Nausea

[Criseyde]

For the past several weeks, I've been experiencing a lot of nausea. This is strange for me because usually I never have it. :\ I've been traveling and eating a lot of things that I don't normally have, so I thought my stomach might just be unsettled from all the newness, but I'm home now and I still have it. At first, I only felt nauseated after eating/drinking (although sometimes just water triggers it...). Now, it seems to be totally sporadic. I haven't eaten in a few hours, and I'm nauseated right now -- to the point where I feel really hot all over, like I'm about to throw up (I never actually do, though).

I don't have a fever or any other symptoms, and I feel fine otherwise, so I don't think I'm actually sick. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this, or how to get rid of it (besides chewing on ginger)? Thanks.

[Lisa McGregor]

can pregnancy be ruled out?

Lx

[Criseyde]

Yep, definitely not pregnant.

[Mabel]

Are you experiencing any stress? How are your sleep patterns? Are you staying fully hydrated?

Also--can you sense where the nausea is coming from? For example could it be coming from nasal drip or does it has some other specific trigger? You say you don't have any other symptoms..but do you have any tightness in your sinuses or even a mild headache that you have dismissed?

[Criseyde]

I'm prone to headaches, and I've been getting them regularly while this has been going on, but I don't have a low-grade headache all the time or anything. Actually, the headaches are on and off just like the nausea. But it's hard to tell if it's related because I get them frequently anyway. I do drink a lot of water.

I was sick for a long time while abroad, maybe about two weeks, with some cold/flu-y thing, but that went away.

My sleeping patterns are actually pretty messed up right now. I was having a recurring nightmare all through the week that this started, and now that's stopped and I'm jetlagged instead.

Stress -- I'm taking the GRE in two weeks and I have a 20 page paper to write, does that count?

[Mabel]

Indeed--the headaches and the nausea sound like they could be linked. Nasal irrigation can be very helpful if you are not already doing that. And of course engaging in activities that help you relax--yoga, meditation, hypnosis will help. Even developing a habit of regular walking can help reduce the stress of the GRE and paper! You could have more than one factor that is causing the nausea--so eliminating some of the potential triggers could be helpful. Some foods can definitely trigger headaches, particularity if you have a sensitivity to that type of food. For the nightmares--if you write down your dreams you can control them better. Stephan Lafarge who is an expert in lucid dreaming even suggests techniques for confronting the characters in your nightmares and find out what message they have for you.

[Criseyde]

Thank you for your suggestions! I will try to find my neti pot.