Gastritis And Gluten Intolerance

[DinaB]

I am gluten free, but also suffer from Gastritis and food allergies. I think from what I read a lot of you also have food allergies. Is this related? Also, does anyone have gastritis?

[ShayFL]

Many on here have other intolerances and true allergies to foods to boot. I do not have any IgE allergies. But I cut out a lot of foods right after I went gluten-free. I have been able to add back in some things I missed as of the last few weeks. I did a specific supplement program to speed healing as well.

Google PepZin GI. Consider Biotin and SeaCure.

Hope this helps.

[mftnchn]

I had gastritis for 2 years prior to diagnosis. Its much better now. Digestive enzymes helped.

It also turned out I had a case of h pylori--celiacs are more prone to this apparently. I took a course of treatment for it but one thing that helped the most was mastic gum (Mastica).

Also DGL--a form of licorice was very soothing to my stomach.

How long have you been gluten-free?

[DinaB]

I am gluten free since August 07. So it was just a year for me. I too tested positive for H Pylori and they gave me antibiotics to clear it up. Right after that is when I started having problems with Gastritis and now have IBS. So those things with the gluten intolerance AND and food allergies I feel like I am going no where fast. Now I am sesative to fragrance and certain house hold cleaners. I started Gluten Free after elimination diet and positive allergy tests. I just feel better when it's not in my system. Two blood tests confirmed negative results, and my endoscopy showed gastritis with erosive esophagus, not Celiac. But, the more I read on this site it seems as though you have to be ON gluten for at least three months to be getting any kind of a positive result. If I did that I would be real sick. Everyone says the Gastritis will go away, but I've tried: Prevacid, Nexium, Aciphex, and now Zantac. They all start out fine, and then after about 4-5 weeks on the meds and feeling wonderful, I start to feel bloated, have horrible gas, and terrible pain in the pit of my stomach. I had stopped eating fruit for a few months and started back up again prior to my endoscopy and I am wondering if the fruit is causing all of this. I also have sugar cane, casein, egg, goat milk, oat, banana, almond, garlic and plenty other allergies.

PS - I can't take Licorice because of IBS. Certain things are great for IBS, but harm gastritis. Other things are great for Gastritis and hurt the IBS. I feel like I can't win and tired of having pain in my stomach all the time.

I had gastritis for 2 years prior to diagnosis. Its much better now. Digestive enzymes helped.

It also turned out I had a case of h pylori--celiacs are more prone to this apparently. I took a course of treatment for it but one thing that helped the most was mastic gum (Mastica).

Also DGL--a form of licorice was very soothing to my stomach.

How long have you been gluten-free?

[*Jill*]

I have recently been diagnosed with Gastritis. I used to love cooking, but now that I can't eat anything - I am stumped! I have a bit of high blood pressure as well, so I have to cut out my salt usage. I am looking for a way to flavor my chicken, beef, and fish that doesn't have any of the things I have to avoid (garlic, cloves, citrus, black pepper, salt, tomato, mint, chocolate, spicy, and fried). Does anyone know where I can look up some recipes that don't contain the "bad" foods?

[burdee]

I am gluten free, but also suffer from Gastritis and food allergies. I think from what I read a lot of you also have food allergies. Is this related? Also, does anyone have gastritis?

I was misdiagnosed with 'gastritis' almost 20 years before I was accurately diagnosed with celiac disease. Most people in their 40s have too little stomach acid, not too much. Without enough stomach acid (low enough pH) to trigger the lower esophageal valve, it doesn't close properly. So stomach acid can leak into the esophagus. However acid blockers just exacerbate the problem. Once people go off the acid blockers, the reflux problem returns. I was 'hooked' on acid blockers for over 10 years before I tried eating less and drinking more liquids to cope with reflux. Eliminating gluten and other food allergies improved digestion and further reduced reflux. However after reading "Why Stomach Acid is Good for You" by Jonathon Wright, MD, I started taking betaine hydrochloride, which dramatically improved my digestion. I no longer feel horribly full after eating tiny amounts. My fingernails are improving, because I'm digesting and absorbing more protein. (Without enough stomach acid we don't digest protein well. )

Of course, most docs believe reflux is caused by too much stomach acid, because that's what drug companies tell them. Acid blockers are big business for drug companies. However do any docs actually measure their patients' stomach acid before prescribing acid blockers?

