scooby k

Hi All

Might be bit of a weird subject to bring up on a car forum however I have been suffering with gastritis for almost two years now, it's not too extreme but very annoying as I cannot enjoy eating food properly. I have been on some medication but has not helped much and starting to think I may have this problem for life.


Was wondering if maybe you guys have had this problem and any luck in resolving it.

dpb

Well hopefully you're not spitting blood

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

Has your GP just fobbed you off with meds, then?

I'd go back and escalate the issue - really emphasise and get across your concerns and how long you've lived with it, etc. Surely, a GP worth their salt will be concerned and refer you to a specialist or hospital, no?

Do you start and/or end the day by taking, say, Andrews Liver Salts? Alka Seltzer? They, at least, may alleviate the symptoms...

scooby k

I just get annoying chest pains at night, struggle to swallow food, thats about it. I have tried keeping a good diet but that's not helping much : (

Docter says we keep trying something else each time but I just feel it's not working, even had an endoscopy where it showed a bit of inflamtion.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Are you overweight at all? Esp in the belly? Might be a hiatus hernia.

scooby k

I'm quite skinny, but healthy as I exercise, no drinking, no smoking.

David Lock

Sorry to hear about this, not much fun I bet. As a complete non-medic I would get your quack to refer you to a dietician, if he hasn't done so already, and check out possible allergy reactions like Gluten etc. dl

andy97

iTrader: (1)

You need to have an endoscopy examination(camera down throat)

My wife had one last year due to digestive issues. Diagnosis hiatus hernia, so she has medication to reduce stomach acid and reduce reflux, she keeps off all fizzy drinks, even flavoured water and spicy foods.

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Have you been tested for helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) ?

Shaun

fat-thomas

iTrader: (4)

Alcazar will have had it and posted about it on here somewhere no doubt

scooby k

I already had an endoscopy, they said I had a bit of inflammation. They gave me lanprazole 30mg tablets.

How long has your wife had it for, will it ever completely go away.

andy97

iTrader: (1)

A couple of years, she takes something similar. No, it is permanent, a case of management. Eating and drinking things that don't agitate the condition. Obviously she has better periods when the inflammation settles down

scooby k

Permanent, that's not good. Quite annoying as I enjoy eating. Oh well seems like I mite have this for life aswell. Few ppl at work have this too and can't seem to get rid of it.

andy97

iTrader: (1)

You will have to find a lifestyle of what to eat and drink, the amounts, and how often throughout the day which suits you.

steve05wrx

Hi,
Get checked out for h. Pylori - if present get it treated.
Avoid spicy foods that irritate and make your symptoms worse.
See if doctor will prescribe you pantoprazole - it tends to work better and is more tolerated than lanzoprazole (it's a more modern PPI).
Cheers
Steve

RobJenks

Just make sure they don't mix up the colonoscopy and endoscopy instruments.

steve05wrx

If they did - they wouldn't know their **** from their elbow!

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

*barf*

scooby k

Anyone tried apple cider vinegar to help with this.

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to hear this Scooby K - I had something similar which I endured for a little over 2 years, and it was utterly miserable.


I tried mastic gum, apple cider vinegar, peppermint oil, manuka honey and probably a few other things in between, none of these helped, none of them made things worse.


I visited my GP once every month, just to remind him I wasn't getting any better. I was referred to three different NHS consultants, tested for h. pylori (positive and treated), stomach ulcers, something gall bladder related, dyspepsia, celiac disease, IBS, colitis, cancer and probably a few other things which I have since forgotten. I got so tired of hearing 'if it was something serious your condition would be worsening'. Sometimes eating would alleviate symptoms, sometimes not eating would make things better, but relief was always temporal (hours) - I got so close to the end of my chain when the discomfort disrupted my sleep that I asked if I could be opened up to let someone have a proper look, which I was told no way. I was referred to a dietician having kept meticulous food diaries correlated with discomfort levels, she suggested only minor changes on a try it and see basis.


My wife almost jokingly came up with what seemed like a stupid suggestion at the time having watched an episode of Bear Grylls the Island where at the end of the show, it was explained the contestants digestive system wouldn't be able to cope with regular food, and they had to eat some very bland food for a while to get things back in order. The contestants weren't ill, but was clear they had been living on basic rations probably of limited nutritional value.


Desperate for a solution, I ate nothing at all for 5 days, and drank only water, I read about the BRAT diet following illness, so that was the approach used to break my fast - over a period of around two or three weeks my symptoms began to ease and sometime soon after were gone. I became almost frightened to eat something new in case things went back to as they were.


