follow to get well? Please, send me pm with the brands of the supplements you used. I have symptoms for over a year now. I have constant stomach pain, nausea and vomiting. The gastroscopy showed mild gastritis, bile reflux and mild esophagits. My pancreas is also affected. I take PPIs on and off, but I am never well. It's very frustrating.

I'm very sorry to hear about your symptoms. My ex wife and I were both diagnosed with mild gastritis, like you. We were prescribed Zantac. I didn't use it, and she only used it briefly. This was about 5 or 6 years ago. Joan also took a PPI for a week or so. I didn't take a PPI. And neither of us took supplements of any kind.

We got better with a low fat (no oily or greasy food), low acid diet. I also do a low FODMAP diet. And I eat two servings of plain greek yogurt daily...the full fat kind. It doesn't seem to bother me like oily foods. Also, I have the head of my bed elevated 5 inches, and I wait 3 hours after eating before I lie down.

Let me know if you'd like details on what I'm eating. I hope it helps you, too.

You were so lucky to be able to overcome this without medication. If it isn't a problem, could you elaborate more on your diet, please?

Okay, so I'm not your average guy. I like routine, and my diet is the same, day after day:

Breakfast (about 7:30am):

Gluten-free cookie (60g)

Pecans (30g)

Banana (medium)

Oatmeal (50g instant oats before cooking; not sure how much it weighs after being microwaved with water)

Broccoli, steamed (40g)

Root veggies, cooked in slow cooker (75g)

Salmon (25g)

Mid-morning snack (about 10:30am):

Fage greek yogurt, plain, full fat (5%) (160g)

Lunch (about 1:00pm):

Gluten-free cookie (60g)

Hazlenuts (30g)

Banana (medium)

Quinoa (150g cooked)

Broccoli (40g)

Root veggies (75g)

Salmon (25g)

Mid-afternoon snack (about 4:00pm):

Fage greek yogurt, plain, full fat (5%) (160g)

Dinner (about 7:00pm):

Gluten-free cookie (60g)

Walnuts (30g)

Banana (medium)

Red Potatoes, cooked in slow cooker (200g cooked)

Broccoli (40g)

Root veggies (75g)

Salmon (25g)

The root veggies are rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, carrots and beets.

The cookies contain brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, butter, eggs, sugar and salt. I bake them. They're dry and crumble easily, but they allow me to keep my calories up.

I always cook my vegetables. Everything is low-FODMAP.

I no longer get that stomach burning sensation that I used to have, and I think it went away when I began eating more calories (added those cookies to my diet). I think my ex wife gets stomach pain when she hasn't eaten enough, but I'm not positive.

I do take one fish oil capsule daily. That's the only supplement I take. I probably don't need it because of the salmon I eat, but I've had problems with dry eye and fish oil is supposed to help.

I space my meals about 3 hours apart, and give myself 3 hours after dinner before lying down. As I said before, I elevate the head of my bed by about 5 inches.

I think that's it. Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope this will help you. Those symptoms are awful.

Thank you so much! I ate some greek yoghurt yesterday, but it hurt me and I felt it in my throat in the morning. Different people react differently to various foods, unfortunately. This situation sucks, I am happy you are well, it gives me some hope.

If you don't mind me asking, what foods do you eat on a typical day? And in what quantities? Also, have you lost weight or are you having trouble maintaining weight?

My breakfast consists of gluten free bread with honey, my lunch can be potatoes, rice, gluten free pasta with chicken, pork or salmon, eggs, my dinner is plain gluten free bread. I drink only bottled water. I am very thin and have trouble with maintaining my weight. I can't eat bananas, they hurt my stomach after a while.

Okay, thank you. So that sounds a lot like my experience several years ago. I was only eating small amounts of limited foods, and unable to put on weight. It really wasn't until I began forcing myself to eat more that my symptoms gradually started getting better. But it was no fun at first -- the larger meals caused my symptoms to worsen. But that was temporary. After a week or two my body slowly adjusted and then my symptoms began getting better. Perhaps it's the gradual expansion of the stomach (adjusting to larger meals), and the speeding up of digestion/motility. My stomach began emptying faster, I began feeling less bloated after meals, and my constipation went away. Also the stomach burning gradually disappeared. For whatever reason, my body did adjust as I began eating larger meals, and now it's operating normally.

