HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Nausea upon awakening

Support Forums
>
Anxiety & Panic Disorders
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 2/24/2010 11:50 AM (GMT 0)
Please, if anyone has experienced this, let me know.  I have been trying to find an answer to this problem for many years.  I went to the doctor at a sleep disorder clinic yesterday and after he got finished grinning and rolling his eyes at me, he suggested I need a psychiatrist.  That may be the case, but I'd like to have a slightly more intelligent reaction before proceeding. 

Here's what happens:  I'll have a perfectly normal day, normal work routine, etc, and go to bed around 10 pm.  I'll fall asleep without any problem.  Then, I'll awaken about 30 to 60 minutes later (never any longer than that), feeling horrifically nauseated.  I won't actually vomit, but I'll feel like it.  It's very intense and lasts for about 10-15 minutes and then goes away.  I'll usually fall back asleep within a few minutes and it won't happen again. I'll wake up in the morning feeling tired as if the rest of my sleep has been restless.

I've heard of other people having problems with nausea upon awakening, but the thing about my situation is the consistent pattern:  it's always within that short time period after falling asleep.  Sometimes it can go on for several months at a time, and then it'll let up for a while.  It's driving me crazy because now I'm getting really anxious about going to bed at night.

I recently had a full physical exam, including colonscopy, and everything came back fine.

Does anyone have any thoughts?  Thanks very much for this forum.

 

Posted 2/24/2010 3:37 PM (GMT 0)
Well I have had similar things happen. Suddenly awakened with a lot of nausea and even vomiting, but I was never really sick. It was just intense anxiety. We probably experienced very similar things but just in a much different pattern. I'm not really sure how to help you to be honest. My "episodes" lasted much longer but they did not happen every night for more than a few days at a time, and I can go a year without it happening at all. I've always thought of them as a combination of an acid reflux problem together with a nocturnal panic attack.

Do you have anxiety during the day? You said your days are "perfectly normal", but does that include some anxiety for you? Do you have acid reflux? Maybe a mild case that only bothers you when you lay flat? I'm just throwing things out there.

In any case it's good you've had a physical. I agree the next stop would be to look at anxiety as a possible cause. If you haven't been to a gastroenterologist I'd look at that, too.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.
Posted 2/24/2010 3:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hello and I am so sorry to hear of you issues with nausea. Wondering what the medical Doctors have ruled out as possible causes?

Anxiety may cause many problems. You may want to check out this link:


Anxiety Symptoms, Anxiety Attack Symptoms (Panic Attack Symptoms), Symptoms of Anxiety:

http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms.shtml

I hope this helps you in some small way.

Take care,

Kitt
Posted 2/24/2010 4:18 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you both so much for your responses.  I don't really have any of the typical acid reflux symptoms, but anxiety is an issue with me.  I guess that's my best bet, so I'll look at it more closely.  I'm really exhausted from worrying over this--which isn't helping.  Best wishes to everyone here!
Posted 2/24/2010 5:05 PM (GMT 0)
It could be anxiety, but I wouldn't rule out GERD or maybe even allergies. Can you keep your head propped up when you sleep? It's worth a try and it's free! I find when I sleep with  my head flat I wake up with more headaches and occasional nausea. Also, make sure you are hydrated. When I wake up in the morning with a sick feeling I feel better after having a glass of water. I know you are waking up at night, but maybe this could be affecting you if you don't drink enough fluids during the day? What about a full blood workup? Have you had that done? You would be able to find out if you have any vitamin deficiencies. I don't know why that would be causing you to wake up feeling sick, but nausea in general is a symptom of some deficiencies.
Posted 2/24/2010 5:24 PM (GMT 0)
Dear Paniccu, thank you for your reply. Yes, I've tried propping my head up and it doesn't seem to affect it one way or the other. I exercise every day so have gotten in the habit of drinking lots of water, and I just had a full blood workup a couple months ago, including a test for vitamin D deficiency. Everything came back normal, thank God. Oddly enough, the only thing that seems to help settle it down once I wake up and realize it's happening is -- ice. I usually manage to fumble my way to the kitchen and grab an ice pack to rub on my face and hands and for whatever reason, it helps. I guess I should start taking the ice pack to bed with me, just in case.
Posted 2/24/2010 8:37 PM (GMT 0)
For GERD/acid reflux, you're actually supposed to prop up the head end of your bed so that your whole body is on an incline. With me, all it can take is a little bit of stomach fluid coming all the way up to wake me up suddenly and in a panic.

But it could be something else. Even sinuses draining. But I would bet on anxiety since you have that problem anyway. Still, if you're well insured it's probably worth it to go see a gastroenterologist so he can rule out everything else.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply