anxiety/ nausea for about a month constantly

[jwjordan322]

OK I've come here because I'm just looking for answers. With the problems I've been having its been really hard to simply even enjoy life.
I'm a 21 year old male, weigh about 135 and am 6'3
In the past I've had anxiety problems, just random bouts, and this was years ago. I've also had stomach problems including no appetite or desire for food, as well many years ago. Both were untreated.

About 3 days before Christmas is when all of my new symptoms started.
2 days prior to Christmas I was unable to eat, no appetite what so ever, even with all the food on Christmas and Christmas Eve just had no interest in eating. Felt like it would most likely make me get sick. So the day after Xmas all I had eaten the past 2 days was a couple saltines I forced myself to eat and a piece of fudge. So I went walk in. They basically told me there was nothing they could do, but I had lost 5 pounds and at my size that seemed very unsafe. Following that I scheduled a visit with my primary. In the meantime I was working outside shoveling roofs, and one day when I got home I was having trouble takin deep breaths. That day it was -10 outside not including wind chill. Since that day I've had a little trouble taking deep breaths but kinds fell now that it's anxiety induced. When I went to my apt on 7th of January, I had blood work done, that came back ok. and was perscribed ranitidine for what the doc thought was to much acid in my stomach. I took that for about a week until I stated having really bad anxiety and panic attacks which really scared me. ( shortness of breath, trouble breathing, thoughts that I was gonna die and initially thought it was from the meds) so I stopped taking them. I called my doc on the 16th ( 2 days ago) and he told me to go back on the ranitidine and also prescribed me busiporine 5mg 3 times daily.  Since then I've had no relief.

Since the beginning of the prob, I wake up prob 6\7 days a week with nausea. Feeling horrible, but after my hour commute to work and breakfast one I get there I sometimes feel better but it is not uncommon to come back one I get back home. I live with my gf 45 minutes from my patents house.
I also had a best friend takes his life back in June which at the time had no effect like what I'm feeling now, but just want to be as discriptful as possible.

Thank you to anyone that takes the tune to read this and can offer any guidance

[Paxiled]

I should add, I don't suffer from nausea.  People are different and need different treatments -- natural medicine isn't one size fits all.  I just noted what I did.  And I should have added, I'd take a good probiotic from the refrigerated section of the best health food store in your area that emphasizes bifidus, an essential organism for proper digestive health.  If my main symptom was nausea, I might try a different regimen, probably starting with a homeopathic remedy called nux vomica and maybe some ginger (yes, I know it's a hot herb, but here's why I don't personally use bland diets -- some of the best things for digestion aren't bland.  I'm more for seeing if something bothers you or not, if it does avoid it, if not, don't.  And that's barring a definite diagnosis, which I don't have and you appear not to have).

[Paxiled]

At the risk of starting all over again with Birdie, which I desperately don't want to do, I'm currently using a regimen of DGL, a form of licorice, aloe vera juice, enteric coated peppermint capsules, and intermittently slippery elm capsules and charcoal.  But you have to be wise about this -- they must be taken apart from the time you take any medications you're on, and they probably aren't a great idea to take if you're taking medication for the stomach problems because they act by coating the intestinal tract and mucosal lining of the stomach and that can interfere with medication absorption.  If you don't know this stuff or the good brands to trust, if you can afford it you might see a naturopath or practitioner of integrated medicine but they won't take insurance.  Enzymatic Therapy makes the Peppermint Plus and make a good DGL as well, but they aren't inexpensive when you buy reliable supplements (except the charcoal and the aloe vera juice -- they're inexpensive, but aloe vera juice needs to be a quality brand -- bad brands don't have any active ingredients in them).

[jwjordan322]

What do you use for natural remedies?

[Paxiled]

Personally, I was recently diagnosed with gastritis.  Still have some problems, tried the prescription and got not results, told to go on  bland diet and ignored it for reasons stated above.  I used my knowledge of natural remedies and found about a 90% solution to it.  Again, explore other options if the ones you're given aren't working.  What else can you do?

[birdie0907]

You might want to try another doc if yours is too busy to listen and is short with you. I had a stomach issue for 4 years, so don't be surprised if yours happens to last a while either.
Stomach upset can lead to long term problems so should not be ignored. Did doc not even comment on your stomach issue? When mine was at its worst a few years ago I thought I would never recover. I already told you what I did on this post and on the one I referenced, and eventually it went away, although it took more than a month. Sipping water all day seemed to be the most useful since it is known to dilute stomach acid.

