CVS- Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome

[Kara Isabel]

I am not a hypochondriac, I SWEAR..but last night I had another vomiting attack and it is becoming more frequent, about once a month, same time roughly (2-3am) I wake up nauseous, puking, headache, fever, chills, etc. It lasts about 12-15 hours and then I start improving, hopefully by tomorrow night I'll shake it. I am not convinced it is food poisoning, so I was just doing some googling and ran across CVS and it really sounds like what I go through, it is also another one of those weird auto-immune, rare type things that seem to go hand in hand with Fibro/IBS/CFS, etc.

There are websites on CVS, but I don't know if I can post a link for the description, but here's a snippet of one:

Symptoms

The main symptoms of CVS are severe vomiting, nausea, and retching (gagging). Episodes usually begin at night or first thing in the morning and may include vomiting or retching as often as six to 12 times an hour during the worst of the episode. Episodes usually last anywhere from 1 to 5 days, though they can last for up to 10 days.

Other symptoms include pallor, exhaustion, and listlessness. Sometimes the nausea and vomiting are so severe that a person appears to be almost unconscious. Sensitivity to light, headache, fever, dizziness, diarrhea, and abdominal pain may also accompany an episode.

In addition, the vomiting may cause drooling and excessive thirst. Drinking water usually leads to more vomiting, though the water can dilute the acid in the vomit, making the episode a little less painful. Continuous vomiting can lead to dehydration, which means that the body has lost excessive water and salts.

Has anyone heard of this or been diagnosed with this? I doubt I'll even bring it up with my doctor because he/she will just look at me like I'm crazy and there really is nothing they can do for this anyways, but just another one of those retched and awful things that i'll have to deal with.

My husband started complaining earlier that I had kept him up all night vomiting, and of course, I got defensive and said he was lucky to be the one not sick and I can't help it that I get sick, and he said..."But you are ALWAYS sick, every day" :( And..he's right, If its not one thing, its another :confused:

[an0bgobeloba]

ugggg, i'm sorry this has been happening to you!!! sounds worse than ic :( *sigh* if it's happening at about the same time every night, it might help to look at the meds you take before bed....if something wakes me up between 3 and 4 i can count on being nauseous, sweaty and shaky. i don't think it happens every night...if it does i sleep right though it. i've always just blamed it on all my "nightly" meds. just a thought, but regardless, i hope it never happens to you again!!!! keep us posted!

[Kara29]

Kara,

Is it cyclical? Related to period time? I hope they figure out what it is real soon! Do you take Zofran? It's a good med to take for nausea and vomitting. Only it has to be taken before it starts b/c it often doesn't work once the throwing up starts first and hits hard.

Warm Hugs,

Kara R.

[charmedx3]

Where did you find that? It sounds alot like what my daughter is going thru?

[Kara Isabel]

Yes, It IS cyclical, I am getting to where I can predict it just like my period, as it is happening a 1-2 weeks after my period ends and it always starts in the middle of the night.

At first, I thought it was my medication or just being on opiates, maybe I had forgotten a dose of meds? BUT, I actually started using a weekly med dispenser to make sure I didn't miss a dose because of this, and this has been going on almost a year now..8-9 months, I'd say..I've even switched ALL my medications to new ones 2 months ago, so I am just trying to solve the puzzle.

I just found that googling about N/V @ night, I hope I'm wrong though.

CharmedX, I hope your daughter doesn't have this. On one of the websites I was on, there was a whole big forum with thousands of posts and one of the section was for children with this, I would look into it a little more or consider it if all other things are ruled out, diabetes, cancer, etc. Has she had a full blood work up done lately?

[ICNDonna]

I suggest you keep a diary for a while, noting everything you put in your mouth, activity levels, etc., to be sure you aren't reacting to a medication or food.

I hope you can get to the root of the problem quickly.

Warm healing thoughts,
Donna

[charmedx3]

I did do some quick research. It is very interesting. Today my daughter was complaining of her gag reflexes were bothering her.
She was also just diagnosed with barr-epstein. Which looks like a type of mono. Thank you for the info!

