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How do I stop this regularly vomiting?

Posted , 6 users are following.

Jojo020802
Jojo020802

My doctor thinks I may have IBS. I have been suffering from some abdominal discomfort on and off for a couple of months but since end July I have started vomiting as well. I can be perfectly fine for a couple if days, sometimes as long as a week or even a week and a half and then I start with the abdominal pain which is usually in the upper abdomen. This is followed by loud gurgling in the lower abdomen and then the retching starts. I can be backwards and forwards to the toilet for several hours just retching before I start to actually vomit. This generally lasts for 7-10 hours and then I start to recover. It is really getting me down. Has anyone experienced anything similar and if so how have you dealt with it? Thanks

0 likes, 20 replies

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  • astrozombie
    astrozombie Jojo020802

    Posted

    Yes I have had this and for me it was so bad it started to damage my teeth. I was sick once or twice a week for 2 years. I also had the more typical IBS symptoms beforehand. For me it was as if my stomach was spent so my body then decides to suffer sickness. I finally started to change my diet so out went wine, processed foods and in came salad and exercise. I had to exercise as I was losing a lot of weight fast so I needed to stabilise the weight loss. I have been around 13 stone for a year or so now. Hard for me to believe and friends as I was 16 stone for a very long time. I think it was the change in diet and weekly exercise which stopped me being sick. I still have intermittent stomach issues but the last time I was so ill it made me vomit was Good Friday weekend. I was so ill I even wandered down to A and E for a check up. I was not told to be so anxious. I try but seems to be ingrained within my personality.
  • belinda11488
    belinda11488 Jojo020802

    Posted

    I have ibs but never have vomitted just some nauses once in a while have the adominal pain. I got blod test n stool test and since it came normal doctor said it is ibs he said a coloscopy was not necessary. Have u had any tests?
    • Jojo020802
      Jojo020802 belinda11488

      Posted

      I have blood tests which showed I was anaemic although iron tablets have now sorted that. I have also had an endoscopy which came back clear. Waiting to go for some other tests now though..
  • Curtis1973
    Curtis1973 Jojo020802

    Posted

    IBS for me has not caused vomiting but my gerd has caused nausea for me. I would speak to another doctor if need be to get some answers on the vomiting.
  • leeniepie
    leeniepie Jojo020802

    Posted

    vommitting is NOT a sign of IBS. some dr's know so little that they say anything to do with the whole digestive system is 'just ibs', but actually there are specific criteria for ibs and its diagnosis (as well as it being a diagnosis of exclusion). some other symptoms do come along with the classic ibs ones - some people get a bit of nausea for example, but actual vommitting is something else. it could be reflux or weak sphincter, you really need to see a doctor and probably have an endoscopy. also keep a food diary - you could have an intollerance to something.

    • astrozombie
      astrozombie leeniepie

      Posted

      On this point Leeniepie as I suffered with vomitting regularly and yes doc and consultant both said all part of IBS so I did see a doctor. I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy and both were fine. I also kept a food diary and no link and I drew up data tables and pivot tables and no pattern. Luckily as my diet improved there was a clear correlation with diminishing sickness. The reason the doc said it was linked to IBS is because 90% of the time the sickness would occur after an IBS attack.
    • Jojo020802
      Jojo020802 leeniepie

      Posted

      I had an endoscopy and that came back all clear. This vomiting has only started since the endoscopy though which I had in May. Prior to that I just had abdominal pains. Blood tests showed I was anaemia so they sent me for the endoscopy. I just can't think what it could be. It's driving me mad. I'm fine for a few days and then it comes back. Pains, retching and vomiting. And it send to take ages for it to pass..up to 12 hours sometimes...

    • leeniepie
      leeniepie astrozombie

      Posted

      im not saying you are wrong, just that vommiting and stomach pain sould not lead to a diagnosis of ibs on their own.
    • leeniepie
      leeniepie Jojo020802

      Posted

      if it only started after the endoscopy then you need to tell your GP that - it is possible they inflamed your stomach or something during the procedure perhaps?
    • astrozombie
      astrozombie leeniepie

      Posted

      I am not saying you are wrong either. Until you wrote your comment I thought one was dependent upon the other as that was what I was led to believe by doctors and consultants. I think they do the tests and rule everything out and what is left is IBS. That might sound a little flippant but at the same time it would not surprise me. To this day I have no idea what caused the vomitting. I would just start coughing the coughing would turn into sickness and my ex partner shouting what is wrong with you. She was supportive but if you are about to go out for brunch then my antics would spoil everything. Now I have started to eat foods which are more raw in terms of ingredients the sickness has dissipated but I do worry it could return just as easily. I was fat then and the dentist thought I was anorexic due to the effect it was having on the enamel on my teeth. Sickness is not good for you and best avoided. I had no reason as Jojo has for its start. One Sunday I was lying in bed got up to use the bathroom and it started. Thought it was alcohol for a long time as I would have a glass with my meal. One doctor even told me it was alcohol but I cut out alcohol and it was still happening. I had lost control and that is scary, even now
    • Jojo020802
      Jojo020802 astrozombie

      Posted

      How did you improve your diet? I don't have a particularly unhealthy diet and I exercise. I am considering taking a probiotic to see if that helps..

