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Unexplained Nausea

Posted , 21 users are following.

ang65087
ang65087

For about 8 weeks now I've been dealing with on and off nausea, which started one night after going out to eat with friends. That night I was shaky, nauseous, and felt a lot like i could vomit. I never ended up vomiting and still haven't to this day, but starting that first week I felt hungry and nauseous at the same time. Figured it was some sort of food poisoning and it would pass. But it never did and a week later I felt awful again, a lot like the first night. After that I went to the doctor (which I returned to about 5 times since) who put me on prilosec and basically dismissed my symptoms as acid reflux. I also got zofran which barely worked if anything, and eventually reglan which I felt did help a bit more but not significantly. I tried zantac with no change in nausea, and now I'm back on prilosec twice a day. I feel overall its been more tolerable, but I'm still miserable every day and its hard to do anything because of this.

I also thought at one point this could've been a food allergy, so I cut out gluten for a while but didn't see any change in how I was feeling. I've been taking gaviscon every once in a while since sometimes I do feel like something is backing up into my throat, but it doesn't help. I also get a sore throat very rarely, but nothing terrible and it usually fades in a day or so. I got tested for H Pylori twice (once in blood, once in stool) and both came back negative, and all my routine blood tests are coming back normal. I went to a GI who, after looking at my CT scan, said I had food that wasn't leaving the stomach and intestines so he put me on Miralax and scheduled an endoscopy for a few days from now. Miralax definitely changed my bowel movements, but there hasn't been a change in my nausea since, so I'm guessing this isn't the problem either. There is of course the possibility that this is anxiety, but it seems odd that it would just come after eating something and last for 2 months, especially since I've experienced nausea from anxiety and it feels different than this. 

Anyways since the start of all this i've lost about 6 pounds, and I've been eating healthy every single day. Nothing fatty or oily, nothing fried, but nothing seems to change. Every once in a while I say to hell with it and eat a cookie or slice of cake and it doesn't make my symptoms worse, which is weird to me. In the mornings it can be hard to eat, and sometimes even in the afternoons I find myself feeling hungry but not being able to eat for some reason. Other times I'll eat and feel a sort of pressure/pain in my stomach area, but this is mild and fades within a few minutes. Also, I've been burping constantly because of all of this, which doesn't make me feel any better.

Does anyone have any tips or experienced anything similar? Its very discouraging and scary to constantly feel nauseous with no clear cause and no medication helping. 

4 likes, 48 replies

48 Replies

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  • ang65087
    ang65087

    Posted

    I spoke with my GI again, and he said that he is pretty much certain this is an intestinal issue and not something wrong with my stomach, and since I was not feeling any better on miralax he decided to put me on linzess. The funny thing is I'm really not constipated, and my GI has never mentioned IBS, so I'm a bit confused as to whats going on. My GI also mentioned doing a colonoscopy if things don't start clearing up soon, which I'm also sort of confused about cause I get NO abdominal cramps unless I eat a lot of fiber. 

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 ang65087

      Posted

      An intestinal issue is something wrong with either your stomach (small intestine) or your bowel (large intestine).  If you are not constipated, there is no point in taking a laxative like linzess.  If miralax did nothing for you, it may be because you don't need it if you are getting normal stools.  When I get constipated, I don't experience burping.  I would hold off taking a laxative unless you do start getting constipated.

      You say you get no abdominal cramps but you did mention stomach pressure/pain after eating along with nausea which may suggest food intolerance. Maybe try a food diary.  It sounds like an upper GI tract problem (stomach).

  • Michelle2050
    Michelle2050 ang65087

    Posted

    Hi.   Was following this thread this morning.   Curious if you solved your nausea issues, as I'm going through the sane thing 

  • chris61777
    chris61777 ang65087

    Posted

    I'm getting something like this for 6 weeks now.any luck?

  • ang65087
    ang65087

    Edited

    Hi everyone,

    Unfortunately I'm still experiencing symptoms, but I've since been seeing a new GI who feels this is not an intestinal problem, and it related to the stomach. However I have also recently found out that I have an ovarian cyst, which was detected in February of 2017, and not a single doctor had informed me. This made me pretty upset considering the cyst could easily be the cause of my symptoms, I know a lot of women who have had similar symptoms as a result of an ovarian cyst. So now I'll be seeing my pcp soon and hopefully this is the source of the nausea and not a weird coincidence.

    In the meantime I've also seen a neurologist, but those tests have come back normal. My new GI has done a lot more testing and thinks this may be a functional issue (almost like a minor case of gastropareisis, but personally I don't think this is the problem) and is giving me a few more medications to try, so I'll update soon on whether or not those offer any relief. However I do hope this is just my cyst and not an actual issue with my stomach.

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 ang65087

      Posted

      If you have a stomach problem, this would be a intestinal problem because your stomach is part of your intestine and is known as the small intestine.  Your bowel is also part of your intestine and is known as your large intestine.
    • celene_91074
      celene_91074 pippa58442

      Posted

      Pippa,

      A stomach problem is not an intestinal problem. Your stomach, small intestine, and large intestine are three different organs in the GI tract. Each of them have their specific functions.

