Nausea at night

[Tinkerbell070707]

I have always had stomach problems. My doctor can't figure it out so she just keeps testing my fo H.pylori virus. When the tests come back negative, she just assumes it's Acid reflux disease.

The thing is, Most of the time, my symptoms only come at night. I feel like there is stomach acid rising in the back of my throat. I told my doctor this and she put me on Prevacid.

Then, on some occasions, I wake up nauseous. It's strange becuase it's not that I feel incredibly horrible upon waking, I just become incredibly restless and and can't sleep. Then out of nowhere, I just know that I need to throw up. I have noticed patterns with certain foods. If I eat something that's too greasy, I will wake up literally 8 or 9 hours after eating it and throw up just the greese. It's horrible.

The last few nights there have been a horrible gnawing pain in the pit of my stomach that wakes me up in a cold sweat. I feel that if I just eat a little something, the pain will go away. Last night, however, I woke up with the same pain. It wouldn't go away for about an hour. I took some pepto bismol and ate some crackers and the pain dulled to the point where I could sleep again. I woke up about 2 hours later and immediately knew I was going to throw up. I threw up and felt completely better after. I fell asleep again and didn't wake until morning.

I also have gone through periods that last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks where I have no appetite. I don't feel nauseous, but I don't feel good either. My stomach feels almost too acidic. Whenever I chew gum, the slight bad feeling seems to be alleviated for awhile.

[lowT]

There is a test called a barium swallow where you swallow a substance called barium which is thick like a really thick milk shake it doesnt taste good but it's not too bad, and they take xrays while the barium goes through your eosophagus and into your stomach, it will show a hiatus hernia and reflux if they are present.

[Tinkerbell070707]

Thanks for the quick reply. I have heard of Hiatus Hernia before and thought that the reflux might be due to it but I still can't figure out why I am throwing up certain foods or why I wake up with that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I recently spoke to my doctor. She wants to test me one more time for H. Pyloi and then she's going to give me a referal for a endoscopy. I'm not looking forward to it but hopefully it will get to the bottom of things. Thanks!

[gregusmeus]

My bet is a Hiatus Hernia.  This is where a weak sphincter at the top of the stomach allows acid to escape into your esophagus.  Night time is the most common time to get the problem because you're lying down, so gravity is working against you.  You'll need an endoscopy for proper diagnosis.  In the mean time, avoid eating within 3 hours of bed-time, put some books or a brick under the legs of your bed (headboard end) to slant your bed downwards, avoid acidic food like coffee and OJ, have a couple of antacids before going to sleep.