I've been a lurker a while ago. Countless "can i eat yx with gastritis - reddit" googled. But it ends. Yesterday I celebrated my birthday by having a meal so gastritis unfriendly that it feels unfair to describe here. Today I feel fine. So I wanna officially say, I win! I beat it! (Ofc that's not the full story but main part)
Storytime My issues started sometime last year around April/May and in May culminated in me not being able to eat a banana without pain after two bites. That's when I got in contact with my doctor and soon put on PPIs and something else to move things along. The following month sucked rly bad tbh and afterwards I continued, got a gastroscopy that came back clear despite ongoing issues, tested for pylori (had to push my doctor for it) etc. And summer continued with me on PPIs, with me having some breaks but then back on it, whole story. My mom was a great help during this, we tried so many new recipes. In fall I was feeling okay enough to live without the meds but still couldn't get back to eating what I wanted... Then slowly, i think without me really knowing over the winter and spring I realized the special occasions food no longer mess me up. At first i was still scared and having slippery elm whenever things were not up to code but now i think i can say it's great.
To make this less happy, I gotta say i still save alcohol, caffeine and extra extra spicy food for special occasions. But that's on the scale of coffee with a friend specifical occasion, not halleys comet coming by.
Some of my personal knowledge that may not apply to everybody:
- Miso soup! Whoever recommended that, is a lifesaver. I have grown to love miso soups and homemade "ramen" they not only felt good physically but also mentally bcs i was eating food that actually tasted good and fullfilling.
- fake hunger sucks so bad. The only help i can offer is like, nibbling on something to distract your brain by 'look we're eating' by nibbling on a single cracker for 15 minutes
- going on walks after meals and overall eating habits are important! I've learned that I usually eat quickly and my posture sucks but it can be improved
- slippery elm capsules (was a bit of pain to get in Europe) seemed to work, even if it was mental based but I didn't like marshmallow root. Both kinda make me, well, pass some gas with more devastating effects so beware of possibilities of inflicting chemical weaponry on your loved ones
- if you mess up (on purpose, and trust me i deffintely did it many times on purpose)it's better to do it in the morning/till noon than afternoon. Dinners had a tendency to mess up not only my evening but also nights sleep and next day whereas i guess if i stayed vertical for enough of a time the digestion was okay
- most travel available foods were Caesar salads dressing on the side and customizable poke bowls, drinks were water or apple juice
- unfortunately, i only got better once i stopped giving a shit. When I was focused on it, I didn't improve but once i decided fuck it, I'll enjoy life anyway just with careful approach to food, i got better but it took a shit ton of time
And to conclude kinda, it sucks. It sucks ass to have fake hunger, it sucks being in pain on holiday or during exam season, it sucks looking at ppl eating around you, it sucks to go to doctors without any new hope. (It also sucks to loose so much weight you're cold during a heatwave and make ur family turn off ac lol) But I made it. I feel good. And even if it comes after me again I know my strategy and that makes me much less scared than I was at the start. If I'm ever to go into battle against this again, I am going in with a plan and knowledge it can pass.