# un-explained nausea---graphic



## No-No-Badkitty (Feb 3, 2009)

Any how...over the years I have had bouts of unexplained nausea, to the degree that I can't eat for days and trying to eat will send me dry heaving over the toilet. It strikes without warning, sometimes in the car, sometimes while I am actually eating, sometimes when I am just sitting still.
There doesn't seem to be a reason for it but often times I wind up vomitting. Sometimes the vomitting stops suddenly like my stomach has purged what it didn't like of a meal, and sometimes it won't stop until it's all up.
Today I went through a bout of this, actually about 40 min ago, after I ate part of my dinner. I consumed 1/2 a home made hamburger with cheese and spent the next 30 min hanging onto the kitchen sink while my body violently tried to expell it.
Sometimes I get a warning before I eat. If I even look at food I become nauseous....I did this time but I hadn't eaten anything today but a few oranges and needed real food so I tried to eat... Other times it will wait until I am done eating (some times a salad, sometimes cereal, it varies) and then comes on strong.
I have mentioned this to the doctor but there doesn't seem to be a reason. No ulcers or anything like that. I can tell you when this all started though, when I was about 16 and had my gal-bladder removed.
The worst episode to date was about 1 year ago---and yes this is gross but this is to show how bad the vomitting can be.
I was taking antibiotics (which yes can cause nausea on their own but I was at the end of the script with no problems) any how I took it with food, as I always did but this time, for whatever reason my body went into rejection mode. I vomitted so hard and violently for the next 20 min or so that I was left with a raging ear infection for the next 2 weeks. We think the bile might have actually backed into my ear canals. I also had the worst sinuse infection in history as well thanks to the antibiotic which burned the crap out of my nasal passages.

Any how...I was wondering if anyone might have some insite as to what could be going on. I have been careful about what I eat for years, nothing too greasy, nothing to hard to digest. I don't eat huge portions and I do my best to stay away from anything with too many preservatives. I try to consume only fresh meats and veggies and fruit.

When I first had my gal-bladder out I was sure it was just greasy foods...but as the years have gone on it's obviously not because even an apple can send me puking.


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## LalaCity (Feb 3, 2009)

It _could_ be severe dyspepsia (i.e., indigestion)...

Have you discussed gastritis (an inflammation of the stomach lining) with your doctor?

What about gastric reflux disease -- are you taking a proton pump inhibitor?

You should see a gastroenterologist, if you haven't been to specialist yet.


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## SamanthaNY (Feb 3, 2009)

Agree on the need for a full gastro workup. 

Referencing your other thread, t'would not surprise me one bit if this gastro condition is somehow related to the other issue. 

If I were you, I would *not *start (or continue) ANY new medications for weight loss or metabolic issues until you find out what's behind the gastro sitch.


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## No-No-Badkitty (Feb 3, 2009)

LalaCity said:


> It _could_ be severe dyspepsia (i.e., indigestion)...
> 
> Have you discussed gastritis (an inflammation of the stomach lining) with your doctor?
> 
> ...



I actually tried a few things when I was younger and first had flare ups. The doctor who did my surgery tried me on a number of things but nothing seemed to make a dent in it. I can go months without an issue, then all of a sudden, bam-o it strikes again....

The one thing that does seem to help is ematrol (anti-nausea otc med.) if I can get it down....sometimes even that won't stop a really bad attack.


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## No-No-Badkitty (Feb 3, 2009)

SamanthaNY said:


> Agree on the need for a full gastro workup.
> 
> Referencing your other thread[/URL], t'would not surprise me one bit if this gastro condition is somehow related to the other issue.
> .




Out of curiosity, why do you think my problem with gaining weight for no reason would be related to bouts of nausea?


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## SamanthaNY (Feb 3, 2009)

I'm just spitballing, but if you've got two things that are giving you unexplainable symptoms, it would make sense to at least investigate commonalities between the two, especially if both are related to the same system (your digestive/gastro tract). They may not be related at all... but if I were a doc, I would want to know about both issues before trying to treat either one.


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## Emma (Feb 3, 2009)

I can't help you but I just wanted to let you know that I sometimes get something similer. Sometimes when I eat my stomach just turns for no reason and I end up puking it all back up. I'm noticing it's usually if I eat something heavy at around 11 or 12pm. It's weird.


