Diagnosed Celiac, Why Am I Nauseated All The Time?

[hafadai43]

I was diagnosed with celiac disease as a junior in high school after a 5 year battle trying to find out what in the world was wrong with me. I was ecstatic to finally have a name for what I felt, although it meant a total life change, and I've been gluten free ever since.

Every once in awhile I get nauseous, but this nausea lasts for weeks on end....and it doesn't matter what I eat, how fast I eat, or what time in the day I eat it.....I always feel sick in the middle of or right after a meal. Well I'm in one of those times at this moment and am getting really tired of it! This time is worse than usual...I will wake up in the middle of the night and just feel like I'm going to throw up all over the place! I know for a fact I'm not pregnant or anything...I have a 3 1/2 month old son actually. I've been trying to do research and get an idea for myself of what it might be before I go to the doctor...but I really have no idea! I'm also really tired all the time, my son is sleeping through the night...so that's not the problem...and I feel I'm getting enough sleep. So why do I feel so sick and run-down?

I plan to go to the doctor soon (just a family doctor to start with) to see if he has any idea...but I'm afraid he will just tell me its nothing, he has no idea, or it'll turn out to be something serious. Do any of you have some ideas? I would appreciate any sort of input.

Thanks,

Rachel

[CarlaB]

I don't know for sure what yours is, but my problem ended up being adrenal fatigue/burnout. I ocassionally had nausea and it's one of the symptoms. Google it and see if it's a fit for you. If it is, it's a sub-clinical condition meaning docs don't typically diagnose it, but the good news is most all the fixes are things you can do on your own. Also, if it sound's like you, read Tired of Being Tired by Jesse Lynn Hanley, M.D. I'm finally starting to feel like a normal person again, though I still have a ways to go before I'm 100% healthy.

Adrenal fatigue is common for those who have had constant inflammation (from gluten intolerance), lack of sleep (I'm assuming that's you with a young baby!), and stress.

[Matilda]

..

[hafadai43]

Do you think I should try to do the treatment for adrenal fatigue before I spend tons of money going to doctors that might not be able to diagnose me? Does it take a long time to feel a difference?

However I just want this figured out. I guess I should go back to my gastroenterologist. I have yet to meet a family doctor who really knows much about celiac disease. I went back to him about a year and a half after I was diagnosed with some other stomach pains and he said it was probably just IBS. And thus gave me medicine for it. Other than that I haven't been back.

Thanks for the input gals!

[Ursa Major]

Rachel, even though Carla might be right, what Matilda says could be true as well (or it could be a combination of things). Have you tried eliminating dairy and soy? My youngest daughter is intolerant to all dairy (so am I, but my symptoms are different). She gets very nauseated by especially cheese, and might even throw up in the middle of the night after cheating and eating pizza. Also, she'll get bad stomach aches that last a day or so. If you keep eating the offending food, then you might feel nauseated for weeks on end.

Look adrenal fatigue up on google, and see if the symptoms fit, and go from there. I think it would be a good idea to see a doctor, tell him what's happening, and suggest what you suspect might be the problem.

You could also be anemic. I think asking to have your levels of essential nutrients checked would be a good idea.

[rinne]

I'm sorry to hear you are feeling nauseated, believe me I know, I've been nauseaus for about a year now.

I find keeping a journal can be helpful in tracking my reactions. Have you tried that? Are you eating dairy? A friend who just had a baby has developed an intolerance to dairy, in fact the baby is about three months old now. She has a rash as the primary symptom. Do you have any other symptoms that are odd or occasional that don't seem related to the nausea?

I hope you will be feeling better soon.

[Guest Robbin]

Good advice regarding the journal and investigating other intolerances. I would start with the most common reaction causing foods like dairy and soy, noting the reactions to those foods in the journal--do not forget to break down any combination foods like say, chicken parmesan into the separate ingredients. It is better to stick to simple foods if possible. The journal is a valuable tool to have for your doctor to see as well. Not only for him to see your symptoms written there, but for him to see you are taking an active role in trying to figure this out. Take care.

[jknnej]

You sound exactly like me. Turns out I have acid reflux and 25% of patients w/ reflux present with nausea and NO heartburn.

I wake up at night nauseated, too, in fact, I dream I am throwing up. Waking up at night is one of the BIGGEST symptoms of reflux. You also will want to try sleeping in an elevated position.

Nexium works wonders for this. You have to find the right meds, though. I tried Prilosec OTC and it made the problem worse.

