Sick every day with anxiety

[Eek]

When I was a teenager I had a really bad bout of anxiety. For a year I was sick every morning to the extent that until I was sick I couldn't relax and get on with the day. It was caused by anxiety. I got over it eventually but recently it's come back. Every morning when I wake up I get a huge rush of adrenalin and anxiety and feel sick. When I get up I have to fight not to dry heave. I did actually dry heave for a few days, but now I'm fighting it as I don't want it to become a habit like it did as a teenager. I then feel sick and anxious for the rest of the day. Eating food is very difficult. It gets a bit better by the evening and I can usually eat my dinner without gagging.

Has anyone else had anything like this with their anxiety and if so do you have any good suggestions on how to get over this?

[Liviguy]

Hi there,

I have gotten into the habit of heaving in the morning. It's as if I feel I need to to get it over with. It's frustrating but I'm determined to overcome it.

[nicola1980]

This used to happen to me every morning when my anxiety was at its worst, i used gag and retch it was awful but as my anxiety lessened thanks to my meds so did the retching x x

[backfromthebrink]

My anxiety is always at its worst in the morning and I wake up often feeling like someone has injected adrenaline into me! I've not been sick as a result of this, but it does make me lose my appetite for a while. I don't even know what it is that I'm being so scared of, either. I read somewhere once that our cortisol levels (stress hormones) are at their highest in the mornings, and that seems to make sense too.

[Cesc]

I find that when my anxiety is at its worst I tend to dry heave too, it isn't pleasant so it may be worthwile seeing your doctor as it seems the anxiety is pretty high for you at the moment.

[bibliophilic]

I completely understand as I wake up in the morning feeling really unsettled and my days are full of anxiety. I'm working on it by watching lots of movies and cleaning my apartment.

A year ago, my mom had a nervous breakdown and came to stay with me for a month. She was sick all the time, ate very little, was afraid of being alone, and generally exhibited lots and lots of the horrible symptoms that we deal with. One day I introduced her to a show called "RuPaul's Drag Race" which is basically a competition for drag queens. It's really campy and silly. For whatever reason, this helped her immensely--she would watch episode after episode and it really took her mind off of things. She's doing much better these days but still turns to that show when she's feeling overwhelmed.

[Chrissy88]

I went through this for well over a month when I first started getting panic attacks. I never threw up, but i'd dry heave and have an upset stomach for weeks. I couldn't eat anything and i'd stay up all night as I was afraid if I went to sleep i'd die, the anxiety was much worse at night for me. It got to the point that I lost about 20kg and i'd wake up everyday feeling nauseous. Things didn't get better until I started taking Prozac. It's pure hell on Earth and I am SO afraid of having to go through that again. I know medication isn't the answer to everything, but it saved my life and it's definitely worth looking into if you haven't already.

[almamatters]

I went through this when my anxiety was very bad in fact I used to post regularly about it, constantly feeling sick and retching. I also had globus which I assumed with a sinister growth which added to the problems. It was only after medication and time that my symptoms improved , I still feel sick some mornings but it is not as bad as it used to be. Take Care.

[Eek]

I've been a bit better the last two mornings hopefully it'll continue to improve. I'm trying to keep from taking any more medication, I already take fluvoxamine and was taking olanzapine but came off it four weeks ago and am still going through withdrawals from that. My psych wanted to put me on to benzos full time but I'm not taking them I don't want to trade my olanzapine addiction for a benzo one so I'm trying to manage it on my own. I'm much better than I was two weeks ago so hopefully I'll keep improving as the withdrawals lessen though they can go on for six months or more o_O

[Ranbunctious]

I have had this retching & gagging condition for 50 years. Growing up was a nightmare with school, vacations, and special events. The worst was eating out and dentist trips. Dating was also a problem. I went to doctors, psychiatrists, biofeedback, and specialists. NOTHING helped. I barely made it through college, but with mediocre grades. I don't know how I've kept a job this long. My parents even forced me to do things that made me miserable. Finally, my spouse and my mom won't force me to do things I cannot do. Since I've reduced my life to things that don't stress me & induce the gagging, I'm so much happier. My newest doctor prescribed a strong antihistamine called cyproheptadine that works wonders. It makes me a little sleepy, but really suppresses the gag reflex so I can go to important things like doctor appointments and events I couldn't go to before. It even improves my mood. I call it my 'happy pill'. I also found a few foods that make it worse, so avoiding those helps a lot. I may not get to do everything I'd like to do, but my life is so much better.