I was diagnosed with gastritis yesterday, I'm on a month of tablets to ease the stomach acid and I'm avoiding a few things - red meat, caffiene (not that I have any), spicy foods (ditto), cheese and others as I work out what triggers the pains.

Just wondering if anyone else suffers with this or similar and your experiences?  I'm not at all surprised that it's developed - my usual diet is absolutely atrocious (I either eat 100% healthy or more or less 100% junk, and most always the latter).  And I can remember instances of it flaring up over the past 7 years, give or take - I just didn't realise what it was until the last couple of days.

It's good in a way - I've been ind esparate need of cleaning up my eating habits for a long, long, LONG time and this is just the sort of kick up the jacksy I needed (if a bit harsh!).

I am a little miffed that my cups of tea seem to kick the pains off - I have decaf with saccharin sweetener (not digested at all that stuff).  Not impressed!  It also means that the sugar withdrawal (I am badly addicted to sugar, quite literally) is going to be an absolute b*tch as I won't have the sweetness of the cups of tea to fend the cravings off with.

Hi and my deepest sympathy!!! I've struggled with acid reflux all winter but I was lucky in that it was caused by me being on steroids and has eased as the dose has lowered.

From October to March I existed on bread, jam, cottage cheese, baked potatoes fish, chicken, turkey, water, apple juice, bananas, porridge, peas carrots brussel sprouts and digestive biscuits.

I found it was trial and error to see what upset me but this site was really helpful for acid levels in food
http://heartburn.about.com/cs/dietfood/a/heartburnfoods1.htm

I also bought a book in the for dummies series the exact name of which escapes me at present but I would willingly loan it to you if you like ;)

Us rat folk must stick together :p

In my work as an Endoscopy nurse, I see gastritis on a daily basis, it's very common. In many cases it's induced by medication. i.e. frequent use of common analgesics, in particular, Ibuprofen and Aspirin. People with arthritis often get gastritis and ulcers because of this.

I assume the tablets you have been prescribed, are either Lansoprazole or Omeprazole. This type of medication is known as a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). It works by controling the production of gastric acid, and thus, by removing the irritant, allowing the gastric mucosa to heal. Hopefully you won't get any further trouble after the tablets are finished, but some people find they have to stay on a low dose, long term. Have you been tested for Helicobacter Pylori? This simple infection can cause gastritis too.

I don't know whether you're a smoker, or if you drink more than the recommended amount of alcohol, but these are both potential factors too.

Dawn R.

Hi Dawn, it's the Omeprazole I'm on.

I've not been tested - the doc said I could either go for the tests, with a possible 3 or 4 weeks waiting while they are done, or go straight to the Om. tablets to see if they help.  Seeing as I can't afford time off work because of the pain I went straight to the tablets, and with my diet being the way it was we both figured that was a more likely cause.  I don't drink or smoke at all - so no worries from that side of things!  I don't take medication either, aside from maybe 2 ibuprofen tablets every couple of months for the odd headache, if that.

I am hoping things will be okay once I'm done with the tablets - especially now I'm sorting the diet out properly - but if not then I'll go for the test.

Thank you very much Cava, very kind of you - I may take you up on that!  And thanks for the link :-)

Just let me know if you want the book. Omeprazole helped me a lot so fingers crossed it helps you too

Yep - diagnosed with gastritis, oesophagitis, biliary reflux and hiatus hernia last May. ;) Have been on the omeprazole ever since, and it did make a big difference - mahoosive in fact - so hopefully it'll do the same for you. :) Interestingly they never suggested any diet changes - but I thought it could be diet related, and owing to being persistent I am going to see a dietician in June, which I think is likely to be the single most useful thing (my diet is ... well, least said. ;) )

the omeprazole may ease the symptoms, but does not treat helicobacter. If heliobacter is present, antibiotic therapy is required. I would advise taking the omeprazole AND having the tests, even if the symptoms improve with the omeprazole, as the helicobacter can cause more trouble in the long term.

I may do that, pinklilies.

The symptoms are more or less zilch at the mo thank god, so the pills are doing the trick - good thing too, I'm still struggling with the damn diet. :-(  Trouble is, after something like 15 years of eating whatever I want, it's a very, very hard habit to get out of.  But I'm working on it!

munrogirl - that doesn't surprise me, about diet not being suggested.  I've been to the docs for a few things over the years - mostly not being as energetic as I used to be, and recently for having serious trouble dragging myself out of bed in the mornings (I sleep VERY heavily, something I never used to do).  Had a barrage of tests, some of which I suggested myself - diabetes, thyroid - due to family history, but the doctor never, not once, mentioned diet.  I did, several times, and he kept dismissing it.

It was only the gastritis this time that made it come up.  The stupid thing is, he was asking about my lifestyle, drinking, smoking etc, and when I'd said I don't drink or smoke, and don't take regular meds and only ibuprofen once in a blue moon, he said "so, healthy living and healthy eating then?" I could have throttled him - I must have said I ate pretty much nothing but junk food 4 or 5 times last time I was there!  He only listened this time because there is no other reason for me to have gastritis.  Food aside, I live a very healthy life - very active, teetotal, etc, etc.

It's very frustrating - in my years of trying to sort out the tiredness and sort my diet out, I've come to learn a lot about nutrition, and most of what's up with me can be sorted through my diet.  Almost all of it, only my back that can't be really, and even that may have healed faster if I'd been eating properly when I had the treatment.  But no doctor has ever mentioned it.  My chiropractor did - when I asked if losing weight would help my back (the weak point is in my lower back, and all my weight goes to my middle).  I always have to bring it up for it to get considered.

Okay, rant over :-)

Unfortunately Nikita, I can tell you why healthcare professionals are reluctant to mention weight or diet.....it frequently results in verbal abuse from the patient, and formal complaints from patients and their families.
I had  a 24 stone patient who was only 5 feet 4, and who had a stroke. His family complained when I explained to them that I couldnt treat him without the help of three other staff because of his weight. I didnt say it in a nasty way, I was just stating a fact, when they asked me why he didnt get physio more often. I used sensitive language, just said that he was "difficult for me to manage because of his body shape", and that I was dependent on the availability of the other staff to help, but they felt I shouldnt have mentioned his weight at all. After the trouble it caused, I will never mention a patients weight again, unless they introduce the subject themselves.

I can easily believe that, as I understand it the same thing happens with vets and fat dogs. :-(

It's rediculous though - I'm not huge, I'm only a little overweight, and had diet been mentioned years ago and sorted then, there's a very good chance I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in now.

> It's very frustrating - in my years of trying to sort out the tiredness and sort my diet out, I've come to learn a lot about nutrition, and most of what's up with me can be sorted through my diet.  Almost all of it, only my back that can't be really, and even that may have healed faster if I'd been eating properly when I had the treatment.  But no doctor has ever mentioned it.  My chiropractor did - when I asked if losing weight would help my back (the weak point is in my lower back, and all my weight goes to my middle).  I always have to bring it up for it to get considered.

That's interesting - can I ask what sort of stuff you have learnt? Your symptoms and tests sound extremely similar to mine, and the main thing I'm struggling with is the lack of energy and tiredness all the time.

I had a gastroscopy and I have to say I did not find it very pleasant (was fine with the sigmoidoscopy I'd had a few months before, but had to be sedated for the gastroscopy) - but it might just be me. And they can do biopsies for coeliac disease and h.pylori.  I was reasonably sure I wouldn't have h.pylori as I'd had a course of clarythromycin for a chest infection a few years earlier which should also have knocked anything like that on the head - but presumably they would want a diagnosis before giving you antibiotics rather than giving them presumptively?