Been away, but back with stomach issues-Gastritis

Hello everyone, It has been a long time since I've been on this forum as I've been relatively pain free for 2 years now. Minor things here and there...but for the most part I was aware of these minor TMS flair-ups and managed them quickly.

Recently (since 1/4/15) I've had stomach issues (nausea, gas, pain, discomfort, acid build up but no reflux). They thought it was an ulcer, but ultrasounds, bloodworm and a recent endoscopy show nothing but minor inflammation of the stomach lining. I'm on Nexium to help with the stomach acid symptoms and I'm eating a clean, healthy, low-acid diet. No sugar, no caffeine, no alcohol. I know this is all TMS, but the symptoms are so debilitating (can't sleep at night-started taking Trazadone to help me sleep) that I can't get off this crazy hamster wheel.

Anyone out there with major stomach/gastritis issues have any healing success?

 

Yes. Had lots of it. 1st had the gastritis issue for years. Also, had tests that revealed "just" inflammation. Was on acid suppressing drugs for years and years.
Then I had IBS. The last year I had it was the worst. Pain every day.

So....the good news is: That's all gone now. I tapered off the acid suppressing drugs about 2 years ago. Stomach is fine now. IBS all gone also.

It was all mind-body syndrome.

I hope this gives you hope.

 

So you recommend I stay on the Nexium for now? I'm not sure it is really working because I still have some nausea/gas on certain days (usually on weekends when the pressure to be ON as a mom is strongest)....I figure I'll stay on it for the 4 prescribed weeks and then try tapering off. I'm also trying to eat really clean (whole foods etc.) and I'm going to start exercising again this week. I need my body to feel strong. What else helped you when you were at your worst. Yes, your message does give me hope. It is why I rejoined the wiki site. Thank you.

 

I cannot give you any recommendations on medication. That certainly must be your decision.

What helped me most was to remember that it was not what I was eating but rather what was eating me! Reminding myself that my unconscious which regulates and controls all my body functions has the ability to make my symptoms better.

Any kind of stress reduction techniques are going to help, I suspect. Meditation, yoga, etc. You just have to find what works for you. I personally used a lot of self-hypnosis (my stomach problems all occurred before I'd heard of TMS but I did understand that the mindbody connection was the key). The self hypnosis was key in resolving the IBS and with the gastritis as well.

Anytime my stomach would start to burn or bloat I'd remind myself that my mind has the power to heal my body, that stomach irritation can heal in 24 hours, that this is just a passing discomfort and that my mind would eventually bring me comfort. All the while daily meditation and trance work would help with overall stress levels.

Have you read The Divided Mind yet? That has Dr. Sarno's latest writing plus contributions from other practitioners in other fields and their conclusions about the mindbody connection.

 

Yes, I've read it, but I think I will re-read it! Thanks for your advice. I meditate and now i'm going to get back into exercising and yoga. I think I will stay on the meds for a bit while I build confidence in my own ability to heal. I like what you said about food...that is was not about what i'm eating, but rather what is eating me. That really resonated with me. Thank you!

 

Food for the body is essential, but so is food for the soul.
Lala, I love what you just wrote... It's not about what I'm eating, but what is eating me!

 

That was Dahlia's mantra (see above) and I've been saying it to myself ALL DAY!!!!

 

Hi walt, been a long time. I hope you are well.

 

Dahlia,

I just went off the Nexium. It wasn't helping me anyway. I'm doing apple cider vinegar with honey, lemon and water as well as DSL licorice before meals...just to help with symptoms that are up and down each day. Lately the anxiety and depression have intensified which proves to me even more so that this is TMS. Insomnia is a big issue at night. I know this is all happening for a reason. In the past with TMS healing all I had to do was be aware of my rageful, repressed emotions...now I think I need to experience/feel them (something I have a VERY HARD time doing).

