r/Gastritis

Since last August, I’ve been dealing with massive, persistent stomach pain that just won't go away. My main symptoms are intense bloating, severe burning pain, acid reflux, low appetite, and a constant feeling that I just can't digest anything well.
I did have an H. pylori infection before, but it has been treated and is officially cured.
The issue is, every time I go to the doctor, they check my tests and my fibroscopy (endoscopy) and tell me "everything looks good, it's just stress." But what the hell? How can "just stress" cause a physical burning pain this severe for an entire year?
To make matters worse, PPIs (acid blockers) don't even work for me anymore. I feel like doctors just take the consultation fees and brush it off as stress because they don't know what else to say.
If your tests came back completely normal but you were still suffering from severe "stress gastritis" or nerve sensitivity, how did you actually cure it? Did you have to look into the gut-brain axis, see a different specialist, or try specific nerve-calming medications/supplements?
Any advice or success stories would mean the world to me right now. I'm so exhausted. Thank you

Hi everyone!

First, I (33F) know none of you are doctors, and I'm not looking for a diagnosis. I'm just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and whether your symptoms matched mine. If they didn't, I'd also love to hear why!

Back in late May, I started having a burning/pressure sensation in my chest that would wake me up in the middle of the night. I'd take a Tums and Gas-X, and sometimes that helped, sometimes it didn't. I started paying attention to my diet to see if I could identify a trigger, but it was hard because the episodes only happened every few days. I’d have a flare when I ate well and then wouldn’t have a flare after eating a cheeseburger and chili fries. There was one flare where I threw up because the pressure was so intense. I haven’t had lasagna since.

Then, in early to mid-June, it got much worse. The pain was so excruciating, I genuinely thought I was having a heart attack. I vomited so violently that I burst capillaries in my face, and I'm sure my anxiety made it so much worse. I went to the ER and they diagnosed me with severe acid reflux/GERD and prescribed pantoprazole. I followed up with my PCP, who agreed with the diagnosis and prescribed a week's worth of sucralfate. Unfortunately, my pharmacy was out of stock, so I only started taking it about four days ago.

Since switching to a very bland diet, my symptoms have definitely improved overall. Instead of having severe episodes every few days, I'm now having mild symptoms every day. The day I went to the ER, my pain was a 10/10, which I compared to when I gave birth. Now it's more like a 2/10, but it's become a nightly occurrence instead of an occasional one.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? Is it common for symptoms to become more frequent but much less severe once treatment and diet changes start helping? I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences or any reassurance you can offer. It's been a holiday weekend in the US, so I haven't been able to get back in touch with my PCP since Thursday, but I plan to reach out tomorrow. In the meantime, I'd just really appreciate some support.

I have chronic gastritis(negative H Pylori) that doesnt want to heal, no matter what I do. Its been over 2.5 years. I assume its due to my low ferritin that is impairing healing.

Can B12 levels indicate severity of gastritis as usually gastric inflammation suppresses ability to absorb B12. My B12 levels have remained unchanged since before and after developing gastritis. Can this mean the gastritis isnt too severe?

yes I know you should not drink at all. yes I know it's bad and I'm supposed to cut out all bad foods and be completely sober. I'm in my mid 20s and I still want to be able to have fun and go out occasionally with friends. what is the best way to implement harm reduction in this situation because I will do it, I just want to be as safe as possible given the circumstances. thank you so much for any advice!

Can you guys please kick my butt? I have a raging sweet tooth and though I follow the ulcer diet very well when it comes to real food, I fuck up a lot when it comes to sweets. I just cannot resist even if I get pain, nausea, etc. Almost threw up in the grocery store yesterday bc I psyched myself into thinking I could eat oatmeal raisin cookies because "they're just oats and fruit". Have also triggered a flare psyching myself into thinking apple pie was safe because it was "plain dough and cooked apples". At a birthday party today, I tried and tried not to eat chocolate chip cookies and almost did it... but then I ate 2. Help me. Please. 😭

I was prescribed Pantoprazole 20mg and took it for 3 months. It was the best thing ever for my acid reflux and I was extremely happy with it. No side effects at all.

After it finished, I got another one, same brand, same dosage. But this time I had the worst side effects of my life. Depression, hair loss, blurry vision, dry mouth, agitation, bloating, extreme fatigue like I want to faint, brain fog, memory loss, you name it. Now I’m confused about what went wrong.

How can the same medicine, same brand, same dosage, 3 months apart, have different side effects? The first one was perfect but the second one is ruining my life. I tried stopping but had the worst reflux of my life. Can someone help me out please?

