Nausea every morning

Hello, my name is Stephen and am fascinated that i found this site. I am 31 years old and have been a healthy Athlete my entire life. I recently (within the past 3 months) suffered a bout of Insomnia (didnt sleep for 3 days) and suffered severe shaking and vomiting during that week. I lost 20 pounds in 2 weeks because i had no appetite and vomited everything. A couple weeks went by and my sleep returned to me, but it caused me to go to the doctor. Long story short, and an EKG/ Echocardiogram and a Cardiac MRI later i was diagnosed with Arrythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia or ARVD. My heart has PVC's (Premature Ventricular Complexes) and therefore am on a medication now called Bystolic which is essentially a Beta Blocker. Shortly before this, I suffered a short bout of depression due to my 9 year marriage being a bit rocky. I had anxiety and panic attacks, and that is pretty much my background. Here is my problem....

My marriage is now better than it has ever been, I no longer think (or even have reason to be) depressed. But every single morning i wake up, without an alarm clock (and anyone who knows me, knows i used to be a crazy HEAVY sleeper and would sleep till Noon everyday if i could). I wake up Queezy every morning and it seems to get better as the day progresses. I can no longer "sleep in". Even on Weekends I am awake at 6-7 and feeling nauseous. I am also now a very light sleeper, and the slightest things wake me up. How in the world can a guy like me go from being such a heavy sleeper who would sometimes sleep right through an alarm to being such a light sleeper who wakes up before his alarm???? This is crazy!! I cannot figure it out. A few days this past week i woke up with "Butterflies" in my stomach and my heart racing as if I was fearing something..... But I have nothing to fear, I don't dread the day. It seemingly is happening for no reason. And again there is nausea, some days are worse than others, but I do not think i can function like this for much longer.

Let me preemptively say that I do not think the nausea is a side effect of the medication, because i was suffering this before I even started the heart medication. Also, I have seen people on these forums talk about GERD, and while I do suffer from frequent heartburn, I do not have heartburn in the mornings when I am feeling sick. So im not sure that is a viable explanation either. I am at my wits end. I plan on calling my Heart doctor in a few minutes, but I am not convinced that me waking up sick every morning and the fact that i am now a very light sleeper, is a symptom of my heart condition. I have a suspicion it is something else. Does anyone have any advice? Or suffer something similar? Thank you all in advance

Thank you for the welcome and response.

My Cardiologist suggested that I contact my Primary care physician. She thinks it may be anxiety due to the fact that I have recently learned of a potentially fatal Heart Condition, but as I suspected, doesnt think it has anything to do with the medication or malfunctions in the heart itself. I called my PCP and set up an appointment for Thursday. So i will ask him a bunch of questions.

Hi scaredy cat and thank you. It does make sense that not being able to sleep in as well comes with aging, i hadnt thought of that. But in my particular situation, it happened literally in an instant. I could understand if it happened gradually, but it literally happened overnight. My mother (who is a worry wart anyways lol) thinks it had something to do with a camping accident i had about 2 months ago.... Ill explain.

My wife, son (5yrs), daughter (3yrs), Dog (1yr lab), and Myself went on a camping trip. We decided to hike to a nearby waterfall. I had my dog on a leash on one hand and my 3 year old daughter in the other hand. My wife was up ahead and our son was behind me. The trail began to narrow as we climbed. It was then that I heard my Son scream behind me. I turned to look and he had slipped, holding onto a rock, I immediately turned to grab him but in the process excited my young Dog. He bumped my daughter in the back sending her tumbling down the slope Head first.... I could actually see it in slow motion. The slope was at about a 45 degree angle and about 30 to 40 feet down to the jagged rocks in the lake. There is about of 4 foot drop off before you hit the water. With a surge of Adrenaline I bolted after her leaping down the mountain covering huge distances with every jump. I dove into the water ahead of her and turned around to catch her and I did Thank God. But it came at a price. When I hit the water, a Jagged piece of rock stabbed my hand and broke off inside slicing up my right hand. Thankfully my daughter escaped with minor cuts and bruises. I went to a nearby Clinic and the wound required 12 stitches to close.

