Type A Gastritis

[DJones29]

I am a 29 year old female that for the past 10 months have been experiencing almost constant right quadrant pain and acid reflux.  I have suffered from acid reflux for many years prior, but the upper quadrant pain just started last May.  I had an adominal (abdominal) ultrasound, which was normal.  I also had a HIDA scan that showed a 7% gall bladder ejection fraction.  My gall bladder was removed in September, with little relief of symptoms.  I have also been feeling very run down and experiencing a lot of muscle aches.  Several doctors have run blood tests, but they all came back normal.  I tested negative for H. Pylori, had good blood cell counts, and normal bilirubin levels.  I also had a negative occult stool sample.  I finally went to an internal medicine doctor, who ran some more in-depth blood tests.  He found that I have critically low levels of B12, hypothyroidism, and high CRP (c-reative protein).  I was doing some research on the internet, and it sounds like I may have pernicious anaemia associated with type A gastritis.  I have an appointment with a specialist in a few weeks, but wanted an opinion before that.  I take protonix, but it does little to relieve my symptoms.  Does it sound like I may have something serious?  I have a young child, and am very worried about stomach cancer.  Also, if it is gastritis, how treatable is it?  Thank you for the information.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

The test to consider would be an upper endoscopy.  This can look for any masses, gastritis or stomach cancer.

Chronic atrophic gastritis can lead to B12 deficiency, and is usually diagnosised via biopsies taken during the upper endoscopy.  If this is truly the diagnosis, there is no specific treatment for this.  Supplementation of vitamin B-12 should be considered, and treatment of H Pylori should be done if positive.  

This can be associated with other autoimmune disorders as well (i.e. Hashimoto's thyroiditis leading to hypothyroidism).

These options can be discussed with your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_b

[kjgalaxy]

You might investigate sphincter of oddi dysfunction.