I have subsequently identified things which I can not eat - peppers, sweet chilli sauce, anything which has been deep fried - these all cause me severe stomach cramps within hours of eating them. The other weird thing is, and this is kind of hard to explain, but having my abdomen exposed to the cold will cause the same severe cramps - this can be caused by trivial stuff like putting the bins out in winter wearing a t-shirt, also cycling into a cold wind.


I have been clear of this now for just about 3 years - I can't recommend that you follow the same approach, I have no remit or qualification to hand out healthcare advice, this is merely a record of my own situation.


The worst bit I think was the inability to get a clear diagnosis and identify a course of action, and that feeling of thinking my GP thought this was all in my head - I'm sure he didn't think that, but its what I felt at the time.

scooby k

[QUOTE=tarmac terror;11837615]Sorry to hear this Scooby K - I had something similar which I endured for a little over 2 years, and it was utterly miserable.


I tried mastic gum, apple cider vinegar, peppermint oil, manuka honey and probably a few other things in between, none of these helped, none of them made things worse.


I visited my GP once every month, just to remind him I wasn't getting any better. I was referred to three different NHS consultants, tested for h. pylori (positive and treated), stomach ulcers, something gall bladder related, dyspepsia, celiac disease, IBS, colitis, cancer and probably a few other things which I have since forgotten. I got so tired of hearing 'if it was something serious your condition would be worsening'. Sometimes eating would alleviate symptoms, sometimes not eating would make things better, but relief was always temporal (hours) - I got so close to the end of my chain when the discomfort disrupted my sleep that I asked if I could be opened up to let someone have a proper look, which I was told no way. I was referred to a dietician having kept meticulous food diaries correlated with discomfort levels, she suggested only minor changes on a try it and see basis.


My wife almost jokingly came up with what seemed like a stupid suggestion at the time having watched an episode of Bear Grylls the Island where at the end of the show, it was explained the contestants digestive system wouldn't be able to cope with regular food, and they had to eat some very bland food for a while to get things back in order. The contestants weren't ill, but was clear they had been living on basic rations probably of limited nutritional value.


Desperate for a solution, I ate nothing at all for 5 days, and drank only water, I read about the BRAT diet following illness, so that was the approach used to break my fast - over a period of around two or three weeks my symptoms began to ease and sometime soon after were gone. I became almost frightened to eat something new in case things went back to as they were.


I have subsequently identified things which I can not eat - peppers, sweet chilli sauce, anything which has been deep fried - these all cause me severe stomach cramps within hours of eating them. The other weird thing is, and this is kind of hard to explain, but having my abdomen exposed to the cold will cause the same severe cramps - this can be caused by trivial stuff like putting the bins out in winter wearing a t-shirt, also cycling into a cold wind.


I have been clear of this now for just about 3 years - I can't recommend that you follow the same approach, I have no remit or qualification to hand out healthcare advice, this is merely a record of my own situation.


The worst bit I think was the inability to get a clear diagnosis and identify a course of action, and that feeling of thinking my GP thought this was all in my head - I'm sure he didn't think that, but its what I felt at the time.[/QUOTit]

I tried a bland diet, just having porridge with water, rice for lunch and that's it. Only managed for a few days as my systems got worse. I suppose it's just gona be some trial and error.

I feel like doctors just don't know how to fix this issue.

Must you completely avoid spicey food even though your symptoms have gone. I always feel like eating Nando's.

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

On the spicy foods question - there are some things which I know will cause discomfort so I don't eat them. I will have a good curry and a couple of beers on a weekend and be fine with it, yet the things I listed remain a problem for me - cant explain it, but I would not want to aggravate things to a point where I would be where I was a few years ago.

warrtster

iTrader: (5)

Have you tried giving up caffeine? Also don't drink anything fizzy

scooby k

have you guy's tried any herbal remidies for this, i was think of going to see one of those
"herbal doctors" , somebody at work went to see one and said it made her symtoms much better but her case is a bit worse than mines.

Turbohot

Well, in Ayurveda herbal and home remedies, they'd suggest you take water-thinned yogurt with a herb known as fresh mint and chew fennel seeds after your meals, in order to relieve your gastric discomfort. But I agree what's been said about you avoiding the irritants, at first place. Prevention is always better then the cure imo.

Warning: Don't chew too much fennel seeds or it could make you all sedated, they say. You only need a quarter of a tea spoon full.

scooby k

That's exactly it, the Ayurveda remedy stuff but i want it to complete go away instead of just having it suppressed. I dont know it the GP is going to be successful as they are just going to keep giving me different medicationn's.