My gastritis started after taking Retatrutide, and it's been a brutal two months. PPIs did nothing for me. I'm currently on sucralfate and H2 blockers; they help a little, but I’m still dealing with heavy bloating after meals, trapped gas, and a burning/tingling feeling between my ribs.

If you got gastritis specifically from a GLP-1 agonist, what helped you recover and how long did it take?

Does anyone else get morning stomach pain? I'm trying to figure out what my flare ups are. So far I know it's caffeine and sugar. Right now I'm coming to the conclusion that it's red meat although I didn't have any yesterday and my stomach kills this morning

I don't drink alcohol, I'm on pepcid for acid issues, I use ginger drops, drink pure aloe, take a probiotic and try to do everything right.

I started eating more turkey instead of red meat, but last weds after my brain MRI with contrast I had a horrible stomach ache from the contrast. It has continued since and the only thing I can think of is I had red meat 3xs since then.

Anyone else?

A year ago I would be on this subreddit everyday, unable to digest fat, meats, milk, processed foods, it truly felt like no matter how hard I dieted there was no difference.
In my head I genuinely never thought it would end; I dropped to 80 pounds, I was almost passing out every time I walked, acid would burn my throat if I ate anything more than a small portion, along with my depression I was truly at rock bottom.
It took me one year of dieting with absolutely no exceptions to heal and I want to say to anyone reading this who’s struggling the same way I did that it’s genuinely possible.
Know that if you stick strong to your diet and endure hell there really is light at the end of the tunnel; all things come to an end, including your pain and suffering. Imagine yourself in a year’s time, you’ll be thinking to yourself that you’re glad you did everything you’re doing now to heal, just keep fighting to take back your life like I did cause you sure as hell deserve it. Everyday can be a step closer to the light at the end of the tunnel so don’t stop going because eventually time will pass and it will be over, cuz everything eventually has to end.

If anyone actually read this I can give some tips that helped me

I am 33, male. I weigh around 58. Before I come to my problem, I'll tell you something about my previous medical history.

I am pre-diabetic. I don't take any meds. I try to avoid sugar when I can.

When I was a kid,(about 7 months old) I had a seizure. It kinda came and went 4-5 times until I was 7-8 years old. Doctors stated it'll go away. And it did.

Until just about a year ago, I was immensely stressed on this particular day. There were lot of things on my plate. I was crying heavily, and going out of breath. Felt like a vertigo. And then it happened. The good thing was that I wasn't driving at that time. But I fell to the ground, and started having a seizure. Because of the fall, I had a pinched nerve and went for a physio. It got better in 2-3 months. Also did an MRI for my brain. It was normal.

Now coming to my real problem, 6-8 months after my fall, I started having this stomach ache, and it wouldn't go. At first, I thought it was just a digestive problem. Something that I had eaten probably. Just a few days ago, mom was treated for Typhoid. And I also decided to test myself for it, the Widal test confirmed it, but I didn't have any other symptoms of typhoid. Kept taking the medicine, but the pain didn't go. Did the Typhidot test, and it came out negative.

The pain persisted for 2-3 months, until I decided to consult a gastroenterologist. The pain that I felt was between lower to central abdomen. Wouldn't call it a sharp one, also not an intermittent, but just a constant dull pain.

Did the sonograohy, and it showed Fatty Lever Grade 1.

Started taking the medicine. It took about another 3-4 months for the pain to go away. I've changed my lifestyle. Wasn't eating wheat. Started taking leafy vegetables. And I am a runner at heart, so I was doing that.

Fast forward 3-4 months, another tragedy. I fell from my two wheeler, and had two fractures on my left leg. Lower Tibia + Lower Fibula. Had to undergo a surgery. They placed an intramedullary nail. It's been more than 2 months to my operation, and I am doing physio. I am recovering. Started just walking with walker and a brace.

Here's the main issue now. For the last 3 days, I've been having stomach ache. It doesn't go away. I am afraid it is back. It is incredibly frustrating. Because I am also trying to recover from my accident and on top of it, the stomach ache is back.

What could it be? What should I do? If you need any reports, let me know. Please help.

Posted about 7 months ago going through gastritis,GERD, anxiety and everything else… I took Lexapro and stopped drinking for 5 whole months. Everything went away completely. I stopped stressing about everything and now I can eat and drink absolutely anything/everything. I went through gastritis for almost two years so I know the complete helplessness everyone feels. I was on Reddit everyday reading everything I could. Going to the doctor multiple times. I had a endoscopy and colonoscopy in a year. I even bought the book. Once I got my anxiety and stress under control… I regained my life. There is a light at the end of the tunnel so don’t give up. I almost did, Lexapro saved my life.

