chronic pain & nausea

Hello everyone,

So unfortunately for us, nausea is something that sometimes plagues us when we are in severe pain & it can be just about as hard to treat as the pain itself! Does anyone happen to have "home remedies" of things that they have found that help?

I'm just curious because I've been dealing with mild nausea for the last 8 months or so. It wasn't really severe enough to really do much about, so I mostly just let it be & dealt with it. Around the end of March, I noticed that my nausea was getting much stronger at night (also when my pain is the worst). It was enough of a change that I talked with my doctor about it. We tried protonix for a while, but it didn't help much. Within the last week or two, it has worsened even more - it somewhat coincided with another change in my eye (plus the recent emotional trauma didn't help any) & gets really bad when my pain gets real bad. I was throwing up last week, which I believe was mostly due to a stomach bug, but also somewhat to my pain, as well as herbs I was taking. But last night, I was violently throwing up purely because of severe pain. Of course my doc is out of the country at the moment, but I was able to get another doc to call in compazine for me. It stopped the vomiting, but I've still been fighting pretty severe nausea all day.

When I went to the pharmacy this morning, I also picked up loads of ginger ale (my episode last week had completely wiped out my supply), and bland crackers & that's what I've been living off of today. I feel better than earlier in the day, but still nauseous, so I was hoping that someone might have some trick up their sleeve to help.

Many thanks,
Skeye

I have sea bands which work quite well for me.

Do you know someone that could do some acupuncture for you? There are points they can use to help you.

Does Gravol not help you??

I'm with Mystic Duck. Ginger Ale is not made with real ginger -- or so I've heard. I will have ginger snaps, or make ginger chicken. I drink Chamomile tea. I also try putting ice on the back of my neck. It's crazy, but it does help.

Right now I'm trying to get rid of an abscess & have to put hot packs on my left eye 4x/day & I swear it is making my headaches & nausea worse. :(

Also, I take Zofran when things get really bad -- they even make it in a quick dissolve tab for when I can't even keep down the nausea medication. I've tried compazine & promethazine, but they don't work as well for me (except for withdrawal-related nausea) & have a lot more side effects. Zofran is way more expensive, but if you have good insurance perhaps it is worth a try.

Also, I try to be good & make sure I eat a bit with my pain meds like my PM tells me to. It is hard b/c I really don't feel much like eating lately, but it does seem like it helps.


wishing you feel better soon,
frances :)

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! I knew you guys would have something to say! I didn't realize that ginger ale wasn't made with real ginger... Maybe that is why it doesn't help that much . I'm going to check the label... Shoot! I was going to get dried or candied ginger when I was at the store tonight, but I completely forgot! I did pick up Chamomile tea. My acupuncturist told me to drink strong Chamomile & Peppermint tea, so I will try that in the morning. I actually felt a lot better after acupuncture today. I should have asked him if there was a specific point that I could massage on my own.

The compazine was just a desperate, short term measure. It didn't seem to help me too much, just made me kinda dizzy (bad combo), but I shouldn't judge yet, as I've only taken it for one day. When my doc gets back from abroad I will get in contact with him & determine a plan for if/when this happens again. I don't know if he will want me to pursue this further, with a specialist, or handle it himself. We have spoken of this before, but it was never this bad & we didn't talk about any "what if's."

TMJ - How do sea bands work? I have heard of them before, but I never understood the philosophy behind them.

Frances - I hope you feel better soon & that your abcess heals!

Kitty - I agree! I think nausea is one of the worst feelings ever! Interesting bit about the vanilla ice cream. I wonder how I'd even get it down my throat before it came back up, though. But maybe that's the point?! It sure does burn your throat, throwing up. Last night I was lucky enough to have it coming out of my nose as well, as I was vomiting with such force. That was an experience that I never care to repeat!!!

Skeye

Skeye nausea and vomitting has been a big part of my life for the past 4 yrs. I do take Zofran but I will warn you, 24 pills which is the max allowed for month is over $500 if you do not have insurance. My gi seems to think its the meds in my pump that causes this problem. All I know many things can trigger it. We have walked into restaurants before and all the difference smells of foods sends me flying back out the front door. Mine mostly occurs right after I get up in the mornings.

Another good OT that is inexpensive is Emitrol. I have had some decent luck with it, if I take it the minute the nausea hits. I also have sucked on peppermint candy to put it at bay.  Dom't give up your ginger ale because if you are actually vomitting it will help calm the stomach somewhat.

Since you are experiencing some violent episodes it might be a good idea to get some suppositories to keep on hand for the really bad times. Just a few thoughts, Susie

I am currently on chemo and I take phenergan for my main med and then zofran as my rescue. For me ginger ale really works.  I get a lot of morning nausea, my husband will get me some ginger ale, I stay lying down for awhile and then I can get up.

In addition, spearmint and peppermint in teas also help well.  I have found just smelling spearmint can make it better.

Melissa

Hi Skeye, I also suffer from nausea mainly due to my meds, I drink a lot of water, sip away at a drink bottle as much as I can plus also use ginger tea. But recently my doc put me on nexium and it seems to have cut my nausea a fair bit??? I also take magnesia a spoon in a glass of water daily which seems to help settle my churning stomach if I'm particurlarly bad. I'm on a low dose chemo drug which puts me off fatty food but also makes me feel nauseous. Hope this info may help, golitho.