Obviously, it's very important that you begin eating more. Do you have access to a dietician or nutritionist? They can help you design an eating plan that will help you gain weight. And they may also be able to help judge whether certain reactions to food (like yogurt or bananas) are just part of the adjustment to new foods or new types of food (fat).

Functional dyspepsia has been tied to anxiety. And also to eating disorders. Things that reduce anxiety might be very helpful in reducing symptoms and allowing you to eat more. Probiotic foods are linked to less anxiety. That's why I eat a lot of yogurt. Some breathing techniques are helpful. And I've seen studies showing that an older style antidepressant called amitriptyline is helpful in reducing functional dyspepsia symptoms.

I can give you my very simple and inexpensive recipe for gluten-free cookies. Let me know if you're interested. I've never had a problem with them. I don't like store-bought GF cookies because they often contain xanthan gum, and it doesn't sit well with me. Want the recipe?

Yes, of course, I long to eat something more tasty than gluten free bread. I am afraid my stomach won't manage to process a large amount of food, I tried several times, but it led me to nearly vomiting. Plus it really hurts.

I read in another comment of yours that olive oil can slow down the digestive system. This is sth I didn't know, I will replace it with sth else, thank you.

Yes, I did read that somewhere. And from my experience, anything oily or greasy gives me reflux. Fortunately, yogurt doesn't do that, nor do the cookies I eat (which contain butter) and the nuts. So if you can eat nuts, that's a great source of monounsaturated fat (the kind olive oil is rich in).

Okay, here it is. My cookie bars are not very tasty. They're lightly sweet. And they're dense. But I like them. I'm sure there are much tastier recipes out there for GF cookies. Just keep in mind that you don't have to use xanthan gum if it bothers you (I think it just helps hold the cookie together, since gluten is absent.)

540g Brown Rice flour

240g Potato starch

120g Tapioca flour

270g Sugar

1.5 sticks of butter

6 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour and salt into bowl and set aside.

Put sugar in separate mixing bowl.

Melt butter in microwave. Combine butter with sugar and mix together.

Add eggs and mix together.

Gradually mix in flour.

Spread evenly on a baking dish -- I use a large Pyrex dish, and line it with parchment paper.

Bake for 35 minutes.

This makes quite a bit -- about 3 pounds. Enough to last me for a week. That's a lot of calories. 😃

And please do keep me posted on your progress. I hope you can find a nutritionist to help you through the process of adding more calories and more foods to your diet. Please let me know if there's anything else I can help with. I don't want you to continue suffering with these symptoms.

Thank you, I will try the recipe. I went to a nutritionist who told me to eat everything . Then I went to another one who told me some more specific things, for example to eat avocado, but it was too heavy for my stomach, I almost vomited. I just woke up very nauseous, it's like that every day. I

live this nightmare for a year now.

I'm so sorry to hear that. I cannot know for certain, of course, but if you're like me, those symptoms will gradually reduce as your body gradually adjusts to new foods (foods you haven't eaten for a long time) and to larger quantities. It's going to be uncomfortable at first. Maybe for two or three weeks, but it will get better.

Research people who have recovered from eating disorders like anorexia. They encounter similar problems, if I remember correctly. It's a major struggle to train your body to eat more food, but people have done it and are doing it every day. I've done it. You're not alone. And once you recover, you're going to feel so much better.

Also, ask your doctor about amitriptyline. The studies I've seen said that a small dose was all that was needed to reduce symptoms of functional dyspepsia.

Are you ready to try again with introducing more foods? I'm here to talk to as you work through it.

Eating disorders have psychological reasons, not organic. I don't have eating disorders, I want to eat and I envy people who eat without pain. I have gastritis, esophagitis and pancreatic reaction to who knows what. Amitryptiline or any other antidepressant could help, because all antidepressants reduce the perception of pain, but they don't heal the stomach, they don't target the cause of the problems. When you stop them, you are left with the same problem.

Yes, you're absolutely right. I'm sorry, I wasn't suggesting that you had an eating disorder. I was just saying that people who are recovering from eating disorders seem to have the same problems with re-introducing foods. But their symptoms are probably nowhere near as painful as yours. Like you, I was diagnosed with gastritis. And so was my ex. However, a cause was not determined for either of us. I have had problems with anxiety from time to time, so I've often wondered if that contributed to my food restriction and perhaps made the problem worse.

