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Posted 5/23/2007 9:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

   At the beginning of May, I began having periods of nausea.  Now last week and this week, its really bad in the morning, and gets better by late afternoon.  But now its lasting all day long.  I'm trying to figure this out.  I have GERD, but its behaved itself for a long time.  No heartburn.  Some burping.     I saw the doctor about 6 weeks ago for an ache in my left side all the time.  My colonoscopy was normal.  The ache is better, but still there intermittantly.

   I get alot of ectopy and weird GI/chest symptoms when I lean over, and I've been doing alot of that with the garden and all.

   No, can't be pregnant!  hahaha

   I started using a CPAP machine, right before I got all this nausea, but the doctor says its probably not caused from that.

   Dang, if its not one thing its another.   I'll probably see my doc again next week, and he mentioned ordering an abdomenal ct scan if the colonoscopy was normal.  I used to get occasional nausea with my GERD, but this is getting really constant and bad.  Dang.

   Keriamon.......I'm thinking more about the gallbladder.  Did you have alot of nausea with that?   I really have no other different symptoms.  My diarrhea is a little worse.  And I'm having spells of dizziness.  Sometimes, its really bad, but only for a few seconds.  No right-sided pain.   Do you think its still possibly the gallbladder?

   Of course, I'm thinking the worse...........like pancreatic cancer.   :(

   At least we know its  not colon cancer........although I think that would be better than pancreatic stuff.

Posted 5/23/2007 9:25 PM (GMT 0)
Did your doc mention about a possible upper scope (endoscopy) when you mentioned the persistant nausea? Have you had one recently? The reason I ask is that my mother gets severe nause at times and its caused by a hiatal hernia that was discovered during an upper endoscopy. She takes Reglan for the nausea and it seems to help her. I'm sorry you are going through this, nausea is the worse isn't it? You need to press your doctors, you shouldn't have to keep going through this.
Posted 5/23/2007 9:58 PM (GMT 0)
I know I sound like a broken record but have you tried ginger capsules for the nausea. I know that doesn't tell you what is causing it but it will give some relief. I just hate nausea. I went thru a bout of that and it was some sort of stomach imbalance which the probiotics took care of. Do you get it more when you have an empty stomach. You said in AM. I think you should ask for an endo rather than CT scan but Iguess it doesn't matter which you do first. They show different things. The Ct scan will show all the upper organs. If you are going to do it get the whole thing, abdominal and pelvic to rule out ovary, appendix,etc. and be sure you get it with contrast cause it is so much more accurate. Good luck with the nausea. Yes, I hear gall bladder can cause it but you probably should be checked for h.pylori also.
Posted 5/23/2007 10:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Des and Canyonbabe,
I had an upper about 10 years ago. Even with severe heartburn back then, it looked normal. I've had a blood test for H.Pylorii about 3-4 years ago.
I have these "ginger trips" that I've been taking, but don't notice much help from them. I have ginger root, and should probably make some tea.
I quit taking probiotics because they seemed to cause me problems too.
Yes, nausea is hard to live with! And these dizzy spells are a drag too. I'm not sure which comes first......they seem to be together.
I've thought for a long time that I had a sliding hiatal hernia. When I lean over to work, I get alot of irregular heartbeats and strange chest sensations for a week afterwards. But doctors never seem concerned with hiatal hernias, and dismiss them.
I have fibromyalgia and have learned that lots of things bother me, but nothing is ever wrong. That's good, but it leaves me not knowing what to do. And I'm so sensitive to meds that I really try to avoid them. Sorry for the whinning. I just get tired of being me, and want to be normal for awhile! Thanks for your help.
Posted 5/23/2007 11:56 PM (GMT 0)
If it's been 10 years since your last endoscopy, you should push for another one. Have you been taking any PPI meds like aciphex or nexium since you were diagnosed with GERD? My hubby had reflux for probably his entire life, and had no pain at all for years because his esophogus is completely burned up with Barrett's. The nerves were so damaged, he had no pain until it got to the point that the acid was in is mouth. I guess what I'm saying is that feeling no pain can sometimes be a symptom, if that makes any sense. :-)

