Recurrent nausea after stomach virus

[wantonwonderer]

I am a 24 year old woman. In early June I had a stomach virus consisting of intense nausea and diarrhea as well as aches and general malaise. Since then (now mid October) I have experience recurring nausea which is worse at night. It keeps me awake and I can hear and feel my stomach churning. I have seen two gastroenterologists. The first performed an upper endoscopy (normal accept for mild chronic inflammation in stomach and esophagus) and ordered as HIDA scan. The scan came back "borderline" (33% ef).  I have had a normal abdominal ultrasound and blood work. Negative for h.pylori, mono, and celiac sprue. Food allergy test inconclusive. Gastric emptying study normal. My doctor has ordered a subsequent HIDA scan (last one was 2 months ago), and I have yet to follow through on it.

I have been prescribed a host of PPIs, currently on Aciphex. I have also tried most anti-emetics: phenergan (only thing that helps but knocks me out), Zofran, and Tigan. Also, I have tried Hyomax which didn't seem to help much. I eat a very bland diet, essentially the same thing every day. I can feel fine for days at a time, and then be randomly sick for a day. The longest time I have felt okay was 2 weeks (recently), and last night I had a relapse. Up all night with nausea yet again.

I have been told that I am likely experiencing some kind of postinfectious IBS/dyspepsia which will gradually fade out over six months. I would very much like to believe this. Anyone else with postinfectious digestive problems experienced relief?  It certainly feels like something is very wrong with me. I am uncertain (as are my doctors) whether the gallbladder is the culprit as I have no pain and cannot correlate episodes to eating fatty foods. I do not feel consciously anxious during episodes, although I do become quite depressed as this sickness is ruining my life. Any advice or support would be SO appreciated, as I feel utterly alone in my suffering. Thanks

[LanaYoung]

I’m having the same thing happening. I got the stomach flu in November and since then I have had on and off nausea and stomach pain. I’ve had an endoscopy that came back normal. Just had a gastric emptying. No h pylori, no Celiac and all that. Not sure what to do

[ninette36]

Hi. I'm having similar symptoms months after a flu /stomach virus also with no definite answers. I get very pronounced bloating , sometimes nausea and a feeling of fullness after eating very little. It has been going on for months. There a thread on steady health community where a lot of us have been having similar ongoing symptoms after a viral type illness. Some people have listed foods, herbs, probiotic treatments that have helped. It seems you need to have the "perfect diet" with no junk to get any relief but this is very hard to keep up for long. I'm going to try to go back to this as it's the only thing that helps. It just seems to keep coming back again and again. I'm wondering if it gets triggered also if you go near someone else who is carrying the active virus months after you get some relief.
Good luck with it. I hope you're feeling better soon

[Nicoletm1]

Hello, I know that this is VERY old, but I wanted to know if you ever got any relief? It sounds like I wrote your original post, right down to my age. Thank you so much! Looking for any glimmer of hope.

[RJFLYER]

Sounds like what I am currently experiencing. A little over a month ago I was hit suddenly with something resembling a stomach bug (fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, etc.) The next day the all the symptoms were gone except for the nausea and vomiting. The vomiting wasn't constant like it had been the first day. After a week, I went to the doctor where they did a rapid flu test which came back negative. Another week with the symptoms and I went back where they took blood and stool samples, all which came back with no abnormalities. After about a month I went to the gastroenterologist who did a endoscopy and saw that I have gastritis due to all the vomiting. I was never really given a good explanation as to the cause of the nausea and vomiting or any ways to relieve the symptoms so I can get back to life. It seems I have bad days and good days but haven't had any great days. Sometimes I can hold food down while other times I can't.

[AprilWatanabe]

I was sick for 3 weeks and than 4th week I was all fine, than suddenly I started to get nausea at night and the feeling that I want to puke and shortness of breath, I know for sure that my left ear have something as well and using antibiotic drops for it, I don't know how belly flue can be related but it seems like I had both like you guys.

[h_g]

Desperate please read
Hubby underwent Aortic Abdominal Aneurysm AAA, with thrombus on 24/5/15
he is in hospital still 8/5/15 it was supposed to be 7-10 day stay they had to move the intestines and clamp kidney for the operation,  He had two IV contrast, and ist one in the first week of his surgery included a  oral contrast nothing is showing up on the scan except on the first scan noted slight damage o kidney but specialist said nothing to worry about, Gastrointrologist, vein specialist, and kidney doctor are looking after him they have all seen the scan and are not worried, he had numours blood cultures done and also lFT , FBC CRP done until 3 days ago he had temps with high C reactive protein, this has come down, to 55 and temps are alright, 5 days into operation he was on saline and ice, 5th day vomited bile and since then nausea, churning of the tummy that is making him unable to eat, without feeling vomit, now he can even put  anything down without chucking, says he is weak, lost weigh, doctors are not sure did stool test normal, no blood seen by the way stool is just water, he says he feels sicker than after the operation saying feels bloated too, he is given tablets to stop vomitig ad even that is not stopping the nausea issue.
Dietician comes ad see him says to have milk could this be the cause, but he cant even eat a piece of his favorite toasted sandwich, Wound is healing fine, ct showed normal bowel movements inside, no blockages, If not for the vomiting he can come home, I am going to ask the doctor if he was checked for h pylori, or if it could be IBS my daughter got t last year out of no where, he used to o to toilet, after a few hours after meals,  will a ct be ale to show if there is any scar tissues in bowel, I dont know what to do.  Yesterday he had some breakfast but no lunch r no dinner as he took one mouthful ad vomited, he had vomited in the morning too, before breakfast.  Please how long did you have vomiting for , after the operation, today is 14 days and still in hospital.  I am desperate please help .
God Bles you all
heather

[Christiflan]

What nasal spray did your dr. Give you that cleaned up opened your ears/linking to the nausea?
Thanks!

