Long lasting constant nausea and gagging feeling

[clairegen]

First, some background info. I'm a sixteen year old girl. I haven't eaten meat (including poultry and fish) in three years. I don't have any major health problems and there are no disorders that run in my family. I've had this problem since July 4th, so there's a lot of symptoms to it. The symptoms have changed over time, also. I think it'd be easiest if I made lists, because sometimes even I get confused from all of it.

Symptoms from July 4th to around the beginning of October:
- Constant nausea with no vomiting, though I felt very close to vomiting all the time. made worse with eating. surged when I needed to go to the bathroom.
- Bloated abdomen
- The area of skin above my right armpit where my collarbone ends was numb to the touch. The left side was only slightly numb.
- Pain on both sides of my collarbone and the underside of my jawbone when I applied pressure.
- Weight loss (about 12 pounds)
- Change in bowel movements (less frequently, difficulty going, feeling like I have to go then not having to when I try)
- Mild headaches. When I had a headache, sound didn't become painful for me, but just intensely frustrating. It's hard to describe.
- Supposed yellowing of the eyes, but I've dismissed this as nothing because my eyes have been slightly yellow for a very long time.
- Dry mouth, most of the time.
- Occasionally mixing up words and feeling like I can't string together a sentence.

With all of this, I went first to my normal doctor, who guessed I had Gilbert's Syndrome. He referred me to a gastroenterologist. She ruled out Gilert's Syndrome. She ordered a very large amount of bloodwork. No hepatitis, liver functioning normally, no anemia, no mono. Pretty much everything was clear. Except for two things- my bilirubins were outside of normal levels (I forgot the exact number) and my CO2 levels were at 13%. The doctor then sent me for a CAT scan, ultrasound, H. Pylori test, and some more bloodwork. Everything was normal. She told me to try and take Prilosec and come back in a few months.

Symptoms from November to now:
- Constant nausea, occasionally some burning or cramping in my lower abdomen, it feels like my intestines.
- Stomach gurgling and noises.
- Occasional acidic feeling in the back of my throat.
- I always feel the need to open and close my throat. It's hard to explain. I don't clear my throat, but just push a little.
- Difficulty swallowing or swallowing and feeling as if the food is sitting in my throat.
- I think the symptoms get worse before I get any other sort of virus or infection, like a cold.

I went back to the doctor. She told me that my bilirubins were back to normal and that I probably had a long lasting virus that cleared out of my system. She doesn't understand why I'm not feeling better. The next step is to order an upper endoscopy.  With my symptoms now, I have some days where I feel almost normal, and some days where I can't even get out of bed because I feel so ill. The Prilosec I'm taking really isn't helping, so we don't think that I have acid reflux. No one has any ideas. I'm really tired of feeling like this, though. Sometimes I can't sleep, I'm afraid to be in the car for a long time because I'm afraid I'm going to vomit, I don't eat all the time, and it's just annoying.

Oh, I forgot. I gained back almost all of the weight I lost. And throughout this whole thing, I've never vomited.

Thanks for any help you can give me. I'm sorry this is so long. (:

[boron]

What has happened at July 4th? Have you took any drug (aspirine maybe?), or got infection?

Your symptoms:
- Gastrointestinal symptoms: nausea, acidic feeling in throat constipation, weight loss, bloating, burning in lower abdomen.
- Neurologic symptoms: headache, hard to concentrate, numbness around shoulders, pain in jaw bone.
- Neuro OR gastro symptoms: difficult swalloving
- Dry mouth
- LAB: elevated bilirubin, CO2 at 13% (what is this CO2 ?)

My suggestions:
- LIVER: nausea and elevated bilirubin speak for liver disease. More specific LIVER tests (enzymes, tests for HEPATITIS) would be needed.
- CELIAC DISEASE: During upper endoscopy they will take a sample of the tissue from your duodenum to check it for celiac disease.
- Ask your doctors does any of your sign go with SCLEROSIS MULTIPLEX, this is a neurologic disease of unknown, maybe infectious origin, which can affect any part of the body. You did mentioned numbness, swallowing problems, mixing words...even dry mouth could be neurologic (from damaged innervation of salivary glands). Do you feel any numbness on the face or within the mouth?

