Gastritis

[Pagey]

Hey everyone,
I'm posting here because I spent a night in the hospital a few days ago and haven't been able to eat or drink in about 60 hours
I went to the hospital the other night because I was having incredibly painful abdominal/chest pain, vomiting, dizziness and a lot of trouble breathing. Apparently I've got gastritis due to drinking too much lately and a history of ibuprofen overdose (as well as being stupidly reckless with CWEs, so overall I've just ruined my stomach with ibuprofen apparently). I'm feeling vaguely better today but I can't even begin to describe how ridiculously painful this has been. I was doing some research on it and it looks like rebuilding my stomach lining is going to be quite a process so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this infection and might be able to give me some tips...I know to avoid alcohol/coffee/NSAIDs/spicy stuff for quite a while but is there anything else I should know? Also, tips on how to start eating again after such a long while? At this point I feel like I'm more sick due to starvation than the gastritis but I can't eat more than a bite at a time...thank you!

 

[Maya]

Hey Pagey, I hope you recover fast hun. For food, you can start with eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat dairy foods. Also, choose lean meats, poultry (chicken and turkey), fish, beans, eggs, and nuts. it is also important not to eat right before bed time and eat small frequent meals that your stomach can tolerate. Also try to avoid eating dairy food as much as possible.

 

[Nicklazz]

Can't help ya with this Pagey, wish I could and you know that

Hope you recover fast too. All the best from me

 

[Foreigner]

I have way, way too much experience with this. I'm dealing with it right now, in fact. I'm going to give you advice based on gastroenteritis even though you just have gastritis, because IME anything that affects the stomach affects the small intestine in some way. Most of what I have to suggest is cheaper than buying remedies at the drug store.

Have they ruled out h. pylori?

The first avenue of dealing with this is nutrition.

Foods to avoid:
- chocolate
- greasy or heavy oily food
- spicy food
- alcohol (obviously)
- dairy
- excessively sweet food

Foods you should consider:
- sweet potatoes
- cooling and wet veggies like cucumbers
- bone marrow broths (these restore GI lining from top to bottom)
- foods higher in fiber because fiber retains moisture and sooths the lining
- sulfurous foods like garlic, onions, broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower; they help the body make glutathione which protects the stomach

Other:
- consider probiotics, or eating plain yogurt or keifur (these violate the no dairy rule, but they're an exception because of their bacteria content)

If you want additional support, I recommend certain herbal medicines.

To rebuild your stomach lining, you need to focus on using demulcents. These are herbs which are mucilaginous and sooth the lining. Marshmallow root and slippery elm are awesome for that (they also moisten the lungs, which is great if you smoke a lot). You would brew these as a decoction, which means simmering them in water for 10-15 minutes on low heat.

Next you need to address the inflammation itself. Calendula, plantain leaf, and chamomile are second bar none. Without calendula and chamomile in my life I'd be fucked. You can get these in tincture form, but because alcohol is irritating your gut I recommend simply making them as a tea.

Buy all these herbs loose, don't buy tea bags. They will be cheap, no more than $15 AUD. Don't buy them powdered either (they should still be somewhat whole) or they'll be useless.

To make life easier, you can make a big decoction of slippery elm and marshmallow at the beginning of your day, remove from heat, then strain. While the water is still hot, add calendula, plantain and chamomile. Steep until it's strong, then remove the herbs. You can drink that brew straight all day, or you can dilute it in half with water. You can add a bit of honey too if you like, just don't go overboard. The brew will stay good in the fridge in an airtight container for 24-48 hours. After that, its medicine is pretty weak.

If there's a concern about h. pylori, then add peppermint, or just drink peppermint tea on its own. (It has to be real though, not Tetley shit.)

For bouts of nausea, boil a couple coin-sized pieces of fresh ginger in water for 10 minutes and drink warm.

Gastritis is fixable in the short term, provided there's no h. pylori involvement.

 

[T. Calderone]

Start with small amounts of potatoes or rice and if you have meat, make it broiled or baked. A single egg and slice of toast will fill you up nicely. Like Maya said, fresh fruits are great. I like bananas and apples. Hope you feel better soon!

 

[ilikestims]

Bragg's Apple cider vinegar.

 

[beekr]

I went through what you're going through 3 years ago - destroyed my stomach lining with alcohol and ibu-profen. Haven't had either since. I take a 10mg tablet of omeprazole every day and go easy on the greasy & spicy stuff. It sucks.

 

[flyhighk]

You might also wanna take calcium carbonate to reduce the acidity in your stomach.

 

[sepultura]

Forieghner said a lot of what I was going to say. I have way too much experience with this as well.If you google "how to heal leaky gut" many of the rules for that will also apply to your situation and also something called the GAPS diet.Acid reducers usually dont help in the long run and can eventually cause more problems much like the nsaids.If you have any stomach pain or acid or any uncomfortable feelings get yourself something called mastic gum. They also use it for H-Pylori but is a mediteranian tree sap that is also used to soothe the stomach. Ive tried it ALL and nothing works as well as this.It will obliterate almost any stomach pain because it almost gives you a second lining to your stomach.Hope I can mention a brand on here and its not against the rules but the Allergy research nutricology brand I think is the best,its more expensive but I think works a little better than jarrow.