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Vagus nerve causing constant nausea?
44yr old male. I’m dealing with my second bout of 24/7 nausea. To clarify, it’s severe nausea and diarrhea…no vomiting. First lasted 10 days (5/7 - 5/16) and this second one is on Day 5 (6/6 - present). Between the two bouts I’ve made 4 trips to the ER. They just give me fluids, say all my bloodwork is normal and send me home. I was prescribed Flagyl during one of those trips and had a severe reaction to it where it made me have shingle-type pain and depression. Was referred to a Gastroenterologist and had a colonoscopy and EGD. Everything looked ok except for a little Gastritis, Esophagitis and Diverticulosis on May 17, 2023. All the doctors I’ve seen here in the northwest corner of Alabama tell me I’ll be fine and send me home. My Gastro doc says he’ll refer me to wherever I think I need to go because he says it’s not making sense to him either. My mom sees a Neurologist at UAB Medical in B’ham, AL due to having Myasthenia Gravis. I’m looking at trying to get a referral to him. Why? I think maybe there is the possibility of having damage to my vagus nerve…or something pressing on the vagus nerve. Do you think this is a possibility or can you offer a better suggestion of what is going on with me? I’m at a loss and I can’t go to work and enjoy time with my family. *Side note: At night I can sedate myself with phenergan and zzzquil and sleep most of the night (6 hours) not nauseated, however, I wake up extremely nauseated and “fuzzy” headed. I also can’t lay down during the day because the nausea is too great. Sitting up is bad but not as bad as lying down and standing up is bad but not as bad as sitting straight up. Only meds I take daily are Valsartan 320mg, Tadalifil 5mg and Nexium. Please help me figure this out. I know there are people out there with far greater issues and I pray for them and hope they get answers too, but if anyone has an answer to my issue…I’m listening. Thank you very much!
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So frustrating when no one can find the answer. I'm sorry you are dealing with this. My niece just told me a story I knew nothing about. She had been throwing up all the time, had been hospitalized, and ran every test under the sun, she was passed from doctor to doctor until one finally nailed it. She was a marijuana smoker and it was making her sick. Stopped the marijuana use and was back to normal. Just food for thought. I hope you get some answers.
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1 ReactionI appreciate your response. However, I honestly have never used marijuana in my life.
@hus I do hope you see a provider that gets to the root cause of the nausea. Ten days of nausea and 24/7 diarrhea is just awful and I sympathize with you. It sounds like your Gastro physician will be the most helpful as they are willing to refer you for other diagnostic tests.
My little anecdote is that when I changed my diet on the advice of an integrative medicine physician I began eating broccoli several times a week. Broccoli is my favorite vegetable other than carrots. Maybe I’m part of rabbit? But I digress. I was worried that my bouts of diarrhea were due to cancer as I’m a cancer survivor so I think every little change in my body could be cancer. After checking in with my radiation oncologist and my integrative medicine physician I figured out I was eating too much broccoli. Broccoli is too fibrous for me. So I limit broccoli to once a week and eat other veggies instead.
The vagus nerve originates in the brain stem and extends throughout the head, neck, and body and innervates the heart, digestive tract, lungs, spleen and kidneys. It also innervates the autonomic nervous system’s sympathetic nervous system - the fight or flight system and the upper part of the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest system). I am sure you know all of this from the research you’ve done. It’s possible that something else is giving « information » to your vagus nerve that is causing the nausea and diarrhea. Just a thought but something you could ask a specialist.
Will you please come back here and let me know what you find out?
Thank you for the reply. And I’m proud to hear you’re winning your fight! Yes, my wife and I have researched the mess out of this. I’m just perplexed that out of 5 doctors I’ve seen that they all say “it doesn’t really make sense.” I’m being told the nausea and the fuzziness and dizziness in my head are probably unrelated. That’s what makes no sense to me…the brain and stomach work hand in hand…why does my nausea and meds not working for it, not make sense? I hope to see a neurologist soon and get some answers. I will update when I find something out. Thanks again!
I thought it was quite a reach. Again, best wishes in getting to the bottom of this.
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1 Reaction@dhansen78
Assuming you know about disruption of crystals in the inner ear that cause BPPV… if not check in with a vestibular physical therapist with experience treating that dizzy nausea you have. I had a bad winter of this in one ear and a virus in the other… weird, could not bend over and do house chores for weeks… but it left after pt treatment and time. Who knew that there are pt’s with this special focus… I was lucky I found one.
Thank you for the reply. I believe I’ve found my cause and a solution. I honestly believe this is all due to my severe gastritis and esophagitis from destroying my stomach with NSAIDS. Taking Nexium twice a day, quitting drinking alcohol and changing my diet to a bland diet, along with other lifestyle changes is going to be my best bet for treatment and recovery.
I found a group of people on Reddit that are, or have all experienced what I have been going through to a “T.” All of them that have been through this say it’s not going to change until I change my diet and get on Nexium twice a day for about 6 months. I’m doing all that now and have been since my awful flareup around 8 days ago…but 2nd flareup within a month.
I believe I’ve irritated my entire stomach lining and esophagus to the point nerves from my brain (vagus nerve maybe) that are connected to or control stomach muscles were part of the irritation too. As my stomach pain and nausea get better so do the issues with my head…fuzziness, dizziness, inability to track with my eyes. Every day gets a little better as it seems the Nexium and bland foods are working to NOT irritate my stomach. Let’s pray that’s it! I just hate doctors around couldn’t tell me that and I had to find out on Reddit…while being thankful at the same time that I found out on Reddit😉
Please see my reply to @bmoregrl. I believe I’ve found a solution or treatment for what’s going on with me.👍
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1 ReactionYour expectations that medicine has all the answers is incorrect, we don’t. I’m a retired nurse and still dabble in healthcare and you’re not alone. The human body is a very complicated system that we discover new things everyday about it. You should be very pleased with yourself for doing the research and hopefully obtaining the right diagnosis and treatment. I presume your doctor(s) are in agreement? You were on a PPI for a reason so has that reason gone away or has it funneled to somewhere else? Btw literature on Nexium shows nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea occur in 1-10% of patients taking it.
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1 ReactionI got an ulcer from nsaids - cannot take them anymore. Ever.
Nexium helped.