Gastritis or pancreatitis

[Dave_Lister]

Hello everyone and happy new year!

I have been getting my HA under control, and like a lot of people indulged a little too much over the holidays, and now I am wondering if the stomach issues that I have had are gastritis or pancreatitis?

Last Friday I went to our local chippie and got some take away and had about 7 beers and some champagne, and the next day I was bloated, had upper abdominal pain which felt like my chest muscles were inflamed.

I have had this before, and have had some back pain, almost like feeling like tingling pain.

It has been a few days and today has been the best day as I feel I am almost back to normal.

I know some people on here have experience with pancreatitis and I was wondering could I have had a mild case and not gastritis?

I have read that I would know if I had pancreatitis, but then I read on line that it can be mild.

I am not panicking, or am convinced I have pancreatitis, I just would like to hear what other people's experiences have been.

Thanks everyone!

[Careful1]

If you had a case of pancreatitis you would most certainly know it.. It is very very painful...

[poppy77]

My brother in law had acute pancreatitis. He was in actual agony, writhing around on the floor and sweating profusely, vomiting, completely white as a sheet. My sister had to take him up to a&e. He was in hospital for a week, mainly to see how his body was taking to the meds. He is absolutely fine now and has radically changed his diet. Alcohol was not really an issue as he doesn't drink that much.

[paranoid-viking]

If it is something it is more likely to be gastritis than pancreatitis. Gastritis is extremely common, pancreatitis is extremely uncommon. Friend of mine had acute pancreatitis once, it was undescirbable pain and he was hospitalised for three days denied both food and drinks. I dont know anyone with chronic pancreatitis(which is much more uncommon than the acute form). I heard of one; not someone I know, but someone who knows someone that I know; and from what I heard he spends a lot of the time of the day on the toilet because the digestive system is messed up.

[poppy77]

Might not even be gastritis. Doesn't seem as bad symptoms as that as it often is accompanied by nausea and quite a lot of pain. It could just be acid reflux flare up. Have you tried Gaviscon Advance or something like ranitidine (Zantac) to settle it down?

[Dave_Lister]

Thanks everyone.

Poppy....I am taking 150mg of Zantac twice daily because I have heartburn. I get pain under the breastbone on both side. It almost feels like it is a burning inflamed feeling.

I also feel like I have trapped wind, and it is like I can not burp.

I have also had pain in my diaphragm.

[Halle0587]

I've had pancreatitis twice. Unmistakeable pain. You will absolutely think you are having a heart attack, can't breathe, not sure if you have to throw up or go to the bathroom, wrenching gut pain. Since having it, (after gallbladder surgery then again taking acne meds) I worried a lot about it, still do on occasion.
If you feel anything like what I said above, go to a hospital, not a walk in clinic. You'll get an IV and depending on how they rate your pain (sometimes it passes quick) they may or may not do a pain medication. Expect to not eat for a few days until your labs are normal as the cure is nothing by mouth to rest your pancreas. Also, all over my bodily fluids were a special shade of slime green.
Please breathe, gastritis responds to stress per an urgent care doctor I saw. He said Gaviscon was the best to help, a few days later I was good to go (when I truly had gastritis.)

[poppy77]

You might need to go on something stronger like a PPI; Esomeprazole or Lanzaprazole. If it is gastritis or even just bad acid reflux, that's the standard treatment.

[Dave_Lister]

Thanks Poppy!

[paranoid-viking]

You might need to go on something stronger like a PPI; Esomeprazole or Lanzaprazole. If it is gastritis or even just bad acid reflux, that's the standard treatment.

I have had acid reflux for decades now. And if you dont take meds that really sucks.:weep:

[Dave_Lister]

I have had acid reflux for decades now. And if you dont take meds that really sucks.:weep:

I think I might up my Zantac before I try a PPI.

Thanks for the input Viking, Skol!

[poppy77]

Good idea Dave. Ppis can be hard to come off. It's like sending in the heavy artillery in first! In addition to the Zantac, try some Gaviscon (the Gaviscon Advance one is good), especially before bed.

Have you tried raising your bed head as well. 6 - 8 inches, using blocks of wood, books, bricks can do this. Some people actually invest in wedge pillows which you can buy off Amazon. I did bit one initially but found them really awkward, I kept sliding down, couldn't get comfortable and often ended up with a sore lower back. So I prefer raising the bed head. Also, look at the Fodmap - Fishmanpa could advise you, or at least, look at acid reflux trigger foods online. Common ones are: alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, tomatoes, spicy food, fatty food, mint (all the good stuff basically!). Avoid eating within four hours of lying down as well (most foods move out of the stomach within two to three hours but fatty ones take a bit longer hence the 'food lying in my stomach all night feeling). You may have a bit of IBS going on as well, especially if you have a lot of sore guts, flatulence, constipation/diahorrea which can contribute to reflux as you find it stops you digesting the food as quickly leading to a bit of a 'back up' in the system where more pressure is placed on the stomach valves leading to reflux. In fact, many people who have reflux also have IBS. So reducing IBS triggers may help the reflux as well.

Good luck!

[Dave_Lister]

I am pretty sure I have IBS Poppy. I had a colonoscopy a few months ago and everything was clear, but they never mentioned IBS. I know something is going on with me though, and I think this has to be it. I feel like I have trapped wind in my upper chest and I try to burp but sometimes i cannot get anything out.

[budgie1979]

I am pretty sure I have IBS Poppy. I had a colonoscopy a few months ago and everything was clear, but they never mentioned IBS. I know something is going on with me though, and I think this has to be it. I feel like I have trapped wind in my upper chest and I try to burp but sometimes i cannot get anything out.