Any reasonable gastro doc will want to take another look after a 10 year lapse. Lots of changes can take place in that time.
Posted 5/24/2007 2:08 AM (GMT 0)
Hi TexasJen,
I was on aciphex for about 5-6 years. After I came off my HRT about 4 years ago, I was able to get off the aciphex too. I rarely have GERD symptoms now. I have been wondering about maybe just not feeling the pain any more.........but I never have any acid in my throat any more, like I used to.
I was going to take aciphex for a couple weeks and see if that helped........but I realized that it gives me headaches. I had bad headaches the entire time I was on it for those 5-6 years, but I never once considered it was the aciphex! I took it a couple times recently, and got headaches with it. How weird.
What I'm really thinking is hormones. I haven't had a period in 3 years, but I still have ovaries spitting out blanks. I had ovary pain a while back, and then proceded to have PMS-type symptoms ever since. I'm wondering if my hormones are stuck at a bad level, and that's causing the nausea??
My body is wired differently than alot of peoples, and it makes things very confusing for me.
I'll call the doc in a couple days if it keeps up. I've been dizzy too. Gosh I hope its not something like Meniere's. Well actually, I hope its not alot of things!
Thanks Jen.
Posted 5/24/2007 4:55 AM (GMT 0)
Hiatal hernia's are so common that they don't really pay much attention to them. I doubt it would be causing nausea. Have you been to gynocologist and been checked on a routine basis. I know the feeling about hoping it isn't one thing but then that is better than others. Going thru some of that myself in other areas.
Posted 5/24/2007 11:30 AM (GMT 0)
I'm due to have my yearly with the OB/GYN soon too.
I guess I'm thinking its more GI related, since I was having alot of trouble with my left side for awhile.
And like I said, my fibromyalgia REALLY makes life confusing for me. If I went to the doctor's for every problem I had, I would be there every couple of days! I've learned to ignore things for a few months, because they usually pass. But nausea is hard to overlook.
Plus, for awhile, I had a doc who ordered every single test he could ever think of, depending on the symptom, and it was just ridiculous. In fact, the GI doc I went to later thought it was ridiculous too.
Plus, I have the added fun of having a test phobia. I guess you could say at this wonderful time of my life (menopause), I've become a basket case! Sometimes I think dying is better than having all those tests! lol!
Is there really any good way to check out the small intestine? Is a CT scan good enough for that, or do you need something else?
Back to the fibromyalgia............I have had so many bizarre sensations with it. I have this problem in my stomach/transverse colon/lower heart area, where I feel movement/buzzing/spasms alot. Its very bizarre and no one has figured out what it is, so I'm just living with it. But I do wonder if its somehow involved in these other symptoms I'm having (left mid side pain, nausea).
I guess I'll call the doc today or tomorrow. Its really hard to call him when I have this test phobia.
Thanks for listening.
Posted 5/24/2007 2:30 PM (GMT 0)
I think that is a great idea to look into the hormone angle. You might consider going to an endochrinologist rather than relying on your gyn for these tests. Gyn's tend to focus primarily on reproductive hormones, but an endochrinologist looks at 'em all.

As for examining the small intestine, colonoscopy can only look at a small length of it where it terminates at the beginning of the large intestine. Conversely, endoscopy is limited to the beginning of the small intestine, or duodenum. There's a whole lot in between the two that can't be scoped.

Some people have gotten good information with the virtual colonoscopy - the camera pill that you swallow. It takes pictures as it travels through your system. However, it's expensive and not all insurances cover it. Also, you miss the opportunity for biopsies to be taken, so you'd still be stuck getting the regular scopes performed.
Posted 5/24/2007 3:24 PM (GMT 0)

CathyA said...

   I get alot of ectopy and weird GI/chest symptoms when I lean over, and I've been doing alot of that with the garden and all.

