Anxiety, Nausea & Recovery Length

[WaylonMason]

Hello. :-) My anxiety causes nausea and lack of appetite, which can lead to other problems (dizziness, fatigue, weight loss, etc). These symptoms can last days, weeks, sometimes more, even if I no longer feel anxious. I’ve tired to combat this with yoga, meditation, healthy diet, peppermint tea, etc and am currently undergoing cognitive therapy. I have also been diagnosed with IBS (endoscopies and scans were clear) which doesn’t help. Is this situation familiar to others, and, if so, can you recommend any remedies or solutions that could decrease the length and severity of the recovery period as it can be rather draining. I try my best to stay confident, and not dwell, but nausea can make it difficult to function and has a negative effect on both my working and social life. I want to control it; not it control me. Many thanks for listening.

[Bluesookie]

Hi WaylonMason :)
My anxiety does exactly the same thing to me. I used to feel sick all the time, especially in the mornings, to the point of vomiting. Needless to say, if my anxiety caused the nausea, the nausea itself was making me feel more anxious; especially the fact that I could not control it.

I would love to tell you that I found something that completely cures that symptom but I can't. What I did was medication and therapy (paroxetine, bromazepam and cognitive therapy as well). I only did about 7 months therapy (it helped me a lot to deal with some issues that were causing my anxiety) but took paroxetine for 3 years; I am now off since last october.

The only thing I can tell you is that when I reached a point of despair about my nausea I started to deal with it the same way my therapist advised me to deal with anxiety itself: not fight it but learn to live with it. It sounds a bit cliché, I know, but it sure helped me to change my attitude. Also , when the nausea would start, I would think about the worst thing that could happen and realize it was something I could deal with.

Sorry I couldn't help you more.
Hope you feel better soon.

[WaylonMason]

Hi WaylonMason :)
My anxiety does exactly the same thing to me. I used to feel sick all the time, especially in the mornings, to the point of vomiting. Needless to say, if my anxiety caused the nausea, the nausea itself was making me feel more anxious; especially the fact that I could not control it.

I would love to tell you that I found something that completely cures that symptom but I can't. What I did was medication and therapy (paroxetine, bromazepam and cognitive therapy as well). I only did about 7 months therapy (it helped me a lot to deal with some issues that were causing my anxiety) but took paroxetine for 3 years; I am now off since last october.

The only thing I can tell you is that when I reached a point of despair about my nausea I started to deal with it the same way my therapist advised me to deal with anxiety itself: not fight it but learn to live with it. It sounds a bit cliché, I know, but it sure helped me to change my attitude. Also , when the nausea would start, I would think about the worst thing that could happen and realize it was something I could deal with.

Sorry I couldn't help you more.
Hope you feel better soon.

What bemuses me is that I have one day of anxiety, and then weeks of feeling sick, even though I'm no longer particularly anxiety. I can't work out why I don't just feel better in a few days. Have you come across this pattern before? That's good advice re. accepting it.

[jessed03]

My brother had this type of anxiety a while ago. His life wasn't majorly affected by it, yet he would experience nausea from it regularly. Eventually he got a well paying job and a nice girlfriend, and the problem just disappeared for him.

[Bluesookie]

What bemuses me is that I have one day of anxiety, and then weeks of feeling sick, even though I'm no longer particularly anxiety. I can't work out why I don't just feel better in a few days. Have you come across this pattern before? That's good advice re. accepting it.

I think I know what you mean. When I was already going through therapy, in the beginning , I would feel "normal" , not anxious , there was no apparent need for worry, but I had nausea. I remember telling my therapist my problem wasn't the anxiety, that was over, it was the nausea. I thought I would have to live feeling that way forever (I can still feel the anguish it caused me, talking about it).
One day, as I was talking about my nausea despair, the therapist ask me to write a letter to it. Yes, to my nausea :rolleyes:. If I could say anything to it, what would I say. I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard but, by that time, I wasn't picky, I was doing anything remotely helpful. And so I wrote it. I won't say it "cured" me because it didn't, but I believe it was the day things started to change a bit. I felt I had regained a little control.
As I said before, I believe what helped me the most (apart from paroxetine, and the therapy itself) was stopping the fight against the nausea and embracing it as a part of my day. When I had a few good days, I would be terrified of becoming nauseous again. Then, I started to think "If I have it, I just have it, no big deal".
I am not immune to feeling sick again and I know that. I just don't worry about it anymore.