I suffer from frequent nausea and have for at least 2 or 3 years now. I’ve tried various medications for it, but nothing seems to really work. On some days I’m nauseous ALL day. Is there a specific medical condition that causes chronic nausea (other than pregnancy, wise-guys)? And how can it be treated?
Snarkberry
“It is better to follow even the shadow of the best than to remain content with the worst.” Henry van Dyke
The first thing that comes to my mind is some problem with your inner ears. Do you feel dizzy, as well? Have you seen a doctor about this (you should)? Does anything in particular trigger it? Is it worse on a full or an empty stomach, or doesn’t it matter? Is it worse at certain times of the day?
Holly wrote:
No, no dizziness.
Yes, and he prescribed a medicine called Phenergan. This doesn’t seem to have an effect, though.
Feeling good seems to trigger it, for some reason. So does hard work–the harder I try to work, the worse it gets. I don’t think it matters whether my stomach is full or empty. It’s usually worse in the mornings. Got any ideas?
Try Drammamine (or the less drowsy Drammamine II) or Benedryl. They both have dyphenhydramine or something like it. That medicine helps with allergys nausea, motion sickness, and it’s what alot of sleeping pills are made out of. Just so you know if you take 50mg or more it’ll probably knock you out, so you should proabably stick with 25mg.
Formerly known as Nec3f on the AOL SDMB
Thanks, Joey, I’ll try those. I have my doubts about whether benadryl will help, but I haven’t tried dramamine yet. I’m willing to try anything if it will get rid of the nausea. 
If your doctor’s prescription hasn’t helped you, why don’t you just go see him again? Or go get a second opinion?
I avoid going out in public as much as possible. I hate to leave the house, even if it’s just to get the mail. I’m socially phobic to the extreme, and even though I can intellectually grasp this fact, emotionally I can’t handle being around others. Trips to the doctor, dentist, or whoever are rare for me.
Two of the best prescription medications for nausea are tigan and compozine. They may work short-term, but you have to find out what’s causing the nausea if you want to get rid of it for good and all.
Oh, a good tip for all, if you feel too ill to keep anything down: a little Coca-Cola syrup (buy it at a pharmacy) over chipped ice. Works every time!
Snark, are you on drugs for your schizophrenia? If so, has your doctor considered the fact that it might be a side effect of some sort? I’m a layman, so I’m pulling this out of my ass, but it might be possible.
Also, an upset stomach may be caused by stress, so you may want to try some relaxation techniques. I especially think it might be psychological considering what triggers it. Again, though, I have no medical training, so feel free to tell me I’m full of it.
Is that what happened when gentlemen stopped wearing hats? Now they pull suggestions out of their asses?
Flora: Thanks, I’ll try to get ahold of those and see if they work. I suppose I’m gonna have to go see a doctor whether I want to or not, :::sigh:::.
Oh, also, Drain Bead is a lady, not a gentleman.
Drain Bead: Yes, my psychiatrist is aware of my nausea, and he says it’s possible that my medication is causing it. He’s been adjusting doses and switching meds a bit, but it doesn’t seem to help. But I only see him once every 3 months.
My sister has a digestive disorder too, so it may be genetic. Damn, I don’t want to go to a doctor…
As always, the best advice for personal medical problems is “see your doctor.”
Your reluctance to do so and your nausea both may be a part of the same agoraphobic syndrome; frequenting the Straight Dope marketplace for medical opinions is not likely to help with either. We all mean well, but we can only offer words of encouragement.
Please, find a doctor who can allay your fears and calm your stomach at the same time.
I thought an agoraphobic was someone who’s afraid of Ed Wood movies . . .
I second Nick’s comments.
If you work through your psychiatrist, you might be able to find a GP who will make a house call, given your condition. You’ll pay dearly for it, if you can even find one, but it’s possible.