This is what made me think about hiatal hernia.  Yes, most are asymptomatic however the larger ones can cause discomfort, chest pain (more pain when bending or leaning over), and in my mother's case nausea.  Your symptoms sounded almost exactly like my mother's.  If you just mentioned nausea, then I probably wouldn't have even thought of it.  I hope you can get down to the cause of all of this.  Unfortunately, tests are the only way we know what is going on.

I agree if you think hormonal, an endocronologist is a better doc for this.  That's what they do and like Jen said, they won't just focus on the hormones and how they affect you on a reproductive level.  They will see how your hormones affect your entire body.

I hope you can get some answers soon.

Take Care

Posted 5/24/2007 10:56 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Jen and Des,
Something very interesting..........I have been talking to a woman on the sleep forum I'm on (can't remember if I mentioned that I started using a CPAP machine for sleep about 5 weeks ago).......and she's developed dizziness from using this machine. Then I googled "nausea and dizziness while using the CPAP machine" and I'm finding that its not real common, but that some people have major problems with this after starting to use a CPAP machine. I guess it has something to do with air pressure going into our ears and messing up our balance. So..........I'm going to stop using the machine for several nights and see if my nausea starts to clear up. I'm hoping its not the machine 'cause I need it to breath right at night. This is what happens to me all the time.........I find some treatment that helps me out in one area, but it messes me up in some other area, and I have to stop it. GGRRRRrrrrr. Anyhow........it will be interesting seeing what happens.
I have been blessed (or cursed) with a body that reacts differently to lots of things, than most peoples'. When I tell the docs of my side-effects from certain things, they say "Oh that can't be". Another GGGRrrrrrrrr.
Posted 5/25/2007 4:38 AM (GMT 0)
That is a good idea. There may be a different machine that you can use. There are a ton of them now. I can understand the air pressure part.
Posted 5/28/2007 6:15 PM (GMT 0)

Well, I'm STILL nauseous!  I haven't used my breathing machine for about 4-5 nights, and it doesn't seem to make a difference.  I'll call the Internist tomorrow, and I might call my ENT too.  This just isn't making any sense to me.  Sometimes eating makes me nauseous, and sometimes it takes it away for awhile.

   I've been eating spoonfuls of sugared ginger every day, and sometimes that helps and sometimes it doesn't.   Sometimes Pepto Bismol helps, and sometimes not.

    I'm sure the internist will order a CT scan, since my colonoscopy was normal, and I'm still occasionally having those small left-sided pains.   I've had tons of upper GI problems in the past 10 years, but its not bad right now......which confuses me.   I still haven't ruled out a hormone problem.   I also still suspect something to do with my having come off my beta blocker in December.  I think I have too many beta adrenergic receptors in places they shouldn't be.

   Can I have a gastric ulcer without any pain??   Would a hiatal hernia show up on a ct scan?   I am so bummed out about this.  I'm so tired of this old bag of bones not behaving itself.

   Its hard to determine if I'm nauseous from the dizziness, or visa versa, since they are so closely twined together.

   Can you get severe nausea from gall bladder, but have no pain??    My body is wired so differently than alot of peoples, so I guess anything is possible with it.

    Its will be soooooo much fun to get over this nausea!!   

Posted 5/29/2007 3:33 AM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry you are still suffering Cathy. I hope you can get some answers soon. Make sure you mention the dizziness to him also because it could be a neurological problem like migraines and yes, hormones play a big part in migraines also. This could also be a reason why you don't feel good coming off the beta blockers.