Recently I reached out to some very reputable Homeopathic docs to try and help me through this phase of insomnia/anxiety/depression. What these Homeopathic doctors did was us this focusing technique (Dr. Eugene Gendlin)...It was the first time anyone has really been able to get right to the heart of my emotions in a short time. The woman, Rosemary, was unrelenting...in a gentle way...but still every time I tried to talk about my feelings she would stop me. She would force me to go back to my description words about the anxiety/stomach pain/depression and then make me sit with those descriptions until I really started to feel what my words meant. So she would say, "what does it feel like in your body when you are alone at night, feeling anxious and unable to sleep?" And I would say, "My body feels tight. My stomach feels wound up. There is energy pulsing through my body that won't stop. I can't find stillness." Then I would start talking about what all that meant and she would stop me in my tracks ands say, "Tell me more about the pulsing?" And I would sit for a few moments and focus on those moments where I was alone at night, unable to sleep, and I could feel the endless pulsing through my body and the tears would come...all the loneliness and fear would surface. She then forced me to go into great descriptive detail about what the pulsing sensation in my body felt/feels like...I used descriptive words like "electricity," "roller coaster," "trapped," "outside energy force," "out of control," It was like she encouraged me to really sense my emotions through my body's physical responses. Through connecting with how my body felt in those moments I was able to actually feel the feelings I had buried....beyond just "anxiety"...as I know that is a just a cover up for what I'm really feeling...pain, anger, rage, sadness, loneliness, trapped, disappointed. It was a transformative experience. Now I'm trying to teach myself how to ask the same questions that Rosemary asked me, so that I can access my emotions the same way on my own. Dr. Gendlin's Focusing book is an audiobook...working with it now.

Dahlia, what self-hypnosis techniques helped you?

 

Hi Dahlia, Just read your post in search of people with chronic GI issues. How are you? Would love an update. I posted a week or so ago about my chronic mostly upper GI issues and would love to know how you are feeling.

 

Hi, Lala. Gastrointestinal and the other symptoms you mention may be caused by TMS, which often can be lumped under emotional stress.
I am not a doctor or nutritionist but recently have been reading a lot about how those and other symptoms can be the result of
magnesium mineral deficiency. Studies say 80 percent or more of Americans and many others around the world are magnesium deficient
because even the healthy foods we eat such as kale and spinach have for the past 50 years or more been grown in soil lacking magnesium
Nutritionists recommend a magnesium oil which can replenish magnesium to 300 or more enzymes in the body, many of which affect our TMS.

A good place to start considering magnesium deficiency is at Youtube and a lecture by Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, whose book The Magnesium Miracle is a best-seller and a real eye opener. I am starting to believe our pains are not only from TMS repressed emotions or a perfectionist-goodist personality but from magnesium deficiency.

 

For the IBS specifically, I purchased and used a CD self-hypnosis program developed by Michael Mahoney. It worked. http://www.ibsaudioprogram.com/

P.S. Sorry it took me so long to see that you had a question for me!

When you have time, I'd be interested to hear how you are doing and to hear how the use of the Focusing technique has worked out for you. Sounds like something I'd like to try.

 

Hi, Jobyrd.

I'm doing well with the GI issues. They are all pretty much resolved. From time to time I'll get a stomach ache or abdominal cramping that may last a few hours. When that happens I always try to identify what is going on to cause me stress and 100% of the time there IS something going on.

I still am challenged with other TMS symptoms in back and sciatica but I am slowly getting better and better.

I wish you success in this journey!

 

I agree with you Walt very interesting going to try some magnesium see if it takes the edge off.
I read some of the book very interesting

 

Hello everyone, thank for your responses. Turns out my stomach issues were really underlying anxiety and panic disorder (essentially TMS). I ended up having a nervous breakdown in March (3 months into the stomach stuff)...but in the end it was the best thing that every happened to me. Now I'm working with a great psychiatrist and we are focusing on good sleep habits, good nutrition and regular exercise as a way to manage my anxiety. I spent 5 days in the psychiatric ward at my local hospital after my panic attacks spiraled out of control...the whole experience was transformative...emotionally and spiritually. My tool box is filled with great tools (meditation, breathing etc.) and I have been feeling great since the end of march.

 

Hi, Lala and thanks for the update. I am so glad to know that you are doing so much better now.

I admire your courage and resourcefulness: taking what happened and turning it into a positive, growth experience. As you say, you are now so much better equipped to live peacefully and fully. In the end, that is what we are all after, I think.

Bravo!

 

So glad you are better, I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone, it's absolutely crippling.

I'm getting this now.... I found trigger points on the rectus abdominus muscle. The muscle would get tight, the muscle behind the ab muscles would get tight (feeling my organs clamped). I'd get nauseous and have some weird dull achey pain...I'm naturally a very anxious person so I know it's that...I'm getting an ultrasound done for good measure but given all the TMS symptoms elsewhere in the body...this is the flavor of the month. I've been downing gravols and muscle relaxants which help quite a bit (gets rid of tension + nausea).

Did you feel the 'breakdown' was cathartic? I'm stoic so I always suppress emotions - it's very hard to identify what's stressing me out let alone identify repression but once every few years I feel like I'll crack...

