Hello Everyone, I am a 28 year old male and I weight 165 lbs. The past couple days I have been experiencing some hunger pangs that occur when I go certain periods without eating. Last year I had a bout of gastritis that lasted from around April to mid-June. I suddenly go reflux, bloating, green stool, cramping, hunger pangs, you name it. I was put on some Prilosec otc for a month or so. It improved to a point but then I changed doctors because of other reasons. My new doctor took me off of prilosec and I took a H. Pylori test in July. The results came back negative. At the same time, my gastritis disappeared. On Sunday evening, I noticed I felt similar hunger pangs but not as severe. Also I have no accompanying gastritis symptoms aside from heartburn sunday evening as a result of some spicy sphaghetti. My weight has not fluctated and my stool is normal. I have no stabbing pains or cramps. Could this be some milder form of gastritis or am I just overthinking this. I have been stressed with work and life in general lately. I cannot understate how unplesant last year's two month gastritis bout was. It sucked waking up everyday with nausua and accompanying hunger pangs. I woke up today with no nausea so that is good. Any insight or advice is appreciated.
Sometimes when we are dehydrated we can feel hungry, when actually it is our body craving water. Maybe you are a little dehydrated. When you feel the hunger pangs drink at least half a pint of water, leave it for about 20 minutes and see if you still have that feeling. Also, if you eat a lot of pasta or anything high in carbs/sugars, a couple of hours later you can feel hunger pangs even if you have eaten loads, because your blood sugar levels go very high, then drop suddenly. If this is the case, when you have a high carb meal, try and slowly and sip water, so you don't eat as much as you usually do. Did the spicy spaghetti have a tomato based sauce? Tomato based sauces usually have loads of sugar added affecting your blood sugar levels even more.
You are lucky you recovered so quick when you had your gastritis last year. Probably you are young and is healthy. I hope I recovered as quick as you. I think for now, who knows what it is, but you must make sure 1) Eat at regular times, never ever leave your stomach hungry for long periods of time. 2) Try to start eating healthy now, food that is non acidic 3) Try not to get too stressed and take some good relaxing exercise
Do this for a while and monitor your situation. Your body may be trying to tell you something, at least if you take good care of your body now, not hurt trying. Hope this helps.
A consultation with a registered dietition might do you some good.
Sounds like a reaction to eating spicy food since the heartburn came on after the spicy pasta. Try some milk or antacids, and avoid anything rich, spicy or fatty. Above all try to stay calm. Anxiety can trigger heartburn and other gastric symptoms.
So today when I woke up I felt fine. The hunger pangs started coming back some today but I chalk it down to have not eaten for several hours in the morning. I burped some too. I had some oatmeal and that seemed to satisfy those pangs. Now those hunger pangs have returned. They are still not as bad as they were last year but they are noticeable. I wonder what is causing them and how I can get rid of them. I am not super hungry otherwise.
The good thing is I had no nausea or anything else this morning that I had last year. In fact I don't notice the pain when I am focused on something else.
Does anyone have any insight. I hate feeling hungry and being forced to eat when I don't want to.
Try to eat little but often and don't wait too long before eating. If thinking about something else helps the pain, keep trying this technique and try not to focus on your stomach because anxiety can worsen gut upsets. If your gastritis has come back, a calm mind will help you. For now, try milk antacids and diet change and try a food diary to pinpoint any food irritants.
How long should I wait before I go on PPIs or any other antacid medicine. I felt like PPIs helped but they did not cure my last bout of gastritis. I'm convinced my last bout was stress and anxiety induced. After my H Pylori test came back negative, my symptoms just disappeared. Very strange.
So this evening I am really not hungry tbh. I had some crackers about four hours ago. I recall last year during my gastritis episode I was hungry in the evening after I ate. Now it is significantly milder. I am starting to think this may be more me and my anxiety than an actual problem. We will see.
I will still practice all of the tips everyone has given me.
Today I woke up actually not hungry. In fact I haven't felt hungry this morning at all. I did feel more acid reflux like symptoms like burping and some nausea. I also noticed I was more gassy today. Also after two days of not passing a bowel movement, I did this morning (sorry about the TMI). I wonder if this is gastritis or acid reflux. The hunger pangs are not as bad as they were but nonetheless my stomach is certainly acting up. Maybe my body is trying to tell me something
I wouldn't worry too much about what your stomach is telling you. If you are getting heartburn, go straight back or antacids or PPIs. Don't worry about hunger pangs or not feeling hungry. Eat little but often and don't miss meals. Avoid rich, fatty and spicy foods and stay as calm as possible. If you felt better after your h pylori test, it is probable that you had been anxious before the test, but once you found it was negative, you calmed down and this helped your symptoms to subside.
I have chronic reflux but I don't worry about it. I simply take antacids which relieve it. I also have IBS which has greatly improved with a calmer mind. My negative tests made me more anxious because they didn't tell me anything, but my IBS diagnosis cleared my health anxiety and my IBS also got better. It sounds like that is what happened with you after your negative H pylori test. It doesn't sound a strange experience to me.
Since you have had gastritis before, you are probably worrying that it has come back and this is increasing your gastric symptoms. Try to distract yourself with things that make you happy. Even, if your gastritis had returned, don't worry. Simply treat it as you did before. Gastritis can come and go.
Thank you for your encouraging words. It seems that is what is happening. I felt PPIs worked for me but they were not perfect. I am not exactly sure why my gastritis went away. Should I consult my doctor prior to taking PPIs? I don't want to go to my doctor just for this. I may take the "Lets wait and See Approach" for a few weeks prior to doing that.
I would just take the PPIs straight away and not wait it out especially if you have heartburn and you found they worked for you. Some PPIs are available over the counter. If your doctor originally prescribed them, there should be no problem in taking them without telling him first.
Gastritis can come and go in response to a food trigger or stress. It is possible that you felt more relaxed or something in your diet calmed down your gastritis. In any case, I wouldn't concern yourself as to why your gastritis went away; just be happy that it cleared up.
well my old doctor gave me PPIs. My new doctor took me off of them so I could take my H pylori test. My symptoms cleared the same time so i never went back on them. Right now as i am writing this, i feel fine. No heartburn or anything. i have been eating things like nuts and crackers throughout the day plus i had a probiotic yogurt drink a hour or two ago. Hunger pangs have gone down too. Maybe I am getting better.
In that case, only use the ppis as and when you need them.
ok. When i got home from work. i took a brisk walk about the neighborhood and i felt a lot better as i was walking. I do feel gassy though. But no hunger pangs. In fact i dont have much of an appetite though. For dinner i will have an avocado, some lentil soup and some blueberries. I will have some ginger tea after dinner. Wonder if this was just a stress induced episode of acid reflux or something.
I think stress is playing a large part in your symptoms. The light exercise you are doing will help to take your mind off your stomach and so will hobbies. Try not to focus on what caused your symptoms. Since you are feeling better, try making the most of that.
so I woke up feeling nauseated but once I got up out of bed I felt better. Seems like some acid building up. No hunger pangs. In fact i am not even hungry atm although i will eat something later.
Try your PPis if you feel nausea and acid build up. This medication is designed to help with both these symptoms. Don't be afraid to take your stomach medication, that's what it's there for. Heartburn can cause nausea. Don't focus so much on hunger/no hunger pangs and nausea. You will make your stomach worse by stressing too much about it. Try milk to settle your stomach; distraction techniques will really help you.
ok thanks. I'm guessing I am puzzled because I am so think why i would be getting reflux. I'm also young too. Yeah I had oatmeal for breakfast and still felt like acid was building up. Terrible feeling. Have a sour mouth too. Guess i will take the PPIs.