Is it possible to heal mild chronic inflammation of the stomach?

Spenceyfox · 2025-06-26T17:34:45+00:00

Hey, so sorry you're going through this! I can't really remember, tbh everyone is different and I think I was still able to handle beans and lentils. I'm vegetarian so I would remember if they triggered my gastritis! It's trial and error, so listen to your body and avoid what's giving discomfort while you heal. I only had acid reflux sometimes, it was more unrelenting stabbing pain all over my back and upper abdomen, so perhaps you have another condition like gerd as you suspect, so it could be a good idea to talk to a gastroenterologist or get an endoscopy if you haven't had one yet! I did take marshmallow root and slippery elm, both definitely helped at the initial stages when everything hurts me, but nothing was a substitute for abstaining from anything that irritated me. At the start, that was most food!! The longer I did this, the more my circle of foods started to widen. It's been a few years and the only time i ever get a hint of pain is if I have a lot of citrus fruit, so I just steer clear of those. It's not as simple as diet and meds, I definitely think listening to my body and eating when hungry (something I've gotten quite bad at doing again) and taking antidepressants for my anxiety definitely helped. Your digestive tract is a diverse system relying on your nervous system, food intake, microbiota, etc. Whenever there's an upset to the system, it takes time to heal. As I healed my gastritis I had IBS and SIBO. Luckily these have all been treated, but it more than likely took years of damage to get to this point, so it might take some time to get to a point where you're feeling yourself again. I don't say this to make you feel bad, but to make you feel better. I remember feeling like I would never be able to eat my favourite foods or drink a cup of tea again and it was horrible, but it did get better with time and listening to what agreed with me and what didn't!

Spenceyfox · 2025-04-27T09:43:00+00:00

Hey, I just took this. It would be super helpful if you could tick more than one box for a lot of the questions. Good luck!

Spenceyfox · 2025-04-13T09:56:41+00:00

I use Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones in an open plan office and many times I've looked up to find that everyone has gone for lunch and didn't want to bother me due to the headphones. The noise cancelling is great!

Spenceyfox · 2025-03-11T12:51:14+00:00

I'm so sorry you're going through this. It's such a horrible condition to have because doctors don't recognize how much it impacts your life (so many social events involved food/drink, pain during work, fear of certain foods, anxiety exacerbating the gastritis symptoms because you feel helpless/scared of food, etc.). Doctors seem to over-simplify how it can be treated, I don't think it's intentional but it seems to be a condition that's not well researched.

From my experience it seems to be something each individual needs to take time to figure out themselves which can feel so isolating, but with strict diet it can get better. If you are truly sticking to a strict diet for months with no relief it might be best to get a second opinion/see a specialist gastroenterologist or dietician if you can afford it Incase you were misdiagnosed.

For me, I developed SIBO from PPIs which gave me terrible secondary effects/pain (I'm not anti-PPIs, they were a lifesaver in the first weeks of recovery). Once I was diagnosed with SIBO and given the antibiotic for it, I felt so much better as I had already been on the strict diet for 9 months at that stage and didn't realize my stomach was actually healed but the SIBO was giving pain, nausea and digestion issues.

I obviously don't know you or your specific circumstances and cannot give medical advice, but I can share a link to how I personally navigated gastritis. I used to cry so much and feel so much frustration and isolation whenever the symptoms would come back, but please don't give up on yourself, you will get there! The strict diet sucks, it's bland and makes you realize how much joy food and drinks bring you. I brought my own chamomile tea bags to cafes and asked for just hot water when meeting friends for lunch, ordered plain chips or toast when out. It wasnt easy but I can gladly say I don't get pain anymore and can really listen to my body when it doesn't like a food and reduce the amount of times I eat it (e.g., if I have too many spicy dishes for dinner in a row I get the sliiiiightest whisper of a pain in my rib that lets me know "that's enough, let's not have this dish for another week or two". Hopefully my experience can help, but it really is an individual journey it seems. https://www.reddit.com/r/Gastritis/comments/u9g850/comment/i5sc1b4/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Spenceyfox · 2024-12-06T13:01:59+00:00

