When Bryan Johnson recently announced his diagnosis of autoimmune gastritis (AIG), Lori Taylor’s friends and colleagues immediately texted her.

It’s the same chronic inflammatory condition that Taylor, 60, was diagnosed with in 2018, in which the immune system attacks the cells that create stomach acid, affecting the body’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals.

Looking back, he was able to see the effects of this disease when he was 20 years old. “I’ve been struggling with some mild stomach issues my entire life, as well as an unexplained iron deficiency,” Taylor, a registered dietitian and adjunct professor at Saybrook University who lives on Whidbey Island, Washington, told Business Insider.

The symptoms began to appear more in his life when he was in his 40s. Around 2016 I was working in a hospital as a clinical dietitian in the oncology unit. “My hair was breaking and falling out so much that I felt like I was one of my chemotherapy patients,” she said.

One day, after returning to his private practice, he parked the car and had to climb a flight of stairs to get to the second floor. “I suddenly thought, ‘How am I going to get there?'” he said. “I was talking myself out of doing anything that really required energy.”

One of the most frightening symptoms for her was mental confusion. Sometimes it was difficult to hold on to complex thoughts or remember simple words. When ordering Christmas gifts, he made mistakes, such as sending the gifts to his own address. He also developed dysgraphia, unable to read his own handwriting beyond the first sentence.

Three months before her diagnosis, she was at a boba tea shop where they ran out of the flavor she planned to order. When he got to the counter, “it was like my brain had been wiped,” he said. She burst into tears. “I thought I was literally losing my mind.”

When he was diagnosed with AIG, he said everything fell into place.

AIG can be complicated to diagnose

AIG causes the immune system to attack the parietal cells, which produce stomach acid. Not having enough stomach acid makes it difficult to absorb the vitamins and minerals we consume.

According to a 2024 study, AIG not only increases the risk of vitamin B12 and iron deficiencies; It has also been associated with vitamin C and calcium deficiencies. In reality, the symptoms cannot be completely attributed to a specific cause. That’s partly why it’s so difficult to diagnose.

When Taylor began searching for answers, her B12 levels were in the lower range of normal and her iron levels were low. Because she had IBS and was going through perimenopause with “hellish periods,” she attributed her iron deficiency to those causes (a 2016 study found that iron deficiency could be attributed to heavy menstrual bleeding). In his X post, Johnson said his low iron levels were initially ruled out because he had no other markers of anemia.

Taylor’s care team did a lot of testing and “we were down all kinds of rabbit holes.” Finally, one of his colleagues suggested considering additional testing for AIG.

Like Johnson, she had a blood test and found she had elevated levels of antibodies against parietal cells, present in many cases of AIG. An endoscopy was also performed, which revealed inflammation consistent with early AIG. She had an answer.

His treatment includes supplements, iron infusions, and frequent B12 injections.

Before his diagnosis, he tried a number of interventions such as elimination, FODMAP, and carbohydrate-restricted diets. Some worked, but only for a short period of time. “I struggled with severe, painful swelling that made me look pregnant,” she said.

Once diagnosed, it took her a while to come up with her treatment plan.

The first thing he did was supplement every meal and snack with betaine hydrochloride, which can temporarily increase stomach acid. While there are very few clinical studies looking at the effects of betaine hydrochloride on AIG, and it is not recommended to take it if you have stomach ulcers, it worked for her. “In the span of three days, 10 years of IBS symptoms disappeared,” he said. He has been doing this since 2018.

Bryan Johnson shared that oral iron supplements didn’t work for him. Some people with AIG need iron infusions for the body to absorb it. Taylor received her first iron infusion in 2018 and has received four sets of infusions over the past eight years. “Lives have been changed,” he said.

Taylor also began receiving B12 injections. Once she figured out the right dosage for her, a lot of things changed, she said. “I got my cognitive functioning back,” he said. The neuropathy he had developed, which felt like “stepping on hot Legos,” also disappeared, he said.

She’s glad Bryan Johnson is using her platform.

Taylor wasn’t surprised that Johnson’s care team didn’t find AIG right away. It is a complex disease and many doctors are not trained to detect it.

After being diagnosed with AIG, Taylor said she fell in love with trying to figure out how to best treat AIG, which a recent review estimated affects about 3.85% of people worldwide.

There are really very few, if any, clinical trials on this. In 2024, Taylor co-authored a review article. proposing that replacement of lost stomach acid should be investigated as a treatment with AIG. In the fall, he plans to begin his doctorate in clinical nutrition at Rutgers University, where he will focus on AIG.

“I really hope Johnson uses his platform to raise awareness,” he said. She was interested to hear him talk about stem cells as a possible solution, since parietal cells generally do not grow back once they are destroyed. He also hopes that more accessible treatment options will emerge. “Not everyone can afford to take vitamin infusions,” he said.

Taylor knows it will take some time to get there. She believes the revolution in AIG treatment will be driven by patients like her and Bryan Johnson.