Nausea and vomitting

Hi,

Sorry I haven't been able to reply in a while. Here's what happened since the last time you've heard from me: after almost a week of nausea and vomiting every morning, and after taking the medicines (ranitidine etc) despite me not being sure whether it is helping or not, the nausea and vomiting has disappeared, and it's been about 2 weeks now that I woke up normal. I've also found out that I poop almost everyday and it was loose stools. However today I woke up having that shortness of breath again but no nausea/feeling to vomit, and after drinking warm water and my mum massaged me, I went to the bathroom. This time it's not loose stools, it's more to solid, so I guess it's back to normal? After that I feel much better. I had breakfast but couldn't eat a lot because I had that uncomfortable fullness feeling.

Since last I posted here, my condition has improved, though this morning showed to me that it may come back. I don't know what's causing the shortness of breath every time I wake up, and it gives me a headache. My stomach doesn't feel anything but I think it's the one that's affecting the shortness of breath.

Yes, I think I am lactose intolerant, because I can't take milk/cream with tea or Milo or any cocoa drinks, because it upsets my stomach in a way that can only be resolved by pooping. However if I eat cereals with milk / drink fresh milk, 99% of the time I turn out okay.

If there is a health center/ facility and/or a registered dietitian in our university, I don't know about it. Frankly, I think educational institutions in Brunei don't realise the importance of having those in the institutions. We have to rely on ourselves, so we usually deal with our health problems privately, by going to the public hospital/ private hospital. The public hospital is free for locals and permanent residents (just $1 fee), but there are often a lot of people (not overcrowded though) and all these years of me going there to see the doctor, the doctor only sees me for not more than 10-15 minutes. I think that they don't see my problem as something serious, all they do is just check my heart rate, blood pressure, ask me questions, and then prescribe my medications. They always say it's gastric but last time I went there and told them that the symptoms were different they said it was epigastric pain.

So I don't know if I should go there again and asked to be referred to a specialist, so that I can request for an endoscopy (should I get one?). Or should I go to the private hospital? I don't know how much it's going to cost me, I can't afford much. How much does it usually costs for a consultation over there in the U.S.?

Also, in the link you gave me, it says that I should see a doctor right away if I have these symptoms:

frequent vomiting
blood in vomit
weight loss or loss of appetite
black tarry stools
difficult or painful swallowing
abdominal pain in a nonepigastric area
indigestion accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, or pain that radiates to the jaw, neck, or arm
symptoms that persist for more than 2 weeks

I had frequent vomiting, weight loss/loss of appetite, and indigestion accompanied by shortness of breath (no sweating/pain etc). It also says that if the symptoms improve, it means that the condition is improving too. So should I still see a doctor or just let myself recover naturally first and then if I'm still showing problems, see a doctor?

Thank you for your help Alison! It's a step.

Hi,

Sorry I haven't been able to reply in a while. Here's what happened since the last time you've heard from me: after almost a week of nausea and vomiting every morning, and after taking the medicines (ranitidine etc) despite me not being sure whether it is helping or not, the nausea and vomiting has disappeared, and it's been about 2 weeks now that I woke up normal. I've also found out that I poop almost everyday and it was loose stools. However today I woke up having that shortness of breath again but no nausea/feeling to vomit, and after drinking warm water and my mum massaged me, I went to the bathroom. This time it's not loose stools, it's more to solid, so I guess it's back to normal? After that I feel much better. I had breakfast but couldn't eat a lot because I had that uncomfortable fullness feeling.

Since last I posted here, my condition has improved, though this morning showed to me that it may come back. I don't know what's causing the shortness of breath every time I wake up, and it gives me a headache. My stomach doesn't feel anything but I think it's the one that's affecting the shortness of breath.

Yes, I think I am lactose intolerant, because I can't take milk/cream with tea or Milo or any cocoa drinks, because it upsets my stomach in a way that can only be resolved by pooping. However if I eat cereals with milk / drink fresh milk, 99% of the time I turn out okay.

If there is a health center/ facility and/or a registered dietitian in our university, I don't know about it. Frankly, I think educational institutions in Brunei don't realise the importance of having those in the institutions. We have to rely on ourselves, so we usually deal with our health problems privately, by going to the public hospital/ private hospital. The public hospital is free for locals and permanent residents (just $1 fee), but there are often a lot of people (not overcrowded though) and all these years of me going there to see the doctor, the doctor only sees me for not more than 10-15 minutes. I think that they don't see my problem as something serious, all they do is just check my heart rate, blood pressure, ask me questions, and then prescribe my medications. They always say it's gastric but last time I went there and told them that the symptoms were different they said it was epigastric pain.

So I don't know if I should go there again and asked to be referred to a specialist, so that I can request for an endoscopy (should I get one?). Or should I go to the private hospital? I don't know how much it's going to cost me, I can't afford much. How much does it usually costs for a consultation over there in the U.S.?

