iamloco,
You have three different conditions, the same three I have/had. The reflux and IBS are often related in terms of treatment, but gastritis requires something different, and needs to be healed first. But please check with your doctor before changing any treatment regimen that has been prescribed.
Like others have said, what works can vary a lot from person to person, but for gastritis you want to reduce stomach acid and take healing and anti inflammatory foods and supplements.
This is what I did for Gastritis:
I worry about
the use of PPIs, like omeprazole and Nexium, except in dire conditions, and only for short periods (a few weeks), as long term use can have very bad side effects, particularly on your bones. So I used one of the H2 blockers like Zantac instead, as it doesn't eliminate ALL acid, only about
60-70%.
Dietary changes and supplements:
1. Reduce or eliminate if possible acidic and acid forming foods like tomato products, coffee, tea, most citrus fruits(some say lemon is OK), reduce alcohol, and spicy foods like onion and garlic and peppers. Yes, I know - life is not worth living without onion and garlic, but this is only temporary until your gastritis is healed
.
2. L-glutimine powder - 1 heaping teaspoon mixed with water or your favorite non citrus juice every day - heals and rebuilds damaged stomach lining.
3. Chewable DGL, a form of licorice. (the chocolate flavor is nice). One 20 minutes before each meal. - healing and anti inflammatory.
4. Manuka honey - very expensive. Half a teaspoon every day. Healing, anti inflammatory, anti fungal and antibiotic.
5. Green tea, with honey if needed. Replaced first cup of coffee in the morning with this - healing, anti inflammatory, and the EGCG in it is known to cause cancer cell death (stops tumor growth). I have Barretts esophagus, so this was important to me.
6. Boswellia extract supplement- anti inflammatory
7. Inflamma-care. A supplement from Planetary Herbals. Contains turmeric, boswellia, ginger root, willow bark, Chinese skullcap, and a bunch of other anti-inflammatory herbs.
8. Aloe Vera juice - kills unfriendly gut bacteria, healing, alkaline forming, removes toxins form the body, aids digestion, boosts immune system.
Once my gastritis was healed, I worked on the IBS and acid reflux.
For IBS:
1. A good probiotic. Its best to reduce dairy products while doing this, but if they don't bother you, try that kind. If the diary based ones don't agree with you, look for Saccaromyces Boulardii.
2. Increase fiber intake. If you can do this with food, that's best. I added more fiber to my diet, but it wasn't enough so I had to supplement. The powdered ones got to be a pita, so I found a capsule from Yerba Prima.
3. Digestive enzymes. I take Digest Gold with each meal.
These will all help with your IBS, but will not be enough if, as in all likelihood, its associated with a stomach acid issue. The gas, bloating, and soft stool can all be connected with acid production.
Acid reflux, heartburn, GERD:
I never had heartburn in my life until about
nine months ago. It wasn't until I had had 3-4 instances of it, over a 3 month period, mixed with other stomach/gut pains, that, after reading all I could find about
it, I realized it was from too much aspirin. I had been taking aspirin and Alleve for leg pain. I never exceeded the recommended daily amount, and always took it with food. But I took it for about
3 months straight almost daily, and found that warning about
damage to your stomach from NSAIDS is all too real.
As soon as I stopped the NSAIDS, there was no more heartburn, but a subsequent endoscopy revealed the gastritis, and the Barretts. While my doctor is not sure, I'm pretty convinced the gastritis was caused by the Nsaids, but the Barretts, maybe not. While this was my first experience with the heartburn that you feel in your chest, there had been about
a half dozen instances of reflux into my throat over the last 10-12 years - always at night in bed. I never thought too much of it, as it happened so seldom. But now I think the damage to my esophagus occurred from this. As brief as these experiences were, there's no way of knowing how long the acid, or maybe bile, was sitting in my esophagus before it was painful enough to wake me up.
Whatever the cause, this is what I have done:
1. I continue all 8 gastritis treatments and 3 IBS treatments above, except, I have stopped taking acid suppressing drugs. WARNING - do not stop these drugs suddenly. You must taper off gradually, especially with PPIs. And once again, please consult your doctor before changing any treatment.
2. Raised the head of my bed about
4 inches. And never sleep on my right side. Making gravity my friend instead of foe.
3. Take Gaviscon (the Canadian version - NOT the US) - every night for the alginic acid effect (stops stomach contents from entering the esophagus.
4. I am currently testing with Betaine HCL to see if my condition is actually from too little stomach acid, rather than too much. ( you'll need to go off any acid suppressing drugs to try this). I am on day three of the testing with no burning yet, so it appears that too little acid may be the problem.
THIS LAST POINT (#4) IS IMPORTANT . I AM SHOUTING FOR A REASON HERE:
There is growing evidence that this condition is often misdiagnosed, and that suppressing acid is *exactly the opposite* of what's needed, especially if you are over 50, when acid production declines markedly. I wont go into it here, as this post is already too long, but please Google Chris Kresser and read his articles on heartburn and GERD. He is far from alone is his position. Or just Google "low stomach acid and heartburn". There is a 30 billion dollar antacid market at stake, so you will have to dig to find the others, including doctors, who are saying the same thing. But is it out there, and worth the trouble.
Bob
Post Edited (rjdriver) : 2/1/2014 8:00:03 PM (GMT-7)