[clairegen]

There was nothing special about July 4th, I just remember the date because I was sick on the holiday. CO2 is my carbon dioxide levels. I've been tested for hepatitis, and the results were negative.

Nope, no facial numbness and the rest of my numbness is pretty much gone.

Celiac disease is something that hasn't bring up yet. I'll make sure to mention it the next time I'm at the gastro. Thanks.

[angela0317]

My daughter is 14 and she has had alot of the same symptoms (not the neurological ones- numbness, tingling etc) but she has been nauseaus for over a year. Some days good some days can't get out of bed. She's been tested for celiac's, crohnes, IBS, pancreatitis, gall bladder disease, cystic fibrosis, we even had some DNA tests run all negative. I hope you have better luck. I will be interesting to see what your GI says.

[Pam235]

Hi,
My teenage son (17years old) has had the same problems for about a year.
He has a feeling of nausea come over him many times a day; it doesn't matter if he's at home, school, with friends, playing sports etc... It just randomly happens throughout the day and night. It is taking a toll on him, he finds it especially hard first thing in the morning, and he always gags before he leaves the house and sometimes vomits. (Usually just bile, mucas)
He does have a lot of excess mucas and that seemed to be the problem, but not sure what to do for it. He can't even think or talk when it happens because he is concentrating so hard not to vomit in public until the feeling passes. We have been to many doctors that just keep trying different anti-nausea drugs taken with Nexium (Everyone says acid reflux but these pills don’t help at all). The last doctor that we went to finally sent him (with my urging) to the hospital for a Barium swallow test today. At least it's something, but going to school and just trying to function normally has been difficult for him as he has always been very active in school and sports and this seems to really be stopping him from doing the things he loves. He also cannot eat much and avoids food at times.

If anyone with the same problems has found an answer please post and let me know what is causing it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

[Joint-heir]

I am 65 yrs old and have been fighting many of the symptoms you describe for your son, (nausea most of the time, never throwing up but feeling like it) since June, 2007...On Jan 8, 2008, my general Dr put me on prilosec and sceduled an upper endoscopy with gastroenterologist for 1/31/08..Gastro Dr added a med called sucralfate(4Xday-to protect stomach)..Said (according to my husband, the talk with Dr after sedation for procedure was not remembered by me) that I had two problems, the acid reflux and a very irritated stomach lining.  I am very anxious to go to follow up app on March 27 as I have MANY questions.  I never had any heart burn before going on prilosec, but now have constant heartburn (to me, very debilitating).  causing lack of sleep and eating very little to try and prevent the heartburn...When I put a call in to the Dr, he just switched to Nexium scrip.  From what I can research and what pharmacist told me, they are just about the same medicine.  Aside from this, I have no scrip coverage right now and the Nexium was going to be nearly $180 for one month. Now, I wouldn't mind paying this cost for something I felt was going to help me, but if it is the same as prilosec, I do not want to purchase this scrip and then have same problems.  If anyone has any experience with prilosec backfiring on them or anything similar, I too would  appreciate having them post, also.  It is very frustrating to have more problems than I started out with. The nawing(sp?) feeling in my gut continues, and I now have heartburn with it...

[sassyo1]

I suffered from almost the exact symptoms that you mention. I had my gallbladder removed but had no relief. After many tests, I had an emptying scan done and discovered that I have gastroparesis. I am on medicine from Canada called Domperidone that my GI doctor prescribed. There is no cure but the medicine helps some. You might want to try the emptying scan to see how well your stomach is functioning.
I wish you well.

