Emetophobia (fear of vomiting) Support

[lukenick1]

Ugh I can't believe that's what was on the TV when you turned it on! Are you re-playing it in your head or are you ok?

The night was quiet, no one got sick, as usual, but I had tons of anxiety trying to fall asleep.

Sorry I didnt write back sooner but I never got the email notification of this response?? Anyway, I was disgusted about it but I knew it was scripted so it was fake. Just kept shaking my head because It follows me. Just my luck! The more "quiet" nights you have the less your anxiety will be. Keep the faith!

 

[lukenick1]

UGH!@!!! Biggest Loser caught me off guard again!!!!!!!

 

[wenmc]

Deleted

 

[lukenick1]

I guess I'm an Emet too. Although it has come and gone since childhood, it is still a huge fear of mine. It has now affected my kids, who are 18 and 13, which bothers me the most. I have always been the one who takes care of them when they have been sick mostly because I feel I'm the one who can do the best job of not spreading it. I make them stay in their rooms if they have been vomiting which hasn't been working out too well since they have become teens. I am really persistant about handwashing, etc... Again since they have become teens, they listen when they want too. My oldest has a small fear of vomiting such as in movies and in person, really freaks her out at the moment. My yongest, however, is the same way but fears it so much that she has made herself sick from fear of being sick. Does that make sense? For example, she threw up on Christmas morning because she felt a little "off" and became so anxious, she threw up. Afterwards, she was totally fine. This has happened a few times in the last couple years. It really began for her in 2nd grade when a friend of hers threw up all over in the lunch line. She refused to go back to school and when she did, she was so anxious they had to put cardboard walls around her desk temporarily and was allowing her to use sanitizer whenever she wanted. That was a really scary time for all of us. She has since gotten better except for the anxiety sickness. I don't know what to do and my husband blames me for all of this.

Welcome! Nobody can understand unless they live with the fear themselves. It is not your fault

 

[annie1995]

Welcome! Nobody can understand unless they live with the fear themselves. It is not your fault

I totally agree!! Its not your fault at all

 

[annie1995]

UGH!@!!! Biggest Loser caught me off guard again!!!!!!!

What happened, I don't watch that show at all

 

[TaraPA]

wenmc - not your fault at all. It's our brains, it's IN us, we cannot change it or make it go away. I feel your pain though, my family teases me all the time about the bowl in the bed. They just don't get it.

Brooke - I saw your ticker - when in March are you going & where are you staying? I'll be there 3/12-16.

High anxiety night for me (they ALL are, I don't know why I act like one is any different than the other). DS10 has just looked ill for the last 2 days, and is quiet & sluggish. I made his favorite meal for dinner & he just picked at it. To me those are all red flags that he will throw up during the night. I keep asking him if he's ok (which he's thoroughly getting sick of) and he says he's fine, just tired. "Well why would you be tired if you weren't going to throw up?!?!?!?!?!?!??!" is what my emet OCD brain is screaming to me. Any normal mom wouldn't give it a second thought. I hate this! It's so unreasonable and I can't make my brain get that!

 

[lukenick1]

What happened, I don't watch that show at all

The people exercise so hard that they sometimes vomit and they will show it! Ugh!!!!!!

 

[acejka]

I've had quite the 36 hours.

Woke up nauseated on Sunday, seemed to pass, went to airport to pick up hubby-got very nauseated again-caused small panic attack.

Left airport went home a little while noticed some pain in my stomach, went out got groceries pain the same.

Ate a roast beef sandwhich and took a nap. Woke up to increasing pain that lsated frm 2 pm730 pm-no relief unless i passed gas on either end, and got in a hot bath hunched over. Gave up and went to Urgent Care...

Got sent to the ER with stat orders for a appendix test.

Around 6 am, after 2 ers, many tests and a contrast ct scan, its announced that I need surgery asap.

Appendicitis. ugh.

I've never had surgery because I am scared to throw up afterwards but I didn't really have an option, it was the only way to fix things, and it turns out my appendix did burst as it was being removed and the surgeon said we dodged a bullet and its a good thing they were able to get me in early.

I was freaking out, of course the witchy nurses ( I avoid female doctors and nurses for the most part-they are usually nasty about my condition and I don't need to deal with it- I will say that I've had a wonderful young female nurse today and 4 other vrious female employees in this hospital have been wonderful-Maybe they are injecting happiness on their lunch hours, ya know i am pretty close to disney and these women have been great.) were laughing about my condition and tellings me it was stupid.

Anyhow surgery was good, pain is much reducded to just minor after surgery pain and recovery went well.

And now I don't have an appendix.

