Dr Hive: strong food aversion with nausea

[GoVanGogh]

I am 50+ yrs old, post menopausal. I have three autoimmune disorders - Hashimoto’s, celiac and Epstein-Barr  

Food aversion started this past spring when I was sick with bronchitis. I suddenly only wanted to eat just a few foods. Nothing else sounded good to eat. 

Two months ago my dr put me on estrogen for some post menopausal issues. I got horribly nauseated so he took me off the estrogen. At that time, my thyroid was also high, so they lowered my thyroid med  Both of those labs are now fine. (No estrogen in my system, thyroid in range dr has tried to keep it at for past 8 years.) 

The nausea, however, hasn’t gone away. And the food aversion has only gotten worse  it is like all day, every day extreme morning sickness  I can’t walk into grocery store bc I can smell the seafood across the store  I can smell green vegetables from feet away  I used to be a foodie, now I am like a picky three year old on a white food only diet.   

I am now living on toast, rice and heavily diluted white colored Gatorade. I can eat a few bites of chicken, but the smell and texture  bothers me. 

I have been to several doctors and had numerous tests. Colonoscopy was clear. Upper GI scope showed one small issue but nothing that would cause nausea. Thyroid ultrasound showed nodules, but - again - “nothing big enough to cause issues.” Barium swallow test was good. They have tested for Crohn’s, colitis, C diff. All clear. Pregnancy test was negative  Lung X-rays were clear  

Dr sent me to an allergist  I was tested for 42 common environmental and food allergies  Nothing came up  

I do have celiac, but am not eating anything that would/should cause issues. (Was dx with celiac 12 years ago.) 

Drs have put me on two different anti nausea meds. First one didn’t help at all. Just started the second one yesterday, but haven’t gotten any relief yet. 

They have also put me on three different heartburn/reflux meds bc tests show I have very mild reflux - not enough to cause issues, but they wanted to see if it would help. I have been taking two of those meds for six weeks now with no relief. (Third med was a milder form of one of the meds I am currently taking.) 

Now what? Anything drs could be overlooking? 

[PeterPan]

Is your neck off? Been to a chiropractor? There's a spot in your neck that will do that.

Edited October 3, 2019 by PeterPan

[GoVanGogh]

1 minute ago, PeterPan said:

Mine wasn't as extreme as yours, but for me it has been digestion. Do you eat fresh fruit or take a basic enzyme for digestion?

I used to but everything gags me now. I can’t make myself swallow anything unless I absolutely have to. 

[BarbecueMom]

I’m sorry, I live with chronic nausea as well.  Keep making adjustments with reflux meds and timing.  The only thing that’s really helped with me so far is Dexilant, taken about halfway through the day instead of morning or night (I have primarily evening symptoms), plus Zantac as necessary.  At one point I was on high doses of three meds which led to cramping.

A possibility mentioned to me in my GI appointment is basically IBS of the upper digestive tract.  The treatment for that is a low-dose antidepressant, enough to quell the overactive system but not affect mood.  I’ve tried this for lower-end IBS, but the side effects were rough and I had to stop taking it.  She also offered me samples of an OTC “digestion aid” which is basically a couple oils.  I haven’t totally ruled out trying it, but my general line in the sand is “oils”.

Oddly enough, many of my issues started after pregnancies where I had flu/bronchitis with severe and prolonged coughing.  I suspect I have some sort of structural/nerve damage, but they claim the “very small hiatal hernia, duodenal ulcer, and gastritis” couldn’t possibly be factors in this level of discomfort.  I’m not so sure.

[GoVanGogh]

Barbecue Mom - Eek! Sorry to hear about your nausea being chronic. I am so hopeful mine will go away!!! I don’t know that I can live like this. I can’t even touch food to cook for my family right now. 

[BarbecueMom]

33 minutes ago, GoVanGogh said:

Barbecue Mom - Eek! Sorry to hear about your nausea being chronic. I am so hopeful mine will go away!!! I don’t know that I can live like this. I can’t even touch food to cook for my family right now. 

I hope it goes away for you soon too!  I totally get the being unable to cook.  It sucks and I LOVE food and cooking and grocery shopping... but sometimes I just can't.  A couple nights ago I held it together until I got food on the table... then went straight to bed with a heating pad, a bag of cough drops (menthol helps the queasiness for me), and The Office for the rest of the evening.  DH is really good at this point at picking up where I leave off and making sure the post-dinner stuff is reasonably done.  I was looking forward to having those leftovers for lunch, but guess what's the only thing not turning my stomach today?  A bowl of rice.

Have you had a gallbladder ultrasound, if you still have it?  Mine came back "non-functioning" on the HIDA scan and I had it taken out, but it didn't really change much nausea-wise, just the occasional pain increases.  I suspect whatever is going on above the gallbladder caused it to quit working, not the other way around, but I have heard of it being the root of nausea issues too.

ETA:  How's your blood sugar levels?  Toast, rice, Gatorade, and bland nothingness would all affect that, especially if it's all you can keep down.  Again, probably not the cause, but certainly could be exasperating symptoms.

Edited October 3, 2019 by BarbecueMom

[GoVanGogh]

I had my gallbladder removed about 12 years ago. I also had the HIDA scan, which showed the gallbladder wasn’t working. 

The doctors thought maybe I was having problems with the pancreas bc of the missing gallbladder, but that medicine made my symptoms much worse so they decided it wasn’t pancreatic related. 

[ktgrok]

Vitamin levels checked? Thiamine being low can cause constant nausea. It isn't something always checked (I only know because they check it for bariatric patients). 

Another thought is PANDAS can cause food refusal and is autoimmune so although not thought of as an adult disease it might be worth researching if you have other symptoms. 

Finally, have they scanned your head? Not to be an alarmist, but stronger sense of smell, nausea, etc can be a brain thing. 

[Katy]

Diabetes and a few different kinds of cancer can cause nausea as well.  But I don't know that much about how you'd diagnose something obscure short of a full body CT, and that would be so much radiation I doubt most doctors would prescribe it without some other suspicious symptoms.