[ali432]

it sounds like stress/ anxiety, all those symptoms you describe can be down to anxiety disorders. I have had one for 4 years and i cannot remember a time when i didn't feel sick. for the first year every morning i would throw up bile.
ask the doctor about that being a possibility?
x

[melnper]

I am 40 years old and am having similar problems. It started back in November 2007. I had about 2 weeks of feeling like I was going to vomit any minute and would drive to work with a bag on my lap in case I got sick. I wasn't able to stay for an 8 hour shift, so I left and saw my primary care doctor. She ordered a gall bladder ultrasound and xrays. That came back showing sludge and a very small wall pollup. They ordered a hide-a-scan, but before it was scheduled, my symptoms went away and it was like nothing was ever wrong. Then, in early July of this year it started up out of nowhere. We were eating dinner at a restaurant and it hit me out of the blue. I felt like I needed to run out to get sick. Ever since that day, I have had a constant feeling of nausea and gagging 24/7. I just went back for the same tests including the hide-a-scan and everything came back normal. Now, I have to schedule an appointment with the specialist tomorrow. I am so afraid of living like this and never finding out what's wrong. I spend countless hours in the bathroom gagging and trying to throw up but nothing comes up. I also took Nexium and Prilosec and neither one helped at all. It's getting to where I am losing weight because I can barely eat and I am constantly shaking from the continuous need to vomit. It almost feels like there is something in the back, right part of my throat. I feel it constantly, not just when I swallow. Does anyone have any reccomendations? I don't know how much longer I can take this.

[tsa28]

hey I am also 17 years old and I have been suffering with the same problems as your son. For about a year now I have been experiencing nausea all the time in the morning and throughout the day at different times. I don't know when its going to come or go. I used to be really active as well and I used to be a competitive swimmer and play netball for the school but that all stopped when I started to feel sick and they diagnosed me with acid reflux. Except none of the drugs they have been giving me are working. I was on Nexium as well and somac and nizac but none of these have helped. So now I am going to a natropath but this doesn't seem to be doing much either. I think sometimes I need to be patient with it but it is hard to be patient with something like this. I can't even remember what it feels like to feel normal. I get scared to go out sometimes because of feeling nausea all the time and like what you wrote about your son not being able to think or talk because hes concentrating so hard on not vomiting. This happens to me as well. I would be in mid-conversation with a friend and I would just stop talking because I couldn't. The feeling is so strong. I also avoid food sometimes when I am out because I don't want to feel sick and sometimes before I go out I avoid it also because I don't want to feel sick when I am out. This doesn't stop me feeling nausea but I figure if I don't have anything in my tummy then nothing will come up. It has had a huge affect on my life and I don't know when it's going to go away. I hate feeling like this everyday and no one seems to understand how I am feeling. Some of my friends think its all in my mind but until they are feeling how I have been feeling they have no idea. I am a pretty positive person and have a good outlook on life. I am not one to stress over things. I just want to feel normal again. How did your son go with the Barium swallow test? I know it has been over a year since you posted that but have you found anything else that has helped your son? or is he still feeling the same way?

Thankyou

[Matthew007]

hey clair.. have you had any stool studies done?  I've been sick for like 3 years with constant nausea..abdominal pain, bloating anxiety..can't sleep..

anyway I tested for like EVERYTHING we could and I went to an allergist and got tested and found out I was slightly allergic to oats.. then I did a celiac blood test (which isn't very accurate) but I went off dairy/lactose completely and after like a week I felt some improvement but not totally better.  Now I suspect i'm either wheat intolerant or celiac.  

What you could do is..it's a simple blood test, testing for celiac disease.  Food allergies cause the symptoms you're having....like someone else said, if you're going in to consult about this upper endoscope ask about celiac.  

Also could be gastric emptying problems...and you migth have to do an emptying scan..now why your liver counts are elevated almost sounds also the gallbladder coule be a problem (you're pretty young to have gall stones..) but a ultrasound/HIDA scan might be in order..

gallbladder and food allergy sounds like the two i'd be looking into.  My gallbladder was bad and we removed it but I think it was caused by the food allergy...celiac is easy and cheap to test for generally...  I'd go lactose free if you haven't already and see if you improve at ALL in any way and if you do..ask for celiac testing right away.  Good luck on the upper endoscope! (they're easy..least you'll get some good sleep..)

[cjh960]

I just started these same symptoms about three weeks ago.  I had a blood test for A1C - I'm diabetic - and it was 62 according to the doctor excellent.  This week my blood sugar shot up form 118 to 459 for no apparent reason.  I'm not on Janumet and amyrill to bring it down.  It's not working.  I have nausea all day.  I have been diagnosed wih a fatty liver but the doctor said it's not the problem.  I'm at a loss.  Can anyone help.