 

[TaraPA]

OMG acejka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a weekend you had! How is your recovery coming along? That's great that you didn't get sick from the anesthesia. DH & DS13 have both had several surgeries in the last few years & they threw up every single time from the anesthesia. The nurses told me this is very very common - well that didn't make it any easier! I'm so glad you got through it - and that they got your appendix out before it became much more serious.

 

[acejka]

I'm sitting here shaking and in a panic attack writing this.

In the OR they put a patch behind my ear and told me to leave it on until 24 hours past the surgery. I left it until today, which is 3 days past the surgery. The website says you can do that.

I experienced no nausea from the stuff they put you under with, and none since then, but I took the patch off today and then I read up on the withdrawl symptoms that lots of people have.

In a lot of reports online I've found that within 12 hours there is some pretty violent vomiting and naseua. I am lost now, that patch was my security blanket and all of the doctors and nurses I have called trying to get information are like oh yeah well you should be fine if you were going to get sick from the medicines it would have happened by now.. NOBODY UNDERSTANDS. And they don't seem to think anything of the withdrawl symptoms. This is making me very stressed out and upset. So much for sleeping well tonight. I;ll up all night waiting for the nausea and vomitting to start. I hate this. hate hate hate it. And my husband isn't being very supportive about it right now either.

 

[lukenick1]

I'm sitting here shaking and in a panic attack writing this.

In the OR they put a patch behind my ear and told me to leave it on until 24 hours past the surgery. I left it until today, which is 3 days past the surgery. The website says you can do that.

I experienced no nausea from the stuff they put you under with, and none since then, but I took the patch off today and then I read up on the withdrawl symptoms that lots of people have.

In a lot of reports online I've found that within 12 hours there is some pretty violent vomiting and naseua. I am lost now, that patch was my security blanket and all of the doctors and nurses I have called trying to get information are like oh yeah well you should be fine if you were going to get sick from the medicines it would have happened by now.. NOBODY UNDERSTANDS. And they don't seem to think anything of the withdrawl symptoms. This is making me very stressed out and upset. So much for sleeping well tonight. I;ll up all night waiting for the nausea and vomitting to start. I hate this. hate hate hate it. And my husband isn't being very supportive about it right now either.

Oh No....I'm sorry you are going thru this. I feel your pain. Sometimes what we don't know won't hurt us and we are our own worst enemies when it comes to reading up on meds and symptoms. I think and hope you will be just fine. Just keep telling yourself you will be. I know what its like to obsess about it believe me. I had my own scare today. Brought my ds7 to the allergist today to have some re testing on food allergies. Right after they did the pricks on his arm my other ds10 started to feel hot, and nauseous. Of course I was panicked thinking OMG maybe he will throw up and its a stomach bug. So i brought him outside the office to get some fresh air. He asked me to bring him to lie down cuz he felt so bad. By the time I got him back to the room he was sweating profusely and lethargic. He told me he had blurred vision and a hard time hearing. I was FREAKED out! Got the allergist and asked him to come check my son. When he took one look at him he put the trash can next to him and started taking his vitals. I was praying he did not throw up and would be ok. What kind of mother would I be if I ran out of the room when my son was so ill like that. Anyway turns out he had a vasovagal response. Which is a term they using for fainting. He must have been bothered by the needles they used to do the allergy pricks with on his little brother. He ended up coming around within a 1/2 hour and we left. Thank God he never threw up and he is ok. I was so worried about his health first and foremost.

 

[Elmo9607]

OMG acejka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a weekend you had! How is your recovery coming along? That's great that you didn't get sick from the anesthesia. DH & DS13 have both had several surgeries in the last few years & they threw up every single time from the anesthesia. The nurses told me this is very very common - well that didn't make it any easier! I'm so glad you got through it - and that they got your appendix out before it became much more serious.

When I had knee surgery I woke up from anesthesia feeling sooo nauseated they had to give me a special solution in my IV to keep me from getting sick. Oh it was AWFUL! I have never felt so sick without actually being sick

 

[acejka]

I really am my own worst enemy when it goes to getting online and reading things I shouldn't. I would have probably never notifced anything if I wasn't looking for every little twinge from my stomach.

I did go to the doctor and get zofran just in case. I'm trying to wait it out and take it if I do feel sick, but every fiber in my being wants to rip the package open and just take it as a precaution.

I think I am having a little withdrawl, I'm feeling a little light headed, but hopefully it will end there. Most of the withdrawl symptoms aren't supposed to show up until after 24 hours after removing the patch.

I hope I have nothing. I don't understand how cruisers can swear by them if they have such a bad withdrawl. I generally tolerate medicines well, so I'm praying this goes the same.

I need to rest so bad and my eyes are tired but I'm trying to stay awake, that way I won't be woken from sleep to be sick.


This sucks and I hate living like this.

Enough about me, I'm glad your son was ok lukenick!

