Autoimmune gastritis

[pet-lamb]

Hello I was advised to check out this site,I had an endoscopy on Christmas eve they where looking for celiac disease and although they didn't find that they found gastritis just mild but there.as I still haven't had a letter telling me what caused it I was wondering if it could be from autoimmune gastritis as I have hashimotos and had graves disease someone said there is a link with pernicious anaemia which I don't have never did.what I'm wondering is if it was caused by a autoimmune problem how can they tell and what's the treatment.sorry for the long post.

[Sleepybunny]

Hi,

PA can cause gastritis.

Martyn hooper mentions Autoimmune Metaplastic Atrophic Gastritis on his blog.

martynhooper.com/2015/12/31...

Have you ever been checked for PA? The IFA test (Intrinsic factor Antibody) test can help diagnose PA but is not always reliable.

b12deficiency.info/b12-test...

See links below for more info.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

01656 769 717

If you leave a message the PAS will get back to you within a few days.

b12d.org

b12deficiency.info/

I'd urge you to read the "BCSH Cobalamin and Folate Guidelines" which came out in 2014.

Other useful links

patient.info/doctor/pernici...

patient.info/doctor/macrocy...

patient.info/doctor/full-bl...

patient.info/doctor/folate-...

ukneqas-haematinics.org.uk/...

bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g5226

i get paper copies of all my blood tests and look particularly at ferritin, folate , B12 and the FBC (full Blood Count).

"they where looking for celiac disease"

Are you aware that it is still possible to have Coelaic disease after a negative test result. there are other tests for Coeliac a Gp can do. See links.

coeliac.org.uk/coeliac-dise...

coeliac.org.uk/coeliac-dise...

Have a look at some of my other posts, soem of which are very detailed.

[pet-lamb in reply to Sleepybunny]

Thank you so much for all this information I'll read it all later as I have to go out all day today😥😥 I don't have pa but I've be tested for all the other things ferritin( b12 was just under 500) etc and yes I get and keep my blood test reports. And yes I know about non confirmed celiac disease so I'm sticking to gluten free now especially as the consultant who refereed me for the endoscopy wrote to me strongly advising this. Thanks again for your help😊

[Laura5]

Hi,

Parietal cell antibodies are diagnostic for autoimmune gastritis. If the gastritis was found in the body of your stomach then it was probably autoimmune - this is type A gastritis. (Type B is generally found in the antrum of the stomach and is caused by h pylori bacteria.) A large percentage of people with autoimmune thyroid disease have autoimmune gastritis and vice versa.

The parietal cell antibodies attack the parietal cells in the stomach which produce stomach acid so the main problems arising from autoimmune gastritis are due to low stomach acid - google achlorhydria and you'll get some more information. Eventually this may lead to pernicious anaemia - I haven't yet found any research looking at a long term study to see what percentage do or do not go on to get pernicious anaemia. Unfortunately, if it is autoimmune, there doesn't seem to be a treatment. You can try taking HCl tablets (some people use vinegar or lemon juice) to try to increase the acid in your stomach at meal times which might help to digest more of the nutrients from your food - there is one small study which shows that the HCl tablets do indeed increase the acid. Low stomach acid increases the risk of bacterial overgrowth (as the stomach acid usually keeps bacteria levels under control), hip fracture and raises the risk of certain stomach problems such as intestinal metaplasia. It is also a possible cause of up to 25% of cases of iron deficiency anaemia as iron needs stomach acid to be absorbed.

[pet-lamb in reply to Laura5]

Thanks laura5 the gastritis was in the antrum but Dr said it wasn't pylori bacteria, report given on the day of the scope read

Minor gastritis in antrum otherwise normal to D2 D2 biopsies taken

[Laura5 in reply to pet-lamb]

Did you definitely have biopsies taken from the body/corpus of your stomach? I think that D2 are duodenum biopsies - to rule out coeliac disease.

