This is my 1st posting but i've been reading the threads for a week or so. Knowing that i'm not alone with these pains seems to help some.
I've been having a burning stomach and pain on the right upper quadrant and also acid reflux for about a month.
I went to the doctors two weeks ago and he gave me lansoprazole. Anyway two weeks later and the symptoms are still persisting although maybe not quite so bad.
I,ve taken on board all the great advice you lot have bestowed on this board such as no alcohol,no fat, plenty of fruit and veg, smaller more frequent meals etc but I've still got the pain.
Sometimes the pain is only slight and I think that i've come to the end of it but then the next day it's back in full flow and this is so so depressing.
I wonder if this sounds familiar to anyone? I'm just trying to hang in there at the moment and keep a positive mental attitude - easier said than done!

Hi Birch,

For several months now I have had pains off and on in my abdomen. I do have many upper and lower GI problems. Your pain sounds familiar to mine. H

Like I said, my pain is not continuous. It will disapear for a while. But when it hits, its tremendous pain.

Have you ever had a colonoscopy?

Thanks for your reply LLM.
No, I've not had any tests done as yet, the doctors just going on my symptoms. Although we have a national health service in the U.K. this also means that we tend to have long waiting times for tests(unless it's an emergency and then they're great) so I think the doctors just throw tablets at us until we shout loud enough!
All the best,
Burch

I suppose what I really want to know is how long does gastritis ussually last for?

I've had reflux,with gastris for quite a few years. I took Zantac 75mg for a while, the GP gave me Nexium, took that for a couple of years.
Am back on Zantac 150 mg twice a day as needed.
Gp thinks I may have Hiatus hernia.
Recently felt very well,... started to eat items that are taboo. Apples from the orchard etc. ended up with very bad bout of gastritis.
I stopped the tabs, and took to a very bland diet and boiled water, drinking it as hot as I could take, ...... every time I wanted a drink.
It worked wonders my tum feels much better, but ???? my gall bladder is playing up. An ultra sound 4 years ago showed no stones, but I keep getting this dull ache on the right side on the edge of my ribs. I can go for months without any ache, then like now its with me.
I say ???? gall bladder, my other thought is could it be an ulcer from the excess acid. ( An apt;for a barium meal x-ray has a 6 month wait at our hospital.)
Jo.

Thanks for the reply, thats the 1st time i've heard of drinking hot water, does that really work?
cheers, burch

Sorry, I can't tell you when it will end, but I have been dealing with gastritis for almost 3 years! I have good days and bad days. I can go a week feeling great and then the next 2 feel like total blahhh. And it doesn't have anything to do with food. I thought staying on a bland diet would work but things like plain toast and plain pasta are making me feel sick! The doctors are no help, they just throw you an RX for some pills but don't tell you the reason why your stomach is inflammed/irritated. If I knew the cause then I could probably fix the problem--just common sense! My dr. tried to tell me it was stress or bad diet...HA! I am NOT stressed and if I am it is because of my stomach problems and it is not bad diet because I barely eat anything and if I do it is crackers, plain toast, plain pasta or bread.

Hope you feel better soon! I can feel your pain---literally!:rolleyes:

Hi Burch,
The boiled water was a very old fashioned treatment, something your gran would have used. But the water has to have boiled.
This was a treatment for ' wind & indigestion ' .....
I can say with hand on heart it works. Give it a try, It wont do you any harm. I now have a mug of black tea, red hot but so weak you can see the bottom of the mug. ....... Great.
With this gastritis dont be tempted to eat peppermints, I did , and I suffered.
To be honest I got to point of being scared to eat because of the pain & discomfort.
For quite a number of days I was eating chicken or turkey meat with boiled or mashed tates in the evening, Rice cereal & skimmed milk breakfast,
bread with ham at lunch. Boring but effective.
No fruit/Veg/cake/ flavoured drinks/.........

Jo.

