Gagging In The Morning HELP!!!

[LegallyBlonde]

Help, I'm gagging in the mornings and it's really scaring me.

Kind Regards,

LegallyBlonde.

[june]

had a quick look through other posts and "gagging" in the morning seems quite a common reaction to anxiety:ohmy:
The advice on other posts has been to drink some water - slooowly - and relax your breathing.
I hope this helps
June:hugs:

[HeatherMc]

Ir was constantly gagging for a few days when my anxiety was at its height it seems to be another annoying anxiety symptom along with a churning stomach even though I couldn't eat properly for a few day.s it is important to keep drinking.

Hope this helps try not to worry it is not a sign of anything sinister.

Heather:bighug1:

[Dahlia]

Are you medication, LegallyBlonde? I had gagging in the mornings with Seroxat, Lustral, Celexa and Effexor (!) - apparently it is due to having an empty stomach. My psych has added another med on to take away the nausea.

If you aren't on meds it sounds like it's anxiety (unless you're pregnant). I get this too - and it's horrible. I try sipping 7-up to get a bit of sugar into my system.

Dahlia

[Notator]

I get this one too.... It's scary, unpleasant and socially unnacceptable - like most things! One thing that sometimes helps me is to glug a few mouthfuls of something fizzy and have a good burp !!

When my panic attacks were really bad I had a lot of retching/nausea and the doc prescribed...I think it was called Stemeril or something like that (can someone correct that?!) - it DID help though.

I've read elsewhere in here that adrenaline rushes causes blood to flow away from your stomach..it all seems to fit. Hope you find reassurance in the knowledge that you do not suffer alone - I know I did so thanks for posting!

[Southern_Belle]

Hi,

I too get this quite often and I know it is from anxiety. I try deep slow breathing to control mine and it often works. The trick is to focus. For me, if I were to try and drink something I would probably be ill, it is almost like having the dry heaves. Just awful stuff. I hope this helps.

Take care,

Laura

[BNCfan]

The anti-nausea/vertigo drug Notator mentioned is STEMETIL or PROCHLORPERAZINE (generic name). It's also mildly sedative, so I find it helpful as I suffer from a lot of nausea and occasional dizziness, especially first thing in the morning. I only take it when I need it. Hope this helps.

[LegallyBlonde]

I am on no meds.

[CJH86]

Hi, do you smoke at all? i suffered from the gagging in the morning for about a year, even being sick some mornings, could not find a cause for it, blamed it on my anxiety and lack of sleep and then kinda accepted it...but when i gave up smoking a couple of weeks back it pretty much stopped immediately x

[Stressed32]

Leg. Blonde- I have always gagged in the AM. When my anxiety seems low, I gag from brushing my teeth. However, when I wake up with that sinking feeling...like I did this AM, my gagging will be worse and often lead to spitting up clear fluid. I notice that if I can get my mind onto something else, like typing you this post, it will go away right away. If I were to try and drink anything when in that moment, I would surely puke! My stomach is not sick when this happens. Hope this helps.

[viremarthius]

When I first had bad bouts of Anxiety, the Nausea was unreal. I would dry heave almost all day, just trying to get "The sickness" out of me. It was unbearable at times, but realzing it's anxiety (and not something dranstic) helped. Also, yougurt helps. It has Bacterial cultures in it that soothes your stomach. I have a six pck of yougurt everywhere I go, work, home etc.

[Stressed32]

Viremarthius, I agree with you about the yogurt. I eat one every AM...and coffee makes it worse!

[The_UA1]

Stuff that has worked for me. (Disclaimer - I am not a doctor. Also, no Doctors told me to do a lot of these things. No doctors have been able to help me so far. All of these things I've found through self experimenting. These are mostly things that help relieve the symptom, but the cause is still fuzzy for sure.)