The weird part of all of this is..... That is when it all began, That is when i began waking up sick every morning. The antibiotics the Doctor gave me for my hand, made me violently ill, so they gave me a different one and it was even worse so i went back to the first one and took Phenegrin with it. So I just knew it was just the anti biotics making me sick and once i got off them, everything would return to normal. They didn't..... at the same time, my wife and I were having a rocky time in our relationship, and it was then that i started experience for the first time in my life.... Panic attacks. I would break into Cold sweats.... then get hot.... then cold... I would shake uncontrollably and vomit. As i stated before, I did not sleep for 3 straight days and only got a combined 3 hours sleep in a 6 day span. I thought to myself that this is the reason i am waking up every morning sick and once things get better with me and my wife, everything will return to normal. Keep in mind i still have stitches in my hand. So i knew something was wrong, so i decided when I go to the Doctor to get the stitches taken out, I will describe my episodes and see what he thinks.

That is when the Doctor hooked me up to an EKG machine and it came back "Sinus arrythmia with premature ventricular complexes, and premature supra ventricular complexes." He told me that what all that fancy stuff means is that I am the guy that is walking through the grocery store and falls over dead. He referred me to a Cardiac specialist. The Cardiologist did an Echocardiogram which showed that my right ventrical is enlarged and not pumping as strong as it should (43%). They then put me on Bystolic medication to try to correct some of the arrythmias. Ive been on the meds for about 3 weeks now. They ordered a Cardiac MRI because she was concerned and suspected something much worse. The results of the MRI confirmed her suspicion. Arrythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia. This condition affects about 1 out of every 10,000 people and is apparently something you are born with. All those stories you hear about young Athletes dying on a basketball court or a football field. This is what they have. Sometimes the first symptom is Sudden Cardiac death. I consider myself lucky (blessed) that i found it before that.

I am a deeply religious person.....I don't believe that it was a coincidence. If my daughter had not fallen down that mountain, I would not have had stitches. Had I not had stitches I would not have become sick. Had i not become sick I would not have sought a doctors opinion. Had i not sought a Doctors opinion....... Who knows.... I perhaps could be dead by now or in a few years.... who knows? Despite all that I have been through in the past few months (which is quite a lot in my opinion) I am grateful that the Doctors found something that could kill me and leave my wife and children in a bad situation. But having said that, I am still waking up every morning nauseous, despite the fact that my wife and I worked through our issues and have strengthened our relationship. My heart issue is still not a closed chapter yet.... I go back to the Cardiologist Sept. 30 to find out if the medicine has done what it is supposed to. If not, they will need to implant a defibrulator.

Phew..... I know this is a huge wall of text and TLDR. But i feel so much better. Thank you all for providing a platform of support where people like me can come for comfort. It really does make a difference to be able to get things off your chest and be amongst other people suffering similar things. Almost creates an instant bond. Thank you all again for allowing me to vent and for providing support.

Good advice here.

I think you could have some GERD, like Kitt says. It can be triggered by anxiety and sometimes presents as nausea with no heartburn at all. Try a maalox and see if that helps any.

Anyway, I know that if I'd been through what you've been through, my anxiety would be worse. A lot worse. Next time you see your physician be sure to ask about the anxiety issue.

Probiotics never hurt. Recently I had to take a round of CIPRO and that made me feel horrible. The probiotic yogurts pulled me out of that. So that's good advice I'd consider following if I were you.

Wish you well.

Blizzard, good to hear from you. I am glad that you are doing well. I haven't taken sleeping pills, but am sure they're in my future (I'm 40 and sleeping less every year)
As long as your dr. gives you the green light, why not keep taking them? There are some natural remedies that I've been thinking about before trying a sleep aid. (I'll let you know if I do and how they worked) Melatonin, or evening primrose are two I've been recommended. I would always check with your dr. before even taking a natural supplement though! Hope all is well with your cardio appnt. Let us know
Take care,