And, on the grammatical front: please note that you suffer nausea, and you are nauseated. You are not nauseous, which would mean that you caused the nausea rather than suffered from it.
Well, there’s always marijuana. Even the medical establishment concedes that it has a strong palliative effect on nausea.
Of course, there’s the whole federal law thing to worry about, too.
“I’m surprised that you’ve never been told before, that you’re lovely, that you’re perfect, and that somebody wants you.” - Semisonic, f.n.p
Thanks for the info, guys. I’m going to contact my doctor and make an appointment as soon as possible (probably tomorrow). Yeah, I know that the SDMB isn’t the best place for medical advice, but I just wondered what medicines the general populace would recommend.
Bill, let me first echo the “see your doctor” sentiment previously expressed.
Actually, I strongly doubt that anti-psychotic meds used for the schizophrenia are major contributors here, since most anti-emetic/anti-nausea meds are in the same class (marked similarities to anti-histamines).
Common causes of nausea include ulcers, acid reflux, or something limiting the exit of gastric contents into the small intestine. If this has persisted, and not responded to simple interventions like not eating just before going to bed, raising the head of the bed a few inches off the floor, taking OTC meds like antacids, Pepto-bismol, and avoiding coffee, alcohol, and smokes (sorry if you’re already there with LDS, but I don’t remember how closely you adhere to all teachings), then it is definitely time to see a doc. Testing may include a scope down your throat (with some good sedating meds) to look and see if there is anything obviously wrong, or an X-Ray movie of you swallowing a nasty chalky liquid called barium that shows up well on X-rays to see if it gets stuck anywhere, leaks anywhere it shouldn’t, or goes in the wrong direction (the reflux I mentioned earlier). Or it may just involve trying differnet treatments & finding one that works. Choices here include acid-reducing meds like Tagamet, Zantac, or Pepcid, or acid-blocking meds like Prilosec or lansoprazole. An additional class is the pro-motility (moves stomach contents forward into the intestines) drugs like Reglan or Cisapride, but I would be hesitant to use them them right off for a number of reasons. One, Reglan can cause psychosis in some patients; I would try several other choices before using it in a patient with a history of schizophrenia for fear of making that worse. The other, Cisapride, has several shared characteristics with Reglan. I don’t know if it has the potential to cause/worsen pychoses, but would use it cautiously. The other reason for using these last is that since these improve the stomach’s ability to push food forward, I would want to have ruled out a blockage in the stomach that the “pushing” would make worse.
Good luck - remember this info is to help you feel more confident about seeing a doc, not to substitute. Take care!
Sue from El Paso
members.aol.com/majormd/index.html
Thank you, Sue. Tubes down my throat, eh? Sounds like the nightmare I went through in 1988 when I tried to commit suicide by pills. I would hope that they would knock me out before doing that, because it’s VERY uncomfortable. But your post is very informative, and I thank you for taking the time to write it.
Snark, don’t worry about the barium X Ray, which they’d try first, before any tubes. I had one, and it’s not bad at all. The milkshake wasn’t unpleasant (though everyone says I’m being kind!). Then they lie you on a table, which tilts and goes side to side–I kept giggling during this, and the nurse admonished me that this was NOT supposed to be fun!
If they DO want to put a flouroscope down your throat, loudly and stridently demand drugs, drugs, drugs! I’ve never had that test, but they’re not getting within biting distance of me unless I’m sedated.
. . . Then again, I never found mammograms painful, either, so ya just never know.
Flora: I’m with you on that! If anyone tries to stick a tube down my throat without me being sedated is going to learn quickly how overweight I am, because I will sit on them. (j/k)
As for the barium “milkshake,” it can’t be worse than the tube of liquid charcoal I had to swallow back in '88. Nasty stuff, that charcoal, and it gives you the runs something awful. But I’m willing to swallow barium if it will help diagnose and cure the nausea. There’s <small>discomfort</small> and there’s DISCOMFORT, if you know what I mean!