Gastritis comes in 2 forms: acute and chronic. Acute gastritis is when your so depressed that you vomit (I'm guessing anything that would make you THAT depressed would be a loss) and that's the short term one that goes away once you feel better and are no longer depressed. Chronic gastritis is the long-term one that develops over time. That's the one i have.
According to web md (the website) it says "gastritis is an inflammation, irritation, or erosion of the lining of the stomach". It's a digestive problem, and yes, a gas disease as said in the name. i became officially diagnosed with chronic gastritis on January 2010. it's been over a year, and i still don't COMPLETELY understand it that well. Before January i had been an soda lover, literally having at least one can a day, usually. i had just started to get into spicy food, and i really LOVED chocolate. It was my favorite candy. When i was a kid i was also crazy for ice cream. Then in January i couldn't sleep at night. It just started. At least 2 or 3 nights a week i found it impossible to sleep even though i was really tired. i didn't know why. i also had these little pains I'd never felt before (abdominal pain, which is curt pain in a lot of parts of your body) and it made me nervous. i started sleeping with a water bottle next to my bed each night in case i felt pain and needed water to help me feel better (i still do). It made no sense. Most of the time, the pain and the weird sensation i got right after eating (heartburn) came at night. i didn't get it then. i was only 12 years old. Now, I'm 13. Before January i had been the kind of ditzy, not too bright girl with a stronger stomach then the average. Who almost never had stomach upsets or barfing. But ever since the start of 2010, my stomach became extremely sensitive (hurting when you poke it even) and weak. And to me, it seemed to go unexplained. (although i remember in 6th grade i forced myself to drink a cup of coffee. i hated it, but the other kids liked it so i wanted to force myself to like it too. i got sick the next day and didn't know why. Guess it did develop over time) i thought, maybe it was what i had ate before, because then i suddenly couldn't have caffeine anymore (including chocolate and soda) unless i wanted pain, and i became lactose and tolerant, and i definately was warned to stay away from spicy foods (there went my visits to Chilis) it was such a big change to me because i had lived with those things all my life (ESPICIALLY SODA) and with them suddenly being taken away, my world could've come crashing down. it was like breathing into a new life.
Having this gas disease means.........
Often, just by eating the wrong thing i get gas (but the painful overload of gas inside. My problem is that the gas cant get out of my body so it creates pain. ALL of the pain I've had was just caused by gas). This also means i have to be extremely careful of what i eat. A bite of subway could give me horrid diarrhea (it has in the past, but I'm stronger now. I'll explain that later) a sip of orange juice could give me uncomfortable citrus acid (now its only if i drink it AT NIGHT) eating too late at night could cost me a night of peaceful sleep. And if i become extremely sad or stressed, it could strain my stomach as well.
In having this gas problem i went through a lot of positives and downfalls. i had a really bad, nasty doctor who wanted to shove tubes down my stomach, so i switched doctors. The new one was nicer and gave me medicine that i don't know what i would do without it. I've been to the E room in the hospital (last time i went (in May) was cause i was having diarrhea every 15 minutes or so and losing so much water i had to have an IV. That's when i officially became the hospital's patient. When they gave me the gown i was heartbroken. But then i switched docs, got my medicine (which doesn't cure BUT takes away the pain and gives me fiber) and ever since then i never visited the emergency room AGAIN. The problem used to make me a sad and extremely down person. It popped my spirit. but now, i think its safe to say I'm an ok person. And i know I'm gonna be OK. i don't really know other people who have gastritis as well, but i know that now, after being put on diets of all sorts, i can have chocolate in MODERATION. Soda's completely out, but i learned to live without it. i am no longer lactose and tolerant. But i eat more yogurt then ice cream, to be honest. People say i lost weight and compliment me on how good they think i look. (i guess that's cause being forcefully deprived from all the foods that gave me gas were also fattening. i don't know) but i tell them, I'd rather have gone on a diet myself then being forced out of it cause of gas. If i could take you on a roller coaster ride through all the painful nights i would. But i can't. I just have this tale and possible listeners.
It's not the worse thing in the world. i have a diabetic cousin who sticks needles inside his skin each day to live, and he's got it way worse then i do. My diabetic dad's face turns a disturbing shade of red or plum each time he eats something that he shouldn't. And that's worse then my pale face. My heart flies out to the 2, and I'm glad i don't have it as bad as them. But it's still pretty bad, since i got used to heart burn and all. I'm not that modest though; For many months i felt so much self pity, more then i should. But it never got me anywhere. Being sad and down about what you have never gets you anywhere either. It only worsens conditions. It's nice to be happy. It's a RELIEF, and its healthy for you. i heard that there was a guy born with heart problems and he was supposed to die when he was born. But he was so happy and bright that he lived until he was 23 years old. That's just amazing and astounding.
i mean sure, gastritis is in my life now. But it's not my WHOLE life. i have school, an author dream, a passion for writing, a passion for singing, my friends, my life. Gastritis off to the side.
So if your going through anything tough right now, know that it's not the end. It WILL be ok. YOU will be perfectly OK in time. But sorrow never gets you anywhere. It might feel like your world's crashing, but really, you WILL live through it. I did. i know you will.
Diseases are all bad and no one wants to have them. You cant say one is worse then the other. i know someone with bronchitis, someone with ADD, someone with a digestive problem (slightly different then mine), someone with sensitive skin and bad ears, 2 people with diabetes, people with bad foot problems, someone with a disease that makes her unable to hang upside down. You cant compare one to the other. But they've got their lives too. Their pain may throw them off once in a while, but in the end they're still walking tall, all of them.
My cousin says I'm so strong and when i heard that i laughed. What's more important then getting physically better, is having a healthy mental mind while doing it. With hope, and ambition, and optimism and work, you'll get through ANYTHING. That's my advice for you.
i still get gas at night. But in the morning, i try again to go on my newest healthy diet and forget all about the bad pain and continue my life. I am a girl diagnosed with gastritis in what seemed like such a sudden. But that's OK. I'M OK.
ITS ALL OK. PERFECTLY OK.
And we are all OK. Or at the very least, we are on the road to being that way.