Low level nausea for several months & nothing helps. Ideas?

Many people experience nausea as a result of excess acid in the stomach. This occurs more when stomach is empty, particularly in the middle of night. It’s also seasonal, worse in spring and fall. The excess acid is likely to cause ulcers, and sometimes nausea is the main symptom without pain. Gallbladder disease causes nausea when stomach is full, after eating, especially after fatty food intake. The nausea from excess acid is temporarily relieved by creamy foods like ice cream, yogurt or milk, made worse by alcohol and spicy or acidic foods. Observing these associations can provide clues as to the cause. A test of antacids is helpful. If antacids relieve the nausea, then an H2 blocker like Pepcid (famotidine) and /or a PPI (protein pump inhibitor like omeprazole ) both OTC, can help if taken daily. Of course a discussion with your doctor about your observations and response to these meds is appropriate and so is asking for an endoscopy and gallbladder ultrasound. I hope you get some answers soon and relief!

Thank you!

I’ve had intermittent nausea and vomiting for several years. I never know what sets it off. I’ve had several tests to rule out gallbladder disease and they have all been negative. My daughter in law had her gallbladder removed after experiencing similar symptoms. Her surgeon told her to take Ox bile which is an over the counter digestive aid. I get mine on Amazon and take it twice daily. So far I have not had an episode of nausea and vomiting for 1 yr.

Thanks will try it!

very very sorry for your difficulties.

I have been in a number of support groups for difficult illnesses.

First of all...there is always hope. Many people have even been close to death with mysterious problems.

The most difficult illnesses to understand and solve, tend to surrender to time. Time is on our side.

We do more and more research, we learn new things, we try new things. We develop new coping skills, we get symptom reduction.

So, there is always hope, never forget that.

As far as nausea goes. First of all, everything happens for a reason. So, there is a cause. It does not come from nowhere. And, as far as psychological causes? That is really just spin... it is almost always a physical cause. True psychological problems causing major medical issues? Extremely rare.

You try and get in there and eliminate anything possible.

You said your period used to cause nausea. So, the endocrine system seems a likely cause. So, I would certainly go through testing from an endocrinologist.

Simple causes? Lack of hydration can do all sorts of things. And very very few folks truly hydrate optimally. Really have to get those 8 glasses of water every single day....every single day.

You can go through all the basics.

Getting enough sleep? Very very few folks do that. Whatever the medical problem, getting those 8 hours of sleep every single night? Can only help.

Check for allergies generally. And food allergies specifically.

Get assessed for acid reflux. Also, sleep apnea. Bad sleep at night can be a great strain on the immune system.

Don't think of a cure as some kind of one shot that fixes everything. Might be 20 different things that each, slowly improve your health, until the problem starts to fade away.

And, with those 20 different things, you might barely notice if any of them, individually, have any effect.

You can get in there and assess things. You take a diary for a few months, listing every single thing eaten, every single symptom you have.

And then, as you incorporate a change, you can watch the diary entries to see if the level of problem reduces.

Sometimes it can take a few months to even notice a slight change. But, over time...if you are scrupulous, you will notice the changes.

If your gastro guy hasn't found the problem...definitely get a second opinion. Find a better gastro guy, find the best gastro guy in the country. Not all doctors are equal. The very best in a field is a whole another level of understanding.

Best US Hospitals for Gastroenterology & GI Surgery

(from US News)
https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/gastroenterology-and-gi-surgery
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wish I had more for you, that is all I have for now. If I think of something that someone in the support groups mentioned, I will let you know...

I never heard of excess acid in the stomach. Does it mean the stomach PH of a person with excess acid is lower than one with normal acid?

Exactly. Stomach pH is even measured sometimes as part of diagnostic testing. That is not pleasant as a tube has to be put through the nose and into the stomach to do that. So a trial of ant acids, and or acid reducing medications is a reasonable and practical test to see if it helps the symptoms. persistent nausea however is something that should be addressed by a physician, preferably gastroenterologist. One must rule out serious causes of persistent nausea, such as stomach cancer, to be safe, which is done by endoscopy.

What is the cause(s) of excess acidity in the stomach?
You would think this is supposed to reach a homeostatic and 'normal' acidity in a healthy individual that does not lead to any symptoms.
From what I understand you are saying the nausea can be caused by the ulcer/gastritis that is formed by the excess acid.
Do people have changes in acid levels over time , or temporarily during their life?
Another interesting question is does excess acidity in the stomach correlate with acid reflux? In other words, does it just swish around inside the stomach pack or does excess acidity also somehow precipitate the reflux reaction by some mechanism?

I'll keep it simple...mine is in waves. Low nausea, then night sweats, then daytime low nausea, then one bad day, then i feel great for about 3 weeks. Rinse and repeat.

Yes the excess acid causes gastric inflammation and sometimes ulcers. You can google this to learn the physiology and pathophysiogy related. It tends to exacerbate and remit if one is prone to it. Many factors including genetics, diet, hormone secretion (like insulin triggered by food ingestion)), stress, meds, smoking, etc. affect the HCL production by tbe stomach’s parietal cells. There can be an excess or less often, a reduction in the ideal HCL production. Gastric acid pH can be tested during endoscopy. An interesting related read is Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (rare). Enjoy delving into this!