How I cured my gastritis

I don't know what baked crisps are. Are they the eggs in a shell made of bacon? You can bake eggs in a little bowl for sure (without the bacon).

For the recipes you have to go in the gastritis forum of the website dailystrenght dot org.

Think I will stay away from fruit for now, I think if I had eaten it on its own like you said, it wouldnt have reacted.

Will carry on with the eggs in my banana pancake.

Will have a look again for the recipes, thanks again, Emma

I am in NYC. Baked crisps are called wedges here I suppose. I make them for special occasions with a spray of olive oil, salt and sometimes rosemary or thyme (always a success with guests). They are harder on the stomach than steamed or boiled potatoes because of the browning due to the roasting process, the oil, and the herbs. You have to feel if you can tolerate it. Otherwise steamed, boiled or mashed potatoes are easier on the stomach and safer (I use a little bit of the cooking water mixed with the potatoes for the mashed potatoes).

It is hard to know what to do if you don't know what you have. First I would get confirmation that you have gastritis, check for h. pylori and allergies. But from what you describe it seems that you have gastritis caused by that supplement you were taking. It does not sound like you have too much pain in your stomach though, which is a good thing.

You say that OTC and prescriptions do not heal the problem. It depends what the problem is. If you have h. pylori, you need to kill it. The easiest is antibiotics. If you have gastritis with no h. pylori, the OTC and medication make your stomach less acidic so it can heal. So they don't heal directly but the create an environment in which your stomach can heal. Without the medication, the excess acid keeps hurting your stomach continuously and prevents it to heal.

I have tried zantac but I did not feel good with it, nothing hardcore, just feeling dizzy. It does remove the acidity though. I tried tums and they help for 40 minutes then my stomach hurts more (more acidity). Maybe you should try zantac and see how you feel. It is really helpful to decrease the amount of acid in your stomach to heal.  Now I am on dexilant and I feel great. I have taken it in the past for two months at the very beginning, then I tried pepzin GI, DGL licorice and slippery elm for 3-4 months, and I am back on dexilant for two weeks now. This is what works best. In two weeks I got more improvement than in 3-4 months with the natural supplements, and I have no side effects at all, just a feeling of peace in my stomach. I was like you very scared of the medication, this is why I tried really hard to make it work with the natural supplements, but honestly I wish I took it for a little longer at the beginning. After trying everything, the medication works best and you don't want to suffer forever.

Be careful with honey, it is fairly acidic, around ph level 4. Enzymes are irritating for some people and sometimes even cause gastritis, I don't know about papaya enzymes. You can probably find more information on webmd or the web (I like to read the reviews on amazon too).

If your problem is not too bad and you don't have h. pylori, DGL licorice before each meal, pepzin GI and slippery elm between meals when it hurts, plus the diet might be enough. If your problem is more serious, you might need the medication if you want to be cured quickly.

I used to have symptoms at night: pain and acidity. Now with dexilant 60 mg, the pain is gone, the acidity is very low, I sleep well. I take the dexilant 60 mg 30 minutes before breakfast, sometimes I take DGL licorice before lunch and dinner (sometimes after) for the pain during digestion, which I have less and less if I stick stictly to the diet. This and the diet is enough for me to feel good now. I hope it is going to cure me completely.

I think it is important that you do some tests to know what you have exactly. Do you know if you have h. Pylori?

If you have gastritis, I would stay away from ginger as it is irritating for the stomach lining. Iberogast is for slow digestion not for gastritis, it might be irritating for your stomach too, you should check the ingredients on webmd for example. 

If you tell me what you eat, I can give you some suggestions that might help improve your symptoms.

my breakfast is 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup rockmelon, 1tsp sugar and a sprinkle of salt.

1st snack: 3 tbs white rice with little bit of baked tofu+chicken+mushroom, 2 small pieces of steamed sweet potatoes, 1 slice of dry toast white bread+few drops of marple syrup.

lunch: 1 bowl of white rice with stir fry carrot, bokchoi, mushroom and chicken very little olive oil & oyster sauce.

