Long term gastritis

Hi there I have a rather long explanation to go through for this question so please bear with me.
I am a 27 year old male from the UK and have suffered from Gerneralised anxiety disorder (GAD) since the age of 16. At the age of 21 (2002)I started to experiment with SSRI (citalopram and fluoroxetine) antideressants to treat this and had some success with these. As I became better I started to want to recapture my youth and drank quite a lot of alcohol over over the years. It was primarily because the alcohol numbed any anxiety I might feel and allowed me to be the person I wanted to be.
By about 2007 after a heavy drinking session I developed some pain round my back by my kidneys and started to panic about this. After 2 weeks of abstaining it went away and I carried on with my drinking. Over the coming months the pain kept coming back and got worse and worse till it developed into what I now know as gastritis.
I went to the doctors  was prescribed 40mg/day omeprazole(PPI)  had blood tests and eventually an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed no detectable damage to my organs. The pain continued, I discovered I could no longer drink anything containing caffine or alcohol without getting considerable lasting pain for the next few days/weeks.
Next, I had an upper GI endoscopy at the local hospital. It showed only mild gastritis and biopsy showed no H.pylori. For the next year I tried to quit drinking alcohol completely, but was convinced my pain 'would go in a few months' and when I had a modest improvement I would drink again and end up back where I started ...in a lot of pain and deeply unhappy. around november 2007 I decided it might be my antidepressant that was aggravating it (fluoroxetine at the time), and since I was feeling fine anxiety wise, I tappered off the drug. My gastritis improved dramatically and I was soon drinkign tea, coffee and alcohol again. Alas, by december 2007 I started to experience panic attacks and intense anxiety symptoms again and couldnt go to work. I gave up alcohol and got put back on another antidepressant (mirtazapine). This worked but had pretty bad side effects. I soon started to notice the return of gastritis symptoms. Over 2008 I experiemented with serveral antidepressants which all gave me horrible side effects, I ended up on a low dose of a tricyclic, dosulepin. My gastritis remained for most of the year, and i attempted drinking every 3 months or so untill it started to hurt again.

In novemeber 2009  I went on an unlicenced antidepressant medication (in the EU and US) called Agomelatine, this drug works mainly on melatonin antagonism not serotonin as most other antidepressants do so I thought a different method of action might negate any gastritis issues. My anxiety is now under reasonable control and for a short time my gastritis improved, I attempted moderate drinking again and started to feel more normal, but by december 2008 I was in a lot of pain again.

As of now (march 2009) I am in the same situation, deeply unhappy, painful gastritis 24/7 and unable to tolerate caffine or alcohol. I havent touched any alcohol for 3 months and have decided that its just not worth it to drink at all any more. At least until the day comes (if it ever does) where I am not in pain.
Also I just convinced my doctor to put my on antibiotics for H.pylori infection just incase. I am on the last day of my course (amoxcillin and metronidazole) but it doesnt seem to have made a difference.

So my question is what hope is there for me? By what mechanisms is this gastritis occuring? How did I manage to take SSRI's and drink alcohol fairly heavily for 3/4 years without any stomach related problems? If I am patient (say 1-2 years) will the gastritis ever clear up?

I really am at a loss at what to do , I know that I could stop taking my antidepressants it might help but I think I will immediately sink back into severe anxiety and depression and be unable to work if i do this. Its a bit of a vicous circle. Any help or suggestions you can make on my steps would be greatly appreciated. I dont know if I can go on for my whole life feeling this way :(

Current drugs I'm taking : Agomelatine 50mg/day, Omeprazole 40mg twice/day, Sucralfate 2g twice/day
+ recently completed antibiotics course amoxcillin 500mg 3 times/day, metronidazole 400mg 3 times a day)

[poppy1970]

I had something similar to this 4yrs ago except i dont drink much but i had severe gastritis that wouldnt go i tried different medications and nothing worked but then i got admitted to hospital they gave me a prescription of codeine phosphate 30mg and i take dosulepin 150mg at night and within two days i was normal no pain no sicknes just normal.  Hope this helps it might work for you

[learner2llfe]

It sounds like the gastritis is a result of your anxiety and excessive alcohol. From reading about autism I have come across articles describing poor sulfation. Or the inability to convert sulfites to sulfates. You will have to look it up to learn more about it. But, one of the problems that occur is the inability for a person to regulate their hormones. In retrospect, one of the hormones is adrenaline. So, in some cases a person can't regulate and shut off adrenaline and it leaves them with excessive anxiety and causes them to withdraw. There is lots of articles about it. Phenols tend to be a trigger for it and another sign of the condition are large dark circles under one's eyes. I hope this helps!!
-D

[Negcreep]

Well a few years later and I was put on a beta blocker instead of antidepressants. This worked for the anxiety for the most part but still it caused irritation to my stomach. I completely gave up drinking since I wrote that last post and still have GI pain.

Recently I decided that enough was enough and have stopped all medication and moved home for a while. I don't know If I will go back to work any time soon but I know I can't go on in pain for the rest of my life if there is a chance to stop it.

My anxiety is up but after 3 weeks no medication I have seen some improvement in my GI pain. I'm just hoping that it continues to improve over the next few weeks/months.