Gastritis confusion

[shaylynn]

I was diagnosed with gastritis via endoscopy a week ago. Waiting for biopsy results but dr said it didnt look too bad in there. He prescribed me omeperazole but I was hesitant to take it because of all I read on here about low stomach acid. So here is the confusion... Am I to assume automatically that if I have PA I have low stomach acid? Or is there a possibility that I could have high stomach acid? I am still suffering from reflux symptoms. The stomach pain has gotten better though. But also if I have low stomach acid why do I have the reflux feeling which is normally from acid coming up? And what is the best way to treat low stomach acid/gastritis? I have read about HCL and pepsin on here too. Would that work for me if I have low stomach acid/gastritis? Thanks for any and all info on this. Hearing real life situations and treatments is so much better than Googling it. Thanks everyone!

[wedgewood]

Stomach acid is very powerful and strong . If it were to touch skin or even wood , it would burn a hole . The stomach acid that is causing you such pain is very weak. Because it is so weak, the message to the oesophagus sphincter is not getting through — that it should shut tightly , resulting in that leakage that is so very painful . You need to add acid to your diet . Some people take diluted organic cider vinegar with mother . Some people take Betaine HCL with pepsin..,Swedish Bitters are also helpful .

My gastroenterologist told me that PA patients have low or no stomach acid , (hypochlorhydria/ Achlorhydria ). because the antibodies that destroy the Intrinsic Factor ,that is so essential to the absorbtion of Vitamin B12, also destroy the parietal cell’s ability to make stomach acid .

So google treatments . There is no conventional medical treatment . You need to experiment , to find what suits you . Also eating probiotic foods helps the stomach’s flora which is upset by low stomach acid ( organic raw unpasteurised sauerkraut , kimchi , kefir , etc)I cant say exactly what you should do to stop your problem , as we are all different , but I’m confident that you can find a solution which will cause you no harm . Omeprazole would stop your painful reflux , but it has several bad side effects, which we are aware of . We need our stomach acid and in neutralising it totally , it does us damage . OK , if you are having B12 injections for your PA , that is taken care of . But stomach acid is needed to help in absorbtion of other vitamins and minerals .

If you have PA , then you are extremely likely have low stomach acid . High stomach acid is a very rare phenomenon.

Best wishes .

[Lyynn123 in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you. I tried ACV but it upset my stomach. I just ordered the HCL and am gonna try this next.

[Lyynn123 in reply to wedgewood]

Does anyone know approx how long until I saw relief from HCL? Is it immediately or does it take days?

[cwill in reply to Lyynn123]

With HCL and pepsin tablets the protocol is to take a standard or lowish dose tablet with food and note the response. At the next meal take 2 tablets and note the response, then 3 at next meal as so on. Cut tablets in half if necessary but the idea is to get to heart burn symptoms or other discomfort then reduce the tablet number by one, so enough to work but not enough to harm you. I required 5 with each meal for about 6 months until my thyroid meds were at a better level when I was able to stop them. It is also a reasonably priced home experiment to determine if the issue seems to be high or low stomach acid. It worked as described here for me so I was clearly low in acid.

[Lyynn123 in reply to cwill]

Thank you. Do you feel relief from the heartburn immediately when you take the first pill?

[ollie7horse in reply to cwill]

Hi

I was interested in what you said about thyroid, I have PA & thyroid a and just been dx with gastritis. How does the thyroid affect gastritis?

Thanks

Linda

[cwill in reply to ollie7horse]

Hypothyroidism affects every cell. It is certainly a factor in low stomach acid. Are you a member of the thyroid forum here run by Thyroid UK? Lots of info there and many discussing gut issues. Research papers also referred to.

[pollianna in reply to wedgewood]

Excellent response. I couldn't add more. How I wish all people knew this stuff