2nd snack: same as 1st snack

dinner: same as lunch

in the morning with breakfast, i also take:

-1 tab calc carbonate 300mg+250IU vit D,

-1 caps iron+zinc+b complex+75 mg vit c

-1 caps magnesium chelate

Easly this year i tried to cut down all the vits because i somehow found that my usual vit d 500IU made my mouth tasted sour, but i ended up with low vit D, and stopping the other vits resulting me getting sick 3x in a row (flu, gastro, vertigo) where i vomitted alot that might had worsened my condition tha ttime. so i went back with those supplements, especially after reading  dr.koufman's blog that caps supplements generally ok for relfux.

i'm scared of trying high fiber food after red rice and whole neal bread didnt work forme. bananas also turned out to be one of my trigger food, i was so upset as i'd been eating bananas without suspecting that it was the one causing me to reflux. With me, i keep a food diary but the difficult part is sometimes the reflux doesnt come right after the trigger food, but after few days adding a particular food i realize that symptoms getting worse and by that time it has sent my condition back a couple weeks.

at the moment i'm tryint sliperry elm powder 1/2 tsp with little bit of water right after lunch. Not sure whether it's the right way to take?

at the moment i'm taking nexium 40mg/day split into 20mg 40mins before breakfast and dinner. Is dexilant and ppi dosage comparable?

I'm also taking endep for nerve senstitivy.

i had a blood test done for helicobacter and it was negative. Not sure if that's enough to rule out helicobacter. 

I'll try to get my doc sent me for endoscopy, ph monitoring & manometry, as not knowing whats going on inside there adding on my anxiety

again, thanks ines for replying

your diet looks very good! And I admire you for the food journal. I should do that too.

Some vitamins are irritating indeed. I checked B9 which is irritating at the dose of 800 mg and Vit C is irritating because too acidic. I have heard iron is irritating too, not sure about this. You can always check on webmd dot com but if you need them, you need them. They are easier on the stomach eaten with food. I have stopped completely to take any vitamins for now but I do worry about the lack of B12 and Calcium, and my obgyn told me to take B9 because I would like to have children in the future. I am planning to take B vitamins when my stomach will feel normal again. Don't forget that the book of Dr Koufman is to treat reflux and LPR not really for gastritis. Even though the diet is similar, I think it should be more strict in the case of gastritis. In my case I could not tolerate at the beginning Manukka honey, dairy, herbs, salt, milk substitutes which are allowed in Dr Koufman book. Also I am a bit sensitive to sugar and maple syrup but I take it from time to time with oatmeal, hard to resist with hubby drowning his oatmeal in bourbon maple syrup in front of me. Zinc is helpful for healing of the stomach, it is one of the ingredients of pepzin GI.

I noticed like you that some foods hurt immediately, other hurt more on the long term. For example cheese. Sometimes I put a little cheese on my pasta. It does not hurt immediately but I noticed that I have a low level pain that appears afterwards and last a few days. I am going to try to be stronger and resist the cheese on my pasta.

you are right to be scared of fibers, I feel that they hurt almost immediately. But I noticed that there are two types of fibers, the ones that you can feel on your tongue like the fiber in whole bread, raw vegetables, popcorn, those fibers hurt. But I am fine with soft fibers that have been soften in steam or boiling water like in steamed or boiled vegetables or in oatmeal.

I used more and more rarely slippery elm, always away from meals with one or two big glasses of lukewarm water. I am not sure about the quantity, I was taking 2 pills at the time. DGL licorice works better for me and I don't have much pain in between meals anymore anyway.

Dexilant is a PPI like nexium, I am not sure if 40 mg of nexium correspond to 60 mg of Dexilant but it is possible. At the beginning I complainted about dexilant 60 mg to my doctor and he gave me nexium 40 mg to replace it. I decided to take dexilant after all because the list of side effects was less scary and the studies showed that it works better than nexium 40 mg. Now I am taking 60 mg of Dexilant once in the morning 30 minutes before breakfast. It works well.

I have never heard of endep.

I don't know either about H.Pylori testing, my doctor tested it during the endoscopy.

if you're interested, I'm using this app installed in my phone, it has food & symptoms diary available: "mySymptoms Food & Symptom Tracker", it costs just around $3.8

Well, even though with food journal plus strict diet and nexium, it still hasn't brought me complete relief This really scares me

I read from some posts in HealingWell, that slippery elm in powder is better for reflux & gastritis as it can form into gluey substance and helps with the coating of stomach & esophagus....

And also, I read about iron in the form of amino acid chelate to be better absorbed than in the form of ferrous sulfate that can cause gastritis.

But again, I think the only way to find out is to test ourselves...

Have you had any sensation of sour taste in mouth? I'm not sure whether it's actually acid backing up to my mouth because I tested my saliva and the ph is around 7.... 

This sour taste symptom is the 1 confuses me alot. When I had papayas, bananas, I'd never thought that they're acidic until a few days I felt that my mouth was getting sour and sour with excess saliva....

Have you done any endoscopy to check whether your LES work properly, etc? And any other tests like ph monitoring, esophageal manometery? 

I'm thinking of asking for these when i see my doc, in the hope the tests can tell me what's the real problem is.....but hopefully they wont require me stopping the ppis as with the acid rebound I dont think I can survive

Thank you for the app, it sounds very useful!