In one of my first posts on this site, I described how my gastritis began. I had been on a strict paleo diet for several years. Then I tried reducing my carbohydrates even further. I began eating a very high fat diet (50% or more of my calories). Within a few days, I experienced severe reflux symptoms. I had a constant lump in my throat. It was awful. So I stopped that and went back to Paleo. But the symptoms continued, so I kept restricting more and more foods, and losing weight. Eventually I began having different symptoms -- stomach burning. After trying many different things over the next year or so, I found that a low-fat diet with lots of carbohydrates and fiber, and low-acid and low-FODMAP foods, helped me heal. And I could then gradually introduce more foods, allowing my body to slowly adjust. So I don't know what caused my symptoms. Maybe the high-fat diet or severe restriction of certain foods (carbs, fiber) which also restricted calories and caused an awful lot of hunger (and perhaps stomach shrinking and slowed digestion/motility); or maybe a viral or bacterial infection. I don't know. And we're all different, and I'm sure there are many different causes for these kinds of symptoms. It's frustrating, and I feel bad for people who are going through this.

You're probably right about the amitriptyline. It may only have a temporary effect.

Fatty food makes things worse for me too. I can't digest fat and proteins well. This whole thing started after I took antibiotics and an NSAID. But several months later I found out that I have high coxsakie antibodies in my blood, around 3000. I took out my gallbladder because they found a benign tumor on it. After that surgery my nausea and dyspepsia remained the same. I wonder if you have tight feeling around your lower ribs like me?

Yeah, I've heard that NSAIDs can trigger these problems. And I read somewhere that extra virgin olive oil contains natural substances that act like NSAIDs, but much less powerfully I'm sure.

No, I don't have that kind of feeling around my ribs. Have you asked your doctor about that? Also, what medicine did your doctor prescribe for the gastritis?

Do you mean that extra virgin olive oil contains salicylates? If so, maybe that's why I keep having issues, it's the only oil we use in our household. And I found out through allergy tests that I am allergic to olive tree pollen. The doctor assured me that it doesn't mean that I can't eat olive oil. Thank you for the info. I think that the feeling of waist tightness is from my gastritis-esophagitis, although one doctor told me that I have probably CFS and my brain sends wrong messages to my stomach. I have noticed that it becomes worse when I eat or drink something acidic. For example right now I mixed one teaspoon of George's aloe juice in a glass of water and I can feel mild burning in my stomach and the tightness. For my gastritis I take Nexium and for nausea domperidone.

Not salicylates...yes, EVOO is high in those. It's another substance called oleocanthals that acts like ibuprofen. And so it may also cause issues with the stomach, as ibuprofen does. I'm just speculating, though. I stopped olive oil and switched to nuts several years ago, and noticed immediate improvement with the reflux. But I assumed that mostly because any oil reduces the ability of the esophageal sphincter to close tightly.

As formy symptoms with stomach burning, the only thing that seemed to help was more food and less acidic foods. I'm assuming the stomach produces a certain amount of acid in response to eating or drinking, and if there's not enough food to absorb the acid, the burning sensation appears. But that's just a guess. I really don't know why it happens.

I'm sorry those medications are not enough to fix the problem. I hope your doctor can find something that brings you relief.

Thank you, Scott, for the info and your wishes. I hope so too. The stomach should be called a vital organ too. We can't live without it functioning properly. I was thinking about trying an antibiotic such as Septra. I already tried cephalosporin and rifaximin, but they didn't work.

You're very welcome. I always just assumed the stomach was a vital organ. Take care! And keep us posted on your progress. 😃

I just came across this article. It's a good overview of functional dyspepsia and the available treatments.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/functional-dyspepsia-causes-treatments-and-new-directions-2020070620505

Thank you. I don't believe in functional anything. It all comes down to some kind of inflammation process from various causes. George's aloe works for my nausea, but hurts my stomach, btw.

Hi Scott, .....you are so right !!!!

this was 15 months ago.. but I really hope you will still get this message ... as I am desperate. Everything you described is exactly my situation. I did exactly what you did : for BMI reasons serious food restriction. I thought this was super-healthy ... but I was wrong! I did like you a serious Paleo Diet for years, then the High Fat Zero Carb Paleo....and now I'm unable to eat / refeed. Dyspepsia for more than, stonach pain, nausea, A shrunk stomach, motility disorder and Constipation (which I never used to have before). If you get my message please , please help me as you found a way to refeed yourself and get you weight up to a sensible level.

I fear that you will not see this post but if I'm so unbelievably lucky that you will get this, can you please please tell me how you did the re-feeding process.