Gastritis and IBS

I’ve mentioned before that IBS is not the only fire I’ve got going on in my belly. I’ve discussed my issues with ulcers but have not talked about the gastritis in that much detail, due mostly to the fact that it generally exists in a somewhat remissive state. It generally stays in hiding until the stress becomes too much. Even though I understand stress well and have a ton of tools to help deal with it naturally, there are times when I simply don’t deal with it very well. Hence, the IBS, gastritis and ulcers, I suppose. Today, I’d like to say a word or two about dealing with gastritis and IBS at the same time and what this might mean for your overall wellness.

What is gastritis?

People experience Gastritis in different ways and may experience one symptom more than another person. A lot like IBS, in that way. Tailor made for each of us :-) Allow me to explain what gastritis feels like to me. It is a dull, aching pain that sort of just attaches itself to upper/middle part of my belly and doesn’t seem to want to let go. It’s kind of like Chinese water torture. What I mean is that there is typically nothing dramatic going on here. It's just that it doesn’t go away overnight. The real problem is that you don’t really know WHEN it will go away. You can take antacids to kill acid production in the belly, make sure your diet is up to snuff and take good care of yourself. Oh and keep stress and tension to an absolute minimum. I have actually found that the duration of the bout of gastritis directly corresponds to how well I am doing managing the stress. I suppose this is another very important thing that IBS and gastritis have in common; the stress.

How to manage gastritis and IBS?

IBS and gastritis may share some common ‘stomach’ themes like stomach tenderness and bloating issues, but in my experience they don’t feel the same at all. The reason that having both at the same time is really hard is because of how overwhelmed you feel at times. You are trying your darndest to treat your IBS in such a way as to experience some relief. You may be successful, but the nature of the gastritis is such that it will not give you short term relief simply by applying the right diet, exercise or wellness patterns. It simply takes longer to catch up to the fact that you are doing what you are supposed to and then to feel better. Therefore, we have to remember to cultivate patience and calm when addressing these two illnesses together. Otherwise, we will find ourselves on a sort of hamster wheel due to the direct relationship stress has on both IBS and gastritis. You can feed them the same way, treat them in generally the same way (peppermint works great for both) and manage them the same way. You just have to be prepared for different reactions from each of these two gigantic pains in my a**...lol