[jwjordan322]

I'm just so puzzled why I'm getting the nausea All day long. Morning to night. I woke up this morning so close to puking, but given a couple hours it was a little more bearable, but still present. I went to the doc yesterday and he wanted me to try Zoloft.. But there no way I'm gonna take some thing that's most likely gonna make the nausea worse... I read to many negative reviews and if I felt any worse I dont know what I'd do.. + I don't get why he prescribed a anti depressant for nausea with a little anxiety...
Not to mention he was very short with me on my visit! Didn't let me voice my concerns and like the third thing he said was"so I think I'm gonna try another script" I don't feel like paying guienea pig, and trying all kinds of meds

[Paxiled]

I really don't know how to respond, though It seems I should.  Suffice it to say no errors were stated in the above post, just disagreements we've already hashed over repeatedly.  So everyone has a choice:  believe there is little hard truth in medicine and keep an open mind, or just blindly believe what your doctor tells you.  Either way is fine with me as long as it works and doesn't create other harms.

[birdie0907]

Paxiled answer on Jan 19 has a few errors. Doctors put you on a bland diet for short periods, but the purpose is not "avoiding most of the nutrition in the world might make the stomach work less hard," The purpose is to avoid things like spicy foods, chocolate and the other things I listed on the link I provided. Unfortunately some of the items that can cause problems are raw foods including salads so it is not the healthiest diet in the world.
The patient can do some trial and error after the stomach settles down and find what foods are tolerated. In my case onions are now on the do not eat list, practically for life. Also Paxiled describes the diet as "a lot of white flour, for example" however the reality is to use white flour if you want wheat, but there are carbohydrate choices other than flour like rice etc - not that a lot of white flour is going to kill you anyway, especially if you are only on it for a short time.
Bland diet is mainstream medical but you can ask your doc about it. You might also want to ask doc about testing for food allergies if that is a concern, although I don't know anything about how accurate the tests are nowadays. 30 years ago they gave false positives so back then a nutrition counselor told me trial and error was the only way to tell for sure - not simple if you have multiple allergies that take weeks to clear after not eating the problem foods.
As far as natural remedies I found this not so convincing evidence in Wikipedia.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deglycyrrhizinated_licorice
According to MedlinePlus and the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, licorice is "possibly effective" for dyspepsia in combination with other herbs, but there is "insufficient evidence" to rate its effectiveness for other conditions.[1] Regarding stomach ulcers, specifically, there is "some evidence...that specially prepared licorice will speed the healing of stomach ulcers".[1]
Not that I am against something natural that works, but one problem is they are not regulated in any way so there is no way to guarantee purity. Glycyrrhizin in the licorice is known to cause negative side effects, such as hypertension and edema; removing the glycyrrhizin is meant to avoid these symptoms. Unfortunately you don't have any guarantee that removal occurred - you can read why in journal 3, called otc are not what they say. http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/index/676326?personal_page_id=308570
I saw a product to help people quit chewing tobacco that a former baseball player invented on Shark Tank last year. He gave it to lots of his teammates who were addicted. I don't know anything about it and didn't need to follow up.
You can have anxiety for many reasons, so trying to determine why it occurs or does not occur with the nausea might not be possible. Some people get it for no determined reason. However most likely the 2 do some feeding off each other for obvious reasons, and the nausea is not something you want to leave untreated any longer than you have to because it can lead to problems that require surgery. Definitely talk it over with doc.

[Paxiled]

This will sound like it's out of left field, but have you started a new multivitamin or iron supplement when this started?  Many people have this reaction you describe to supplements they don't absorb very well, usually a multivitamin or iron.  Just a shot in the dark.  And of course you should quit the tobacco whether it's an issue with this or not.  I lost three members of my family to this stuff, and believe me, if you think you're anxious now, wait until you get the kinds of things tobacco gives you.  When to quit is a good question, but I'm amazed after all that's gone on with tobacco, an entire WWII generation afflicted with it, that anyone still uses the stuff.

[jwjordan322]

I've also read on here you should quit smoking. I smoke, and am unable to smoke at work so I chew at work.
Smoke a pack every 2 days
And about a can a day

Is it mainly smoking that effects the stomach acid? Or would chew as well?
If it would make a considerable difference I would def quit, I have tried before with no luck. I just feel like quitting note would be all the harder and possibly make things worse as well as the anxiety on top of that

[jwjordan322]

Another thing to add is, when I have nausea. it's never really an upset stomach. Sometimes a little queasy but not really upset. It's more or less in my throat. Kind feels like a lump in the back of my throat with a urge to get sick. But knock on wood I've yet to physically get sick. Not to mention I absolutely hate throwing up, huge fear.

[jwjordan322]

One thing that just puzzles me though is, the past 2 mornings I've woke up very nauseas, but yesterday given a couple hours it was down to maybe a 3\10. on a scale of how bad it is.