 

Hey guys- So, I'm going on 4 years of chronic stomach discomfort. It's not crippling pain but it's pretty life altering stomach discomfort mostly after I eat...and eat anything. Fullness, feel bloated in lower abdomin but I know I don't look bloated, feels gassey in lower abdomin but I don't really pass gas. heartburn. No hunger pains/appetite. I'm otherwise very healthy; rarely sick and can work out regularly. I wake up feeling pretty good but from the first bite of food in the am to bedtime I'm not feeling good. The less I eat the better so i'm very very careful that I don't eat too much during the day. Ive got 4 kids and I know i'm stressed...but who wouldn't be stressed feeling stomach fullness/discomfort all day everyday for 4 years. Anyway, I have had all the GI testing and they can't find a thing. i'm trying very hard to believe this could actually go away someday but right now I can't find any links to emotions/stress, etc. It's not like my discomfort is episodic so It's hard to pinpoint any triggers. I LOVE hearing success stories with chronic GI issues. Does give me hope.

 

First to answer Jason's question: Yes Jason, my breakdown was cathartic...not initially...initially it was terrifying. The panic attacks were crippling and I was so drugged up on xanax I wasn't functioning. My husband, therapist and I all agreed that a voluntary check in into the Psychiatric Ward was my fastest route to seeing a psychiatrist (I didn't have one at the time and it is usually a 5-6 week wait to see one on the outside). I needed medication to help stabilize me. I checked in on a Saturday and saw a psychiatrist on a Sunday...that got me on the right track....but mostly my 4 days in the psych ward gave me to permission to totally check out from my life as it was my life (parenting responsibilities, marriage responsibilities, friendship/family responsibilities, work responsibilities) that brought me to this point in the first place. I wasn't allowed my cell phone, heck I wasn't even allowed shoe laces or dental floss...I literally had to hand over complete control of my life to doctors, nurses, techs and therapists...and it was exactly what I needed. The minute I stepped foot on that ward the panic stopped. When you are there you are with all walks of life...those who just tried to commit suicide, schizophrenics, manic-depressives, multiple personalities...it was eye opening...everyone was suffering on some level...the intensity of human pain and anguish was very raw and real. But I believe it is what the Universe wanted me to see and experience, because aside from letting go of all my control issues, I also learned to have deep gratitude for the life and all the support I had in the outside world...it was like I was truly experiencing gratitude for the first time in my life...for me it was a transformational, spiritual experience. I felt the presence of a higher power and recognizing something bigger than myself...call it God, call it the Universe, call it your higher self, call it whatever you want...is what pulled me out of my head and into my heart and I felt my feelings like I have never felt them before. I felt so alive...sometimes now I miss it..that thing I felt there on that ward. As crazy as that sounds...so yes, it was cathartic but I didn't go into it willingly. My ego went kicking and screaming until I had no choice. It is called surrender. I wanted to surrender, for years I did...I just didn't know how. I had to really suffer to break through to the other side. My conscious self wanted to let go, but my ego resisted for 43 years.

Jobyrd: I am so sorry you are suffering. Though my stomach issues only went on for months, not years, I can say that my pain and discomfort was very real and I believe with ZERO doubt that chronic stomach ailments (especially if you have ruled out serious medical diseases and issues) are just another form of TMS. When I read your comment what stood out to me is this sentence, "Ive got 4 kids and I know i'm stressed...but who wouldn't be stressed feeling stomach fullness/discomfort all day everyday for 4 years." Remember TMS is NOT the stress/emotions you are aware of...it is always the deeper stuff we have buried. My stuff that I didn't want to look at, and sometimes still struggle with is despite the fact that I have a great family, amazing friends, a beautiful/loving husband and healthy child, there are times I absolutely HATE my life and all the pressure it puts on me. This is stuff that goes all the way back to my childhood and my parents divorce. You need to dig deeper my friend...this requires a daily practice of meditation or prayer or silence or time alone. You need to quiet your mind (it takes time...weeks, months, years) and allow that which your Ego fears to rise to the surface. I would guess that deep down you (your unconscious self) hates your life, resents your children, your partner etc. etc. We are so afraid of what these irrational, immature, selfish feelings mean...we see them through the lens of our Ego....but these feelings come from our ID...that child that resides in all of us that we so rarely allow to express itself. When I finally allowed my ID to speak and to speak loud without fear of judgement only then was I able to move passed my debilitating panic and stomach pain.

Keep in touch. I will think of you both.

 

PS-Thanks Dahlia!