Chronic nausea

[PatJ]

Here's a site with a few user suggested remedies for gastritis: EarthClinic. They list some of the things you've tried but also lists others. Here is another EarthClinic page that discusses gastritis.

One of the comments in the multiple remedies sub-section says this:

I have had Gastritis and all they want to do is give me nexium and the such which I found gave me other issues over the last 6-7 years. I think it is from taking meds in the morning and coffee so close. My take. And in the last few years I would always take 1-2 "GAS-X" capsules which would help. Ususally I get so bloated that lying on my side or later in my sleep , wake up with stomach spasms and heart palpitations. No BLOATING.. Can drink with meals.

I found this website a few months back and have been doing a number of things including ACV & baking soda with a 500mg of L-Glutamine (vitamin supplement) with each of the 3 8oz of the ACV tonic. DOES NOT bother the stomach.. In fact I have felt great! No palpitation issues over the last 4-5 weeks. I am very happy.. People look at me sideways when I tell them I am taking this stuff. The answer with so many folks is prescriptions ($$$). I also stopped dairy, cut down on coffee and taking 600-800 mg of "chelated magnesium", added B12s, sublingual 1200-2400 per day.

That reminded me about l-glutamine being useful for healing the stomach lining. Here is a search with lots of results about the topic.

Cayenne might help as well:

from: http://cayennepepper.info/health-benefits-of-cayenne-pepper.html
"Notwithstanding its hot taste, paradoxically it is actually superb for rebuilding the tissue in the stomach, facilitating healing with stomach and intestinal ulcers. Cayenne pepper for ulcers is not something most would have considered but I can testify to that remarkable capability of this remarkable medicinal spice."

 

[Booble]

As much as I hate it, apple cider vinegar does work well (and usually fairly immediately) when you have stomach discomfort attributed to acid.
I put a little in a glass of water and force it down. Not sure why I dislike it so much since I like oil and vinegar Italian dressing!
My diet consists of a lot of acidic food and I have a sensitive system with pain, bloating, nausea often and that dang ACV does its magic.

 

[Kalina]

I have chronic pancreatitis after all. My nausea improved after ERCP with sphincterectomy.

 

[Mimicry]

I started mirtazapine for depression last night and it seems like my chronic nausea is gone! I've been suffering from it for over a year (I've had it before, but not every day) and it has been made worse by LDN, a progestin implant, PPI's, SSRI's and several supplements. I'm really hoping this effect will last and I won't get bad side effects! So far I have been very groggy for the whole day and had to cancel plans, but I'm also on day 2 of PEM from two doctors' appointments on Friday so it's entirely possible I wouldn't have been able to go anywhere even without the grogginess. I slept extremely well, though. I've been using quetiapine for sleep before and mirtazapine seems to work better.

Mirtazapine works by blocking serotonin receptors in the gut and apparently that might explain why it helps with nausea.

 

[Pendergast]

@Mimicry which dose of Mirtazapine are you taking?

 

[Mimicry]

@Mimicry which dose of Mirtazapine are you taking?

I started with 7.5 mg, but I'm raising the dose to 15 mg in a few weeks. In smaller doses it makes you sleepy (and apparently it also increases appetite, which does not bother me at all since I usually have to force myself to eat) and is used as a sleep aid, but in larger doses (15-45 mg) it helps depression.

 

[Wayne]

I started with 7.5 mg, but I'm raising the dose to 15 mg in a few weeks.

Hi @Mimicry -- I frequently visit a tinnitus forum, and Mirtazapine has been widely reported to cause or exacerbate tinnitus (which is very closely related to brain dysfunction). Others don't seem to have problems with it. I'd suggest monitoring very closely whether it might be affecting your ears in any manner, especially at times when you're changing dosage.

 

[Mimicry]

Hi @Mimicry -- I frequently visit a tinnitus forum, and Mirtazapine has been widely reported to cause or exacerbate tinnitus (which is very closely related to brain dysfunction). Others don't seem to have problems with it. I'd suggest monitoring very closely whether it might be affecting your ears in any manner, especially at times when you're changing dosage.