Nexium is a good choice. Ask your dr. for some samples of it. I'll be you see a huge difference in just a few days.

[CarlaB]

I would do the search for adrenal fatigue and see if it's a fit for you. If it is, I would definately start on the suggestions as they actually would be helpful for anyone who's had stress or been ill for a long time.

That being said, I think you should also keep a food diary to see if any specific foods are causing problems and have your blood levels looked at to check thyroid, anemia, etc. If you're anything like me, you're definately ill, but all your levels look fine. That doesn't mean your body is working at its optimal level ... you can have sub-clinical problems -- things that are an issue but not a disease yet.

In three weeks time I've gone from not being able to get out of bed to being able to do simple tasks and light exercise. So, it's a significant improvement, but still have a ways to go.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Nausea's the pits, isn't it? Everyone else has posted great advice, and I'm sure you would know if you were pregnant, but just in case--it IS possible to get pregnant immediately after giving birth, even if you are breastfeeding.

My sister-in-law is exactly 10 months older than her sister, who was full-term. And my neighbor thought that she couldn't get pregnant if she was breastfeeding, but she got pregnant 4 months after her first baby was born, and then had twins less than a year after that one was born!!

Then she had her tubes tied.

[CarlaB]

Nausea's the pits, isn't it? Everyone else has posted great advice, and I'm sure you would know if you were pregnant, but just in case--it IS possible to get pregnant immediately after giving birth, even if you are breastfeeding.

My sister-in-law is exactly 10 months older than her sister, who was full-term. And my neighbor thought that she couldn't get pregnant if she was breastfeeding, but she got pregnant 4 months after her first baby was born, and then had twins less than a year after that one was born!!

Then she had her tubes tied.

This is true. I taught natural family planning for 7 years. We taught how breastfeeding can help space babies, but what signs to look for to see if fertility is returning. You can get pregnant breastfeeding, though it's unlikely to get pregnant if you are exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months (about 97 or 98% chance of not getting pregnant -- which isn't 100%!).

[jenvan]

Do you think I should try to do the treatment for adrenal fatigue before I spend tons of money going to doctors that might not be able to diagnose me? Does it take a long time to feel a difference?

However I just want this figured out. I guess I should go back to my gastroenterologist. I have yet to meet a family doctor who really knows much about celiac disease. I went back to him about a year and a half after I was diagnosed with some other stomach pains and he said it was probably just IBS. And thus gave me medicine for it. Other than that I haven't been back.

Thanks for the input gals!

I would go to a doctor and get it cked out. Other ideas: gastritis or ulcer. So you don't have any pain? What about any dizziness?

[TriticusToxicum]

I would go to a doctor and get it cked out.

That's the best advice. We can all speculate, but until you get to the doc and get poked and prodded you'll never know. (i know doctors aren't always right/helpful/insightful/caring, yada yada yada, that's fodder for another thread) You PCP should be able to ask the right ??s and help figure out what's ailing you. If you watch this thread long enough you may be convinced that you have everything from malaria to jock itch.

I'm not trying to make light of your situation, I just think a trip to the doctor is your best course of action.

Everybody means well, but the doctor would be my first stop.

[CarlaB]

That's the best advice. We can all speculate, but until you get to the doc and get poked and prodded you'll never know. (i know doctors aren't always right/helpful/insightful/caring, yada yada yada, that's fodder for another thread) You PCP should be able to ask the right ??s and help figure out what's ailing you. If you watch this thread long enough you may be convinced that you have everything from malaria to jock itch.

I'm not trying to make light of your situation, I just think a trip to the doctor is your best course of action.

Everybody means well, but the doctor would be my first stop.

I think that if you read everyone's advice more carefully you will notice that almost everyone suggested seeing her doctor -- the only other things suggested were keeping a food diary for him to see and seeing if her symptoms matched up with adrenal fatigue (the cure of which is rest, eating right, lowering stress, etc.). I don't see that anyone has suggested anything weird or radical like jock itch or malaria. The doctor can rule out a few things and assure her things are okay, but chances of him actually finding out what's causing the nausea are slim. People are just posting their experiences so she can learn from them, which is why she asked here ... she seems to have wanted to hear our ideas.

[TriticusToxicum]

I think that if you read everyone's advice more carefully you will notice that almost everyone suggested seeing her doctor -- the only other things suggested were keeping a food diary for him to see and seeing if her symptoms matched up with adrenal fatigue (the cure of which is rest, eating right, lowering stress, etc.). I don't see that anyone has suggested anything weird or radical like jock itch or malaria. The doctor can rule out a few things and assure her things are okay, but chances of him actually finding out what's causing the nausea are slim. People are just posting their experiences so she can learn from them, which is why she asked.