H. Pylori is the only bacteria which survives in normal levels of stomach acid. Most other food born bacteria are destroyed by normal stomach acid. People who have low stomach acid (or take acid blockers) can experience more bacterial imbalance (too much bad bacteria, too little good bacteria), because the bad ones easily pass through their stomach and thrive in the more alkaline intestines. After taking acid blockers for many years, I have been diagnosed with 2 different bacterial infections, one parasite and one fungal overgrowth (candida). During treatment for all those I also took high dose probiotics to restore normal gut bacterial levels. Hopefully, taking betaine hydrochloride will prevent any future bacterial infections from food borne bacteria. Nevertheless I will NEVER take acid blockers again.

BURDEE

[mftnchn]

I am gluten free since August 07. So it was just a year for me. I too tested positive for H Pylori and they gave me antibiotics to clear it up. Right after that is when I started having problems with Gastritis and now have IBS. So those things with the gluten intolerance AND and food allergies I feel like I am going no where fast. Now I am sesative to fragrance and certain house hold cleaners. I started Gluten Free after elimination diet and positive allergy tests. I just feel better when it's not in my system. Two blood tests confirmed negative results, and my endoscopy showed gastritis with erosive esophagus, not Celiac. But, the more I read on this site it seems as though you have to be ON gluten for at least three months to be getting any kind of a positive result. If I did that I would be real sick. Everyone says the Gastritis will go away, but I've tried: Prevacid, Nexium, Aciphex, and now Zantac. They all start out fine, and then after about 4-5 weeks on the meds and feeling wonderful, I start to feel bloated, have horrible gas, and terrible pain in the pit of my stomach. I had stopped eating fruit for a few months and started back up again prior to my endoscopy and I am wondering if the fruit is causing all of this. I also have sugar cane, casein, egg, goat milk, oat, banana, almond, garlic and plenty other allergies.

PS - I can't take Licorice because of IBS. Certain things are great for IBS, but harm gastritis. Other things are great for Gastritis and hurt the IBS. I feel like I can't win and tired of having pain in my stomach all the time.

Dina, I couldn't tolerate ANY of the acid blockers at all. It was a nightmare being on any of them. If you still have H Pylori, I would consider trying mastic gum.

The increased allergies seem to happen to some people after going gluten-free. The chemical sensitivity is also concerning. You could be going through a healing crisis, but it sounds like perhaps you are not detoxing well. If you want some help in this area, consider popping in and telling your story on the "OMG....I might be on to something" huge thread. Don't worry about reading everything, just pop in. People there might have some ideas for you about detoxing.

Given what you are saying I think you should take a look at the specific carbohydrate diet. (Breaking the Vicious Cycle is the name of the book). Googling it will get you several good sites, and there are some threads here on it as well. You would have some challenges with the dairy issues and almond allergy, but I think you might be able to manage a month or so just to see if it would help you. This diet is gluten-free but stricter, and you start with things that are easy to digest then gradually add.

Problems with fruit could be a clue. Celiac damage to villi and the walls of the intestine also damage production of digestive enzymes for carbohydrate digestion. So while we should be able to break these down in the upper part of the intestine and absorb the final single sugar molecules, many of us don't make the enzymes secondary to the damage. When we eat these anyway, the undigested carbs in the gut cause many problems, causing ongoing damage.

[MollyBeth]

I have recently been diagnosed with Gastritis. I used to love cooking, but now that I can't eat anything - I am stumped! I have a bit of high blood pressure as well, so I have to cut out my salt usage. I am looking for a way to flavor my chicken, beef, and fish that doesn't have any of the things I have to avoid (garlic, cloves, citrus, black pepper, salt, tomato, mint, chocolate, spicy, and fried). Does anyone know where I can look up some recipes that don't contain the "bad" foods?

