Vomiting

[dani919]

A little over two years ago on new years eve i woke up feeling very nauseus as I stood up the feeling intensified, I ran to the bathroom and vomited. Now two years later this problem is still going on for me I have been to several doctors about it but their answers never seem to be right to me. Every couple weeks I vomit. Its usually in the morning right after waking up but occasionally last all day. It is very painful because the vomit is usually dry and I have to cough it out unless it is bile. My stomach will feel like it is on fire occasionally also. Sometimes there is bright red steaks but I am not sure if it is blood or not. It has gotten increasingly worse and I can't take off work from it anymore. Latly I feel as if I have been urinating very frequently and sometimes become very dizzy. Last nite I fainted. I started to feel very dizzy and about 30 seconds later I hit the ground. A few seconds later I woke up with a loud ringing in my ears light headedness my ears felt wet inside, I turned very pale. I had trouble focusing the rest of the night and my stomach felt unusual. This morining I woke up very nauseus and vomited. My doctor said I had acid reflux and a vitamin b12 deffecincy but the medication seemed to worsen my symptoms making me vomit a lot more ( a lot more bile and also foam even making it come up my throat without vomiting) and feel nauseus almost everyday so I took myself off of it. I don't believe that I have reflux because I can never feel the acid coming up my throat except when I was taking this medication.  I also am always tired no matter how much sleep I have. I feel like my skin has a yellow tint to it but I am not sure if its my normal skin color. My doctor also tested me for diabetes which came back negative. Does any one have any idea what this could be? Please help me

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Commonest cause of chronic nausea and vomiting is acidity. Take omeprazole (empty stomach in morning) and antacid gel and see if it helps (I am not sure what medications you are on). Liver and kidney dysfunction is another cause. Hence kidney and liver function tests should be done. Other causes are diabetes and hypothyroidism. Electrolyte imbalance too can cause nausea. IBS, gluten or lactose intolerance, parasites in gut too can be the cause. A stool test should be done for worms, giardiasis etc. Chronic hepatitis or chronic infection of the gall bladder are the other possibilities. Also if nothing is found then food challenge test to detect food intolerance should be done. Keep a food diary and see if there is a co-relation between what you eat and symptoms that appear. Chronic constipation, sedentary life style building up gas in the gut, inflammatory bowel disease, food rich in sulfites (molasses, dry powder, pickles, tinned shrimp, cookies, crackers, and readymade pie dough), cabbage, raddish etc also cause bloating, nausea and vomiting.
The best thing would be to consult a general practitioner or PCP and try and assess what is the cause of your problem. Then proper referral for concerned specialist can take things further and get you proper treatment. Take care!

[M_Pounce]

Jeez... what's "not old enough"???  I know two people in their early twenties who had to have their gallbladders out because of gallstones.  And one TEENAGER that had to have hers out because of an infection.

[dani919]

Thanks so much. As for the gallbladder I did ask my doctor to check it, he told me I wasn't old enough and because I'm not over weight that he doesn't want to check it, even though my mom had to have hers removed. Every month I'd go there to get the b12 shot try to tell him that I really did not beleive it was acid reflux and he kept insisting it was. I mean its better than my other doctor that told me I had the stomach virus right. Thanks for the information you've told me its been more help than any doctor. I mean what does it take to find a doctor that acctually wants to treat you not just throw a perscription at you.

[M_Pounce]

Please go back to your doctor and demand to have your gallbladder checked.  They should have at least done an ultrasound.  Do you have any abdominal pain?  Cholecystitis usually presents with extreme discomfort and/or pain, but it very well may not be causing pain.  Bile backing up into your liver and getting dispersed through your blood (way oversimplification, but you get the idea) can cause a funky tint to your skin.

Also, if your stomach is not producing intrinsic factor, your body cannot absorb vitamin b.  Which in turn can lead to a vitamin deficiency.  

Please make sure you are drinking plenty of water. And while I know you are nauseous it is VITALLY important that you are eating. When you're sick to your stomach, try eating many small meals (no larger than your fist) throughout the day.  Not only will it be more likely that you'll hold it down, but if you DO bring it up, at least you're bring something up and it'll be a relatively small amount.

Please make sure you track your intake and your reaction to the food.  When you get nauseous and/or vomit, note the time and date.  Note anything you do that makes you feel better, and note anything you do that makes you feel worse.  Keeping logs like this will help you and the doctor identify what is causing all of your symptoms.

Please pick one doctor (that you had a good rapport with) and stick with him or her.  Make sure they have all your records from all the doctors you've seen.  Doctors have to eliminate diagnoses, typically from simplest to more extreme.  So it's going to take time to go through everything that can be causing your symptoms. That's the problem with the gut :(  All of your organs are there... so when one thing goes wrong, it can show up all over your abdomen!

Take care and keep us posted!