Gastritis from NSAIDS

[Butningembers]

Seen a number of posts on here about gastritis and pretty sure it's what I'm experiencing after taking NSAIDS for dry socket pain
I've been prescribed omeprazole by the doctors however I'm not sure it's really making a difference. I have taken these for around 3 weeks already (initially one a day for first 2 weeks but then they upped the dose to 2 a day)
How long do they generally take to work? I have odd days where I have little to no pain however most days it's like a stitch like pain in my left abdomen, pain under my rips and gurgling and burning all over my stomach. This often radiates to my left shoulder blade and back
I don't want to waste the doctors time as I've still got another few weeks before I'm finished the prescribed dose but also don't want to wait another few weeks if it's not working for me.
The pain most days bare-able but some days are very uncomfortable and I can't seem to pinpoint anything that triggers it

Thanks in advance!

Yes I got severe gastritis last year from NSAIDs. I wasn't taking omeprazole at the time but started after an endoscopy to find out the problem. (I had pain, nausea and eventually vomited blood).
They put me on 40mg for 4 weeks reducing to 20 for a further 3 months.
At the same time I changed to a very bland diet. No onions, tomatos, chilli, spices etc..
I'd say it took 3 months to clear up fully and still comes back if I eat chilli. I will never take NSAIDs again.

I had gastritis, within a few days the Omeprazole kicked in for me. Have you tried gaviscon advance on top? You may need to look at your diet too.

Was wondering if I need to look into my diet too. I initially thought that removing the cause would stop it but the more I read the more I realise that I may have to manage this with diet too.
I can't say that I have a certain trigger food however have been away with work the last few days eating rich, fatty foods and drinking some wine.....defo paying for it today!
Guessing it's something I might just have to live with now?
Do have an appointment with gastroenterologist booked but not until mid February, just want to try and control the discomfort until then

I really struggled to pin down a food or drink trigger. However once I started eating a limited diet it became more obvious. Wine set it off😭, fizzy drinks, acidic food, spices. Ten months on I am pretty much back to normal but I still can't eat curry or white wine.

Restricted diet sounds rubbish although maybe not the worst timing as I get married in 5 months and wanted to lose a bit of weight so it may force my hand 🤣
Think I'll stick with what the doctor prescribed and try changing my diet and see how that goes

Its best to change your diet for a while to help it calm down.

A bland diet is best. Nothing spicy or fried. No fizzy drinks, no coffee, no alcohol. Also try avoid anything acidic. It sounds awfully boring but it helps calm it down faster. At one point mine was so bad I lived on chicken, rice, cucumbers and herbal tea!

For me orange juice sets it off, however i'm okay with spicey foods.

Chewing gum set my son off he has adhd though and doesn't do things by half so he was eating packet after packet for two days till he got ill

He gets obsessed by things but the ingredients in Chewing gum and in fizzy drinks are a no no

Alcohol really sets my gastritis off too. I didn't realise it for a while but I'm doing dry Jan and have been pain free for ages! I take Lansoprazole daily too which really helps, I notice it immediately if I miss a day or two.

Also meant to say mine was diagnosed by endoscopy too. I actually had pain lower down on the right side which turned out to be a duodenal ulcer and the gastritis was diagnosed at the same time. It did take about 3 weeks for the medication to work but it's definitely worth getting your symptoms checked to rule out anything more serious.

The Thu g that keeps mine at bay is the acid watcher diet it's a book on Amazon. Like others have said a diet without chilli, caffeine, citrus and tomatoes I also find avoiding g upf really helps

I had gastritis and didn’t feel cured until 3-4 months after I was prescribed omeprazole.

Bear in mind that omeprazole depletes your body of B12 and magnesium. Lots of people take it and it cures their tummy upset but gives them terrible vitamin deficiency symptoms which take months to diagnose and treat. Best to start taking B12 and magnesium supplements now.

@Blomh I did not know this! What were your symptoms like? Although the pain is bareable most days I'm not sure I fancy another 2-3 months of it!
I feel like I can't really exercise properly either of it 😳

Another advocate for acid watcher. It’s a pain if you go out to eat, but very do-able at home. I’ve completely changed my eating habits and when I do slip
off the wagon (usually only when it’s unavoidable), my system
lets me know in no uncertain terms!

I had terrible wind and nausea, and my stomach hurt. I couldn’t lie flat and I was burping for hours on end. It was caused by anxiety. It was sorted out by a couple of months of omeprazole and some mindfulness classes and relaxation. It took a week or so for the omeprazole to make me feel better but maybe 3-4 months for it to go away completely.

Then I started having muscular pain, pins and needles, twitching etc. Because omeprazole depletes your body of magnesium and B12. So now I’m on supplements. The GP had no idea what was causing those symptoms, it was a specialist who realised they were an after-effect of omeprazole.

