Morning Sickness All My Life

[Jeepster]

I've been subject to morning sickness all my life. As a child I would frequently throw up before going to school, which my parents thought was just me being a little "nervous" about going. It was never considered that I was reacting to the bowl of cereal and milk I ate because I was celiac! Anyway, fast forward twenty-some years and I finally get the diagnosis last year. Since going gluten-free (and enduring a terrible DH rash for several months as a result) I now have healthy BM's and my energy level is much improved. I'm still working on what foods bother me along with the gluten items, but one thing that is still puzzling is why I wake up nauseous each and every morning. I would have thought that after discovering I was celiac and I got on the gluten-free diet this would have resolved itself, but it hasn't. It makes for some very difficult breakfasts as I prepare for work - most days I leave the house on the edge of throwing up and to sit through early meetings is absolutely unbearable.

I have tried all different types of meals, from simple fruit which only lasts about twenty minutes before I'm starving, to eggs which usually make me dizzy, to leftover chicken and vegetables, different types of gluten-free breakfast cereals with and without milk. It doesn't seem to be as much about the type of food I'm eating as the time I'm eating it. On the weekends I usually will just drink water until lunchtime if possible. By lunch I'm usually fine and in fact I can eat all sorts of foods later in the day without any reaction that would otherwise nail me at breakfast. Any idea what this might be about? Or what to do about it?

[CarlaB]

It sounds like blood sugar issues to me, of course, I'm no doctor! Try eating protein with every meal or snack, and limit severely the amount of sugar you eat (including juice and fruit). Eat good healthy carbs, like potatoes and rice. Avoid processed food. See if it helps. I'd also avoid alcohol, as it has the same effect as sugar; caffeine, too.

I tend to be hypoglycemic, and this helps me a lot. Definately, avoid any sweets in the evening!

[jerseyangel]

Hi Jeepster,

You sound just like me as a child. I never wanted to eat breakfast because I was afraid I'd throw up at school. I would feel better as the day went on, and be able to eat from afternoon on. This pattern continued for a long time--when I got older and went to work, I felt the same way. I actually thought this was normal for me, and everyone told me I was "just sensitive".

I'd also have lightheadedness, too. I believe these were the early symptoms of the Celiac. I would get nauseous for no apparent reason.

I can eat breakfast now, but usually just a banana with some sliced almonds--I've been gluten-free for 16 months. I will say that if I'm going to have a bad stomach day, it is always worse in the morning, still.

I don't have any real advice for you--I wish I did. It's probably a matter of still trying to figure out the "magic combination" of something that you can eat without getting sick. Hopefully, it will get better the longer you're gluten-free.

An idea--have you tried something like Cream of Rice? It's bland, but gentle on the stomach. Maybe try a few spoonfuls on the weekend and see if you can tolerate it.

[Ursa Major]

I am a night owl, my circadian rythm is definitely different from your average morning person. It has been shown that people who are true night owls have a very low body temperature early in the morning, making them sluggish and hard to get along with. The body temperature rises throughout the day, being highest around evening, when they're at their best (and no, you absolutely cannot reset that, even if forced to work early and go to bed early, night owls always revert to their own rythm when able).

For me, the result is, that when I have to get up early (something I try to avoid at all costs ), I have to give myself a lot of time to wake up, and slowly getting ready. If I am rushed, I feel sick to my stomach and dizzy, and definitely won't be able to eat anything, as I might throw up.

So, I'll have to wake up about two hours (at least) before I have to go out the door. Otherwise I am good for nothing for the day, and feel too sick to eat. I prefer to eat nothing until about 10:00 in the morning, better yet, noon.

I don't know if you're a night owl. But if you are, that might be the explanation. Maybe you don't give yourself enough time in the morning to very slowly get ready.

[Guest Kathy Ann]

Ursula,

I've been an absolute night owl since birth, way before it could have been learned behaviour. My mother attests to it. Because the entire world is on a different time schedule than me, I have been on a guilt trip all my life thinking I MUST be lazy.

I don't want to get off the subject here, but is there information I can read concerning the "night owl syndrome" being an actual thing?