Thank you for the warning! I've had tinnitus for several years, especially the last year during migraine attacks, and I've gotten used to it. I'm not sure if I'll notice if it gets worse but I'll do my best to see if it does!

 

[Mimicry]

Interestingly, the nausea (and headache usually accompanied by it) returned today after I took half a tablet (5 mg) of metoclopramide (a nausea med that increases the movement of the gut) yesterday. I wanted to get my gut moving after the mirtazapine backed me up for the whole day and I felt like all the food I managed to eat wasn't going anywhere (). I also slept very poorly last night and I'm guessing it's because of the metoclopramide, since it can cause restlessness and insomnia and it absolutely has caused akathisia in me before when I took a full tablet to help with migraine induced nausea.

Metoclopramide (Reglan or Primperan, depending on your country) blocks D2 receptors and can cause a wide range of side effects from parkinsonism to akathisia. It has a very similar list of side effects as the psychosis/mania med quetiapine (Seroquel or Ketipinor) that also blocks dopamine receptors, although not as selectively as metoclopramide. I've been using quetiapine for sleep regularly for a couple years. Two years ago I had a four months long "hypomanic episode" (not sure if it was actually that because doctors haven't been able to decide whether I really have bipolar disorder or not) that caused severe restlessness, loss of appetite and inability to sleep. The only thing that helped the symptoms was starting long-release quetiapine, 50 mg daily. I tried to increase the dose to 200 mg because my psychiatrist insisted 50 mg isn't enough, but got severe side effects and dropped the dose back to 50 mg per day.

I felt fine with the 50 mg/day dose and it made me sleep well and decreased the nausea a bit, but wanted to try what happens if I quit it completely because since I apparently didn't have bipolar disorder after all, I didn't want to use unnecessary meds. I quit it this year March IIRC. I still kept taking instant release quetiapine for sleep at the dose 12,5 mg every night because without it I literally couldn't sleep.

When I started mirtazapine I stopped taking the IR quetiapine and the nausea was gone yesterday. But since it came back today due to the metoclopramide (I'm assuming it's because of that, but could also be due to a migraine or something) I'm now wondering if the dopamine antagonism or the withdrawal from it was the root cause of my nausea. When I took the extended release quetiapine I was feeling a bit better, and when I stopped it the nausea became worse. I'm wondering if I've been experiencing some sort of daily withdrawal symptoms from the tiny dose of instant release quetiapine this whole time because at night I have been feeling better. And if I'm having withdrawal from the metoclopramide right now.

Any thoughts? I know there are people here with a good grasp on biochemistry (@Hip or @Pyrrhus maybe?) but I don't remember if anyone has been talking about dopamine antagonists a lot.

 

[Pyrrhus]

Any thoughts?

I'm afraid I don't know all the interactions between mirtazapine, quetiapine, and metoclopramide.

All I can say is that I no longer take any stimulant laxative/gastroparesis medication like metoclopramide or sennosides, as they seemed to make my gastroparesis worse in the long-term. Instead, I used a liquid diet with enemas when necessary, until I luckily found out that low-dose creatine seemed to relieve my gastroparesis.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hip]

Any thoughts? I know there are people here with a good grasp on biochemistry (@Hip or @Pyrrhus maybe?) but I don't remember if anyone has been talking about dopamine antagonists a lot.

Far too brain fogged to look into it, but you might like to check out lemon essential oil as an anti-nausea supplement (potent 5-HT3 antagonist).

 

[lenora]

Feel better @Hip. Yours, Lenora

 

[hapl808]

Instead, I used a liquid diet with enemas, until I luckily found out that low-dose creatine seemed to relieve my gastroparesis.

That's fascinating that creatine helped? Was it mono or HCL? I took metaclopramide 20+ years ago when I first got sick in SE Asia, but I found I needed to take Benadryl at the same time to deal with concerning side effects and I discontinued it quickly. My GI symptoms are much better in recent years with a very restricted diet, though.