Nausea Issues / Lactose Intolerance?

[Catie]

Hey guys,

The last week or so every morning around 6am Dan has woken up out of bed and, for lack of a better term, puked his guts out for at least an hour or so. The first thought was the onset of lactose intolerance. The night before we had eaten Oreos and milk right before bed. He'd felt better after removing dairy from his diet for a few days, but then we made the mistake of having pizza Tuesday night, which of course had cheese on it, and then Wednesday morning like clockwork, up at 6:15 hanging over the toilet until he got in the shower at 7:30.

Last night however, he didn't have any dairy, except for the milk in the Hamburger Helper we made for dinner, and he was still up and in the bathroom at 6am. Anybody have lactose intolerance? Does milk as an ingredient affect it? I hate that he has a hard time sleeping as it is, so the fact that his tummy has been mad at him the last few days just makes me want to cry.

I keep reminding him to call his doctor to get tested for real for it, but he has ADD so most everything is forgotten the second it's done being said...

The other thing I'm wondering if it could affect it... He lives at home with his parents while he's between apartments. His parents aren't the most happy couple in the world and his home life has been pretty stressful. Do you think that might have something to do with his tummy issues? Thanks for any advice you can give. I hate feeling so helpless...  

crying 3

[Zathras]

As with the other symptoms of FM there are a number of things that could cause this. I'm not lactose intolerant so I can't say for certain that it is or is not the cause of the problem. He really needs to see a doctor about this.

If his ADD doesn't make it impossible to read and retain information get him a copy of Anxiety and Panic Attacks: Their Cause and Cure by Robert Handly with Pauline Neff. It is the best reference guide for dealing with anxiety, stress and panic attacks.

The other thing that I would mention is check the medications that he takes. I was on Trazadone for years and nausea was not a listed side effect. Now I did not throw up as badly as Dan has been but I would wake up and just be sick to my stomach. Most of the time I would dry heave for a while after everything was out of my system and a few times I threw up so hard that I started bringing up a little bit of blood. The doctor told me a few times that the drug did not do this but when it stopped controlling the pain and I went off of it all of the stomach problems immediately went away.

[Catie]

Thanks for the advice on the meds. He takes Lyrica for his FM and Stratera for his ADD. I'll do some research and see what the side effects are and how they might interact with each other. What he really needs is a good fibro doctor...

Thanks for the book, too. He suffered with depression pretty bad as a teenager and still has the occasional anxiety issue so that sounds like it would be a good one to check out. Maybe it'll be my next read; I'm reading The Idiot's Guide to Fibromyalgia to get a better idea about what it is and what it entails. All I really know about it is that it makes him hurt and knowledge is power, right?

[foxgrove]

I don't have any advice for you but I just wanted to pop my head in and say how horrible that must be..  Sorry to hear it's happening.  We'll be praying the doctors find a reason for it right away and that it can be stopped.  Unfortunately, the only thing that popped to mind was that he could be pregnant but somehow I just don't think that diagnosis will stick...  Sorry.. brain dropped a gear there...  Be well.. keep hoping for the best and we'll keep our ears and eyes open for any ideas.  Zath's right though, a doctor is definitely in order here.

[twistedpairs]

Catie,
To expand on Fox's notion, nope, not going there, typed, read and deleted for ever!
Anyway, I like how you so eloquently explained the vomiting episodes so that us guys could understand!
No need to hold back here.

Is Dan running a temp before he barfs?  Checking after the fact may not be accurate depending on how hard and long he is straining.  How does he feel after the shower?  How does he feel the rest of the day?  The Mayo Clinic website says:  The signs and symptoms of lactose intolerance usually begin 30 minutes to two hours after eating or drinking foods that contain lactose. Common signs and symptoms include:
Diarrhea
Nausea
Abdominal cramps
Bloating
Gas
Symptoms are usually mild, but they may sometimes be severe.

Here's another thought, do you think his added stress or medicine could be causing an ulcer or eating a hole in his stomach?  I had acid reflux so bad that they thought (and me too) that I was having a heart attack.  I didn't have puking but I don't see why it couldn't happen if the lining is gone close to his gag reflex.

Hope you find out soon, keep us posted!