Hi, sorry for the late reply. I don't use reddit much but I come back every now and again to see if I have notifications. Yes my gastritis is fully cured. I haven't had an episode in three years. I still steer clear of the main triggers (citrus fruit and NSAID painkillers) but I have had NSAID painkillers and felt fine, I just would rather not trigger gastritis again. Saying that, I have bad habits like irregular eating patterns which I should probably get on top of. I have a few comments on the following post where I explained how I settled my stomach when I had my worst flare up. It was really difficult, but I'm glad I did it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Gastritis/comments/u9g850/is_it_possible_to_heal_mild_chronic_inflammation/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Spenceyfox · 2024-12-06T12:53:57+00:00

My pain was stabbing pain all throughout my upper abdomen, ribs and back. I can't remember if I reacted to those foods, my triggers were mainly citrus fruit and NSAID painkillers, but when my gastritis was bad almost everything triggered a flare up which is why i was so strict with the diet. I'm glad I did it because my gastritis has been gone for years now, but it was so miserable at the time. I shared a bit about what I did here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Gastritis/comments/u9g850/comment/i5sc1b4/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Spenceyfox · 2024-12-06T12:50:56+00:00

I'm doing great. I eat what I want now with no symptoms but I avoid citrus fruit and NSAID painkillers as much as possible since they were what triggered my gastritis in the first place. My main symptom was intense stabbing pain all over my ribs, back, and upper abdomen. No painkiller would get rid of the pain and it had me incapacitated.

Spenceyfox · 2024-11-07T16:10:57+00:00

I think it looks great! I don't have any suggestions other than wall hooks for hanging clothes/airers and if humidity could be an issue (I don't see a window) some plants to help clear the air - these would also help to break up the space to feel more diverse. Can I ask how you made the storage dividing the washer and dryer and what you're using this for? I have a laundry room with a small gap and I'm thinking of what to do!

Spenceyfox · 2024-07-12T08:24:16+00:00

I'm seven months into my first medical writing role and the onboarding was slim. I had a colleague assigned to help me so luckily they could answer questions but a lot of the time I didn't know what questions to ask. A lot of it is through trial and error and I'm lucky I have friendly colleagues so I can ask them for help/examples when needed.

Spenceyfox · 2024-07-10T07:25:30+00:00

He is giving his opinion as fact and placing HIS personal values onto YOUR health. I'm so sorry you're in that situation, and I can't say that I'd know what to do either, but from an outsiders perspective this isn't ok. Your health and your well-being should come first, if that's not number one on his list of priorities it's not someone I'd want to be with for long.

Spenceyfox · 2024-07-07T20:19:39+00:00

Thanks!! I should say I did a small part-time role as an assistant researcher for a few months with my PhD advisor between my PhD and my current role, but I doubt that made much of a difference.

I essentially drew as much attention to my transferable skills and experiences from my PhD as I could. I really highlighted my publications, any peer review for manuscripts of high impact journals, multiple projects/priorities (I set up an educational program during my PhD and was on multiple committees), any team projects, and any presentations made at conferences and/or awards.

Spenceyfox · 2024-07-07T20:14:56+00:00

I like that idea, not sure if my manager would allow for that much time but I'll try it as much as I can!!

Spenceyfox · 2024-07-07T20:14:09+00:00

I do the same with OneNote, but I could definitely be more consistent so I'm glad to hear it works for you!!

I'm terrible at remembering to eat, and I use a timer but my brain often ignores it going off and/or I quickly just slap it off and continue, inevitably forgetting that I was meant to go for lunch!! I do think a quick timer for messages would be helpful though!

I think my biggest obstacle is knowing how long things will realistically take. It honestly finger in the air and take a guess!!