Gastric ulcers at least for me always caused pain, kind of like a burning in a very localized small area. I'm not sure if a hiatal hernia would show up on a CT scan but its worth asking, I would think so.
Posted 5/29/2007 1:19 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Des.
Posted 5/29/2007 2:29 PM (GMT 0)

Hi CathyA- so sorry to hear that you're feeling badly.  I laughed when I read Canyon's "i hate to sound like a broken record"- BTW Canyon, you don't!  Keep sharing your info. It is very valuable for us.  Anyhow, here I go with my 'broken record' routine :)  Nausea is and was my main symptom. Always has been and I have been through 101 tests, all negative.  I made small changes along the way including ginger (thanks Canyon!! :) )  capsules and tea, eating soluble fiber first with any meal (compliments of Heather VanVorous's book, 'Eating For IBS'), watching my diet, etc.  All helped a bit. However, by far and wide, acpunture has helped the most.  I have been meaning to write about it, but haven't made myself sit down long enough to do it.  I know it costs money and I realize some people can't spare it.  Acupunture is the treatment of choice in Russia for nausea and it, over a period of several weeks, helped me tremendously.  Time will be the true teller of whether or not it will do it for the long run.  Try this if nothing else works (if you are able). dont' give up.  Good luck and I will check back in to see how you are doing. 

PS- Nausea sucks!

Posted 5/29/2007 2:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Carell,
Thanks so much for your information!
I guess I might have to go through a bunch of GI and ENT tests though first, before I can assume its not something more serious. (Darn.)
When I did an internet search on nausea, it sort of frightened me to read about all the people who have what seems to be intractable nausea! It IS awful!
That's very interesting about acupuncture, and I will definitely keep it in mind!
What kind of ginger seems to help people most? I've been eating the candied ginger, but I'm not sure how much and if there's a better source of it. Plus.....this stuff seems to have alot of sugar in it, so I'm a little worried about that.
Were you real happy with the book you mentioned?
You might see in my other post, that alot of this started up the day after my colonoscopy.....which makes me wonder what that might have done to start this up.
Thanks so much for helping me with this Carell! And good luck with your nausea too.

P.S.  What do you eat with soluble fiber in it?

Posted 5/29/2007 6:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hello again!  First, you are very welcome.   :)   I hope you get some relief.  Secondly, the book by Heather VanVorous (there are 2- 'Eating for IBS' and 'Surviving the First Year of IBS' or it's pretty close to that title)

was very helpful and she addresses other GI issues as well from her experience.  She talks about her soluble fiber theory.You may want to check these out. I ordered one from Borders books and the second book, I got out of the library.  Now, on the soluble fiber (I know , it sounds suspicious :)  )- her theory is that if one starts with soluble fiber first (with each meal), it will coat or soothe your stomach.  I have had luck with this.  I'm not sure how others here have fared but I do know that others here have read her material.  Here are some foods with soluble fiber (I'll have to reference the book for more) - oatmeal, french and sourdough breads, pasta and rice (not brown).  She recomments eating other foods after that.  For instance, I eat oatmeal for breakfast and then some tofu (also considered a safe food).  She recommends eating salads last (like in Europe!). Now, my own tests came back negative and no one found anything.  You may well have a cause (I'm suspicious about your machine even though you've said you've had no luck with not using it- that air in the inner ear thing could do it) that can be treated. I hope hope hope they find something.  And don't get down about the other nausea suffereres.  I know how you feel- I browsed 'chronic nausea'- which is actually how I found this site- and I nearly went over the edge after seeing these others who werent' getting any better!  I was more down than ever after that.  Doctors are working on newer and better ways to treat nausea.  Please do not give up.  You can't!  :) OK?  have them do every test.  PS- Have you tried any of the anti-nausea meds?  Compazine, Reglan, Zofran, Phenegran?  Some put you to sleep, others are better.  Let us know.  And keep your head up!  Carrell

Posted 5/29/2007 6:51 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks again Carrell,