I have IBS, but no one ever officially said "You have IBS" to me. Everything else has been pretty much ruled out--had testing for bacteria, celiac disease, SIBO, fructose/sucrose intolerance, colonoscopy and endoscopy. Nothing but a few polyps (which earned me a repeat in a year :doh:). I also have reflux due to a hiatal hernia. Sometimes my whole system gets out of whack and I end up bloated, gassy and feeling like I can't even eat, and my bowel movements get very inconsistent. I think my anxiety plays into it a lot. I just had one of these episodes last weekend because I have been all out of sorts with trying to cut my PPI dosage and my husband going out of town for a few weeks (always makes me a bit anxious). Usually things settle down in a few days if I just persevere, focus on eating healthy, and try not to get too worked up about the symptoms.

[Dave_Lister]

Update****

So on Valentine's Day my wife and I split a bottle of champagne, had a heavier meal and of course chocolates, but ever since I have had a pain in my middle chest that hurts more when I move and breather deeply.

The pain is in my back and front of the chest.

I haven't gone to doctor because getting in to see one during this flu season is brutal.

Can GERD really affect a person this way, or could this be something else?

I ahven't lost my appetite as I am hungry, and i am not losing weight or vomiting. I just have abdominal bloating.

[Halle0587]

Update****

So on Valentine's Day my wife and I split a bottle of champagne, had a heavier meal and of course chocolates, but ever since I have had a pain in my middle chest that hurts more when I move and breather deeply.

The pain is in my back and front of the chest.

I haven't gone to doctor because getting in to see one during this flu season is brutal.

Can GERD really affect a person this way, or could this be something else?

I ahven't lost my appetite as I am hungry, and i am not losing weight or vomiting. I just have abdominal bloating.


GERD definitely does that! I had to stay away from chocolate for weeks now. My anxiety has been elevated so that causes my acid reflux to be flared up. Caffeine, carbonation, chocolate, acidic foods, all flare mine up. I usually find relief in 2-3 days with Nexium (over the counter). It does make me nauseous if I don’t eat, so just know that in case you develope that symptom. They come in a 14 day bottle-I take about half (1 daily for 7 days) and I’m usually good after that. My doctor told me Gaviscon works best, so if you need immediate relief use that instead of tums. He said tums will have you coming back for more, because it doesn’t put out the fire it just masks it.

Definitely not pancreatitis, put that worry to bed friend.

[Dave_Lister]

Thanks Halle, I am wondering if it might be my gall bladder?

I am really bloated, and have back bain, and it feels like the middle of my chest to my back hurts when I move a certain way, or if I breathe deeply.

All I know is this sure sucks!

[anxious848]

I'm sure it's unlikely to be pancreatitis. Have you seen a GI doctor?

I had "chronic active gastritis" caused by h pylori and was treated with antibiotics and ppis. I could not touch alcohol, chocolate or coffee for some time. I had constant fullness in the chest that was only temporarily relieved by burping. I had constant heartburn. Costochondritis which I'm never sure was related or not but had a very sore chest that hurt to touch.

I would get a test to rule out h pylori first followed by others to rule out a hiatal hernia. Personally, it sounds like GI issues to me over gall bladder but I'm not A doctor!

[Dave_Lister]

Hey Anxious, I have had a test for H Pylori in the summer and it was negative. As you know, getting in to see a doctor right now in Canada is hard because they are all booked up because of this flu going around. I’m trying to get in to see a doctor as soon as possible. Chocolates really puts the hurt on me as well.

[Fishmanpa]

I've posted about the FODMAP (https://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/) diet many times here.

My wife and I have reflux issues. In addition to a PPI (Protonix), we follow the Fodmap diet. We also kept a food diary and limit or eliminated trigger foods.

Zantac is a decent OTC treatment but sometimes a PPI is needed.

Positive thoughts

[Dave_Lister]

Thanks Pa. i’m not anxious or scared because I think I am getting the HA under co trip, but I come here because the advice is really good and it doesn’t send me into a tailspin lol

[anxious848]

Hm...maybe just gerd or a hiatal hernia!

I had bad chest pain so I went to urgent care (not the ER) because I was in between doctors at the time. I was referred for a scope within a week. Not saying that's what you should do but I was happy not to wait in my case since the discomfort was so bad!

All the antibiotics, ppis and hpylori left my stomach feeling raw. Cutting out dairy, coffee for 3 months (hardest thing I ever did lol), gluten and unnecessary sugars or grains (the non healthy kind) made a huge difference for me. Anything that could cause inflammation, I gave it up. Not a super easy diet to follow but my doctor suggested it. My stomach has taken years to get back to normal...dairy used to be easy for me to digest before h pylori but now I can't do it.

Hope you get it sorted soon. It sucks not be able to have chocolate or a drink without your chest being on fire!

[Dave_Lister]

UPDATE****

I went to the doctor finally, and he is sending me for blood tests, and an ultrasound.

He prescribed me Tecta which seems to be really helping me a lot since I started it so, I am thinking this is probably just GERD.

I am only updating this thread not because I am scared but hopefully this helps someone else who is going through something similar.

[kellymyster]

I've had gastritis and I've suffered from pancreatitis since 2006 they are very similar in pain however with gastritis if you take some anti acids it will usually go away with pancreatitis if you don't change what you eat it steadily gets worse however if you change what you eat to a clear liquid diet it will sometimes go away on its own it will just take a few days otherwise you wind up in the hospital with excruciating pain so yes to your answer sometimes you can have a very mild case of pancreatitis and it will go away on its own

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