Posted 1/21/2014 1:55 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Mama077,
Welcome to Healing Well! Before I had my Nissen fundoplication surgery I had at least two episodes of gastritis and esophagitis every year. Antibiotics was my biggest trigger. The increased reflux would also raise havoc with my asthma as well, and one especially bad gastritis/esophagitis put me in the hospital because my asthma got so bad.
Each time I had the gastritis/esophagitis, I'd lose 20 pounds and it would take two or three months to get it healed. It was so painful to eat that the only thing I could get down was egg custard. Everything else caused excruciating pain.
You can't worry about being on PPIs...you need them. It's just a fact. A diabetic needs insulin and a person with a reactive stomach needs PPIs. I don't know if you'll always need them, but you definitely need them when you're healing.
If you get esophagitis, it means you have GERD. Otherwise the acid would stay in your stomach. PPIs will help you cope with them. Are you seeing a GI doctor?
Is the head of your bed elevated? If not, you ought to try it. When lying down, acid can migrate into your esophagus. If you're like me, the esophagitis pain is the worst part...it isn't meant to have that acid in it, and it burns. Raising the head of the bed 7 or 8 inches, can take advantage of gravity to keep more of the acid in your stomach.
Also, don't eat anything that is rough. Nothing that won't chew to a complete creamy/liquid consistency. Your stomach mashes food as part of the digestive process, so you don't want to have anything in it that might irritate the stomach lining further. No popcorn, raw veggies, etc. No acidic foods, alcohol, spicy foods.
I understand how frustrating it is, but it takes time, and you just have to be patient. My GI doc told me to wait until I felt perfect for two weeks, then try introducing more challenging foods.
There is one thing that helped me be more comfortable during a flare up, and that's Carafate suspension. Some GI docs don't think it's much help, but I can tell you first hand that it provides me with great relief. There are others here at the forum who have also found it extremely helpful. I suggest you try to get a script and see how you do.
Since I had my surgery, I don't get esophagitis any more. My stomach is reactive, so sometimes it gets irritated. During those times I follow the diet I mentioned here. The surgery has provided tremendous improvement, though, because the esophagitis was the worst part of the whole experience.
I wish you lots of luck, and hope you get feeling better soon. I know it's no fun. Hang in there!
Best wishes,
Denise