Thanks for your replys, it helps knowing it's not just me who has to deal with this.
I just wandered if you stick to the bland diet all of the time or you sometimes allow yourself a treat, maybe on a good day?
What I wouldn't give for a sausage sandwich and a pint of pedigree.....
Thanks again,
Burch

Its not all bland food. You do treat your self from time to time.
It was the treats that caused my last bout of Gastritis.
((This seasons apples , grapes & pears. ))
Once the pain & discomfort eases.... I eat the foods I know are alright.
Having said that ....... I know they are bad for me ... but
I had one small chocolate this morning.
I have not had a cup of coffee for years. But I do have a chinese every couple of months or so.
You soon learn what you can take.
Last year I went away on a cruise for a month, during which time I took no tablets and had no problems. I ate everything.
My evening meal started at 6-45 pm. Lots of small portions over a longish time. I felt great. Get back home and its back to the bad old ways of over eating late in the evening...
I never learn. Perhaps you will. :)
Jo

Hi there. I've also had some pretty bad stomach probs, but mine are from IBS. Anyways, I wanted to tell you that I've had really great success with an alkaline diet that I started the time I saw a naturapathic doctor. Acidic diets are what cause many diseases and this stops them. Basically, I eat organic chicken, fish, or turkey with steamed veggies and brown rice. Fruits tend to be very acidic so I am (for now) only supposed to stick with berries. I also can have some raw almonds soaked overnight. I can't have any gluten, wheat, corn, soy, sugar, milk, etc but that is fine with me. I cannot tell you how great I have been since on it!!!! The stomach problems are gone, my skin looks great, and I feel so much calmer. I am really skeptical when they say these kinds of things can't be cured!!!

Anyways, I really suggest you research about alkaline diets and maybe see a naturapath. They know a lot more about nutrition than traditional doctors who just throw pills at everyones problems. I hope this was helpful to you as it was to me. Good luck!

Thanks care berry,
I've been looking into an alkaline diet and following it more or less. It's interesting that some people can't eat fruit but aren't these supposed to be alkaline?
I wonder if some people are able to digest more fatty foods without too many problems? I've been avoiding all types of fat so far but how about foods like cheese or biscuits which have a fair amount of fat?
Are we supposed to avoid fat because of the time it takes to digest?
P.S. I bought some slippery elm tablets yesterday and they taste that disgusting that they must be doing some good......
All the best,
Burch

I've been reading the postings on chronic gastritis. I guess I could be the leader of the pack! I've been dealing with chronic gastritis now for 12 years!

I've had numerous scopes that only show gastritis. My last scope was two weeks ago and it showed mild erosive antral gastritis. So, I've gone from acute, 12 years ago to mild erosive. This has me very concerned.

The doctor told me that my complaints seem to be out of proportion to his findings.

He also ordered a HIDA scan to check the funtion of my gallbladder. It came back that it's functioning at 17% instead of the normal 50%.

This could be the underlying reason I have gastritis or it may not. I have an app't with a surgeon tomorrow to discuss this. My gut is telling me that my GB is not causing this persistent burning.

I've tried everything from prescribed medication to OTC to alternatives.

Nothing works long enough to heal the problem.


Stress was tossed around at me too but I told the doctors that of course I have stress; feeling sickly all the time would give anyone stress!

Nanci,

I was told that it was my gallbladder causing my symptoms. I had it removed and the symtoms continued. So I would be 100% sure it is your GB that is the cause before jumping into surgery. Surprisingly, some people have low ejection fractions, have it removed and are all better with no more problems. Mine was inflammed and I had cholesterol polyps on the ultrasound but after it was removed I was told it looked fine (you can imagine my reaction after that! :mad: ) This was even after I had the endoscopy and told I had "non-specific chronic mild gastritis".
Bottom line is--have all the testing done before getting your GB removed. It can be easily removed, but can not be put back (unfortunately).

Hi there burch, yes some people don't do well with fruits at first, especially if they have been acidic for so long, as in my case. I also am hypoglycemic so I am not supposed to have them because they spike up blood sugar levels. Eventually I am supposed to be able to have them again, but for now I just stick with organic berries.