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## No-No-Badkitty (Feb 3, 2009)

SamanthaNY said:


> I'm just spitballing, but if you've got two things that are giving you unexplainable symptoms, it would make sense to at least investigate commonalities between the two, especially if both are related to the same system (your digestive/gastro tract). They may not be related at all... but if I were a doc, I would want to know about both issues before trying to treat either one.




I'll ask the endocrinologist again, I did put this down in my medical history, so it's not like she isn't aware of it but she didn't seem concerned cause it happens so infrequently. I think sometimes the reason why doctors dismiss it is because they don't believe me when I tell them I am not over eating. 
I can tell you this. When these attacks happen...it's like a flash back of when I had gall-bladder attacks, but there is no pain. When I was suffering from gal-stones I would be in pain from 10-18 hours before suddenly and violently vomitting which purged the stones and then I was fine (except exhausted). It took more than a year to get a doctor to believe me that I was hurting (I was actually accused of lying and they told my mother I was just looking for an excuse to drop my diet they had me on), and only then when it was so bad I wound up in the hospital with a septic gal-bladder, did the doctors finally listen.
It's like I am getting the "purge" without the pain and it's spontaneous and without obvious cause....but I can't help but think back to those horrible months when I was curled up in pain over the toilet waiting to throw-up just so the pain would quit.
It's weird cause it's not like "my stomach feel off" kinda sick either...the first thing I notice is that I begin to salivate and then my glands in my throat swell and then the gagging starts....the actual nausea sometimes holds off until I am actually in the act of dry heaving...it's strange.


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## SamanthaNY (Feb 3, 2009)

Sadly, sometimes we have to stamp our feet and demand that doctors pay attention to our symptoms. You may have to be quite strong in communicating your exacting personal knowledge about _your _body... that _something.is.wrong._ If I were you, and got the brushoff, I would gently but firmly touch my doctor's shoulder and say, "_excuse _me, but I think this needs more thinking-through, please discuss this with me". There's a particular look that goes with this that tells people that I'm quite earnest in my quest. 

Something that may help you is to document your symptoms thoroughly via charting. Time, date, event, meal(s) eaten - what and when, overall feeling, sleep patterns, your cycle, etc. This can be a giGANtic pain in the ass, especially on a long term basis, but it can be extremely useful is figuring out what's going on with your body - especially if docs are giving you the brush-off. Since your symptoms are seemingly random, the more info you can chart (even things you don't feel are directly related), the better off you'll be, because it may take several weeks or more before an obvious pattern emerges.


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## Sandie_Zitkus (Feb 3, 2009)

I'm going to just make an observation. Sometimes after you have your gall bladder out you can still get stones in your bile ducts that cause the same symptoms as gall bladder attacks. I hope you find out what's going on soon.


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## MuleVariationsNYC (Feb 3, 2009)

Intermittent nausea without pain and without a clear trigger that started after surgery makes me think of something mechanical. The nerves that allow your stomach to contract in an organized fashion might have been affected, causing something called "gastroparesis." This sometimes makes the stomach feel like its suddenly full, or can't empty itself in the proper way, and so it elects to relieve the pressure in the upwards direction. 

You can google the term for more information. Just a thought.


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## largenlovely (Feb 4, 2009)

I have a really bad stomach too and get nauseas periodically but not to the point of actually vomiting. I'm also a very firm believer in emetrol!! thank god for that stuff. I've battled with nausea for years, but i believe mine is due to acid reflux. Though, my gallbladder is also on its last limb. 

Greasy foods and pork will make me sick and i love both...so i eat them anyway and just suffer the consequences. Of course, my consequences aren't as severe as yours. My sister will also get pretty ill from pork too, but gallbladder problems seem to be prevalent in our family.

I don't have an answer for you, but as far as other over the counter stuff that helps, Benadryll is good for nausea. I'm not sure if you've heard of Phenergan, but it's more or less a prescription dose of antihistamine that is used for nausea. You might can ask your doctor for a script of this for when the next attack happens. That way you can at least keep yourself from vomiting. Even if you only have to use 1 pill every 2 months, it's better to have them around when ya need them

If you find out what it is...please let me know. I'd be curious to hear myself.



