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Ouch!! Bad Case Of Gastritis, Can Anyone Help?!


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Ahhh, the fun never ends. So apparently I've medicated myself right into a bad case of gastritis :( -- been taking 6 advil a day for the last 2-3 months to combat the florinef headaches, and then I've been withdrawing from Klonopin this week, which has completely upped my anxiety. So, now I'm saddled with a nasty case of gastritis -- really bad burning pain for about 10 days, and some vomiting.

Can anyone help? I was on prilosec up until about 3 weeks ago, so doc put me back on that and upped my dose to twice a day. Been taking it since Monday and really no relief. Been trying to stay away from the Advil (down to 2 per day), but funny that the advil helps with the headaches AND helps with the gastritis pain.....but realize it will probably prolong the gastritis.

More worrisome is that since my tummy's been irritated I've seen a return to low bp readings after eating. Never really monitored it before but I did catch it this week, and my bp will take a 20 pt dive to 95/55 after eating. I get symptomatic at about 85/50, so I'd rather get this thing healed up!!

Been meditating, warm baths for the anxiety relief. Taking 20 mg prilosec twice a day, and sticking to a soft diet (and some protein shakes), but would appreciate any suggestions!!! :)

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Yea, in my opinion I would stay away from the advil (or any nsaids) if it is causing the gastritis. It will probably subside if you stop. Otherwise I take zantac or mylanta for gastritis and it makes a difference. I would tell your doctor that florinef is giving you a headache and advil is giving you gastritis. They might prescribe something else for the headache that does not irritate your stomach. Feel better!

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Could you ask your doctor about prescription non-NSAIDs, or can you take acetaminophen or another non-NSAID painkiller? (I don't know if those have historically helped your headaches or not) That might give your stomach (and head?) some pain relief, while also giving it a chance to heal up.

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what works for me is being as gentle to my stomach as possible...easy-to-digest, soft, low-fiber foods...nothing hard, crunchy, or raw. It's hard to come by, but a small pinch of pure saffron, boiled with a sugar cube or two like tea, is very soothing. Also honey, the pure and natural kind, eaten in any form really soothes the stomach and facilitates digestion.

Sorry you're goin through this!

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Thanks for all the suggestions. Just really difficult because the gastritis came on just a couple of days before I stopped the Klonopin -- so I'm battling both the gastritis and the Klonopin withdrawal (ugh!). And being off the Klonopin (day #7) is making me a nervous nelly and my florinef headaches worse, so that can't be helping the gastritis. Just basically in bed in my pjs all day long while my kids run around destroying the house. :(

Unfortunately I've been on the florinef so long (about 14 months) that my doc wants to taper me super slow to give my adrenals time to recover. So I'd love to just stop it and rid myself of the headaches (and thus the Advil and thus the gastritis!!), but I can't. Got to wait about 10 more days to taper down to my next step.

Today stuck to bananas, mashed potatoes and oatmeal and sucked it up with no Advil. Tried a protein shake for calories but that came back up (grrr). Sent hubby to the store for all sorts of easy tummy foods (water-heavy fruits, yogurt, and ginger ale). I'll look into the Gaviscon Advance and see if we can find it. Katybug, we have Wegman's where I live so I was SURE I would find Papaya Puree -- I guess even Wegman's ("we have $700 / lb truffles") has its limits. No papaya puree or juice in sight!

Again, thanks for all the suggestions and the encouragement as I go through this!!

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Katy, thanks -- didn't think of that (duh!). Hubby may be on another grocery run for some fresh papaya and some canned pumpkin!!

Tummy is a little better today (still burning but no vomiting) so I'm hoping a few days of detox off the Advil and only really soft stuff to eat will do it. Problem is I've lost about 7 lbs in the last 10 days, and am basically in bed all day with no energy (from not really eating much and throwing up what I do).

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I would say the Advil is the biggest culprit. I also had horrible gastritis on Zocor, too, and was on Prilosec. If you try to get off the Prilosec eventually, I would talk to your pharmacist about weaning off of it. Heart burn will be worse going off of it cold turkey. Sorry that you are also trying to get off Klonopin at the same time; that's got to be awful!! You are getting a lot of good suggestions for natural remedies, and I am glad you are finding some foods that you can eat...I'll say a prayer that things get better....Obviously, stay away from anything acidic, which includes a lot of fruits...eat veggies instead. With all that oatmeal, potatoes and bananas, you may find yourself constipated, so you need a balance!! Yogurt is great... Drink plenty of fluids...ginger is wonderful for nausea. Chicken soup is always a good food when your not feeling well. Hope you get better!! Prayers...

