Anxiety and vomiting and nausea

[Anxiousuk]

Hi all,

I've suffered in the past with depressive episodes and anxiety, but I got married on may 18th and on the wedding night starting throwing up, and didnt stop until about a week ago 8 weeks of nausea and vomiting.

The run up to the wedding and the wedding itself was very very stressful the hardest thing I had to do in my life.

I went through 3 antisickness meds, and I could still be sick through them. Lots of blood tests, fasting, 9am cortisol. An abdominal ultrasound (as i have had some right upper quadrant pain for 2 years not sure of related). All normal bar a raised liver alt.

After all that I went to a gastroenterologist privately as the wait was 18 weeks NHS in my area, he said that it sounds like anxiety to him and that it can last for some time after the stressful event, is he telling the truth? I mean it carried on whatever I was doing however relaxed I may have felt.

Also, the vomiting stopped the day after seeing the consultant and him telling me it's probably nothing sinister, could my subconscious of been making this worse ?

Yesterday I was due to have cameras both ends, but the temazepam I took to even get me to go wore off and I panicked and couldn't have it done I mean full scale shaking FEAR once i got into the theatre. he said that he wasn't overly concerned, I can either rebook under a general anaesthetic or leave it and see how I get on, as the main reason for the procedure was to put my mind at rest (who would even consider putting someone through that if not necessary !!)


Also it's probably worth noting I'm NEVeR a sicky person so it's made it all the more harrowing, I just would of thought that the stress and anxiety of the hospital would of made me sick again but it hasn't.

My GP prescribed 25mg lyrica (pregabalin) to see if it helps.

Sorry for waffling on, I just really want to know if this is possible, particularly the vomiting continuing for as long as it did(cautiously using word did).

Thanks
Al

[bonehead]

Stress saps the body of important nutrients such as B Vitamins, Vit C, and minerals like magnesium.

Vomiting, nausea and Anxiety are common symptoms of a deficiency in Niacin (B3) and/or Potassium.

[raggamuffin]

The body takes a long time to adjust even if you feel fine in terms of no anxiety for a period of time. The body gives out symptoms with anxiety due to the excess of fear and worry that you experience for weeks/months/years. This build up takes time to undo. Long lasting symptoms are common. You could have nausea for months or stomach pains for months, dizziness, headaches etc. For some people symptoms vary from one day to the next. But it's all the body's way of telling you that it wants you to ease up on the stress and worry.

As bonehead said it's worth looking at the vitamins and minerals. Diet is key, a good diet I mean. Aviod the processed foods. Yes sweets and junk food are tempting but they do the body and mind no favours at all. Speak to your GP about therapy. CBT can be very helpful for anxiety. NHS waiting lists are around 1-2 months I believe.

In the mean time look at your day to day and things that cause stress. Try and work out the anxious thought patterns you have that aren't helpful. The fears, worries and anxious ruminations. These are what the anxiety has to latch onto. The more we fear, panic and worry the more the anxiety wraps itself tighter around us and the more symptoms our body will give us to say "Look I need to rest and recover here".

So most people got to a point of daily anxiety due to a build up of stress and worry. So reducing it is key. DIstraction is very helpful but the fundamental to starting your journey on the road to recovery is acceptance. So read about anxiety, understand how it affects the body. There are some amazing stickies at the top of this general discussion section. Read them, understand them and how it relates to you.

Work out a diet and a game plan to tackle this anxiety. Tie together symptoms you get and how this is anxiety affecting you. Little by little the understanding becomes greater and in turn the fear becomes smaller. The more you understand anxiety the less you fear it.

This will take time though. Even when you reach acceptance and don't fear the symptoms your body will take weeks/months even a year or so to recover. I know we all wish and pray for an overnight cure, but that simply won't happen. Dr's can give you pills to mask symptoms but root causes must be addressed.

I hope you feel better soon.

Ed

[Anxiousuk]

Thanks for such a nice comprehensive reply, I did go mad on fresh fruit and veg for a few weeks thinking that it may have been gallbladder, I have started taking powdered ginger capsules (I hear they have great antiinflamatory properties) and I have also been taking wellman tablets which have the minerals, and also taking a teaspoon of Manuka honey twice daily, and also this lyrica that the doctor prescribed. I have let me diet lapse a little, because I wanted to start putting on some of the weight that I've lost over the past couple of months with the sickness and feeling of fullness constantly.

At one point of my anxiety/depression in the past I was referred to iTalk a guided self help telephone service I learnt alot on sleep hygeine and thought challenging, however I just couldn't seem to get past the fact the thought happened in the first place even though challenging negative thoughts is useful, the damage is done when I think that though if that makes sense. They didnt really seem to help me if I'm honest. I don't like the thought of group therapy at ALL. Maybe speaking to someone one on one could help, but when they ask I can't really give a specific cause for my symptoms, other than the big stress leading up to my wedding, and then just daily life/kids etc. I don't think I've got much more stress than anyone else, I don't want to make a meal of it when I know there's people out there that have a LOT more serious stress in their lives than myself.

However like I said the anxiety has sort of subsided at the moment, although my stomach is in knots every time I think about yesterday (walking out of the gastroscopy/colonoscopy theatre).

Could you reccomend a specific supplement(s), that I could be taking, the well man is a glorified multivitamin really so the amounts are just low of most things. I have a health shop local that has LOADS of supplements, this is where I got the Manuka honey and ginger from.

[raggamuffin]

No problem at all. Fruit and veg are very helpful. Unfortunately more expensive than processed packaged food and ready meals. One good tip for snacks is buy £15-20 worth of wholefoods. Seeds, nuts, dried fruit. Put it in a large tuppa ware container and it'll be good daily snacks for weeks.

You can spend a small fortune on supplements. It's finding what's best for you. There's a sticky at the top of this forum for supplements. You might find it helpful:

http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?14507-The-Definitive-Supplement-Regimen-to-Help-Cure-Your-Anxiety

Ed