I think I should definitely look up that book.
The only anti-nausea med I've tried is Pepto Bismol. I'll try some of the more serious ones, if nothing else shows up as a cause of this. I think my gallbladder is definitely on the short list too......but I have no pain.
I fortunately got in with my ENT for tomorrow, so I hope it yields some possibilities. Unfortunately, I have found that not many doctors are really up on very much. For instance........I asked my sleep doctor 2 weeks ago about the nausea, and he said he'd never really heard of ear problems/nausea/dizziness from it. I have read about a number of cases of it on the internet, but he'd never heard of any. Plus.....if you bring up info you got on the internet, they roll their eyes like the bodysnatchers got you or something. lol!
I just think its best to start at the most recent things that I've changed recently and go from there.
With my fibromyalgia, I just have the strangest reactions to lots of things.........so I have to think that anything and everything is possible. I'll let you know what the ENT says. I hope he just doesn't look at me like I'm nuts. Oh well......at least I'll get him to explain the possible effects on the ears of having a higher end-expiration pressure, even if he doesn't believe it happens.
Thanks again Carrell!
Posted 5/29/2007 7:14 PM (GMT 0)
I just checked and both books are located in Healing Well's bookstore so if you do decide to buy, you can buy there and a part of the proceeds go to Healing Well :)

I'm glad carrell asked about the anti-nausea meds, for some reason I thought you had already tried them. Most will make you sleepy however I have heard good things about Zofran and how it doesn't make you as tired as the other ones so something you may want to ask your doc. Pepto is good if the nausea is actually caused by stomach problems however if the nausea isn't GI related, it won't do you much good. Dramamine works well if you are looking for something immediately (OTC). It actually comes in non-drowsy formula now too.
Posted 5/29/2007 9:23 PM (GMT 0)
I think the Phenergan may help with the nausea since it may not be stomach related in this case. Compazine also. for people with stomach someone asked what kind of ginger and I use Ginger capsules or I use Heathers peppermint, fennel and ginger capsules when I am bloated and expect trouble. Peppermint is not all that good for me because I have reflux but it does help with cramping, digestion and nausea all in one and helps preventing all three. I wonder even though you don't have true Vertigo if one of the Vertigo meds would help.
Posted 5/29/2007 9:33 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Des and Canyonbabe,
I am sooooo sensitive to so many meds, and I've dealt with fatigue for many years with my fibro, so I really don't want to be even more tired. And I can't take anything that stimulates me (like sudafed), 'cause my sympathetic system has a hair-trigger. lol! I'm such a sad sack!
Let's see what the ENT says tomorrow. I'm almost hoping its something like my gallbladder. I would much rather it be that than something like Meniere's.
Posted 5/29/2007 10:18 PM (GMT 0)
Hormones can definitely cause bowel problems (as can the fibro), and they can also cause dizziness and nausea too, believe it or not. When I first went on BC, I had one day about a week after I first started that I was super nauseated and felt terrible, then it went away. The racing heart is also a problem with meopause/hormones. They're saying now that women shouldn't stay on hormones long-term because there are no benefits and some risk, BUT that they can be put on them to help ease them over the wild fluctuations associated with meopause. You just have to wean off them after the risk of menopause is over.
Posted 5/30/2007 4:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Cathy,

How'd your appointment with the ENT go?  Hope it went well.  :-)

Please keep us posted.

Posted 5/30/2007 8:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Lil,
He said that my ears looked fine, and if I were having a pressure problem from the APAP machine, it would show up. He thinks its probably from the colonoscopy too. He'd heard of having extended nausea after colonoscopy. I guess I was the only one who wasn't clued in! I'm going back to my APAP tonight. The nausea was a little better today. I stopped at Target to get some Culturelle, but they didn't have it, so I'll get some somewhere else tomorrow. I am eating the Activia and its constipating me again. (Since I eat in in addition to using Calcium for my IBS). I would stop the Calcium for awhile, but then I get funky upper GI problems and ectopy. What a body I have!
Thanks for asking how it went! I'm glad I don't have to give up the APAP machine! :)

P.S.  I called the doc's office who did my colonoscopy and left a message with his nurse about my nausea.  I'm going to make sure she knows that its important to tell people ahead of time that nausea might be a problem, and what to do about it.........instead of letting us go on for a couple weeks thinking we have pancreatic cancer or something! ;)

Post Edited (CathyA) : 5/30/2007 3:00:09 PM (GMT-6)

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