Hmm..that's a good question about the cheese/biscuits. In my case, I was born without the ability to digest casein, which is a part of milk. You may be able to have it though, I am not sure. If you have ever had any bad reactions to things with milk, I'd just say skip it. But if you do choose to have cheese, have it as organic as possible. I've heard bad things about pasturization though so I'm not really sure what to think about that. I would just avoid it until you find out for sure. The buscuits though might not be good because they probably have gluten in them.

I don't avoid fats at all...I add plenty of extra virgin coconut oil to cook with and put some on brown rice for flavor. Coconut oil is so good that it can even prevent infections and clear up skin problems. My skin looks really great from it now! Another great one is extra virgin olive oil. The rest of them tend to be pretty bad: vegetable oil, soybean oil (effects hormones), canola oil (really bad), peanut oil, corn oil, safflower oil, etc. Definately though I've had great success with the other two. They helped me gain back about 10 pounds that I lost, along with all the protein I've been eating. Fats are so essential, I don't know why in the media they talk about fat reduction in our diets. It's like they want to convince us to become vegetarians or something. But we need fats badly for energy. What we don't need are all these grains. Those are the ones that cause huge spikes in blood sugar and can cause diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. In people who are sensitive to them, such as those with Celiac disease, they can damage the lining of the stomach. Scary stuff I think! I've had to re-learn all this stuff because I was one who also thought the same as those in the media and it got me sick. But anyways, look some of this stuff up if you want. One that suprised me the most was about soy. I avoid it like the plague now!

One thing that helped me a lot when I first started this diet was to include plant enzyme capsules with every meal. I had a little bit of a tough time with the veggies so my naturapath told me about these enzymes. They really help a lot. I also found it helpful to lightly steam all my veggies because it makes it easier on the stomach.

Oh yeah, before I forget! I have eggs from free range chickens every day now because of the fatty acids they provide. If you decide to have eggs, find ones that were only fed vegetarian diets. The chickens that are fed grains are not so good for you. I've noticed that the eggs go really good with coconut oil and sea salt. Any other questions and I'll be happy to answer!

I've heard horror stories and positive stories on GB removal. I just don't know what to believe or think. I don't have classic GB symptoms. No acute pain or severe nausea. I have mild discomfort once in a while. My primary complaint is burning in my stomach, period. It's worse at night and upon wakening. Once I'm up and about, it subsides. I do go through bouts of severe burning all day, tiredness, dull pains. These bouts can last for days. Right now, I just have a dull, very dull pain on my right side. I think this is the area the doctor saw the patch that was "erosive".

It's very frustrating. I don't know what it's like to sleep through the night not to be woken by a burning stomach.

I also have inflammation of the duodenum, I had a Endoscopy last August.

I am now on Losec 20mg x2 a day and still have problems with burning above belly button and pain under both ribs on and off.

This has been going on for over a year, I also have nausea I have been getting a lot of sore throats lately!! Do any of you feel like this will never end...Mandy

I also was on Losec for my chronic gastritis but it didnt help so went off it completely and tried the natural way with "Active" UMF Manuka Honey 15+ or 20+ (it is available from Health food stores or on the net) a teaspoonfull taken on an empty stomach 4 times a day - there is lots of info on the net about it. I found it really worked for me and Im so glad I am now free of those burning stomach pains. Its quite expensive but well worth it if you have tried everything else.

I have had a lot of problems, and when I went to my first GI, he recommended an endoscopy. I had it done, and they found mild chronic gastritis. He said that it couldn't be the cause of my problems, so I went another 4 months with it (throwing up every morning, really bad nausea, all kinds of stuff). Finally last month, I went to my GI (a different one) and he told me to get the HIDA scan. It showed an EF of 9.5%. I had it removed 3 weeks ago. I am feelingmuch better, except when I eat any fats. then I just feel as if I am dying. I have weird stomach cramps, that fel as if I am having spasms. Is this frlm gastritis? Or is my body just not used tohaving a galbladder anymore? Not certain. I know the 2 weeks right after surgery I regreted having it done, becasue I was soooo sore, but now I ma feeling much better. I had aprascopic, but it ended up being a lot more open than usual for people. Had 15 staples! Anywho, just wondering about hte gastritis thing.