    • astrozombie
      astrozombie Jojo020802

      Posted

      I had a good place to improve as I had a shocking diet.  I was 16 stone and ate mostly sandwich meat at work as I could prepare the night before. One of the first things the nutritionist said was have a look on YouTube and see how it is made and you will not eat it again. I did and I haven't. I cut down on bread. I introduced oily fish into my diet. I do not like oily fish so wrap it in egg and scramble. I cut out potatoes as too starchy. I cut out wine and other alcohol as not good for you.  I introduced porridge with a teaspoon of olive oil to start the day instead of coco pops.  Basically I ate as a student a long time after I stopped being a student and for some people this is not a good diet.  I was speaking to someone is 55 the other day and still eats very badly and has never had any issues so sometimes you have to face facts we are unlucky.  Rather than cake after a meal I introduced fruit like apples.  I always try to eat an apple a day and I also add in another fruit so part of a mango or a plum or dried apricots. I also walk about 8 miles a week whereas everything was car driven previously.  It still is so I use the car to drive to a destination and hill walk.  All of this has helped as I am now 13 stone 3.  I still have issues with my stomach but I have been sick once in the past year so I will take that.

    • leeniepie
      leeniepie astrozombie

      Posted

      "I think they do the tests and rule everything out and what is left is IBS" thats pretty much what dr's do, but both NICE and ROME have criteria for IBS, namely that it has to be a long lasting change in bowel habbit with no other underlying cause, so for example, if you have abdominal pain but your bowels are normal, then you shouldnt be fobbed off with 'its ibs'.

      i do feel sorry for you - vomitting is the most horrible thing! did you ever get checked for reflux? unexplained coughing can be a sign of reflux and if the acid weakens the sphincter then it can lead to vomitting.

    • astrozombie
      astrozombie leeniepie

      Posted

      Well this has definitely been long lasting but over time I have improved. My bowels were always sluggish but I never saw it as a problem until I could not control them. They went from sluggish to not being able to get out of the bathroom for 5 hours smile. The cramps came before an attack so I believe that is normal and sadly it is IBS but I take your point. 

      Thank you and I agree it was a horrible time. No as no one mentioned it until now. The fact I am much improved now leads me to think no major effects long term.

  • graham9772
    graham9772 Jojo020802

    Posted

    Dear Jojo

    You need to see another doctor and get at least one other opinion.    If you are in the UK then, from what I see in this forum, it seems very hard to find a doctor who wants to be any help after he guesses at IBS.

    There has been a lot of research at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia on IBS and they have come up with a diet that helps sufferers in a big proportion of cases.   Its called the FODMAP diet.    There was a person called Sue Shepard involved and she has a web site.    There are also UK and US institutions that have information.   The diet is a bit restrictive but it doesn't cost much and is far better than making up your own diet.     It has been systematically designed to not only get rid of your symptoms but also to determine what foods are causing you problems so you can avoid them.   Before you dismiss it you might be surprised to find that many "healthy" foods are bad for IBS.   Onion, garlic watermelon, apples pears brocolli and the list goes on.    Its gluten free with extensions.   BUT there are many foods allowable so its mostly a mental effort to convince yourself that you can be happy without a poisonous "apple a day"  -  eat an orange instead.

    While trying to get a doctor to do something you can try this out just by downloading a list of allowable foods or a Monash phone app and see if it helps.

    It will be much easier if you can find a doctor and a dietician.     Start by interviewing the dietician to make sure they are well aware of FODMAPs so they can really help.

    If you adopt the diet for say 12 weeks I advise you to take the restrictions very seriously.  I found that just "cheating" on a little bit of something special was enough to upset me for two days.

    As far as I can tell there is nothing to lose by trying this diet and it really works for many people.   I hope you are one of them.

    Good luck

    Cheers

    Graham

    • Jojo020802
      Jojo020802 graham9772

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply. I will have a look at the information you have suggested. Maybe banning some foods is a way forward. I need to do something. Was thinking of trying probiotics too. Waiting to go back to hospital for further tests but in the meantime I can't just carry on as I am. I had another bout of vomiting last night. Now I am just left with really sharp abdominal pains which keep coming and going...😔

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