[eKatherine]

Do you always feel equally nauseated in the morning, or do you feel better on the mornings you skip eating completely? If you were to skip eating, would some beverages bother you more than others?

If you feel better skipping breakfast, I'd say just skip it. You're better off eating nothing than eating something which makes you sick or is high in sugar and will result in a blood sugar dropoff soon. If you expect to be feeling fine by lunchtime, then plan a big lunch.

[Ursa Major]

I don't want to get off the subject here, but is there information I can read concerning the "night owl syndrome" (There, I made up a new disease! ) being an actual thing? It's time to be vindicated!

Open Original Shared Link

Jeepster, Katherine is right, skip breakfast, and take your breakfast with you to be eaten at break time, if that would work better.

[Jeepster]

I know if I don't eat SOMETHING I'll be worse off very soon after leaving the house, and although I have checked my blood sugar for a period of a year to see if this was the culprit, it wasn't. My sugar numbers are perfect. But it FEELS like my blood sugar is off if I don't eat. My choice then becomes: eat and feel nauseous, or don't eat and feel like fainting.

Ursala's "night owl" theory makes a lot of sense. I'm wide awake and full of energy at 11:00 pm, when I should be hitting the sack. Less than 8-9 hours of sleep for me worsens the symptoms dramatically, but falling asleep before 11:00 pm just doesn't happen easily. I find that eating something within an hour of bedtime helps me to fall asleep - maybe this is having a detrimental effect overnight.

[Ursa Major]

I know if I don't eat SOMETHING I'll be worse off very soon after leaving the house, and although I have checked my blood sugar for a period of a year to see if this was the culprit, it wasn't. My sugar numbers are perfect. But it FEELS like my blood sugar is off if I don't eat. My choice then becomes: eat and feel nauseous, or don't eat and feel like fainting.

Ursala's "night owl" theory makes a lot of sense. I'm wide awake and full of energy at 11:00 pm, when I should be hitting the sack. Less than 8-9 hours of sleep for me worsens the symptoms dramatically, but falling asleep before 11:00 pm just doesn't happen easily. I find that eating something within an hour of bedtime helps me to fall asleep - maybe this is having a detrimental effect overnight.

What do you eat last thing at night? If it's high in carbs/sugar, it could cause problems. Try protein instead. It helps me fall asleep and stay asleep, and won't cause me to feel sick in the morning.

I also can't go to bed before 11:00 PM. If I do because of exhaustion, I will fall asleep, only to be wide awake around 3:00 AM, and I can't go back to sleep until I've been up for at least an hour and have a snack, before I go back to bed.

Going to bed early and sleeping is apparently interpreted by my body as a nap.

[Corkdarrr]

I've been subject to morning sickness all my life. As a child I would frequently throw up before going to school, which my parents thought was just me being a little "nervous" about going. It was never considered that I was reacting to the bowl of cereal and milk I ate because I was celiac! Anyway, fast forward twenty-some years and I finally get the diagnosis last year. Since going gluten-free (and enduring a terrible DH rash for several months as a result) I now have healthy BM's and my energy level is much improved. I'm still working on what foods bother me along with the gluten items, but one thing that is still puzzling is why I wake up nauseous each and every morning. I would have thought that after discovering I was celiac and I got on the gluten-free diet this would have resolved itself, but it hasn't. It makes for some very difficult breakfasts as I prepare for work - most days I leave the house on the edge of throwing up and to sit through early meetings is absolutely unbearable.

I have tried all different types of meals, from simple fruit which only lasts about twenty minutes before I'm starving, to eggs which usually make me dizzy, to leftover chicken and vegetables, different types of gluten-free breakfast cereals with and without milk. It doesn't seem to be as much about the type of food I'm eating as the time I'm eating it. On the weekends I usually will just drink water until lunchtime if possible. By lunch I'm usually fine and in fact I can eat all sorts of foods later in the day without any reaction that would otherwise nail me at breakfast. Any idea what this might be about? Or what to do about it?

