Is there any relief from constant nausea?

[LaLaLondon]

For the past few years I have had problems with my digestive/gastro-intestinal health. About two years ago I noticed that I seemed to be having a more frequently upset stomach (usually diarrhoea) than was normal. About once a month I'd have a severly upset stomach but the rest of the time I'd be fine. Then about a year and a half ago I realised that I was feeling nauseaous every single day, usually in the morning, but sometimes in the afternoons too. Often eating would relieve the feeling for a couple of hours, but at other times eating would make me feel much worse and even sicker. Since then I have been to see various doctors and gastro specialists, I've had a colonoscopy and an endoscopy but they have not discovered anything. The common diagnosis is that it is IBS, but I don't really suffer from the constipation/diarrhoea pattern and nausea is my biggest problem. I have also noticed that I am quite bloated (much more than I used to be) and my stomach is constantly churning, grumbling and making noises. I feel like I constantly want to press and kneed my stomach, because it is so bloated, pulsing and gassy. Despite the never-ending nausea I have never actually been sick, however when I'm feeling really nauseous I seem to swallow excessively which can make me feel terrible.

Although nausea doesn't sound like a particularly bad problem it affects me every day and can prevent me living my life as I want to. I often feel that I can't be active or do excercise because my stomach feels so uncomfortable and I feel so sluggish. It can disrupt nights out with my friends when I suddenly feel incredibly sick or my stomach is upset. Frustratingly doctors seem to lose interest in finding out what's wrong now that they know it's nothing serious, but I long for the days when I didn't worry about what my stomach was doing or how I was feeling.

Can anyone help or does anybody else suffer from similar symptoms? Furthermore does anybody have a cure for nausea that really works? I've tried Dom Peridone (Motillium), peppermint capsules, ginger capsules and so far no relief!

Any input gratefully received.

LaLa

[cramstankin]

Hey, I am currently having the exact same thing.  it started last saturday though; only a week now, but i am already over it.  i have had a dr appointment and she has suggested i have a gastroscopy and colonoscopy and try to get to the bottom of it.  i am almost too scared to eat cause i dont know if i'll feel better or worse, so i have dropped 3 kg in a week.  my belly rumbles and grumbles all the time too and if i do a belly wave - in and out i can make it grumnble really loudly. weird!  so i am eaing foods i sort of know are ok, but then yesterday i had some rice like i have in the last few days, but yesterday it made me feel yukky???  dont know?? dr has put me on zantac for a possible ulcer, and it has helped a bit but not completely, although i have read they can take up to four weeks to clear an ulcer?

i also dont have the typical bowel symptoms; just nausea really.  i do get a bit of diarrhea but that is only when i sit and stress about what it is that is wrong with me. until i know, i am destined to stress as i'm prone to a fair bit of anxiety.

can you tell me a bit more about your symptoms?  have you found yourself googling your symptoms and then freaking out about all the possibilities?  what was the gastroscopy like?  thats concerning me too!!

[LaLaLondon]

Hey there,

It sounds like your doctor is taking it quite seriously (which is a good sign that they want to help you get it fixed). It's the nausea and the growling in my stomach which is the worst for me. If I rub my stomach it churns and gurgles and feels really horrible. Obviously mine's been going on for quite a while so not sure if it's the same thing, but it is so frustrating not knowing what's wrong and looking for answers that nobody seems to have!

As for food, it seems that I can eat something one day and be absolutely fine and another day it'll make me feel really sick. I just wish I could find out what was causing it as it makes you really paranoid and suspicious of everything.

Don't worry about the colonoscopy and gastroscopy/endoscopy - they'll knock you out so that you barely know what's happening. The gastroscopy is slightly uncomfortable but it's probably the prep (taking the laxatives for the colonoscopy) which is the worst part of the whole thing. Anyway, it'll hopefully give you peace of mind that it's nothing really serious, although in a way I found myself wishing they'd find something just so I'd finally know what this problem is!