Kratom
was the first thing I tried that had any noticeable effect. Used to try to drink it, but that didn't last long because the taste is so bad that eventually the smell will make me throw up, so I recommend the capsules. Play with the doses to find what fits. I still take this about once a week, but it wrecks my voice and since I'm a singer I had to make this only an option on my non show days. Definitely, start with low doses because if you take too much you will throw up and everyone's different. The lower doses have more of a stimulant effect and higher dosages are more of a depressant/opioid -type effect. It actually activates opioid receptors, but is non addictive, because you will just puke if you take too much and the doses to get the desired effect are so high that its a super chore to take it.

CBD Oil
was the second thing I tried after I realized that there are substances that can help. Tried for drops under the tongue with little to no effect, but eventually started vaping it with much better results. Also, I find the CBD edibles to be helpful as well, but take awhile to digest and kick in. You can find both at most local smoke shots.

Regular Marijuana
Helps sometimes, but it really depends on the strain and your setting and if you can get it. I usually just vape the oils and eat edibles. I find a little sativa can work ok, but it's a slippery road, because slightly more can make you very anxious and as most of you notice, anxiety exacerbates the problem. So indica is usually the way to go.

NOTE: I hadn't tried weed for the first 28 years of my life, but after having this issue for 5 plus years, I was willing to try anything to help. If you aren't a regular user of this substance in can be scary by accidentally smoking too much or eating too many edibles. Edibles are always a little bit of a wild card. There have been times where I've have ate or vaped too much and has ruined whole nights where I almost never wanted to do it again, but if you stick in there for the first few months, you develop more of a know how and tolerance to help you with what you need it for. I find this helps, but is not a cure by any means.

The best things about all these substances is they are all natural, so you can't do much damage by trying them. Kratom and CBD are legal in all 50 states and there's no risk of overdosing with any of the first 3 things substances. Though I will say if you vape a lot of CBD and weed and have cavities, this will eventually hurt your cavities. CBD seems to be worse on the cavities.

Phenibut
is a drug I'm not sure of in a lot of ways. It's a substance you have to be super careful with. If you are depressed at all, do not take this. I repeat, do not take this if you are depressed. If you do take this stuff, just be super regimented with it. You have to taper down and on the come downs I usually try to taper with Kratom to counter it. It's completely legal and super cheap, but there are some great things about it and some not so great things about it. Its the best over the counter anti-anxiety medicine I've ever taken. It makes you feel great. It puts you in the best mood. I've never been great in crowds, but this stuff makes me enjoy it and makes me much more outgoing. I honestly think it makes me the best version of myself and definitely helps with the gagging as well. Now here are the cons and listen close. Your tolerance goes up super fast and its super easy to get addicted. If you get up to like 4 (500mg) pills to get you where you need to be and then you don't taper off, you will feel super depressed over the next few days. Like the worse I've ever felt.

Gum
Is my go to. Mint gum always eases the gagging quite a bit. I'm not sure if it's the chewing that relaxes your jaw and throat, the mint that sort of numbs the gag reflex, or both, but now it's more of a comfort thing too, because as most of you know there's a lot of mental parts to this problem, though I don't think it's the root cause.

Caffeine
exacerbates the problem. As a person that works full time and is also a working musician, this is a tough one. There were times where I'd be drinking like 4 energy drinks a day and this definitely makes the gagging worse. I've cut down to about one a day in the morning only and on the days I do that, it seems to help a little. Caffeine ultimately makes you more anxious and high strung, so this is probably why its no good for this condition.

Taking pills
Also, makes the situation worse for me. Some days if I take a lot of pills it feels like they are all stuck in my throat and then that feeling
can last all day making it difficult to have regular conversations with people. When I'm extra gaggy this is always a tough thing though. So minimize taking pills if possible.

The Cold
seems to make it worse, because everything is clenched tighter. I do still have issues in the summer, but seems to be worse in the winter. I find that sitting in a sauna helps relax your throat. (I just use 2 space heater in a small room with sweats)

Omeperazole
Helps a little sometimes I guess. I think ultimately the root cause of all this are digestive issues or throat problems and it did seem to help alot at first right away, but none of these are really cures, just ways to help.

