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Does Stress And Anxiety Cause Gastritis?

Posted on Sat, 5 Jul 2014

Question: Dr XXXXXXX thanks for your interest. I visited another doctor at the XXXXXXX clinic, and to my XXXXXXX he agreed with the pamelor and Dexilant, but thinks my pain is not coming from the Gastritis. He is not sure, because all my imaging exams and blood work do not indicate any serious issues. He does feel I should get a EUS of the pancreas to eliminate any chance of pancreatitis. He says that scans sometimes can't pick up mild pancreatitis. I always thought pancreatitis was an inflammation and MRI, MRCP, CT scan, abdominal ultra sound, should be able to see some inflammation. He is a Gasterenologist and says that is a possibility. I had these exams 4 months ago, but I have the same pain since then. I think the Pamelor is helping some, but I have only been on them for a couple of days. My condition is a mystery to everyone, and nobody has any real answers. I do think stress and anxiety is playing some part.

Answered by Dr. Ashish Verma (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
yes it does

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX

Glad to hear from you again.

Yes, stress and anxiety do play quite a significant part in causing gastritis, by increasing the gastric acid production. And this has been proved numerous times in various clinical studies.

So you can continue the pamelor an dexilant.

Also, it is possible for a very mild pancreatitis to be missed on an mri and it can be picked up on endoscopic ultrasound.

But that much mild pancreatitis should not cause this much pain on its own. A component of gastritis should also be there.

In this context, I suggest you take your nexium twice a day for a week and see. If the pain goes off by more than 90% then it is gastritis only. Else you can go for endoscopic ultrasound to look for pancreatitis.

But in that week of nexium intake, avoid any tea, coffee, soda drinks, spicy foods and stress.

Regards,
Dr. Ashish Verma

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Ashish Verma (2 days later)

Dr XXXXXXX I did add Zantac to my bedtime regiment with Pamelor. I can buy Nexium over the counter, if it is better than Zantac. I take Dexilant in the morning. I see a little improvement but my anxiety continues. Also, do these meds cause white colored stool?

Answered by Dr. Ashish Verma (13 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
no it doesn't causes stool change

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Nexium is much more better than zentac. More than 10 times.

White or rather clay colored stools is not caused by these medicines. Its seen in obstructive jaundice.

Get a liver function test done if it persists. Maybe that may be causing you pain abdomen.

When you had got your last abdominal scan done? If it was more than 6 months ago, then get a repeat scan.

Regards,
Dr. Ashish Verma

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj

Follow up: Dr. Ashish Verma (3 hours later)

I had an MRI and MRCP, Hida scan 4 months ago, but I have had 2 liver blood test in the last 2 weeks, and the imaging and blood exams were normal. Also my bilirubin is normal. My last bowel movement appeared normal, could pancreatitis cause stool change? What is a liver function test?

Answered by Dr. Ashish Verma (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
its due to your diet then

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX

If your last bowel movement was normal then that white stool could be due to something that you had eaten in the past 2-3 days.

Also all your test are normal and done recently only.

Liver function test is the same that you have got telling about the levels of bilirubin and other liver enzymes.

And pancreatitis can cause stool to become frothy, bulky and stickey with foul smell.

So don't worry about your stools as they are now normal. So whatever was causing the change has now gone.

Regards
Dr. Ashish Verma

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T