I experienced chronic gastritis for three years and I am now 95% back to normal. At my worst, I was living off of about 10 safe foods and had dropped down to 113 lbs (at 5'11). I was struggling at work because of how sick and tired I felt, and it really nuked my social life because I couldn't share meals with anyone anymore. Currently I am back to a normal weight and able to eat almost all the foods I used to enjoy including chocolate, coffee and beer. The only thing that still gives me problems are certain seasonings. I wanted to share what helped and what didn't for those who are currently struggling, as well as offer hope, because I know it really felt at times like I would never recover.

Symptoms:

I first started experiencing symptoms in July 2023. My primary symptom was gnawing stomach pain, which was especially noticeable in the middle of the night. This would wake me up and I would have to eat in order to make it go away. Sometimes I would wake up to 3 times in a night, and was basically getting no sleep. I also experienced severe burning pain in the stomach, as well as nausea and general malaise. Two endoscopies revealed gastritis, but I was negative for a variety of other issues including h. pylori and cholecystitis. Bloodwork was generally clear except for some autoimmune indicators.

What worked:

• mirtazapine
• pregabalin
• RPAH diet

It was very gradual, but a combo of mirtazapine (7.5 mg for me, but YMMV) and pregabalin (25 mg, again YMMV) slowly seemed to heal whatever was going on. I took both for over a year, and I noticed very slight improvement about a month or two after starting this combo, and a mostly slow but steady decline in symptoms as the year went on and I was able to start eating a wider variety of foods. For many months, if I forgot a dose of either one, I would wake up with gnawing pain. It seemed like I really needed the combination of the two for it to work. Recently, after about 18 months of taking it, I was able to discontinue the pregabalin without issue.

The RPAH diet was also instrumental in my recovery. I had tried various diets with no success, including the gastritis diet often touted here. My symptoms rapidly escalated about a month after trying the gastritis diet, and I had to cut more and more foods out until someone on the internet suggested I might be sensitive to salicylates and/or amines. When I cut those from my diet, my symptoms eased up significantly, and I was even symptom-free some days. This was a very restrictive diet, however, and it wasn't until I started the med combo above that I was able to gradually start adding foods back.

What may have helped:

• rifaximin
• partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG)

I noticed some difference after taking a second course of rifaximin with PHGG, but there were other variables involved so I can't say for sure. I continued taking the PHGG for several months and noticed a slight increase in symptoms when I stopped, which went away when I started taking it again.

What partially helped:

• famotidine
• ondansetron
• activated charcoal
• Thorne GI relief

I found that these helped alleviate burning and/or nausea sensations to varying degrees, but not the gnawing feeling that was waking me up at night.

What did not help:

• all other elimination diets (gastritis/GERD/low FOD-MAP)
• PPIs (omeprazole, pantoprazole, voquezna)
• general GI drugs (sucralfate, pepto bismol, antacids)
• sleep aids (zolpidem, lorazepam, trazodone)
• other TCAs (amitriptyline, nortriptyline)
• anti-parasitics (tinidazole, albendazole)
• other supplements (a LOT of various vitamins and probiotics)
• talk therapy, hypnotherapy
• functional medicine

I tried all of these listed here and they either did not help or made things worse.

Here is a list of tests I did that turned out negative or unremarkable:

• blood/urine tests (CMP, CBC, lipid, hep C, lipase, erythrocyte sed, celiac, vitamin/mineral, thyroid, renal function, liver function, C reactive protein, TB, corisol, amylase, lipase, elastase, porphyrin)
• h. pylori (breath test and biopsy)
• abdominal ultrasound
• CT scan
• HIDA scan
• colonoscopy

This is a really horrible condition and I acutely remember how hopeless and lonely it felt to go through. I hope all who are seeking relief find it, and I hope that my post can offer help to anyone experiencing a similar presentation of this condition.

