Severe Acute Gastritis

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Hi, I'm 17 years old and I really need help.  On July 4th of this summer I went to a cottage in my area and drank some unclean water via the lake. I did not use sunscreen and had quite a bad sunburn. The next morning I felt not extremely hungry but proceeded to eat breakfast...and as lunchtime hit I wasn't in any rush to eat as I wasn't hungry. We ate pizza and I really had to force myself. My friend wanted icecream in the late afternoon but I was nowhere close to interested. At this point I was quite nauseous and a very distinct feeling of fatigue, had stomach pains which were sharp, felt disconnection and quite off. I refused to eat in the afternoon and by 5pm I was puking. At first we thought it was heat exhaustion, as I was uncontrollably shivering and was very cold but still required cold air for my face to cool my body temperature down. We read that heat exhaustion takes about 48 hours to heal so I had a cool bath and rested on my bed with cold cloths and a fan. The next day I proceeded to eat and the next day I ate even more. At this point I noticed that my throat felt a tad tight, but I figured that was because my throat was just sore from throwing up the day before. This tightness then gradually became something more. I then lost my appetite completely and took a turn for the worst and spent all my days in bed. My throat became more acidy than tight and I had TERRIBLE waves of nausea. Eating was torture and I had to really force myself to eat anything. Eventually I took a Gravol and I felt great relief. I told my doctor my symptoms and she said I most likely had Gastritis as a response to the unclean water I drank at the cottage. She prescribed Lansoprazole 30MG and once daily (morning). Days turned into weeks then almost two months. I now feel the same as I did--but without waves of nausea. I still feel nauseous and queasy because of the Gastritis in my throat but not actually sick to my stomach. The acid has reduced since getting the PPI's, but the acid still burns 24/7 and even causes me to get sore throats. I do have burning in my upper abdomen in my stomach (especially between meals and at night), I had diarrhea shortly after returning from the cottage but it surpassed quickly, when I touch and put pressure on my stomach it almost feels vacant and empty (even if I eat a big portion of food) and almost feels if I have been punched. I have frequent hiccups and burping and can almost predict when I am going to burp, as the acid increases and rises. The burning in my stomach I experience is not sharp now (but was for a few weeks after returning from the cottage..and was a pain that was felt in the upper stomach and intestines). The burn is felt all throughout my throat. I have good days and bad days where some days I don't feel sick because the acid for some reason is not as strong (even though I eat mainly the BRAT diet and don't consume any alcohol or coffee or hot or spicy foods since getting sick). And some days I feel profoundly worse. One thing to note is that every since the beginning of getting this "illness" is that at night around 9-10pm I start to feel much better and don't feel as sickly (the dr. says this is a common symptom of Gastritis). Around nighttime is also when I grow much more of an interest in eating. 

We have run a blood test to test for H.Pylori being the cause of the Gastritis and possible being the cause of a possible ulcer. My standard bloodwork looked great and H.Pylori came back NEGATIVE. This Friday I have an appointment to get an X-Ray of my stomach to see if I have any ulcers. My father had an ulcer around my age, he was 19 and I am 17 (although he had H.Pylori and a duodenum Ulcer). I had been drinking excessive amounts of coffee months approaching to me getting sick, as well as alcohol consumption which may be a cause for the possible ulcer. One thing to note is that halfway through my treatment with Lansoprazole, I was feeling much better day by day and I decided to eat pizza (I became very hungry). I ate a lot of pizza and hours later I felt the acid increase and I once again, took a turn for the worst. I have been very careful with what I eat, and eat plain rice, plain pasta, applesauce, smoothies, white bread etc. Along the way I have noted some trigger foods--chocolate chip cookies, pizza and pancakes. I have not puked since July 5th but felt close to a few days after returning from the cottage. It is now August 21st and I am still suffering. We contacted my doctor and she said that I could up my dosage of Lansoprazole from 1 tablet a day to 2 (every 12 hours)...so hopefully that helps. If no ulcer is found from the x-ray, then we are to see a surgeon and a gastroenterologist who will perform an endoscopy and biopsy on me to test for infections and to check for inflammation. One thing that we are wondering is the fact that I am on anti-depressants and the pharmacist said that they may be causing the Gastritis, which is interesting because I have been on these for 2 years now and have had 0 problems until this acute Gastritis struck. 

If there is anyone out there that reads my story and has any recommendations of what my diagnosis could be--I would love to hear it. I have also tried probiotics and I feel out of ideas and hopeless honestly. I want my life back. 

Thanks, 

Clara

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  • Posted

    Just to recap-- symptoms are:

    1. Nausea

    2. Bloating 

    3.upper abdominal pain

    4. Burning in stomach, feels empty to the touch, sore 

    5. Complete loss of appetite 

    6. Burning throat, Gastritis, Heartburn

    7. Indigestion, diarrhea 

    8. acid reflux 

    9. Overall feeling of being unwell and sick

    10. Extreme fatigue 

    11. Gnawing feeling 

    • Posted

      hi, Clara

      have you ever thought that you might have GERD, celiac disease, or a hietal hernia? you said that some of your symptoms get triggered after certain foods (pancakes, pizza, and chocolate chip cookies) which are all gluten btw and people with celiac CAN NOT and I mean can not eat gluten, for it damages the intestinal walls.  I'm quiet ill myself and it's been about a year with no improvement on the gluten free diet.  I'm always sick to my stomach and I'm always constipated to death.  I'd love to get to know you better and share our stories.  I also hope I can help and that you get better.