I am the same way. Most mornings I wake up nauseaus - been like that for YEARS. For the most part, I just don't eat breakfast and I think that helps. I usually eat around 10 in the morning, and then I have a later lunch. I have always had a hard time eating right after getting up. It seems like my body needs an hour or two before it can get going.

Really, my entire eating schedule is off. But I'm glad to know I'm not the only one out there - I got really sick this morning and ended up skipping class. Some day I hope to find a correlation between the morning sickness and something else.

If I were you, I'd skip breakfast and then bring a small snack.

-Courtney

[tracey*]

I used to be the exact same way during primary school - I was SICK in the mornings, I called it morning sickness even though I was 9 and hadn't hit puberty yet, ha. It did end up being a lactose intolerance reaction and it stopped when I stopped eating my cereal with milk.

Have you considered it's not only what you're eating in the morning, but before you go to sleep at night? Anything heavy or something you're intolerant too that you eat at night will have hours to stew in your belly and travel into your system? What do you eat at night? How much water do you drink in the 1-2 hours before bed?

[Yenni]

I had to laugh reading the subject name and I was thinking to myself : that is me!

I haven't had these problems all my life but the last 5 years. Nasty nausea almost every morning. Sometimes I wake up at night with it.

I usually force myself to eat and after a while after eating it gets better. I usually have a Banana by my bed and eat it as soon as a wake up.

I try to eat protein too. I am also a night owl and hypoglycemic. So I can relate to all of this.

I can even relate to what ever I eat it never lasts me very long. I always eat two breakfasts.

Have you tried eating hot cereal? I think eating protein is a good thing too, as suggested before.

I dunno. I guess I have no good suggestions really. All I know is that if I make sure to force myself to eat I feel a little better. As the day goes by I feel better too. Some days are worse than others.

[MistressIsis]

ok this is kinda odd...I'm also a night owl, NEVER eat before 10am, for me I'm just not hungry. as a kid I'd sometimes get nauseaus (sp) lid morning when the school nurse would give me cereal, lie down for a few minutes then I was fine.

Right now I'm actually doing a 9pm - 5am shift and starting to feel even better

Wonder if there's a link to the night owl thing & celiac??

[jesscarmel]

I also often wake up nauseous. i bring my breakfast towork and eat there. when i feel sick, a plain rice cake settles my stomach and ginger tea helps the nausea!

[Mtndog]

OMG! I'm not the only one? for years, I thought i was. I do NOT wake up ungry regaardless of what i hate the night before. It takes about two hours for me to get hungry and then I have to eat right away. I always thought it was anxiety as I used to vomit a LOT in the a.m. it has gotten better but I am definitely NOT a morning person.

This is so interesting to know that there are others out there like this.

I usually just wait till the nausea passes and then eat something. I'm lucky in that I teach late afternoon to early evening so I can wait a few hours at home until i'm hungry. But if I have to leave the house early I'm a mess. I met a woman recently who also has celiac and she said breakfast foods do NOT appeal to her so she often eats lunch mid-morning instead with a few snacks and then dinner.

I'm glad i'm not alone!

[BRUMI1968]

My stomach was bothering me so much in the mornings about a year ago. I had my husband get up and bring me some cereal (about 7am) which I would eat, then go back to sleep...this seemed to help. For me, it was intense hunger causing my nausea.

A thing about the sleeping....

I need a lot of sleep per night - say 9 hours, though I can sleep 10 or 11 hours no problem. (Probably not a good sign, but true anyway.) According to Ayurvedic medicine (from India) and medical advice about the adrenal glands, getting to bed by 10pm should help us fall asleep. If we wait until after 10, it becomes harder to go to sleep because our glands are producing cortisol I think. (In Ayurveda, it has to do with what qualities certain times of day have, and between 6 and 10 is Kapha time - so sleepy time -- They also want you getting up before 6 (not on my agenda!) so that you're getting up during active time. Although I don't get up at 6, I have noticed that when I wake up before 6, I'm usually wide awake.

So anyway, I don't know if that helps. Is it possible you're getting hungry in the night?

[Terch]

I was told by my pregnant daughter in law that her doctor and a very good doctor said that B6 is one of the best things for morning sickness. You never know it might work for you.