gastritis

I'm just wondering if a lot of people here have gastritis, and how you deal with it.  I've been through a two-month round of sucralfate, and that helped but my stomach is still tender.  I just started taking Pepto Bismol chewable tabs, and that seems to help.  My breakfast and lunches are pretty fat and acid-free, and dinner doesn't have much fat or acid per the Koufman diet.  I also take Nexium, have been on that since July.  I don't experience heartburn, but my stomach quickly tells me if a food is acceptable or not.  I don't seem to have specific triggers other than fatty and acidic foods. 

Hi Sunbeam,

We've talked on another thread about gastritis, but I'll just mention a couple of points here.  Mine is most likely revved up by antibiotics.  I try to avoid them, but sometimes you just can't. 

Once I get started, though, it takes MONTHS to recover.  Actually before my Nissen, it was so much worse due to reflux.  Gastritis and esophagitis in tandem are no fun.  The problem for me now is that minus the esophagitis I'm more tempted to ignore my symptoms and irritate my stomach further.  It's just getting better, and I'll eat something irritating and I'm back to square one.

The problem with having a reactive stomach and a Nissen is that the wrap is created out of the stomach, and if the stomach is reactive, the wrap will be, too.  My wrap is often irritated, which can be very uncomfortable.

I use Carafate suspension--a liquid form of Sucrafate.  I find it incredibly helpful, as it coats the wrap nicely.  I expect I'll be using Carafate forever, as I don't see any indication that my gastritis is going anywhere soon.  I find liquid Maalox to be helpful as well.

I find that one of the most important things in healing gastritis is to stick to smooth food and avoid anything that stays rough in the stomach.  Stomachs contract and grind the food as it digests, and anything rough or scratchy can really irritate.  Smooth, no heat or spices...I think we're all different as to what we can tolerate.  That's the strange thing with GI issues...we may have similar symptoms, but the details can vary greatly.

Good luck with getting your stomach better.

Denise

Thanks, MMM and Denise.

MMM, I feel the Koufman diet is working great for me for the LPR symptoms. My cough is gone, throat-clearing is rare, I am back singing in the choir. So now it is just the stomach to worry about. My stomach tenderness is very tolerable, I can live with it. But if there is something else I can do to help it, I want to know what choices are out there. I just recently realized that GERD surgeries don't reduce stomach acid, so people who go off PPI's after surgery much have cast iron stomachs compared to me. Or maybe there are a lot of people with gastritis symptoms out there. Or maybe there are some strategies I can learn.

I can consider the coconut milk and the issue of rough food.

Denise, doe the carafate suspension have to be taken one hour before food like the tablets?

Thanks, Kitt