Hey Jill,

I'm new to all this too. I've been just googling recipes and I've been pretty lucky to find stuff. One thing I've been doing is making chicken breast in the oven. I've been cutting up Oinion and putting it on the chicken and wrapping it in tin foil and letting it bake. It comes out really juicy and delicious. It's not really a substitute for salt or anything but it adds some flavor.

[DinaB]

Hey Jill,

I'm new to all this too. I've been just googling recipes and I've been pretty lucky to find stuff. One thing I've been doing is making chicken breast in the oven. I've been cutting up Oinion and putting it on the chicken and wrapping it in tin foil and letting it bake. It comes out really juicy and delicious. It's not really a substitute for salt or anything but it adds some flavor.

Hi Jill,

Welcome! The problem with Onion is that it is SOOO bad for gastritis. I tried a little on my fish last night, just to get a little bit of flavor and wound up in the bathroom all night. Thank goodness my husband is a wonderful cook and has adapted to my ever-changing needs. We use a lot of different oils to add flavor to food, such as: Basil Oil, Sesame Oil, Almond oil. Although I can't use the almond due to allergies, my husband uses it a lot and loves it. White Rice Vinegar and Agave syrup are wonderful together. Agave is a natural sweetner made from the Tequilla plant and can be found in a gluten free/health food store. I've been putting it on everything!

[CMCM]

I've found Bromelain (pineapple enzyme) to be very helpful to prevent gastritis type reactions. Certain things such as spaghetti sauce which frequently causes problems (too acidic??) I always precede with a Bromelain tablet and I think it helps a lot. the Now brand makes a good one, 500 mg., not too expensive.

However, the most important thing for me is VOLUME OF FOOD eaten in a period of time....I absolutely have to keep the amounts small. If I ever get that "stuffed" feeling, I'll get terrible pain. For whatever reason, my stomach cannot deal with much food at one time. When I keep this in mind, it's always less an issue of WHAT I eat compared to HOW MUCH I eat. I try to stay with the old Taiwanese saying which is something like "Stop eating when you are 3/4 full."

[MollyBeth]

The problem with Onion is that it is SOOO bad for gastritis. I tried a little on my fish last night, just to get a little bit of flavor and wound up in the bathroom all night.

I didn't know it was bad for gastritis! Sorry for the bad advice!

[caroleye]

I was dx w/gastritis over 20 years ago, but just recently discovered I also am gluten intolerant. I'm on the diet, but one thing I cannot find is a good digestive enzyme. I discovered the one I've been taking for years had wheat in it.

Apparently most enzymes w/amylase contain wheat. Has anyone found one that works for them. I need a pancreatin one for the occasional fish I eat.

Thanks for any input.................carole

[Looking for answers]

I also suffered from horrible gastritis for nearly a year. Licorice root helped aid the acute pain, but it was ridding all points of inflammation in my diet that really ultimately cured it. This meant eating mostly whole foods and taking supplements like L-glutamine, Omega 3'a. probiotics and digestive enzymes. I also quit taking synthetic vitamins and started taking a multi made from food.

[Looking for answers]

I was dx w/gastritis over 20 years ago, but just recently discovered I also am gluten intolerant. I'm on the diet, but one thing I cannot find is a good digestive enzyme. I discovered the one I've been taking for years had wheat in it.

Apparently most enzymes w/amylase contain wheat. Has anyone found one that works for them. I need a pancreatin one for the occasional fish I eat.

Thanks for any input.................carole

Try the line by Brenda Watson...those work the best for me. I think the brand is New Life.

[mslee]

Hi Guys

I'm going out of town in 2 days and I don't know if I have a stomach flu or if this is gastritis.

Only 4 months into this gluten-free at time of endo/colo Dr found mild gastritis, had not felt these symptoms until a day or two ago. Def. feels like a bug today.

Any idea how dangerous is this for someone with pretty severe celiac & several autoimmune conditions? Viruses typically just need to run their course right? I am going home to see Mom, maybe she can take care of me

Doubt a trip to urgent care or my internist would be of much help....& I will be so busy these last couple days!!!

(will probably touch base with my interest or GI mon, good grief!)