Upset Stomach Solutions?

    • Gold Top Dog

    Upset Stomach Solutions?

    I have had stomach problems for a few years now.  My gall bladder was causing the majority of them, so it was removed.  They never found out why I get nauseous a few times a week.  I had quite a few tests run and all of them came back with nothing.  So, they told me I had IBS which they said is a diagnosis when they can't find anything obviously wrong.  I've been ok for a while with the occasional upset stomach, until this week.  I have been sick to my stomach almost every night this week.  I need some kind of relief!  I'm going to try to go to the doctor next week and get more of my nausea medicine, until then, I have been using Dramamine...which just puts me to sleep so I can forget about it.  Anyone have any other suggesstions?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Have you tried eating a piece of peppermint? They sometime help. Good luck.
     
    Dawn
    • Gold Top Dog
    Have you looked into homeopathy or another holistic approach? My mom has had great results treating heartburn w/ homeopathy, and it worked wonders on our cat w/ chronic ear infections. I use homeopathic remedies to prevent the flu and colds as well as treat occasional vertigo and digestive distress - there's a remedy out there for practically anything and with none of the nasty side effects of some OTC and prescription drugs.

    eta: Here's a link that may help you find the best remedy for your condition; it's very thorough:http://www.abchomeopathy.com/go.php
    • Gold Top Dog
    I sometimes use these lollipops called Queasy Pops.  They have a bunch of different herbs in them.  Those work pretty well usually.  The only one I have left is ginger flavored though, and I really hate ginger.  I also bought some ginger capsules a while back, but the smell made me want to gag.  I heard that ginger is good for the stomach.  Anyone use ginger?
    • Gold Top Dog
    My mum always told me ginger's good for upset stomachs.
     
    I've also heard flat/warm lemonade helps? (don't know if it's true tho)
    • Gold Top Dog
    ORIGINAL: ColleenC

    I have had stomach problems for a few years now.  My gall bladder was causing the majority of them, so it was removed.  They never found out why I get nauseous a few times a week.  I had quite a few tests run and all of them came back with nothing.  So, they told me I had IBS which they said is a diagnosis when they can't find anything obviously wrong.  I've been ok for a while with the occasional upset stomach, until this week.  I have been sick to my stomach almost every night this week.  I need some kind of relief!  I'm going to try to go to the doctor next week and get more of my nausea medicine, until then, I have been using Dramamine...which just puts me to sleep so I can forget about it.  Anyone have any other suggesstions?

    I have the same problem. I get nauseaus/throw up about about 3 times a week and it isn't even caused by the same foods. I ate pizza a few weeks ago and was throwing up for 3 days...than I ate the same kind a week later and no problems there. I can't eat very much -I feel extremely full after a few bites and I get really weak after eating. I've been to the ER a few times as well..

    I am not sure what the cause of it is either. I sure wish I could figure out what it is, because I never know when it's going to happen. I try to see if there is a pattern with the nauseus thing but I haven't found one. I thought I was simply lactose intolerant so I took out the cheese/milk and it still didn't stop.

    I'd do anything to just feel better. Agh.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I can give you several suggestions.  First off, you have to figure out (even if you have to figure this out ON YOUR OWN -- often a doctor looks to his/her own specialty and it's like they're looking with tunnelvision) whether you have some kind of virus that's causing the repeated nausea or is it something more like either an ulcer or "for real" IBD or collitis. 
     
    I've had collitis for many years -- but I discovered long ago to keep a food diary and avoid the stuff that I've discovered makes me sick.  It tooks me a LONG time to arrive at my list and some of my favorites were on it.  Some things that typically are supposed to HELP the stomach make mine worse.  This is my PERSONAL list -- yours would be different but just to give you an idea:
     
    !. Nutrasweet - that's at the top of the list.  It will turn my insides to liquid in a heartbeat.  It will also cause migraines -- and dang, I can't taste it!!  I can wind up with a Diet Coke instead of a Coke at a drivethru and not tell the difference -- until about an hour later when I'm sick as a dog (er, sorry pups!!)
     