Scaredy Cat

I would just like to say that I really feel for you and I hope you stay strong through all of this. I know how scary it can be to be diagnosed with a heart condition, because I have one as well (I'm 28). I really think everyone that has posted so far are on the right track with their advice. I definitely think you're having some anxiety. You've got a lot going on in your life, between your kids, wife, heart stuff, sleeping issues, etc. Try not to get down about and give yourself a break. This stuff happens to people!! Getting discouraged because you're "normal" one day then not feeling right suddenly, really only makes it worse. You need a good round of "I am who I am and I love myself!" therapy :)

I am glad the Ambien is working for you as far as sleeping and not waking up with nausea. There are some natural sleep aids out there, but I don't think they will be as strong as a prescription pill. I tried some of the homeopathic ones while I was pregnant and they didn't work at all for me, though they could for you. I really think that your sleep and anxiousness will get better once you've gotten done with your medical tests and you feel on firmer footing with your condition. You are allowed to have anxiety! You've got a lot going on!! Now you just have to start taking care of your new self. I know you can get back to feeling better and your doctors can definitely give you great advice as far as exercise and eating healthy. Ask them as many questions as you can, and even write questions down to ask so you don't forget.

My biggest piece of advice is to just stay strong and do some research on your medical condition and dealing with anxiety. Hang in there and I do wish you the best of luck!
Wobe

@Woebegone -- I think you are right on the money. I am holding up pretty well. I like your comment about "I am who I am and I love myself!" therapy :) I think i am going to try that lol. And yea, i am doing alot of research on Anxiety. This thread, and site is a great great great help to me. I love logging in and seeing people who offer support to people who suffer similar issues. So Thank you all for keeping this up. It really does brighten my day.

@Rmcconn85 -- I hear ya. It is a really awful thing to suffer with daily. I am also beginning to Notice nausea triggers. For instance..... I have recently (within the last week) come down with a pretty nasty cold (chest and head congestion). Anytime i feel nauseous due to the cold, It triggers Anxiety too. You mentioned that you are going through Therapy. I am interested to know how that goes. Keep me posted on that. My Cardiologist appointment is coming up October 14th. So i will have an update then. God Bless everyone

Hello Everyone, I have an update. Went in to the Cardiologist and they did another EKG and saw some things that they still did not like. So Tomorrow they are hooking me up to a 48 hour Heart monitor so they can get a better idea of what my heart is doing longterm instead of just the snapshot that the EKG gives. Still dunno about the difibulator yet. I had a very very bad weekend with Anxiety.... Even with the Ambien i couldnt stay asleep. Apparently getting into and argument with my wife Triggers my Anxiety. So im learning more about my triggers. Im going to need a way to cope with this, because I cannot afftord to have an Anxiety episode (lasting for days) everytime she gets mad. Doesnt take a rocket scientist to know that a person cant live that way. I need to find some coping tools. Been thinking about seeking some Counseling.

At any rate, Ill update after i get the Monitor removed.

Hi Blizzard,

I must've overlooked this thread. I just clicked on it and was surprised to see how long it's been up and all the replies.

Anyway, I too would suggest looking into the counseling. As SC said all these issues interact and feed into one another - not to mention the issues that you're not aware of or thinking about right now. I'd also imagine that your wife and family may be having some emotional reaction to your health situation.

From some first hand experience, I feel like we're usually capable of handling a few things. Life is not perfect, but we can usually adapt. Still we each have a threshold; a point where it becomes too much. You may be fully capable of handling the marital issues if that were the only thing going on. But with multiple things hitting you all at once it's hard to give any of them all the time and attention you'd like to.

I can only imagine what you were thinking after that camping trip. You saved your daughter's life and now with the heart issue you're being reminded of your own mortality. One day you won't be there to protect your children. For now I suppose one of the best things you can do is to continue preparing your children for the future and their own lives, instilling in them your wisdom and values. God has blessed you with today and perhaps reminded you to make the most of however much time you do have. I try to view my own A/P in a similar way. I'm sure you won't be looking back at 85 thinking, "I wish I spent more time with my family and doing the things that truly matter in life".

As a Christian myself I too believe that God "divinely orchestrates" our lives. That's been my catch phrase lately. You're right... not only did you save your daughter but in doing so you learned about something that hopefully by addressing now can help save yourself. Stay strong my friend. I'll pray for you Stephen.