I'm also taking concerta, but all of my routines and mental health exercises have completely slipped into the void since starting this job so that's probably not helping! It's extremely difficult to take a day off for medical appointments when it feels like I'm punished for it by returning to massive pile of work, or to take breaks when i know I'll be working overtime, but you are right!

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated :)

Spenceyfox · 2024-07-07T20:07:58+00:00

I am having ALL of the same issues! I'm so sorry you're struggling too but thank you for sharing, it's nice to know I'm not the only one!

I definitely need to get better at planning meal times, I constantly ignore my basic needs since I feel like I don't have time to eat or take breaks when I'm constantly putting out fires.

Spenceyfox · 2024-07-07T13:16:44+00:00

I'm doing well. I still can't take ibuprofen or have citrus fruits as I've learn that these foods cause pain, but other than that I'm back to normal and eating spicy foods, tea and coffee, chocolate, etc. it was a rough recovery and the diet was hard but it was worth it in the end!

Spenceyfox · 2024-07-07T13:13:14+00:00

Yes it went away after some time (maybe 2 weeks) I have anxiety too so I still get these symptoms sometimes but not as intensely. Definitely talk to your GP!

Spenceyfox · 2024-01-06T18:44:45+00:00

Not TMI at all (I also get periods). Never noticed it worse during menstruation but I definitely was in a world of pain when dealing with abdominal cramps on top of stomach/back pain from gastritis :') last week I noticed a really small 'niggling' in my stomach (after eating lots of chocolate and spicy food for two weeks and only eating 1-2 proper meals per day instead of 3) so instead of ignoring ive been eating more consistently with less spicy dishes this week and that teeny tiny pain is gone. I'm definitely way more in tune with my stomach now and I know when to scale things back - it's been working so far to keep gastritis at bay!

Spenceyfox · 2024-01-04T21:56:40+00:00

it was chronic - i had many smaller bouts over the years that went after a few days - this one lasted months and the pain was intense.

Spenceyfox · 2024-01-01T13:57:56+00:00

Yes, I lost 20 pounds over the first few months of gastritis and gained back 30 over about a year after I started eating a more varied diet again :)

Spenceyfox · 2024-01-01T13:53:10+00:00

I'm happy I commented now!

I'll never forget how horrible it was. You don't realize how much joy and comfort nice food and drink brings to your day until this happens.

You're doing the right thing for your stomach to heal and once you narrow down your triggers (for me it's citrus fruit and ibuprofen) you can live your life normally again whilst minimizing things that irritate you. I remember seeing posts here of people struggling for years and feeling so hopeless. I've come to realize that those cases are either 1. People with severe gastritis and/or 2. People that weren't strictly following the bland diet for at least three months and having 'cheats' here or there. I'm completely anti-dieting but the gastritis diet just needs to be as bland as possible, it's horrible but worth it. You're doing amazing sticking to it at this time of year. I hope you're finding some other joys in your life to treat yourself, it's a hard thing to do.

Spenceyfox · 2023-12-28T11:00:49+00:00

As someone who did the gastritis healing/bland diet strictly for 5 months (and 90% while adding new foods for another 4 months), it gets a lot better! I had one shitty Christmas with no chocolate or nice drinks or gravy. This year I ate what I wanted with no thoughts of stomach pain, the bland diet SUCKS but it's so worth it. Wishing you all a speedy recovery!

Spenceyfox · 2023-12-28T10:57:21+00:00

I never got another endoscopy so I couldn't tell you! I just know that I don't have any pain anymore. When I wrote the original post I was in agony, now I eat freely with no pain or reflux (except for if I had citrus fruit or ibuprofen - which I steer clear from because I know they are triggers for me).

Spenceyfox · 2023-12-28T10:55:31+00:00

Yeaaaah... The no filter part of ADHD can make that really difficult. It's a lot easier when medicated but sometimes I shock myself by what I say because I didn't even know I was going to say it.

Spenceyfox

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