How long have you been taking Nexium? If it is not working it might be worth it to try another PPI. Some people need to try a few to find the right one. Dexilant took a month to work the first time but I suspect it was because I was still eating yoghourt. When I stopped dairy all of a sudden I started feeling much better and quickly I felt fine.

I am scared too. I feel fine with the diet and dexilant but I don't feel that my stomach is cured and I would not be fine eating normally or without the medication. I really hope that in a few weeks with the diet and the medication I will be fine and that this won't be a condition that will last forever.

Slippery elm gave me some relief a some point then later on it did not seem to work so well anymore, not as well as DGL licorice. It is really trial and error to find what works best. Are you taking slippery elm away from the time you are taking your PPI? You don't want to prevent your stomach to absorb the PPI. I take dexilant first thing in the morning 30 minutes before breakfast than I take the licorice in the afternoon only so they don't mix. I read that it is important to take the PPI 30 minutes before breakfast. At some point I tried to take it at other moments, in the evening for example, and it did not work as well.

I had that horrible sour taste in my mouth at the beginning many months ago. Thankfully it is gone. Yes I suspect it is excess acid in the mouth. It should get resolved with the PPi and the diet. It is strange you still get excess acid.

Bananas and Papayas are not acidic, the ph level is slightly above 5, you must have a special reaction to them. Unripe bananas and papayas are more acidic.

Yes I have done an endoscopy and colonoscopy 6 months ago. The doctor said that my stomach lining was inflamed and I have gastritis. Beside that everything was good and he did not say anything about my LES. I did not have other tests beside blood work and allergies.

Yes, I take the ppi 30-40 mins before breakfast and before dinner. And I'm taking the slippery elm 2 hrs after lunch. In fact I just started with slippery elm 4 days ago. Strange isn't it?

Btw, I'm thinking to try the pepsin GI and DGL licorice. Would you mind to share which brands you are using and how you take them?

Thanks

My problem is that I don't know how all these products interact with each other and if some prevent the PPI to be absorbed. It is easier for me as I take only one pill of PPI in the morning, so I imagine it is relatively safe for me to take other things in the afternoon. But you are taking your PPI in the evening too which makes it more tricky. Maybe you should call the doctor and ask. Also I am concerned that you don't seem to benefit from the PPI (Nexium) so much. How long have you been taking it?

I usually take either the PPI or pepzin GI, not both. The first one reduce the amount of acid in the stomach to allow healing, the other one promotes healing in the presence of acid. So I thought it is unnecessary to take both. I have taken both when I was transitioning from taking only natural supplements to PPI. Then I was taking the PPI 30 minutes before breakfast, 1 tab of pepzin GI with lunch and 1 tab of pepzin GI with dinner. Normally one takes the first tab of pepzin GI with breakfast instead of lunch but I wanted to avoid the possible interactions with the PPI. I used both brands doctor's best and swanson. They have the best reviews.

For DGL licorice I used to take it 30 minutes before each meal but now I take it before lunch and dinner only to avoid interactions with the PPI. I like the brand natural factors because of their short list of easy to digest ingredients. The taste is pleasant too. They changed their formula recently though and I liked the previous formula better.

Thanks for sharing the brands, Ines.

I've been taking ppi for 5 weeks now. Initially, after 10 days I got slightly better, but the red rice trial set me back and it took another week to feel as before. Then in mid of the 3rd week, when I trialed skipping my gaviscon before bedtime, I woke up with heartburn which continued for 3 days onward. Now it's the 5th week, the intense heartburn pain is gone, but I could still feel the sour taste in mouth, cold minty feeling in my throat usually in the afternoon after lunch, lump in my throat, belching-bloating.....

I just spoke to my doc yesterday and he prescribed me with carafate. He said it will help in protecting my gut/esophagus.

I did mentioned about endoscopy and other tests, but he told me to try the carafate 1st and come back to see him in 3 weeks.

He mentioned that high fibre food takes longer time to digest and with low acid, our bacteria in the gut would produce more gas that can cause reflux, especially with carbohydrate. While it sounds make sense to me, I wonder why Dr.Koufman in her book recommended brown rice, wholemeal bread in her induction diet - and many people seem to be ok with that? Hmmm....

Did you talk to your doctor about the fact that you still have acid with the PPI? Five weeks is not that long though. The first time I took dexilant it took me a month to get better, but it took me a month too to figure out the diet and identify that dairy was making me worse.

I have not tried carafate but I heard it works well. You don't need DGL licorice, pepzin GI and slippery elm since carafate will coat your stomach and oesophagus. Let me know how you feel with it and if it helps. I wonder if I should talk to my doctor about taking it too.