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 celene_91074

      Posted

      I looked at a diagram and it shows that the stomach forms part of your intestines.
    • ren56472
      ren56472 ang65087

      Posted

      Hey ang! Any update? Your issues are the same as mine...to a T! It’s been happening for over 6 months; all a week after I had the flu for the first time in 16 years. All tests and labs and come back normal and I’ve been told it’s just anxiety. They even took my gallbladder out!!! No relief. Some days are really bad and some days the nausea is liveable. I don’t remember what it’s like to not be nauseous anymore and it’s depressing. I told the doctor I’d try the anxiety meds at this point to just check that off the list. 
    • nat55834
      nat55834 ren56472

      Posted

      Ren,

      Initially I thought my symptoms were anxiety and tried 3 different ssris and they all made me way more anxious and way more nauseated. Not to deter you but those are powerful drugs and when they work they're awesome and when they don't they can be detrimental. In March, After 2 weeks on Prozac I started having suicidal thoughts which I had never had before so my doctor took me off it immediately. 

      I replied to Ang w the avenues I'm investigating. 

      Nausea is one of the worst sensations in the world. 

    • ana17183
      ana17183 ren56472

      Posted

      Hello! 

      I had the same exact symptoms as ang did. Read my response below, Im happy to answer any questions 

    • jen19998
      jen19998 ang65087

      Posted

      Hi! I have been having the same symptoms as you for 2 years! I am so curious, did it end up being an ovarian cyst? That was something I was thinking this might be.

      I hope you are feeling great now!

    • ren56472
      ren56472 nat55834

      Edited

      oh wow! ya as much as i wish this were anxiety related, i know its not. im taking amitriptlyine 10mg now and its actually helped with my depressive thoughts during this time. so i will most likely continue it until im better. nausea is terrible and i wouldnt wish this sickness on my worst enemy!!

  • nat55834
    nat55834 ang65087

    Edited

    Hi Ang,

    Like Ren I'm hoping you were able to figure out your problem. 

    I've been having nausea, visual disturbances and dizziness for 7.5 months now. Came on a couple weeks after I had a mild case of the stomach flu. 

    Blood and stools all came back normal. Full endocrinology workup came back normal. GI does not believe it's a mechanical issue so he's not subjecting me to invasive procedures. I did a sibo breath test and today a gastric emptying test. See gi next week to go over results. I know the sibo test was positive. But I doubt that's the culprit of how sick I feel. 

    I saw a neurologist and she ordered an MRI. 

    Bc of the dizziness and visual disturbances I'm wondering if it could be an inner ear problem so I saw an ent today who ordered ear tests. 

    Was it your ovarian cyst causing probs? 

    Hoping you've found relief from truly one of the worst feelings in the world. 

    • ana17183
      ana17183 nat55834

      Edited

      Hello!

      I had these exact same problems, it ended up going away with time. It was simply a stomach bug. Apparently a stomach bug doesn’t have to last 1-2 weeks, it can last as long as a year, its just not as common. I can assure you guys that if it’s anything like this, it will fade over time. During that period, I had lost weight. I would throw up EVERYTHING, I refused to eat due to fear of throwing up. I had no motivation to do or go anywhere, I was literally depressed for a while. When you have a health problem that is annoying, you tend to feel down. So I would just give it time. I had also done an upper endoscopy and results came back fine, I did an ultrasound checking all my surrounding organs, results came back fine. I would also suggest eating stuff with probiotics. Hopefully this helped anyone with questions! Sorry for the lengthy response! 

    • ana17183
      ana17183

      Posted

      As far as medications go, initially I was put on Prilosec, (Omeprazole) to be exact. And I had to take that twice a day. Doctors dismissed my symptoms and classified my condition as acid reflux. I would constantly tell them that I have no heartburn, and they scratched their heads thinking its weird. But STILL saying it was acid reflux. So i continued to take omeprazole. I took that for a while and had no improvements. So I stopped taking it overall and my symptoms improved for about 2 weeks. I thought I was fine, until it hit me again. So I went back to the doctor and they prescribed me Zofran the dissolvable ones. I took it and it worked, but not 100%. I wanted to be cured, not to temporarily relieve symptoms. So I only took zofran if I absolutely needed a quick nausea relief. I kept doing my own research. I know they say Google isnt a place to diagnose yourself but honestly, it is. Fast forward, I ended up stopping medication in general and sticking to natural remedies. For nausea relief, I ended up drinking all natural chammomile every night before bed so it would soothe my stomach and I wouldnt wake up in the middle of the night nauseated. Then throughout the day Id sip on ginger tea (chilled tea or hot). Ginger and chammomile apparently both have detox effects. Doing that for quite some time is what official “cleansed” my body. Now I’m eating like a normal person.
    • nat55834
      nat55834 ana17183

      Posted

      Thanks for your response Ana. How long did it take to go away for you?
    • ana17183
      ana17183 nat55834

      Edited

      About 6-7 months, then again,  I was treating it with different remedies 
    • ren56472
      ren56472 ana17183

      Posted

      wow, i hate that you went through that for so long! i was drinking lots of chamomile and ginger tea to the point i got sick of it! ill try to start that again to see if it helps!

      thank you for taking the time to reach out! my mother in law brought a medication from brazil for viruses and parasites so i think im going to give that a go. its very common there and helpful (surprisingly the medical community is better there). ill try to keep in touch on here if it helps!

    • jen19998
      jen19998 ren56472

      Posted

      Hi! I have been having the same symptoms as well for 2 years. Had my gallbladder removed too. I'm curious to see if this medicine works for you.

    • ren56472
      ren56472 jen19998

      Posted

      ill try to remember to post if it does!! i wish i could have my gallbladder back. too many doctors assume gallbladder these days!

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