Also, in the link you gave me, it says that I should see a doctor right away if I have these symptoms:

frequent vomiting
blood in vomit
weight loss or loss of appetite
black tarry stools
difficult or painful swallowing
abdominal pain in a nonepigastric area
indigestion accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, or pain that radiates to the jaw, neck, or arm
symptoms that persist for more than 2 weeks

I had frequent vomiting, weight loss/loss of appetite, and indigestion accompanied by shortness of breath (no sweating/pain etc). It also says that if the symptoms improve, it means that the condition is improving too. So should I still see a doctor or just let myself recover naturally first and then if I'm still showing problems, see a doctor?

Thank you for your help Alison! It's a step.

This website might help you find more clues, and find a specialist: The National Institutes of Health (NIH)

You mentioned that the hospital "diagnosed" you with epigastric pain (basically, indigestion). Strange, because at the NIH webpage for indigestion (http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/indigestion/), it mentions that vomiting or nausea may be from something more serious. Indigestion is not a diagnosis itself; it is caused by something else (serious or not), and it would be a good idea to see a specialist who can run some diagnostic tests.

Here is a complete list of A-Z digestive topics that you can read, and learn more about your symptoms and the tests you should take.

Don't focus too much on all of the possible conditions; you may have Gastritis (which is a common problem; up to 10% of people coming to the hospital with stomach pain have gastritis).

Hi,
I'm so glad you responded, because knowing your age is going to help us provide even more information!

I will do some research, and get back with you.

I'm wondering if you have any food allergies, specifically to the milk you mentioned (lactose intolerance), and the cracker you can not eat whole--have you noticed any reactions to other foods containing wheat, soy or egg products?

Also, the University you attend...is there a student health center or other facility with a Registered Dietitian? I would recommend that you make a visit with this professional, as they have experience in gastric conditions.

I'll respond again, soon! Hopefully we'll hear more from others as well.

Yes alysia, I will definitely avoid those food from now on, because they seem to be a trigger too. And alison, yes I do think stress is a factor too, I'm a university student and we've just started our fourth semester and workload have immediately begun to pile up. I often feel anxious easily even for little things. But there must be something else too that's causing my body to act up like this. I'll try to get a pregnancy test soon, but I don't think that is the case though since I've just had my period during the first week of January, and didn't have any sex after that.

Umm no alison, I don't have a regular doctor/specialist that I see. I see your point there, and I will go to a private hospital soon since this is something different, because usually I've been going to the public hospital.

Well, I've also found that if I don't eat at regular times, i.e. not the same as yesterday and the day before that, I'll get gastric. And also skipping a meal. I haven't done much research on gastric disorders yet, I've only just begun to understand how serious this problem is and this weird condition I'm having now is like a wake up call (I'm 20 years old).

They've only tested my heart rate using the ECG, and my heart rate turned out to be fine, they didn't take any blood test or anything. The GP at the hospital prescribed all of the medications, and no I haven't gone back to her, but I am planning to go to a private hospital.

However I have to say the this morning I did wake up again like that, but the anxiety that comes before the nausea seems to be not so intense this time and I could control it. I tried to breathe slowly and tried to go back to sleep and I did. When I woke up again, it didn't happen again. My conclusion is that it probably had something to do with yesterday - yesterday I tried distributing my meals to five very small meals instead of three big meals. And last night I felt nauseated too, which is strange because it's been happening in the morning only. So I tried eating Jacob's hi fibre low salt cracker bit by bit (it really makes me vomit if I take normal-sized bites) and the nausea slowly disappeared. I also found that it doesn't feel good if I drink warm milk when on an empty stomach - my stomach seems to be "unwilling" to accept it.

Gosh, it's like my stomach has a life of it's own, and I'm a slave to my stomach. It's really affecting my social life and my studies. Thanks for your replies so far :)

I'm not sure either, but wanted to comment that as I was reading your post, my immediate thought was morning sickness or stress-related. Any truth to these suspicions?

My other immediate reaction is: do you have a regular doctor/specialist that you see? You only mentioned "going to the emergency room", which could be part of the problem. If you do not have a regular, trusted doctor, you probably do not have someone (or a team) working with your "whole person", and just treating the symptoms as they present themselves. It is optimal to have consistent, ongoing care, in order to get to the cause of the problem(s) and cause(s).

What do you think is causing your gastric attacks? Do you have a "hunch" or anything else going on in your life beyond eating BBQ food? What research have you already done on gastric disorders?

What tests have been done? Who prescribed all of the medications you listed, and have you gone back to this person for a follow-up? (The medicines may not be correct dosage, or may be ineffective...it's unclear).

As alysia said, I hope one of our medical experts can reply shortly. Hang in there!

I'm sorry to hear you're having such a terrible time. The common element I see is the barbecued food. So, I'd certainly avoid such foods. My immediate thought was that you might be experiencing morning sickness.

This is a question for our medical experts and we'll try to get a response for you, ASAP. Thank you for sharing your information with us.