    2.  Fried stuff - particularly deep frieds, like french fries, etc. 
     
    3.  Preservatives - in particular I can't use box mixes (like Hamburger Helper, etc.)
     
    4.  Ginger.  For the rest of the world it settles their stomach -- for me it's instant tummy problems and dang, I love it.
     
    5.  Meat tenderizer - of all of them this is probably the most incidious and the worst.  I would never make a good vegetarian unfortunately.  But in particular, it's what they tend to put on prime rib.  Man that will make me SOOOOO sick.
     
    I arrived that that 'list' simply by keeping a food diary -- and don't just look for foods, but common ingredients.  I have one particular recipe for ginger snaps and another for molasses cookies that are both awesome recipes and man, every time I'd make them I'd get sick.  But I also use ginger in a meat marinade and that's how I finally narrowed it down to the specific of ginger *sigh*. 
     
    However, all that being said -- one time about 7-8 years ago, I went to a Christmas Party and the next day I was sick enough to die.  Man, I puked & had the "Aztec 2-step" for DAYS ... I'd start to feel better and dang, I was sick again.  I went to doctor after doctor -- I had upper GI's and lower GI's and all sorts of tests.  But for about 4 1/2 months ALL I could keep down reliably was Lipton's Chicken Noodle Soup.  Anything else and I was so sick for the most part -- I'd feel a bit better and 2 days later, bam ... sick again. 
     
    I had several doctors simply say "You must have some viral condition in your gut and you'll just have to wait it out".  Oh great -- and how many jobs will I go thru???? 
     
    After that many months, I was pretty run down, as you can imagine.  and then suddenly I began to get the flu (head cold, fever, sore throat) and my first thot was "dang, I'm just plain gonna die!! If I can't keep antibiotics down what AM I gonna do?? I CAN NOT get sick!!"
     
    A few years before that I had used a homeopathic called Oscillococcinum to ward off colds/flu.  It's super stuff but it's a bit inconvenient.  You have to take 3 vials of this stuff -- 1 vial under your tongue and then repeat in 6 hours and then again 6 hours after that.  Literally -- if you start it at 9:00 p.m. you need to set your alarm for 3 a.m.!!  It works with the body clock.
     
    But I knew it would help prevent me from getting sick with the flu while I was so debilitated so I went and got some. 
     
    LO AND BEHOLD!!!!  I took the battery of Oscillo and suddenly NO MORE NAUSEA and diarreha!!!  Wow. 
     
    Yep, I had a virus in my gut -- and the oscillo helped kick it!!  I ran two batteries of it (two treatments of the 3 vial set) and that was it. 
     
    So, you might consider if it could possibly be viral.  I'll never know how I picked up that virus but man, it was a bad one.
     
    Lastly -- if you think it's potentially something like an ulcer, then here's a recipe I got from my holistic vet.  It's not just for dogs -- it's actually specifically FOR stomach healing.  But it's also healing to the intestinal tract so you might want to try it.  Use a really good quality Aloe that is drinkable -- some Aloe is horribly Bitter, so try George's or something decent.
     
     Try this "slippery elm cocktail" -- my holistic vet gave ME the recipe and it's awesome.  It's cumbersome tho -- you give it half an hour BEFORE meals -- and try to get it in the dog 2-4 times a day (bedtime and afternoon too if you can swing it).  But try not to give it cold -- cold foods tend to exacerbate tummy problems.  You'll need to get all these items at a health store -- and try for an edible aloe -- aloe can be pretty bitter but boy this stuff works GREAT.

    1 -- half a cup of boiling water. 
    2 -- add 1 rounded tsp. of ground slippery elm
    3 -- let cool totally
    4 -- add 1/8 c. + 2 tablespoons of aloe juice
    5 -- add 10 drops of chlorophyll
    6 -- Add 2-3 capsules (open the caps) of acidolpholus

    Take what you can tolerate -- like a couple of tablespoons half an hour before meals and at bedtime.  It's not bad tasting at all -- slippery elm is a bit sweet. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    Ever been checked for Celiac? It's easy - all the doctor has to initally do is check your blood's tissue transglutamine (spelling?) levels.  That could explain chronic stomach aches.
    • Gold Top Dog
    ORIGINAL: ColleenC
    So, they told me I had IBS which they said is a diagnosis when they can't find anything obviously wrong. 

