How to stop over producing gastrin

[CarrieD2018]

Hi all,

Any advice on how to stop over producing gastrin when you have autoimmune atrophic gastritis? Thanks

[fbirder]

The normal stomach works like this...

When food enters the stomach this stimulates the release of gastrin. Amongst other things, gastrin tells the Gastric Parietal Cells (GPCs) to release hydrochloric acid (HCl) plus enzymes. The acid lowers the pH of the stomach. Low pH in the stomach switches off the production of gastrin. It's a classic negative feedback loop (also known as homeostasis).

But if you have gastric atrophy then your GPCs are being killed off and they cannot produce HCl, called achlorhydria.

In that situation...

When food enters the stomach this stimulates the release of gastrin. The gastrin tells the GPCs to release HCl. But there are no GPCs, so no HCl is released, so the pH stays high and gastrin production isn't switched off. This results in high levels of gastrin in the blood.

The way to fix this is to fix the broken part of the loop. If the GPCs can't lower the stomach pH then you have to do it for them.

Some people use tablets (or capsules) of betaine.HCl which release HCl when they hit water. I found it difficult to get the right amount. One capsule was often not enough. Two was sometimes too much.

Others swear by apple cider vinegar (although I can see no reason why other vinegars wouldn't work). I presume it works, I just don't like the taste.

My preferred remedy is lime juice. For lunch and dinner I drink about 30 to 40 ml of lime juice in water, orange juice or gin and tonic. I presume it reduces high gastrin. It certainly helps with my IBS-like symptoms.

Trying to reduce gastrin is a good idea. One effect of hypergastrinaemia is that it tries to get the stomach to produce more GPCs. Sometimes this can go wrong and the stomach produces the wrong sort of cells and a Neuroendocrine Tumour (or Type 1 gastric carcinoid) can result. These are pretty innocuous, but anybody with hypergastrinaemia is at risk of them, so I would recommend a gastroscopy every few years to keep an eye on them.

There's another sort of stomach tumour associated with hypergastrinaemia. In the case of Type 2 gastric carcinoids it is the tumour that causes the high gastrin, not the other way round. Type 2 are more likely to be nasty that Type 1 - another reason to have a gastroscopy if you have hypergastrinaemia.

[Frances55 in reply to fbirder]

Hi fbirder... I'm gastric parental cell antibody positive... Does that mean I need to look after the pH balance also.. My tummy is gurgling as I type 😔...

[fbirder in reply to Frances55]

It's worth a try.

When first diagnosed I had some unpleasant gut problems.

The acid in a normal stomach does several things. One is to help convert pepsinogen (secreted by the stomach) into pepsin. Pepsin is an enzyme that breaks proteins down into smaller bits. Without it protein digestion is not as efficient as it should be. The protein that isn't digested can make its way down into the large intestine. The bacteria living there have a big party with this unexpected bonus. The result is bloating, flatulence and diarrhoea.

Another thing that stomach acid does is to kill off most of the bacteria that get into the stomach. Without it bacteria find it easier to get into the small intestine, with more unpleasant results.

I definitely notice if I forget my lime juice during a meal. Normally around 4 o'clock in the morning.

[Frances55 in reply to fbirder]

Thanks for the information ☺... I don't know if I have too much acid or not enough... I'm in pain, bloated, diarrhoea, and flatulence, don't know what to take for it... Any advice???... ☺ thanks in advance

[fbirder in reply to Frances55]

Dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water. Drink it quickly first thing in the morning. If you've got too much acid then it will react with the sodium carbonate to produce carbon dioxide- lots of carbon dioxide. You will be burping a lot.

If you have little or no stomach acid then you'll just have a few little burps from swallowed air.

[Frances55 in reply to fbirder]

Thanks so much ☺... Before your reply I went to the supermarket and got some apple cider vinegar... I put 1 tbl spoon in 8ounces of water, and within a 2 hour my stomach settled.. I feel so much better 😊... Off to bed now 😴.. Thanks again..

[CarrieD2018 in reply to fbirder]

Hi fbirder, thanks for that. Does G&T help? I love my G and ate! I drink at most four drinks over a week (some weeks none and some two). I do love my gin and tonics!

[fbirder in reply to CarrieD2018]

Unfortunately G&T doesn't help. I currently have 9 different gins in my collection and various flavoured tonic waters.

But you could always try a gimlet instead.