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Hi Hoosierfan,

I've struggled with gastoparesis for about 17 years and it is was at one time one of my worst issues, but I have not had to be on the medicine for a few years. I also developed terrible reactions to the medication after taking it for years. Anyhow, of course with gastric paresis your intestines are not moving things through. So first you have to find a way to move that stuff. I can't take anything that makes me have a quick potty break or BM as some say. Any type of laxative usually makes me sick, so I have found that just a few tablespoons of "smooth move tea" that I get at the grocery store helps since I can control how much I take. I drink this every few weeks and have worked my way up to a half cup without any issues, but like I said started out with a few tablespoons. But everyone is different. It's senna so I always tell people it's a natural laxative so be careful especially if you have dehydration like I do. Then I also have to juice about 4 times a week. I can't do just juice as my blood sugar issues are not very tolerant, so when I say juice, I am using it as a supplement to regular meals. So after I have my blood sugar stable I make this juice mix to help things to keep moving and I'm ridiculous about soaking all of my fruit and veges in lemon juice and vinegar to avoid bacteria and always do a good rinsing. I blend 5 baby carrots-1/2 c. of kale-1 c. of spinach- 1 apple or pear-one large chunk of raw ginger (maybe the size of a nickel and 1/4 inch deep), 1/3 of a banana (this is mostly for flavor to cut the bitterness down- and most important is a few good scoops of green/yellow papaya with a few of the black seeds (maybe 6 or8 and then I wrap the rest of the papaya in plastic till I need it again.) The papaya seeds is where the enzymes are to break down the food, it adds a peppery taste and is full of good nutrients. I also add a little bit of cinnamon. And I blend this up with some ice and about a half cup of water and voila! But I started out very slow drinking this mix since it can be too much at first if your not used to it. I get stomach upsets very easily, so I keep it in the fridge all day and take sips. It can be kept for about 48 hours also. And yogurt is also a big help. And quitting wheat helped a lot. I still cheat once in awhile, but I found for me wheat is a catalyst for me in this situation. Let me know if you have any questions. Also, my kids love love this juice mix. I also get creative once in while and add some blueberries or kiwi, nothing too acidic though or too fruity. You can also juice leaf lettuce if kale is too bitter. Also, leaf lettuce is really easy on first time juicers. Good luck. Hang in there.

PS And I still take my ibuprofen with no issues as long as I am juicing.

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Maiysa, thanks for the recipe! Do you just blend it or do you have a juicer? I don't have a juicer, so I guess in a pinch I could blend it and then strain it if I need to? Sounds like it has all the ingredients for tummy upset that I was reading help (papaya, ginger, apples, bananas). My tummy is where I hold all my stress, so no wonder that tapering off Klonopin has done a number on it! But, after 2 days no ibuprofen, it is feeling a lot better, so I think that was the bigger culprit. Never had an issue before with ibuprofen upsetting my tummy, but I guess I've never been in situation where I've been taking 6 a day for a couple of months!

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Oh, I understand your issues. So sorry that you have to deal with this. I see you have young kids. They are so cute too. :) Mine are grown and am so grateful as I would not have been able to take care of them at this stage of the game.

Anyhow, I also take ibuprofen almost daily, but it's children's at least, it's the most I've been able to handle, but I also get stomach issues after too much. But the juice helps. I actually have both blender and juicer. I ordered a refurbished juicer on line. They are so expensive, but got a great deal. I like the taste of juice better but it's so much more work. Blender is easy. The only difference is with the blender you get more fiber, so you have to be sure to drink a lot of water to move that through. Which is great to have the fiber, but always need a lot of water with it. But I do prefer juice. Also, the ginger helps me sooooo much with the inflammation. I hope it helps.

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I think they are pretty cute too, but I'm biased. ;) Thanks SO much for the papaya suggestions, it seems to have done the trick -- blended up about 2 c. of papaya, 1/2 a banana, some cantaloupe, apple juice and a bit of ice and been drinking that all day and my tummy feels SO much better. Would have added the ginger, but didn't have it on hand.

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