      -Jade

    • Posted

      Hi Jade,

      Thanks for your advice! GERD sounds the most probable for me out of those--I will keep it in mind for sure. At this point my family and I are thinking that if the x-ray comes out normal, that I will get an endoscopy and biopsy, so if I have GERD or severe inflammation, I'm sure it would show up then. I would love to hear your story. I'm sorry you are suffering.

      -Clara

    • Posted

      Jade, I recently thought about Hiatal Hernia's more and discovered my grandfather had one. Is it possible I got one after puking at the cottage? It definitely feels like it's harder to breath sometimes and it feels very tight and restricted in my stomach and chest area as if something is loged up. I had an abdominal ultrasound so maybe that will show up on that. 

    • Posted

      Acid reflux can cause tightness and a feeling of soming stuck in your throat.  I have had this sensation.
  • Posted

    Same here almost ten month's now i have been suffering I try many things I am exhausted right now and hopeless.

    • Posted

      You have a similar story? Is your condition something that causes you annoyance 24/7? I'm sorry to hear that you are suffering sad

  • Posted

    Seeing it started after  after drinking doubtful water, I'm surprised your Dr hasn't tested for Giardia, and Crypostoridium, both nasty little buggers that cause similar symtoms.

    • Posted

      I guess my dr. figures that if there is any parasite, it will show up in my biopsy that I will get if my x-ray comes out normal. Still a long wait though..sad
    • Posted

      Parastie testing done via stool sample, rather biopsy.
    • Posted

      Good idea. Though my bloodwork was normal. Wouldn't my white blood cells be high if I had a type of bacteria? 

  • Posted

    Thanks for the advice...I'll keep those conditions in mind. Hopefully if the x-ray doesn't show any ulcers, that the endoscopy and biopsy will show some kind of parasite or bacteria. It is very interesting to me that the months leading up to this I was drinking about 4 cups of coffee per day and was going overboard on that and alcohol.....and was stressed in the month leading up to it with final exams--along with the fact that it runs in my family. Points to an ulcer right now but I will find my results for that next Tuesday. 

  • Posted

    Your trigger foods are common with gastritis but also IBS. You can get Post Infectious IBS after an infection.  This could be a possibility with you if you got an infection after drinking bad water.
  • Posted

    Crypto and shigella bacteria springs to mind from lake water..which can render you with gastro problems and feeling unwell for some time...have you had blood tests for these bacterium??....best wishes..

    • Posted

      No I have not, but my standard bloodwork showed no increase of white blood cells. Would those bacterium raise my white blood cell count? 
    • Posted

      Hi clara39500

      Yes it would raise white blood cells and also show up in stool sample..if your white cells are not raised then it's not bacterium related..but you may have triggered your ulcer to cause your stomach upset..maybe by something you ate or drank.. i hope you get to the bottom of your symptoms...best wishes...

    • Posted

      Ok so dr. said my standard bloodwork looked excellent so it must not be bacterium related. Yes I was drinking 4 cups of coffee a day, alcohol, SSRI's for two years with highest dose---the day before I puked I had coffee and pasta and tomato sauce for dinner..as well as pizza the day of throwing up. May have just topped it off and set off ulcer symptoms ...but I guess I'll know next Tuesday. 

      Thanks for your help! 

    • Posted

      cLARA - i Suffer from gastritis, confirms by endoscopy, but I have got it under control, except for the occasional flare up, my Dad had it as well, and he got to the stage in his 70's where he could eat only lunch, chicken or fish, beef became a nightmare for him, no dinner, and nothing that had any spices, onions, garlic.

      Back to me, 4 cups of coffee a day, impossible for me, one cup for breakfast only, today a little acidy in the back of my throat, so will have to change back to milkly tea for the next few days. Why - I ate a lovely dinner of chicken kebabs, pre-prepared by supermarket,  they tasted fantastic, but now I am thinking they must have had some spices, garlic, onions, and or some herbs, fatal.

      Lunch today is going to be a salad sandwich, with plain mayo, and a cup of tea.

      Pasta and tomato sauce, do you know what was in it, garlic an abolsute nightmare for me, can cause me to be in pain for up to a month.

      Try one of my little cure all's, half a cup of milk, topped off by boiling water until just warm, dip finger in, then sip slowly while you sit and relax for a while. You will burp and belch if I'm not mistaken, works for me and worked for my Dad in hospital when nurses were beside themselves with worry, their cure all's were not working, they had feed him beef for dinner, he knew better, but he ate it.  They spoilt him terribley with all the wrong foods for him, he had nothing to lose as he was dying, but in so much pain from his tum.

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