Digestive enzymes
I've been taking papaya enzyme, probiotics, and activated charcoal and this does seem to help slightly as well. But you have to be careful because the more pills you take the worse that can make it also.

Burping
Is a weird one that's been helping me a lot lately. Whenever I've felt gaggy in the past, burping would always provide temporary relief, but I'm noticing lately that if I drink a soda when I'm feeling the extra gaggy, it will make me burp like a thousand times which makes me wonder if that's one of the main issues. Like your body isn't releasing the gas in your belly or throat properly, so that builds up so much pressure that it makes you feel like gagging. I notice this with taking pills a lot too. When I take a pill it seems like the pill is blocking me from burping, so it's hard to continue to take any more pills until after I burp. This is the standout for me lately.

Exercises
There are some exercises that have helped me sometimes as well. When I'm feeling gaggy, I try to move my tongue across my bottom row of teeth to help relax it and my throat. Moving my jaw around too helps in the same way. If you stretch your neck around in a a full circle. When your head is circling be sure to keep your mouth opened and relaxed and do it in both directions multiple times. Regular cardio exercising helps a lot too, probably because it helps with anxiety. You can also try to lesson your gag reflex by exposure, mostly done with your toothbrush on your tongue every day when brushing to make the reflex less intense. I've Also tried hypnosis, but only through YouTube. It may have helped a little for awhile, but its tough to tell for sure.

Moldy water
This one never really worked for me I don't think, but I include it because it was one of the few answers on this issue I've ever seen posted on any of these forums. I think when most people figure something out, they probably just never post any answers, because they just forget that there's a bunch of people out there still suffering with this problem. In this persons description they stopped drinking water from the faucet, even filtered water, because their pipes were old and moldy and the mold would even get in the filter I guess. Completely cured the problem for him he said. I still do this, but I'm not sure how much effect it's having.

These are all things that have helped me or helped others with the same problem. I'm a singer and perform over a hundred shows a year. When this started happening I thought it would pass eventually or maybe I was just sick. I've been dealing with this issue now for about 7 years. Making music is my love and my life, so when this started happening to me it scared to my core and still scares me to this day. I've read thousands of articles and forums on this. I went to an ENT and was told I have acid reflux and GERD like everyone else. I even had part of my elongated uvula (hangy ball in back mouth) cut down, because for awhile I was convinced that was the solution. Which ultimately costed me more money than a person of my income can afford and also made me feel super helpless since, in the end, it wasn't fixed. I'm not sure there's a complete solution to this. Maybe diet plays a big role, because I've only tried a little of changing my diet around (cut down on spicy foods, don't eat before bed). But in my search for a solution, these are the things that have provided relief. When this starts, it's just gagging, after you have it for awhile, you start to get anxiety about gagging. Especially for me since I have to perform with my throat in front of a lot of people on a regular basis. So it's very much a mental problem, as well as a physical problem. The first like 4 things I've suggested here are more for dealing with the anxiety this causes which makes this problem worse. One of the main things I've learned from all this is to be more open minded about things. And also, what's working for you this week might not work next week. This fact comes with a lot of disappointments and let downs, but just keep on fighting the good fight and searching (but don't forget to post any findings if they help you). Don't give up. And for all the people that go to the doctor/ENT and aren't taken seriously, just know they are just being lazy or stupid. Just because they've never dealt with this before and don't have a solution for you, doesn't mean you should have to feel stupid or unheard or helpless or like you are making it up. These forums clearly show that these are real problems for thousands of people. Hopefully this can help you guys in one way or another. Good luck on your journey! And again, don't forget to post any solutions you find, because it could help a lot of people. Just because it's solved for you, doesn't mean it's not excruciating for thousand or millions of other people everyday.