@Goatymum I've just ordered the book from Amazon now. I'm used to be a relatively bland eater anyway so hopefully won't be too bad!

@Blomh also ordered those supplements so will start taking them too. Interesting you say about anxiety causing it as this may be part of my issue too

I've also seen a theory that thrush can cause it and recently had a bout of this too

So many things to rule out as the cause to hopefully avoid it being a recurring issue

Were you checked for H Pylori infection? Just wondered, as that was the cause of my stomach problems. I know you said yours is NSAID related but it could be a combo of both.

I had pain, wind and indigestion. Did you have a stool test and/or endoscopy?

Just to reassure you, my treatment was a two week course of antibiotics and PPIs (Lanzaprasole). Sorted it out pretty quickly and (knock on wood) I haven't had a recurrence since then which was 3 years ago now.

I agree with the others regarding diet. Onions and tomatoes are known triggers so cut those out until things settle and reintroduce gradually. I'm fine with orange juice but not with pineapple. I'm also fine with two small pieces of garlic bread but only once a week otherwise garlic is a big no. Good luck working out all your triggers but pp have given you the main ones to start with.

@couiza not had either of those as my doc appointment was a call. I explained my symptoms and my use of NSAIDS and he said to try omeprozole first. I'm not fully convinced it's working as I have good days and bad days
I might try calling back next week and see if they suggest anything else but going to try a super bland diet for a week first to see if symptoms improve

I'd ask for a H Pylori test from the GP, it is a possibility and easily treated. I had never suspected that HP was the cause of my discomfort, wind, nausea, pain and indigestion etc. but after weeks of similar treatment to yours, the GP arranged for a stool test, which turned out to be positive.

If you have it then it is easily treated and is worthwhile doing as HP is the cause of ulcers which can perforate or bleed, and then you're into BAD territory. If you don't have it then carry on with diet etc.

Wish you the best. I know what it's like!

@couiza wouldn't I need to be off PPIs for doing a pylori h test? That's what it looks like from what I see online anyway

@Butningembers No, not necessarily. I had the stool test whilst I was on PPIs. I didn't know too much about it then, but I learned later from the GI consultant that PPIs can cause a false negative, but not a false positive result. Therefore a negative test result is repeated after two weeks off PPIs. You live and learn!

From NCBI -

For patients unable to stop PPI therapy two weeks prior to stool antigen testing, positive test results can be considered as true positive whereas negative results may represent false negatives and should be confirmed with repeat testing two weeks after stopping PPI therapy. For patients complaining of severe symptoms, antacids or histamine-2 receptor antagonists, which do not interfere with testing, are allowed [36]. Because of prolonged excretion of H. pylori antigens, it has been recommended that confirmation of cure testing be delayed until 6 weeks after the end of therapy.

Dyspepsia: When and How to Test for Helicobacter pylori Infection - PMC (nih.gov)

You can get an h pylori test for £5 from amazon too. I would try the acid watcher diet, there is also a Facebook group which us really supportive with recipie ideas. I find dgl liquorice tablets (from holland and barret) help with any reflux and slippery elm (from neils yard) is good for soothing the oesophagus.

OH joy. Sciatica chronic. Been taking gabapentin and ibuprofen. Because of Christmas eating out. I upped the painkillers, ate well, enjoyed wine. Two weeks ago the pain, nausea, feeling full started. Felt like gallbladder but that was removed years ago. Been living on toast and digestives. Found some omeprazole in the cupboard a week ago so started on those. Yesterday I felt human so went out for lunch, BLT, glass of wine, coffee. Mother of god by the evening I felt so ill. I'd also taken ibuprofen to help with the pain.

Woke up this morning feeling okay. Took omeprazole half an hour later felt so nauseous sat in bathroom. So fed up phoned GP. Got a call back. After listening to all my symptoms diagnosed gastritis. Prescription for omeprazole, anti nausea tablets, cocodamol for back and gaviscon.

I'd never heard of gastritis so checked symptoms. Oh joy classic . So it's a boring diet still and no ibuprofen at all.

Hi @Butningembers, How are you feeling? I could cry after stumbling across your post.... I have EXACTLY the same thing and I've been so worried. A gnawing, stitch like feeling with burping is how I described it to the doctor and they essentially shrugged and sent me away to keep a food diary.
Then on reading other posters responses, I was sitting here agreeing with them all... Orange Juice- tick, Spicy food- tick, Onions- tick, and it all started when I was taking ibuprofen.
Sent DH off to get some omeprazole, coupled with a bland food diet and already feeling a bit better after just a few days!
I will keep my next doctors appointment just to get properly checked, but it just goes to show, sometimes it does help to google your symptoms!!!