Nausea Panic Attack

So last night at about 2:30AM I settled down to sleep feeling perfectly fine when all of a sudden I felt like I was going to throw up. This made me panic quite badly which made it worse. It was the type of nausea that is so bad that any movement was near impossible and I felt the need to mouth breathe as regular breathing made me feel more nauseous.

I would of just gone to the toilet and made myself throw up but of course that's not an option as I am deathly afraid of being sick, the very thought of it can trigger a panic attack. What really distressed me was the duration of it, it went on until 5:00AM before it started to taper off and I didn't get to sleep until about 6:00AM. The nausea didn't once die down during the two and a half hours it went on for, it stayed at the intensity it was at the entire time. It was so bad I was convinced I was going to vomit. The longer it went on for the more distressed I became. I live alone and I had no one to call up to talk to and I was on the verge of phoning an ambulance and would have if I didn't feel so silly about doing so as I realise they would most likely have turned up, sighed and told me that i'm wasting their time before leaving, I also didn't want to take away an ambulance from somebody that could really need one. Towards the end of the ordeal I was honestly begging for death.

I have had a few bouts of it today too, especially if I try to eat something. I have two questions, firstly, has anybody else here experienced anything like this before? Secondly, is there any advice you can give like techniques or remedies that might calm it down if it happens again? What disturbed me was how all my positive self talk techniques and accepting that it was anxiety related didn't help at all. Thank you for taking the time to read this and any help would be massively appreciated.

I have issues with nausea quite often and always panic because I don't know if it's due to my anxiety / panic or if it's a virus. I chew on ice and / or make a chamomile - mint tea. I hear ginger is good for nausea as well but the smell / taste is too strong for me when I'm feeling nauseous. Hope you find something that works for you.

I feel your pain!! I am also petrified of vomiting. It's unfortunate that I have this fear as I have suffered from frequent boughts of nausea since I was a child (partly due to anxiety). For years I have been using a pill I get from my GP called Buccastem which is used to treat nausea and vomiting. I don't use it often, just in emergency situations.

You may have an upset tummy or a bug but your fear of vomiting makes the nausea sooo much worse. I am exactly the same. It's pretty annoying really, because actually if we were to just go to the bathroom and throw up, we'd feel heaps better. For me though, I'd rather suffer the nausea for days than vomit. Some things I find helpful are to sip ginger beer, and nibble on salty crackers. Saltines are the best, but you can't get them here in the UK.

I suddenly wake up in the middle of the night thinking I'm about to throw up about once a week. It's usually down to dehydration, overheating or nightmares for me. I tend to just prop myself up with a pillow, turn on a lamp, and put on some relaxing music. It usually takes a good hour to calm down and sometimes I just give up and get up early..