Nausea for months after drinking all summer

[Student 22]

I am a student and was drinking a lot of hard alcohol this summer (3times per week),and I was drinking large amounts of coffea aswell. I started to get nauseated the day after drinking at dinner which is rare for me because I have a"ironlike"stomach. The day after the hang over day i would be fine i could eat as normal . I returned to school and of course drank a couple of times with my freinds that i hadn't seen all summer. This time the nausea started to last 3 days then 4. And right as i said to myself after tonight i wont drink for a month, I got really sick at dinner and was retching and dry heaving. I went to my room and was sick all night. This time the nausea didnt go away after 3 days. When i ate I felt bloated and slightly nauseated.If i pushed it and kept eating i could induce a retching/dry heaving attack that i could not control if i backed off eating before this attack the food would digest with some discomfort after a while. I went to a doctor(tested for hep,liver enz,blood,urine stool all good) and he started me on pantoloc 80 mg a day and told me not to drink for 3 weeks and to come see him. I took the pantoloc faithfully but these feelings of being bloated while eating never subsided I went back to see the doc about 2 weeks rather concerened because i was starting to have alot of anxiety about the act of eating. he started me on paxil. What a night mere,Ive taken it before with no stomach effects, but this time i became so nauseous that i was haveing these retching attacks all day. I was missing alot of school and dropped from 145lbs to 133lbs in the 3 weeks while on paxil. I stoped the pantoloc thinking it was interacting with the paxil but this did not help. So i went off the paxil. I got into a gastroent 2 weeks ago who put me back on 40mg of pantoloc and told me he thinks i have gastritis and to see him in 2 months at which time he may scope me. These days about 3 months in I as before the paxil im not nauseated all the time however i am every time i eat its like after 15 bites the food that was just tasting so good is starting to taste bad and then the bloated feeling starts. I always have to relax and let the food digest for atleast 1/2 an hour before i start any social of physical activity or i get nauseous. Im taking paxil vitA,K,C zinc,glutamine and licorice root and bitters all on the advice of a naturalpathic doctor cause im grasping for straws. My main question is Ive noticed a vague link between when i preform "deadlifts" at the gym which is an exersice where you pick in my case 200 lbs from the ground to your waste,its known to cause hernia if done improperly. I added this exercise to my routine about 8 monthes ago and am wondering if i might have hiatel hernia. I have read the symtoms of some cases that sound similar,Im not going to do them for a couple of weeks to see if theres any change. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.(oh and i havnt drank alcohol or coffea since the day this started)

[Kevin Pho, MD]

Gastritis is certainly a leading possibility given the history of alcohol use.  I would also consider the possibilities of peptic ulcers as well.  The upper endoscopy would be a reasonable test to evaluate for these diseases.

I would also consider testing for H Pyolri - which is a bacteria associated with gastritis or ulcers.  This can be tested with a simple blood test, and treated with 2 antibiotics if positive.  

If the endoscopy is negative, you can consider a 24-hr pH study which is the definitive test for GERD.  

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.
Medical Weblog:
kevinmd_b

[yoshi]

too much stomach acid and too little stomach acid,the reactions are similar,but if you feel bad soon after you eat,it could be not enough acid,if you feel bad 2 hours after you eat,it could be too much acid.
try drinking cranberry juice or pineapple juice if you dont feel well right after you eat,if the nausea goes away,it could be you have too little acid to digest the food.

[ozark]

you could possibly have a hiatal hernia...i would tun this by your pcp or the gi md and ask for an upper gi to see if this could be the cause         good luck