[MarkB0707]

Hi Catie,

I can say with almost complete certainty, that is not lactose intolerance, at all. The intolerance to Lactose & other dairy products usually will initially be mild, more along the lines of abdominal cramping, excessive gas, and even diarrhea, but it is always pretty immediate after the digestion of a dairy product. Digestion of food is usually a 2-3 hour process for those of us with normal  systems.

After a period of time, & with repeated exposure to diary after intolerance has already started, is when things can get pretty bad. Uncontrolled bowel movements, projectile vomiting, debilitating abdominal cramping, these can all happen but usually for someone who has had diary sensitivity for a certain length of time. It doesn't sound too much like lactose intolerance only because, its just suddenly began & also, he wouldn't have made it through the night with diary in his system. If he was really intolerant, he would have been headed for the toilet hours after he ate it, so probably most likely before he even went to bed is when he would've started to get uncomfortable with gas, cramps and nausea.

Has he been noting or complaining about any other syptoms, beside the vomiting in the morning after waking up? Has there been any weight loss, struggle to maintain an appetite? Persistent nausea throughout the day? Whether he's eaten or not? It sounds a lot like my syptoms the 3 times I ended up with something called H Pylori. It is a bacteria or parasite that growns within the small intestine, and it usually gets in to the body by food sources.

There is a simple blood test for it. They can measure the level of bacteria and determine if he has it or not. I went through the very same thing all 3 times I had it. Vomiting first thing in the morning, usually for. A prolonged period of time, but after vomiting there would be some relief. Its during the night while asleep that the bacteria has the opportunity to multiply in the intestine, which is why the rough mornings. They will treat it with a dual antibiotic treatment, usually for about 10-14 days. I will say, initially the syptomsget worse for a couple days after starting the meds, but gradually get better. He will have to follow up with taking a Probiotic for about a week afterwards as well.....the antibiotics kill off everything, both the good and the bad bacteria within the intestines.

So, with all that said, a doctors visit is probably the absolute best thing to do like the guys have said. Vomiting is usually a very good indication that somethings gone wrong somewhere. Hope this helps and hope he starts feeling better soon.

[foxgrove]

Oh good Lord.. did I really mention pregnancy??  OK.. I'm headed off to the nutball farm where the nice young men in their clean white coats can take GOOOOOOD care of me.. 

But don't let my incarceration in a straight jacket keep you from letting us know what the doctors find out.  Still praying sis. 

[denny]

i saw nothing paul.

no lactose intolerance here which is funny because
i also have crohns and its very common there.
so,uh...

[Catie]

Sorry it's been so long! I got a new job and have so much LESS time to myself. And I did most of the updating at my old job and now this job actually has me doing work, imagine that!!

The doc thinks it's acid reflux. He had Dan on Prevacid OTC to see if that helped, and it did. But doc said it's not for long term and wants to have him scoped before he prescribes something more permanent. Waiting for the holidays to be over with before we try to budget for that. So far so good, just avoiding real powerful foods lately. =)

[Muaddib67]

See if the Dr will check for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori I had horrible GURD to the point that I would throw up in the middle of the night sometimes. The Dr put me on some antibiotics, and after they were done, no more GURD.

[Zathras]

I used to have very bad problems with indigestion and throwing up. The doctor put me on a proton pump inhibitor medication called Pariet. Since then I can count on the fingers of one hand the times where I have had indigestion and needed an antacid and I only throw up when I am sick with a stomach virus of some kind.

[jummarquez]

Having lactose intolerance is really difficult. I am a lactose intolerant and I really wanted to eat those food with dairy but I can't. I wanted to have a not so complicated eating life but all i can do is to avoid those kind of food.

[mloved]

Hi Jummarquez - have you tried using a probiotic with lactase enzyme.  Are you also intolerant to the Kefir drink?

[Ryan975]

have you tried using a probiotic with lactase enzyme. 

I second the use of a dairy enzyme for those that are lactose intolerant. I've been using GNC's "Dairy Digestant" for 4 years now, works wonders. I've been able to return to eating cheesy foods like pizza and on rare occasion even ice-cream. I don't dare push the limits though, so I only use lactose free milk for eating, drinking, and cooking.

[looneylane]

I used to use lactaid should start again