 

[TaraPA]

Sorry to both of you ladies that are/were giong through this today. I feel your pain, I truly do. No one understands this unreasonable anxiety except for those of us that are in the same boat!

 

[TaraPA]

Ok my turn to vent...DH & DS10 just came in from wrestling practice where once again, a kid threw up all over the mat during practice. Ugh ugh ugh!! That sent my brain into high anxiety mode once again...I'll be watching DS like a hawk....and be up all night waiting....waiting....listening...

 

[arminnie]

Have they ever talked to you about a procedure called Nissan Fundoplication?? If your son suffers from that much reflux, it is definitely not healthy for his esophageal lining and the acid could cause serious damage.

I have had this procedure done. In fact that's why this thread caught my eye.

I do have a fear of needing to vomit, but I am not an emet. I recognize the panic and fear that you all are experiencing is real and how serious it is. What I have is a concern that my body might try to vomit, because physically I cannot.

When I had gallbladder problems my body spent 24 hours trying to vomit, but absolutely being unable to do so. It was horrible - but in no way involved panic or anxiety. Mine is a concern of what I will do if my body tries to expel something because it is NOT going to happen. I just worry about how we are going to be able to stop the body from trying and trying to something it cannot do. That certainty that I will never vomit might be comforting to some of you.

But I do agree that reflux is very serious. It can do a lot of damage that really increases the risk of esophageal cancer. But a good gastro can monitor. That's why I had the procedure done.

Best wishes to all of you.

 

[ead79]

Hello, I wanted to join in and introduce myself.

I am what I guess you might call a “recovering emetophobic” for lack of a better description.

It all started for me back around 1997 when I was in high school and got a really bad 2-week stomach bug. Yuck! After that, I was panicked at the mere thought of getting sick to my stomach.

My fear primarily shows up as extreme germ phobia. In my mind, it made all the sense in the world to wash my hands dozens of times a day to be sure to get all the potential germs off. Basically I had gotten to the point where I spent a huge portion of my time in fear of getting sick. It was controlling my life and robbing me of joy and a “normal” life. I wouldn’t have people over to my house in case they brought in germs, I couldn’t eat so much as a potato chip without washing my hands first (even if I had just washed them 15 minutes earlier), if I heard someone mention feeling sick I would immediately break out in a sweat and mentally go through a list of anything I might have come in contact with that they touched, and much more. I was constantly panic-stricken, and even my favorite thing—hand washing—no longer calmed me down.

So after years of struggling, I went to see a therapist who specializes in anxiety disorders. Essentially I have emetophobia that manifests itself as a type of OCD called “contamination OCD.” It’s not the sort of OCD where I have to flip a light switch off and on a set number of times, but more of a way of looking at the world as contaminated with germs that I must go to crazy lengths to avoid.

My therapist was so wonderful and has made a HUGE difference! I saw her for a little over a year, and she helped me face my fears in small, manageable steps. My biggest fear was that she would force me to do something terrible like take ipecac to make myself sick or touch vomit or something crazy like that. When I heard that the way you treat anxiety disorders is “exposure/response prevention” I immediately thought it meant something awful. Fortunately that is NOT true at all! Basically we just started with something really simple I could handle. I think one of my first tasks was to step on stains in the carpet at work. You see, in my mind, I had to constantly watch out for stains because they might be from throw up. This had really gotten to be unbearable and way too much work, so I chose to start with that first. Baby steps, for sure, but the success with small things helped me tackle things that were much bigger to me.

For example, I just hosted the first birthday party for my “nephew” (my life-long best friend’s son). This involved having about 25 people at my house—including germy little kids. And I wasn’t freaked out about it! What a change!

While certain things still do freak me out, I’m able to cope now so much better. And I know that if something does freak me out, I can and will cope better the next time around.

I’m sorry to babble on for so long! I just wanted to share my experience with folks who understand.

 

[TaraPA]

Welcome ead79! Sounds like you had a lot of the same anxieties that many of us have as well. So glad to hear that it's gotten better for you!

 

[lisa6373]

I can't believe I stumbled upon this thread, I had no idea there was a name for what my DD6 seems to have! She has always had what we would call a weak stomach, she doesn't have to be "sick" persay to vomit. Well I guess it's been within the last 6 months or so that she started asking us "Am I going to throw-up?" It's especially bad at night and we have seen her decrease the amount of food she eats in the evenings. As a matter of fact I'm awake now because she woke me up at 3am upset saying she felt like she was going to throw-up. Usually all it takes is me telling her she's fine and she's not going to but then I think about how bad it's going to be when/if she actually does. Id say it's probably been 9 months to a year since she has vomited. She has a host of other phobias as well and I keep saying I need to talk to her pediatrician about it but I guess I'm afraid of labeling her