I didn't mean to come off sounding flippant or put down anyone's input. I don't think I made my point very well. I agree that doctors don't have all of the answers, but a good one should do just what is being done on this thread, asking about symptoms, history, etc and for all the money we pay them, and for all the years they spend in school I would hope that they could at least narrow it down and run some tests to further narrow down a diagnosis.

Maybe I stepped over the line invoking jock itch, and for that I am sorry. My point is that we can all relate our experiences - and that's great -my point was to emphasize a visit to the doctor is a good idea. In hindsight I should have said just that and stopped there - I in no way intended to flame or inflame

back out of thread with tail between legs...

[happygirl]

After being gluten-free for 1.5 years, I began getting sicker and sicker (out of the blue). Nausea was a main symptom for me (along with severe fatigue, stomach pains, D, and weight loss). Drs checked it all...follow up blood work, small bowel x-ray, endoscopy, colonoscopy...told me nothing was wrong. It turns out that I am now intolerant to other foods....I am still eliminating them, but it has made such a difference. I never thought I would have other intolerances. But, my nausea is almost all the way gone...thank goodness. But, my doctors blow me off when I talk about other food issues, who cares...I know that to feel better, this is what works.

Whatever the problem is, I hope you find it and find a fix! good luck, hon.

[CarlaB]

back out of thread with tail between legs...

No need to ... seeing a doc is good advice. It's just that on other threads people mentioned that they are hesitant to post answers to questions anymore because it seems that they get attacked ... I just didn't want anyone to feel hesistant to throw things out there ... the more things said, the more options she has to consider. It's really the fault of the medium ... can't see people's expressions ... which is why I edited mine to include emoticons ...

[hafadai43]

I really appreciate everyone's input! I've tried cutting dairy out of my diet before, and didn't notice a change. I talked to my husband about it, and he agreed to help more at home and with the baby to lower my stress and to make it a priority that I get some more exercise. I'm also going to go to my family doctor and talk to him about the acid reflux...it runs in my family. So hopefully it's one of those two things. I checked online for ulcer symptoms...but I didn't really match them exactly. With that you feel nauseated 2-3 hours after a meal...but I feel sick right after or even in the middle of a meal. So who knows?? I guess I will just have to go to the doctor and see!

Thanks again for all the help!

[CarlaB]

Did you have an endoscopy? If so, that would have shown whether or not you have acid reflux ... if you had one, you can probably just call to find out.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

This is true. I taught natural family planning for 7 years. We taught how breastfeeding can help space babies, but what signs to look for to see if fertility is returning. You can get pregnant breastfeeding, though it's unlikely to get pregnant if you are exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months (about 97 or 98% chance of not getting pregnant -- which isn't 100%!).

My OBGYN had the best advice: she said, "Basically, if you feel like doing it (after giving birth)--you're ovulating!"

[hafadai43]

I did have an endoscopy, but that was more than 3 years ago. I did feel sick a lot before I found out I had celiac disease...but we all know why. I felt tons better for awhile, but then the nausea would come back every now and then. But this time, its almost unbearable. I don't have many chances to actually rest, so I have to work through it. You have to eat to live, yet when I eat I feel so sick...it makes me not even want to eat. But I do, of course. I just need to keep an eye on everything...see if there's a pattern...keep the diary everyone has suggested...try to have less stress...and go to the doctor. Hopefully that will do it for me!

As for pregnancy and all that...I'm not breastfeeding (my son did not respond well to it...it seemed to really upset his stomach...but when we switched to Nestle Good Start formula he was a whole new baby!!!) and I take birth control every morning at 8. Besides being careful that way...we are careful other ways as well (I'm trying to keep this as G rated as possible!!) because we don't want any more children. So...I highly doubt that is it

[jknnej]

You can't always tell if you have reflux from an endocsopy-only if there's damage. The best way a GI doc can help you if the endo. is clear is by hearing your symptoms and letting you try some samples of meds.

If your dr thinks it sounds like reflux let him/her give you some samples of Nexium or Prevacid. If it helps, you have reflux.

I really think this is what you have based on waking up nauseated at night. That is a HUGE indicator of reflux and the very first question my dr. asked me to diagnose me "Do you wake up with heartburn or nauseated in the middle of the night?" If so, you probably have reflux.