     
    Yep, that's basically what I was told too.
     
    I've had stomach issues since I was a kid, and even then, they chalked it up to a nervous stomach. As as I got older, it got far worse, and by October of last year, it hit me so badly that I couldn't leave the bathroom for a week. I went through a bunch of tests and doctor visits only to get told, "Well, you just have IBS and there's nothing special that can be done." Gee, thanks. That's so helpful. Thankfully, though, I did get a doctor who actually believed how bad this was and he started me on some medicine that has honestly changed my life because I'm no longer worrying about my next stomach ache or what if there's no bathroom. One med is a capsule that actually controls the issue, and another is a disolving tablet that helps with the cramping and overall sick feeling. Since I started the medicine last year, I can make it through a day or work or go out to dinner without a problem. I can't even begin to tell you how much better I feel now.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Hmm this is an interesting thread; I've been dealing w/ some similar, tho not as severe, issues since I was about 10ish.

    For me triggers seem to include commercial pizza w/ red or cream sauce (non red/cream sauce or homemade is fine), apple juice, and italian food (any type of sauce). I end up getting sick within 15mins of eating any of those things and generally will have diarrhea and cramping for about 1 to 4 hours after that every 10 to 30mins.

    It sucks and no one believes me when I say I can't eat pizza - they think I'm just a picky eater, but truly I *can't* eat those things w/o getting pretty sick! I'm a college student, so the pizza thing is especially hard; every meeting or student event serves pizza. [:'(] The thing that has been especially tough is that my fiance still thinks that it's "in my head" because I've not gotten sick w/ him around so he doesn't know how bad it gets. [:(]

    The remedy I've found to be a lifesaver is Diarrex; it's a homeopathic containing Arsenicum Alb. 6X, Podophyllum Pelt. 6X, Chamomilla 6X, Phosphorus 6X, and Mercurius Viv. 6X - in all but one incident it's stopped the cycle just at the beginning of the upset stomach feeling, and that's with only one or two doses. [:)] I carry it with me at all times because I do sometimes react to stuff other than my known problematic foods - very interesting that you're sensitive to meat tenderizer Callie as I think that's what triggered my last episode that even my homeopathic couldn't manage.

    It's nice to know I'm not the only one w/ odd tummy issues. [:D]
    • Gold Top Dog
    We use ginger candy, it's almost like a taffy it's so sticky, but it works pretty well. I even used it when pregnant, although with my second I had hyperemises gravidarum and nothing worked, including Phenergan. I finally went to a hypnotist and that helped some.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I tried the last Ginger flavored Queasy Pop that I had left.  I hate ginger!  That did not help at all.  I think I am going to order some of the sour fruit flavored ones off of the internet.  Where do I get that Oscillo stuff?  Does it taste really bad?  Its very hard for me to take oral medicines if I have to taste it.  That usually makes me sick too...I know, I'm a wimp when it comes to that.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Oscillococcinum is actually pretty sweet - you take a tube of small granules under your tongue and let them dissolve. Usually takes a few mins for me, but they don't taste bad at all.
    • Gold Top Dog
    When I was in my early 20's I was to the point where I couldn't eat anything without severe cramping, diarrhea.  My mom finally went with me to the doctor and I had several tests including endoscopy.  They diagnosed IBS with me too.

    I also had to narrow down what foods caused what issues myself.  I finally realized it was MEAT, any kind among other things.  I stopped that and have been much better.  But, when this all first started I was so bad that I was taking prescription medication before every meal.  I was horrible.

    All of this led to my anxiety issues that I now deal with.  The things you all mentioned like going out and what if no bathroom, I can't eat this or that and nobody understands it,  led me to just severe anxiety about social situations. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    Colleen- I HATE the taste of ginger but I posted a link of a tea I have tried that actually tastes good (don't go by smell...it smells hossible).  Anyway I used it for nasuea sometimes and then gave it to a friend who wsa pregnant and it worked great for her too.  If you can, try to get some and again...don't worry about the yucky smell, just try it![;)]  

    Good luck!
    http://www.republicoftea.com/templates/detail.asp?navID=278