Another thing I notice is that I'm not getting anxiety and the nausea at the same time. Either one or the other. Last week when I woke up for work one morning no nuasea, but about half way to work had a really bad anxiety attack, prob the worst is ever had, and late just about all day but lost intensity throughout the day.

Another side note. When all this started, being just a couple days before Xmas, I kinda thought it may be due to the stress and excitement for Christmas and seeing family and such. But had yet to get better.

I have a follow up this Tuesday with my primary. Is there anything I should mention to him or request etc.

[Paxiled]

As to the comment about peppermint.  I can't speak to a bland diet, as this diet is useless for stomach problems long-term -- yes, avoiding most of the nutrition in the world might make the stomach work less hard, but it doesn't get to the source of the problem and robs the body of so many antioxidants you can't get in a bland diet that why bother?  What's "bland" for one (a lot of white flour, for example) is a major allergen and source of metabolic problems for most people.  But peppermint tea is not a stomach aid.  The only way peppermint works is to take enteric coated peppermint capsules that don't dissolve until they're in the intestinal tract, where it provides a healing coating for those for whom it works.  But you wouldn't want to combine this with medications for the stomach, as natural remedies such as enteric coated peppermint or DGL (a form of licorice) or aloe juice or slippery elm all coat the stomach and intestinal lining to heal it but in so doing can interfere with the absorption of medication if taken at the same time.  If you want to try natural remedies  (and I think with these types of gastric problems they are a better solution because medications suppress acid, which the stomach needs to digest protein and so long-term will force the stomach to keep producing more and more acid causing a rebound problem that exacerbates the situation) you have to know how to use them and when to use them and they work best instead of medication.  If you need medication, go that route, but just because one suffers from anxiety doesn't mean one has to suffer with stomach problems, and just because one has stomach problems doesn't mean one needs medication or a bland diet long-term.  It might turn out that way, but there are options to try.  

[lene54]

What I noticed was the comment you made at the end about your friend taking his life. You felt that you handled it fine.  Sometimes there is a delay for the anxiety to hit.  I know this because of a lady I work with.  I know this lady very well and had worked with her a long time.  Her Dad passed away in the hospital while she was there.  He was not a old man and it was very unexpected.  In fact, she was insisting that he get up and walk, which he did.  He fell over dead.  They were expecting him to go home the next day.  I tried to talk to her about seeing someone and talking to them about this experience because I knew had I felt when my Dad passed away.  I felt like I should have done something and it would not have happened.  I knew also with her insisting that her Dad get up, when he did not want to, that she would probably be dealing with guilt at some point.  She insisted that she was alright.  A couple months later she started having awful panic attacks.  I said all that to say, maybe you are dealing with the lose of your friend with anxiety.  When I was dealing with anxiety, I had all kinds of problems with my GI system.  I couldn't eat anything.  The Omeprazole pill does help a lot.  When they tried me on Buspar, it did not touch my anxiety. It depends on how bad yours is.  I don't know if this helps you any, but I hope so.  You are too young to be feeling this way.  I will say a pray for you right now.

[audrey1122]

5mg/3 times a day is a very low dose of Buspar actually the lowest. Buspar is a great medication for panic attacks and helps control them. It takes a good 4 weeks for Buspar to have a full effect. If after 4 weeks it seems to not be helping then talk with your doctor about increasing your dosage. Stay positive...

[birdie0907]

Try studying the foods allowed in a bland diet so you can choose enough that your nutrition needs can be met while also giving your stomach a break Here is a discussion on bland diet but you can do some googling since there are variations of it. http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Anxiety/Help-Please-Stress-and-acid-reflux/show/1894147?personal_page_id=890501
I believe peppermint is a no-no but can't be sure so you need to look that up. I would switch to sipping water all day which is a low tech way to dilute the stomach acid.
Anx and depression go hand in hand feeding off each other, so when you have all that stomach pain it is no wonder you are anx (and likely a bit depressed although you might not recognize it, if such is the case) I was on Omeprazole for 4 years but it was only by switching to a bland diet for a while that I was able to recover a year ago and don't take Omep any more. I watch everything I eat now to keep the stomach pains away, because no flavor is worth pain and anx.

[jwjordan322]

Yes I've read that buspar is basically useless, but gonna atleast give it a whirl. Any suggestions to how to combat the constant nausea?
Have tried ginger ale, peppermint tea and gum with no luck.
I notice when I'm working is almost obsolete, which makes me dread the weekend having it off, knowing I should be enjoying myself not sitting at home miserable

[remar]

Busiporine is Buspar. It's a very mild anxiety med and many people do not get much relief from it. Some do though.
You may want to talk to your Dr about trying something else.
I'm sorry about your stomach issues. Than can be common when you have anxiety.