Living with gastritis and gallstones is the title of this post, as that is my life now a days. Today is a personal post that I am sharing with you, it’s about my health and through this you find out why I was away for a few months. In sharing this with you, I hope that somehow you will benefit or learn something from what I have to share.
UPDATE on my gallstones, follow this link —>lentil-soup
Let’s start off with recent events, last week after I had some scrambled eggs for breakfast I started to feel this excruciating pain in my abdomen that radiated up my shoulder blades, the tummy pain was unbearable! Got a ride to my family doctor trying to avoid the ER, the Dr said you have to go to the ER, the nurse that works there drove me and stayed with me until my husband was able to come, she actually volunteered, I don’t know how to thank you for her kindness.
Now let’s go back to where it all began. In January I found out that I was expecting, in February I was put on bed rest for a few weeks. During the time that I was pregnant I was experiencing discomfort and pain in my abdomen, at the time we didn’t know what it was. It honestly could have been normal, I guess we will never know now.
The last time I was pregnant was 14 years ago, so I really don’t remember much, but I do know that this pregnancy was very different from the other ones. I never experienced this kind of pain.
In March I lost the baby, we were told the heart had stopped beating. I was just around 14 weeks. I was devastated, but as soon as I was recovering from that I had my first gallbladder attack. The ultrasound showed I had gallstones.
Went home, they didn’t really tell me what to do at that time, just made an appointment with a specialist.
Three weeks later my crowned tooth got infected, I was on a antibiotic for 10 days, it didn’t work I was then put on another stronger antibiotic for 8 days for a sinus infection that was suppose to help with the tooth infection, only to find out that I had to get the tooth pulled out.
Oh the pain and horror. I was taking ibuprofen as directed, in fact less then directed. I have been taking it off and on for the 6 weeks since I lost the baby, pain due to that and for my tooth and sinuses. I honestly couldn’t deal with the tooth pain or the sinus pain, it was awful, I usually try to go the natural route, but I didn’t this time and paying big time for it.
Now that you have some history, my present situation will make more sense.
After tests, blood work and ultrasounds we found out that the pain was caused by inflammation of my stomach, bleeding due to ibuprofen and a another gallbladder attack.
As far as the gallstones I really don’t know how I got them, if they started when I was pregnant or after, I guess we will never know for sure, but the Dr said she believes my pregnancy triggered it.
I now have another appointment with a surgeon, I really don’t want to go through another surgery, I have already been put to sleep twice within 6 weeks.
Its a good thing we are living in a time where information is at our finger tips!
I have been researching online on how to deal with both gastritis and gallstones.
Well first off I can no longer take ibuprofen for pain (Drs orders), and I am taking an antacid for 2 weeks.
I will share with you my journey as I go, I am keeping a diary of foods that bother me and that help me.
For my tummy troubles I am drinking coconut water, I read amazing things about coconut water, for more info follow this link: knowledgepublisher
I am drinking a lot of water, and eating plenty of fresh fruit. I am also eating a lot more veggies, I always love to eat my veggies but now its with no meat on the side.
I am also eating dandelion which is good for your gallbladder and liver, but I am discovering that it may be hurting my tummy, will have to test it out. To find out more info on dandelion follow this link : dandelion
Fennel is great for the tummy, I usually eat fennel on days where my stomach is starting to feel acidic. For more info on fennel follow this link: fennel
I follow my recipe for fennel, but now I make it without the meat, and not adding as much lemon and being really scarce with the olive oil.
For my tummy troubles and a natural anti-inflammatory I have been eating ginger, juicing it and making tea which ever I am in the mood for. Eating ginger straight up is a bit to spicy for me, so juicing it along with carrots and apples makes it much better, although I haven’t tried it with apples this time around, I am afraid the apple might bother my stomach. Boiling it and drinking it as a tea with honey is good too, I like to do that in the evening.
For more info on ginger: ginger
Beets cleanses the liver, will start juicing again once my tummy feels better. For more info follow this link: beets_liver
I can however, enjoy it in other ways such as this recipe for my beet-yogurt-dip, and benefit from the garlic as well, haven’t had raw garlic since my tooth infection, not sure how my stomach will react to it. Raw garlic is amazing when you have a tooth infection, helps fight it off.
Chamomile is another great tummy soother, it also helps relax you so you can sleep, I found that not all chamomile teas are the same, I am really picky about this and have found some brands better than others. For more info: chamomile-tea
I read though to make up for the lost fat in your diet, you should eat avocado plus with the anti-inflammatory properties that helps me deal with the pain. For more info: avocados
I found that eating a few tablespoons of Balkan yogurt with a drizzle of honey, really helps settle my stomach. Although I am suppose to stay away from creams, cheese and milks, yogurt and kefir on the other hand are beneficial for many health reasons. For more info on: kefir on Yogurt: medicinenet on Honey: honey
I need to eat fibrous foods, no more white bread, sugar, butter, eggs, or meat till I get better, along with walking half an hour a day, drinking plenty of water (which I find hard to do) hopefully God willing the stones will pass on their own.
The issue I am having now is what I can do to better my gallstones isn’t good for my tummy, for example drinking lemon with water first thing in the morning helps flush out the liver, which is great unless you have issues with acid in your stomach, another thing I read is apple juice is good to soften the stones, I did sip some apple juice and I got a stomach ache, so I think I should work on controlling my acid first then work on the gallstones.
As of now, I am eating a bland diet and its not so much fun especially when your cooking an amazing and tasty dinner for everyone else! If its going to help and benefit me in the end then its worth it.
I would love to hear from you, if you have any experience or advice with any of these issues and can help me in any way, I would appreciate it very much, I hope that I helped you by sharing this in any way, possibly if you or someone you know is going through the same thing.
I thank you for taking the time and reading this, and I hope I helped shed some light on the importance of being careful with OTC’s, sure they help quickly to fight the pain away, but they can cause more damage in the long run. If you do take them for any reason, please do so with a full stomach and take them sparingly.
I have some challenges to face, like what will I do when my next migraine or sinus headache hits, or when I have muscle cramps and aches, will have to find natural ways to help with that and see which works best. Any suggestions are most welcomed! 🙂
Will keep you posted as to what is happening, wish me luck 🙂
For more info on gallstones follow this link: foods-eat-gallstones
May Allah give you shifa sweetie (Ameen) & I’m sure your personal post filled with tons of health benefits will help many out there InshaAllah. Keep it up InshaAllah Allah is the Healer & you do your best.