[pet-lamb in reply to Laura5]

Yes had D2 I thought they should have taken more but they took 4 samples all together

[Nikki_f]

Following. I was diagnosed with gastritis back in 2009 however I've never had a scope. I don't even know how I was diagnosed or what type I have unless they did it through blood testing. They just put me on daily ranitidine and sent me on my way. NOW in Nov i was just diagnosed with b12 & vit D deficiency requiring 2 shots a month the rest of my life and no one EVER told me gastritis and the medication they put me on could cause this or to keep an eye out for it which makes me livid. I had a coeliac test last month which again was just a blood test and that was negative. Please keep us posted on your future results

[pet-lamb]

Hi Nikkei, I received my copy of the Dr letter when I got home it states that I'm not celiac 😄😄 but doesn't explain why I had gastritis and when I asked the doc last week if it was bacterial viral h ploris or autoimmune I got no where which is annoying I'm not on medication because I refused it after reading reports on how it causes more problems.I have hashimotos.and therefore I'm in line for a leaky gut which causes low acids

Anyway.

[Polaris in reply to pet-lamb]

Just replied to another post on h/pylori and realised it could help?

I'd had bad digestive problems for years, including gastritis and H/pylori with Hashimoto's, and been prescribed various PPIs and acid blockers, which as you say, causes other problems and depletes b12.

It took a long time for the penny to drop and realise that autoimmune/leaky gut was probably the root of it all - now that I'm gluten free and taking sauerkraut, I believe this is healing the little villi in my intestines and allowing better absorption of all nutrients, but especially B12! Sauerkraut is a very old European remedy with many healing properties as well as being one of the most effective probiotics you can take and this I believe is keeping H/pylori and associated digestive problems at bay.

Sauerkraut and the gluten free diet means that I have been free of all the painful digestive problems I was plagued with for years and don't need to take any medication 🙂

[Polaris in reply to Polaris]

Ps. Sauerkraut - organic from the health food shop, not the stuff made with vinegar from supermarkets.

[Margo in reply to Polaris]

Have you ever thought of making your own sauerkraut Polaris?

[Polaris in reply to Margo]

i tried making it once Margo but much prefer the taste of the one I buy with added juniper berries - it's not expensive - just over £2 and lasts approx, two weeks - amazing value for the benefits received 🙂

[Margo in reply to Polaris]

Thanks for the tip Polaris, will look out for it.

[Sleepybunny]

Some other links that might be useful.

drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Hypochl...

nhs.uk/conditions/gastritis...

labtestsonline.org.uk/under...

Some people have tissue biopsy if symptoms suggest h pylori but h pylori test is negative.

patient.info/doctor/helicob...

The BCSH Cobalamin and Folate Guidlines mention that it is possible to have Antibody Negative PA. Some people with PA do not have the typical Anti-intrinsic factor antibodies.

[Polaris]

This is one of the best descriptions I have read on the thyroid-brain-gut and B12 connection:

"Hashimoto's Healing- Facebook post by Marc Ryan

"Hashimoto's Health Tip: The Little Paint Brushes in Your Tummy

Anyone who has lived with Hashimoto's knows that this is so much more than a thyroid problem. The biggest axis of trouble is often found in the thyroid-brain-gut connection. And one common problem that causes this is leaky gut or intestinal permeability. Many researchers believe that this is ground zero for autoimmune disease. It is the place that autoimmune disease is born and the place that makes it get worse and worse. And when things get worse in the gut, problems in the thyroid and brain often follow.

In this post, I wanted to shed light on some little known but very helpful enzymes called brush border enzymes.

Brush Border

The small intestines are the place where leaky gut often happens.

And the walls of the small intestines are lined with tiny little hair like protrusions called microvilli. On a regular microscope they kind of look like a tiny, fuzzy paint brush. This fuzzy appearance is why they came up with the term "brush border" to describe them.

Where Absorption Happens

This is the place where absorption happens.

And many people with Hashimoto's suffer from deficiencies of important vitamins and nutrients (like vitamin D, vitamin B12 and B6, zinc, selenium, magnesium, iron, etc.)

One of the reasons for this is the breakdown of these brush borders.

Foods high in lectins or other inflammatory substances (like gluten, and other grains, beans and nightshades) can actually cause these brush borders to get crushed and destroyed. The microvilli (little hairs) that make up the brush border have enzymes for this final part of digestion anchored into their membrane as membrane proteins.

These enzymes are found near to the transporters that will then allow absorption of digested nutrients."