[Mesh2000]

I too have ahad problems since the stomach flu. Got the stomach flu with diarrea and vomiting back in february 2014. Took about 2 weeks to fully recover from that. I get random bouts of nausea to this day. Restaurants are an absolute no go for me. About half way through the meal I get very hot, and my tummy starts to feel queezy. Lights and sounds can set off my nausea as well. About a month ago I had stomach pain that seemed to be moving around my stomach which urgent care diagnosed as gastroenteristus. Ever since the bout with gastroenteritus I randomly get a feeling like iether vomit or blood is sitting in my stomach, chest and throat but nothing actually comes up. I took an antacid for it but that did nothing. I have been prescribed ant-nausea meds which made me more sick. I catch colds not very easy. I will be seeing a doctor later this month and hope they can figure out whats wrong. I too want my life back. And I want people to stop telling me its in my head. Glad there are other people experiencing similar issues.

[keeleyzinc0100]

I know this is an old status but I have everything that's listed above plus what you just said. I told my doc but they thought it was just stomach acid so he put me on Prilosec. It doesn't stop the nausea but it is 10 times worse if I go off the pill. I'm also trying the BRAT diet to. All my family and friends want me to go do things with them and I can't and I'm looking for a job and I can't be sick all the time! I'm also missing a lot of class time.. It's starting to depress me horribly. I've been this way for months.. No further tests have been taken..

[Hparsons1]

My daughter is suffering too ,
Had tummy bug in December 13 ended up in hospital over night as dehydrated ,
Then 2 wks ago same problem but ended up in hosp for 32 hrs on drip and antibiotics ,
Then today feeling sick again

She has exams coming up and getting very upset that sick again

[hartnettcarol]

I have the samesymptoms. Im December I had a bug no diarrhea though and had it 5 times in three months. The last time the nausea never went away. She put me on Zophran at the lowest dose 4 mg. It does nothing.. I went in for upper GI series and couldn't drink the bubbly stuff.. So no I guess I get scoped.. I am taking a copy of you above statement to my dr in hopes she can figure it out.... I pray for you. This truly *****. I don't leave the house and my poor 11 year son... Sigh. Want my life back!

[Curious3d]

Your description sounds exactly, to the letter, like what I am experiencing.

I had a stomach virus in June, followed by a week or so of discomfort and nausea, and one bout of severe nausea following a high fat meal.

I had a sonogram and a gallstone was found. The gallbladder came out, but the same feelings I had before the surgery persisted: intermittent, random bouts of nausea and dizziness, centered around BMs. I shared my symptoms with my surgeon, and he prescribed Questran (cholestyramine) which stopped the diarrhea immediately.

Weeks later, I went to my regular MD when one of the dizzy bouts got bad, and he prescribed a nasal spray thinking it was a middle ear thing - that somehow there was a digestive related fluid shift that was aggravating an inflamed middle ear.  

Since the nasal spray, I've had no more dizziness, but I have had mild bouts with the random nausea every couple of weeks. No abdominal pain at all, and I usually feel great in the morning, and then when I settle down in the evening I feel slightly nauseated most nights.

I eat small meals, and I try to keep my fat intake below 10grams per meal. I make sure I get a lot of veggies and fruit, and enough protein.

Chewing ginger gum helps me a lot when I feel sick, you should try that.

I have no idea what's up, but I think it IS gradually getting better.

[TummyQueen]

I know exactly what you mean. About 6 years ago I had a horrible stomach virus that lasted for 5 days. By day 5 I couldn't even touch my stomach. So went to the Dr. He did blood tests and found out I had had pancreatitis. Went for every test under the sun with a GI Dr.through the next 3-6 months. Endoscopy showed inflammation of the stomach lining. I had a MRCP, which is an endoscopy where they look at your gallbladder and they found some sludge. Had my gall bladder removed as they thoughtit was the culprit for the Pancreatitis. Still had general abdominal pain afterwards and a constant feeling of nausea for months afterwards. Over the years I've been diagnosed with IBS. I still once in a while get extreme episodes of intense pain in my upper abdomen. Dr's think it's the ducts of my pancreas/gall bladder going into spasms.
Just last week I had another stomach virus- vomiting, fever etc. And about 3 days afterwards had an extreme pain attack in the middle of the night. Again most likely my  ducts cramping. And I've been nauseated ever since.
Anyway, I am still nauseous and my abdomen is all distended and bloated and it's now been 10 days since I was sick. I think my stomach lining is inflamed from being sick with the virus.

Unfortunately for me, I think it's just something I'm going to have to live with as every test showed nothing or was inconclusive. Every time I go to the ER with pain they keep me for a few days for pain control then
send me home. So now I don't even bother going. I know it will stop in 7-8 hours. I'm 30 now so all this started when I was your age. It is very frustrating but I can manage pretty well with a good low fat diet. It keeps the episodes to two or three times a year. When I have a pain episode or nausea bout I go on the BRAT diet (bananas,rice,apple sauce, toast) until my stomach calms down. Nothing much else that can be done. Just eat light foods, no dairy, stay away from acidic foods and high fat and just let your digestive system rest. Also it's good to eat a little something, like plain saltines or a banana, on regular intervals so your stomach doesn't get completely empty. The build up of stomach acid can irritate it too. So even though you're nauseated, you still need to eat.
Hope this sheds some light and you know you're not the only one out there!