Good luck!

[kmcla116]

B6-- 25 or 50 mg is very good for nausea. It is sometimes given to
pregnant women. My daughter took it so it would not be harmful
to the baby but helped her. I take it as well. It has other benefits
for women. You can get it in the drugstore and it's inexpensive.
Try it and you'll probably notice right away that it helps!

[Allison1986]

Hi! Wow, this sounds so very similar to what I'm suffering from. I'm 21 and have been getting nausea for about 5 months now. I initially got sick from antibiotics I was on for a tooth ache 6 months ago. Then from that I got 2 bouts of gastroenteritis over Christmas/New Years. I was okay for a few weeks, then gradually started to feel sick again. No diarrhea like I had with the gastro, just severe sickness. But like you, I never actually vomit. Even when I had gastro I wasn't sick! Anyway, I had an emergency gastroscopy and colonoscopy (as I had to wait like 3 weeks to see a specialist! I ended up in emergency it got that bad!) and they found I had chemical gastritis - inflamation of the stomach lining cause by acid. So I was put on anti-acid medication that (after 6 weeks) made me worse. So my specialist put me on another type of medication but after 4 weeks of that, still no better. I have seen 2 seperate specialists, as the first seemed to be too busy to even remember my name and basically said "We don't have all the anwers, get a second opinion'. After I stopped that last medication, I felt better for a few days (it was such a relief, I'd forgotten what it felt like to have a normal stomach!) but alas, my body was teasing me. One doctor seemed to just get frustrated at me as I was almost crying during a consultation and told me it was probably just anxiety (such a bulls*** cop-out in my opinion). I KNOW it's not that. Problem is, I've had every test imaginable: gastroscopy, colonoscopy, countless blood tests, stool samples, urine tests, ultrasounds, CT Scan... I know what it feels to kind of just be given up on after all the big things are ruled out. But HOW can they be ruled out when I feel like this every day?! From the moment I wake up to the moment i go to bed, I have no relief. The worst thing about this is that I am about to go overseas on my own for 8 months - travelling everywhere. Saving for this my entire life, so to go through it with nausea is so upsetting...

I've kind of just accepted that I'll be putting up with this for the rest of my life. I'm seeing a naturopath on Wednesday. I'm literally trying everything!

[radtech1]

Hi! I know exactly how you feel. Been going through IBS for about 3 years now . I get nauseated about once every week for about the past month. When it hits me it is usually at night and I get the shakes with it. I sometimes have BM but sometimes not. When it gets really bad I take an antispasmotic which stops the nausea. I now feel scared to go anywhere at night in case it hits. I have been seeing a herbal specialist that has really helped in the past. Have you tried a probiotic. It usually helps me. When I was younger I was always constipated. Now it goes back and forth. My herbal lady says it is because my colon is a muscle and it wasn't used alot growing up so it is very weak. When I do have BM it can make me feel very sick. She says I need to build up my colon muscles. She also says when I have a BM it is like getting a muscle cramp. Which is what it feels like. She has really helped me. Hope this helps.

[LaLaLondon]

Hi there,

Thanks for the tip, I'll go out and get some B6 and see if it helps!

[LaLaLondon]

Hi Allison,

Sounds like you've been through a really rough time and I share your frustration. Let me know if you get anywhere. I'm seeing my doctor again about it this week. I'm trying to keep my fingers crossed but i'm losing hope that anything will ever help. I too have not been taken seriously and was referred to a therapist who kept asking about my past and not dealing with the problem at hand. It just makes me so mad that people think it's in my head just because they haven't yet found the medical problem which is causing it. Good luck with everything!

[LaLaLondon]

Hi Radtech,

How do you build up your colon muscles - are there some exercises? I'll take your advice about trying a herbalist - I'm desperate to try anything!

Thanks.

[radtech1]

no excercises but some herbal remedies that help strenghen the walls.  hope it helps.