No-No-Badkitty said:


> The one thing that does seem to help is ematrol (anti-nausea otc med.) if I can get it down....sometimes even that won't stop a really bad attack.


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## No-No-Badkitty (Feb 4, 2009)

missaf said:


> Are you still taking Metformin and Byetta?



I am, but this has been going on for years, I just started the meds about 2 weeks ago.
So, I am reluctant to think they are related.


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## No-No-Badkitty (Feb 4, 2009)

MuleVariationsNYC said:


> Intermittent nausea without pain and without a clear trigger that started after surgery makes me think of something mechanical. The nerves that allow your stomach to contract in an organized fashion might have been affected, causing something called "gastroparesis." This sometimes makes the stomach feel like its suddenly full, or can't empty itself in the proper way, and so it elects to relieve the pressure in the upwards direction.
> 
> You can google the term for more information. Just a thought.




Thanks, I will look into this.


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## MsGreenLantern (Feb 4, 2009)

I actually knew someone with a malfunction epiglottis. That's the flap that opens to control food vs air getting into your stomach. She has similar symptoms. It was random whether it would work or not. Some days she was fine, others she spent half the day in the bathroom. The little flap didn't close sometimes, leaving her stomach's contents free to go where they pleased. It also hurt her breathing a bit, since that's the other function of the flap.


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## LalaCity (Feb 4, 2009)

No-No-Badkitty said:


> I can't help but think back to those horrible months when I was curled up in pain over the toilet waiting to throw-up just so the pain would quit.



Ugh -- that sounds horrible. I'm sorry you've had to go through all that. 

I hope your current issues are resolved quickly. Again, please go to a gastroenterologist as soon as possible.


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## Miss Vickie (Feb 6, 2009)

Off the top of my head, right off the bat I thought of two things. Either a food intolerance if it's a particular food that triggers it (even if it's only sometimes), or a hiatal hernia. But obviously I can't diagnose you (none of us can), so your best bet would be to see a GI doc; if your regular doc is unwilling or unable to investigate, they should refer you to a gastroenterologist. Until they do an upper GI and other tests, they can't really say what's causing it. Seems to me that it would be a very good thing to investigate.

Good luck, and I'm sorry you're experiencing this.


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## LillyBBBW (Feb 6, 2009)

I was on a low carb diet and this would happen to me every time I ate eggs. I love eggs but they would send me scrambling for a bucket. Long story short, it turned out to be hormones or antibiotics, or some other such thing they use to treat animals these days. I switched to organic and the problem went away.


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## LalaCity (Feb 6, 2009)

LillyBBBW said:


> .. I love eggs but they would send me scrambling...



Hee hee...there's something punny about that comment...


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## Tad (Feb 6, 2009)

LillyBBBW said:


> I was on a low carb diet and this would happen to me every time I ate eggs. I love eggs but they would send me scrambling for a bucket. Long story short, it turned out to be hormones or antibiotics, or some other such thing they use to treat animals these days. I switched to organic and the problem went away.



That is fascinating.....because I have that problem with eggs. I've always been a bit iffy about eggs anyway, but in general I've been fine with them if they were cooked solid (hard boiled, scrambled, fried until the yolk is solid, etc). But for the past year or two even when I have them that way, about ten or fifteen minutes later I get an episode of intense nausea, that I've barely managed to control. Now I've just stopped eating eggs--which makes going out for breakfast rather depressing


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## LillyBBBW (Feb 6, 2009)

edx said:


> That is fascinating.....because I have that problem with eggs. I've always been a bit iffy about eggs anyway, but in general I've been fine with them if they were cooked solid (hard boiled, scrambled, fried until the yolk is solid, etc). But for the past year or two even when I have them that way, about ten or fifteen minutes later I get an episode of intense nausea, that I've barely managed to control. Now I've just stopped eating eggs--which makes going out for breakfast rather depressing



Yeah, I can't get eggs at IHOP or McDonalds. Try eating organic eggs at home and see what that does. It is as far as I've gone in terms of eliminating the problem so I don't know exactly what the cause is with regular eggs. I'd be interested to know how things turn out for you though.


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