Dr Koufman's book is for acid reflux and LPR not really for gastritis. Even though her diet is geared towards not irritating the stomach, I believe based on my experience that the diet for gastritis must be more strict. As you said, the diet in Dr Koufman's book does not limit fibers. Also she does not limit dairy, salt, manukka honey and aloe vera juice which have all cause problems for me. I have problems with fibers too, not all fibers though, just the hard fibers in bread, (fat-free) popcorn and raw vegetables. Yesterday I made french toasts with whole spelt bread and rice milk and I was in pain all day. I thought wrongly that dipping the bread in rice milk would soften the fibers but it was not enough. From now on I will stick with white rice, white bread, white everything except for spelt pasta who are light brown but seem to be ok. For the vegetables, if I steam them, that is ok. For the fruits, melon, bananas, watermelon and papaya seem to be fine raw. I tried juicing a watermelon but the juice was too sweet, it might be ok mixed with crushed ice though.

You might be interested in the book by Norman Robillard. He has another approach against reflux. His theory is that reflux is caused by excess gas in the bowels that causes pressure on the stomach and the LES, and as a result reflux. So he advises to eat only foods that are easy to digest as the fibers/sugars that are hard to digest feed the bacteria who produce gas. His book is not for gastritis either though and he recommends lots of things that we can't eat like spices and tons of fat but it is interesting to be able to distinguish between the foods that will cause more or less gas.

Yes, I mentioned to my doc that I still have sour taste etc. But he said it's possible that stress exacerbates my symptoms. He gave me an example let's say I have a small cut in my finger, but if I keep thinking about it - "Oh it's big, it's bleeding etc" then it'll hurt more then to other people.

He's reluctant to do endoscopy because he believes whatever results, the treatments would be the same, that's why he told me to try the carafate and come back to see him in 3 weeks and if I don't get better, he'll do the endoscopy.

Ines, you're still lucky with your diet, at least you could have bananas Bananas actually are my fav, but somehow they gave me heartburn in 5 mins. I'm actually still very confused with the diet, and after all the trials that set me back few times, now I'm too scared to try new things.

I went to see a dietician few months ago, but she couldn't help much, as it's just the same, she provided me with info which I could get from the internet about regular reflux diet, but everyone's is different, so I still have to do trial & error.

Yes manuka honey tastes acidic to me too. Papaya, I tried once but apparently not enough to judge, but I read in Dr.Koufman's blog that papaya is acidic so I stopped it. Aloe vera, doesn't work for me too, but Dr Koufman actually recommends fresh aloe in her book, the one I tried was the aloe juice (bottle pre-packed) from supermarket (even tho it's said 100% pure) 

Yes, Dr.Robillard's book sounds interesting - will be looking for his book! Thanks for recommending, Ines! I think for us, like my Dr said, it'd be because our acid is low than we can't digest food as good as a healthy person... with indigestion comes gas & gas causes more reflux....

Well, I think it's better for us to stay in our safety zone at the moment.... I've been sick for a year! Innitial 4 months getting worse because of my confusion & wrong diet, then followed by 6 months trying too hard with natural supplements - until gave up to Nexium 5 weeks ago

Btw, have you tried baked atlantic salmon (the pink one)? Avocado? 

A bit scared with those 2, I heard the fat is quite high....

Dexilant removed the sour taste in my mouth completely, whether I think of it or not. But maybe it takes a little longer for you.

The Ph level of aloe vera juice in bottle is 3.6-3.8 (I contacted the company lily of the valley) if I remember correctly and the ph level of honey is 4, both too acidic. But the ph level of papaya is 5.2 which is good. You can check if you google "ph level food list for canning", there is a nice list on the internet meant for canning.

My digestion is not so good with the PPI but I don't have gas. But it is true that bacteria feed on undigested sugars and produce gas in the process. Maybe some probiotic would help (even though they produce more gas at first)?

Did your doctor check for H. Pylori?

If you have a diet that works for now, it might be better to stick with it for a while until you feel better before trying new things. I always do that mistake that I as soon as I feel better I am tempted to try new things and I hurt my stomach. As long as your current diet is healthy and contains all you need: complex sugars, proteins, vegetables/fruits, a little bit of healthy fat.

You are right to be scared of salmon and avocado, they are high in fat and fat makes digestion slower and causes more inflammation. I don't feel it  immediately but in the hours after a fatty meal, my stomach hurts. A few months ago, I did not have salmon or avocado at all. Now I have them in small quantities occasionally but as a snack only and it is not part of my routine. I prefer white lean fish for lunch or dinner because I can have more of it and I need the proteins.