I think the most frustrating part about bile reflux is that I can’t find a GI that gets it. After my gallbladder removal I became severely ill. Nausea that was other worldly horrible. My GI just put me on a ppi and nausea medication. It wasn’t until I did my own research I discovered what bile reflux was. At one point my GI had me on 40mg of omeprazole twice a day. To treat a problem I didn’t even have. I had to suggest bile binders and had to wean myself off the PPIs. The bile reflux went away after four months. Now several years later it’s back. I got an EGD and my stomach was full of bile reflux. What is their focus, again? PPIS!!! Well, maybe we should switch the ppi and anytime I mention the bile they switch the subject back to PPIs. It’s insane. That isn’t the predominant treatment for bile reflux. I did decide to try the PPIs because I’m like well maybe I do have an acid problem now, too because they diagnosed me with GERD after the EGD. I thought because they saw acid in my esophagus but, then, I asked if they could tell if it was acid or bile upsetting my esophagus I was told they can’t really tell a difference. My stomach was FULL of bile. I have horrible gastritis and I didn’t have this long last time. I tried ursodiol and it gave me stomach pains that were pretty brutal. Tried colestipol and now I’m trying welchol. I was on 40mg omeprazole and told my GI I want to go down to 20mg. My GI did order an MRCP to look at my bile ducts. This is just awful and I do take sucralafate in the morning and evening. I’m just so jaded, it feels like there is no end in sight-I’m sure some of you can relate.

Hi! So I just recently had an appointment with a gastroenterologist to get an upper endoscopy done. I was quoted to pay $800 upfront before the endoscopy. I have insurance (Aetna) and this price just seems crazy to me. This is just to see what is wrong not even a solution you know. What have you guys been quoted or have paid to get an endoscopy done because this price seems very high for me. I live in the US specifically Ohio

I have chronic gastritis since 3 years.
At first my main symptoms were mainly stomach pain in the morning plus acid reflux. But since 2 years i experience really strong meteorism and being super bloated when eating anything (even all the stuff deemed safe for gastritis.
This goes so far as to affecting my ability to breathe and is the single worst quality of life destroying factor in this. Does anybody else have experience with this and what to do? (Prescription drugs or food wise). So far no doctor could help with it and i have just been sent home with pantropazol.

I’ve had gastritis for four months now and the end isn’t anywhere in sight. I keep losing weight every single day and I am now down 30 pounds. I tried different foods, but they cause flares and I can’t afford to have another flare because they last days and then I lose even more weight. The only foods I can safely eat are Applesauce, banana, egg white, potato, olive oil, white rice. That’s the only thing I’ve been eating and able to eat.

I’ve tried Ensure, Cheerios, Unseasoned chicken, blended chicken, Kate farms nutrition drink, just all of that stuff and my stomach will just get mad or flare up so bad. I don’t know what to do and I don’t want to keep losing weight but I also don’t want to try something just to get another flare.

I’ve been dealing with this for a while but now I just feel like I’m back in the first month. Has anyone else lost 30+lbs and how did you get that weight back?

How long after thinking you're cured should you try to come off ppi s. I ve been great for two weeks after suffering since January

DISCLAIMER: I am no nutritionist in any way, and i'm just sharing what's working for me FOR NOW. Please proceed with caution.

So my gastritis started in a brutal way, about 3 years ago now, and I get 24/7 stomach inflammation pain that gets so much worse when I am stressed and such and it's been hell. Neither PPI's nor Sucralfate/Antacids helped in my case, i'd get a bit relief but the inflammation persists.

I recently read somewhere that baking soda can be used, and I have been using it, but cautiously as I don't to overdo it. It's been over 1 week now that I make some heavy porridge and add about half a teaspoon in 1.5litres and taking this throughout the day.

It's a crazy diet as I periodically get very weak and sometimes I feel a drop in blood sugar, which I recently bought a pack of sweets to perhaps elevate my levels when this happens, I have yet to confirm if this helps.

But I have noticed that the inflammation calms down for me and I can focus on my day job thankfully.

Again, please proceed with caution as I don't think this is healthy long term.

PLEASE ADVICE: Also looking for some answers that IF I can calm the inflammation for longer periods, will it eventually go away entirely? or do I have to add other things to my diet.

My body rejects most foods btw, can't take fruits or most daily foods people normally eat, I think my stomach is lazy at this point in processing food.

Just curious how high I can set my expectations. I'm already feeling pretty positive about it, and any help getting through this flare-up faster is appreciated.

Feel free to share your experiences with it :)

I'm from germany and it's called Sucrabest, it's prescription-only that's why I didn't bother with it yet

I was on ppi for 4 years. I'm not healed, but I was on ppi 20-40mg)for years and it really does impact digestion. I'm doing better when controlling acid by diet. I barely need to use famotidine, I sometimes get a acid feeling in throat but only every few days and it goes away fast. But my gastritis is pretty bad anyways but it feels a bit easier than expected, cuz long term ppi made me think normal acide levels will destroy me. But I feel like no ppi makes the acid level balance better when diet is good . Cuz bad foods give me looots of acid and should be avoided when no ppi I gues