[stef000]

my ex had this....he would get all sorta migrainey and then throw up for a day or so and then be fine....it would come up for no reason too....
i couldn't comment on the cyclical thing since he was a guy...
but i think that it would make sense for a woman to have it cyclical...
i would keep track of it....it could just be your period too since i know a girl who gets so sick with her period and there wasn't anything else wrong just got real sick with her period.....
so definitely keep track of it and the symptoms and what you eat too since sometimes we eat stuff around that time of the month and it just reacts with our hormones in a bad way or something so yeah definitely keep a diary of it...
its one of those things that is diagnosed through elimination....:rolleyes:
heres a couple sites for you to look at...
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cvs/index.htm
http://www.cvsaonline.org/
http://www.aboutgimotility.org/site/about-gi-motility/disorders-of-the-stomach/cvs-in-adults
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/4975/cvs_home.html
http://www.emedicine.com/ped/TOPIC2910.HTM (this one is very comprehensive on the diagnosis criteria and what helps it and such)

well that should be enough reading for you :lmao:
i hope it helps you figure out what is wrong....they say keep an eye on it for 6 months if you have been testing for anything else more serious and if its gone on for that long and theres nothing 'wrong' then you probably have it but there are lots of meds and ways to avoid it...
my ex stopped spicey and sweet foods and also made sure he drank more water and he had an extended period where he didn't have an episode....
so there is hope....
there is a lot of info out there for you so hope it helps ya
let us know how your doin
take care
:pray::pray::grouphug::grouphug:

[yvette]

Oh Kara Isabel! I'm so sorry...I've had bouts with this on and off. It gets really violent and then just goes away, no rhyme or reason to it. This was even before IC, in fact I've had this whole vomiting thing since I was a child. ugh.

I've not had an episode for some time. It's just crazy. It immobilizes you...I got stuck at my then BF's/his parent's house years ago. I couldn't drive home, it was that unrelenting.

I do remember that show on TLC/Discovery. Some little girl kept puking at night the same time every night. They kept saying it was post nasal drip and that the swallowing of it was making her sick at night. This went on for a long time. I forget what the outcome was but it's on Mystery Diagnosis, the episode is called "the girl who gagged" it was on 12am today, I don't know when it's on again...the girl's name was Erin Walsh. It might be something worth checking out. (?)

I hope it lets up soon! :grouphug:

[Kara Isabel]

Thanks for the info and links! Wow, lots of good reading on this, the more I read, the more criteria I seem to meet :( I'll have to do some research on this and even try adding more H2O to see if that helps, I hate..and I mean HATE vomiting, I'd rather go to the dentist or just about ANYthing except for the vomiting, that is the worst, IMO.

Interesting that it seems to go with Fibro and CFS, which I do think I have..atleast the chronic fatigue even though the fibro diagnosis is up in the air right now with the new doc.

I guess the bright side is I do get a few weeks break in between episodes, lol..unlike the IC, wouldn't it be nice to have a break from that, ehh?

[stef000]

your welcome for the links....
i am sorry to hear you might have this....
if you ever need to talk or need advice or to vent or anything just message me...
my ex had a terrible time with this thing and i have had severe acid reflux for 9 years so i know sorta what its like...i reflux in my mouth a lot....
so just saying if you ever need to vent or talk or anything just message me k?
your not alone in any of this...:smile tee
take care
:pray::pray::grouphug::grouphug::kiss:

[Kara Isabel]

Thanks so much! :grouphug:

[amaranthe]

I get episodes of this fairly often too. I think I have read somewhere before that you also have positive anti-nuclear antibodies (as i do), but also havent been diagnosed specifically with an auto-immune disease. (Is that right?) I also have fibro and almost identical d/xes to yours. Crazy, huh?

My pain Dr. gives me an r/x for Phenegrin suppositories each month. (He is under the impression that I sometimes get N/V from my pain meds, though I dont think that's it.) The Phenegrin is definately good to have on hand when you have this problem. But, a few other things also help. One is regular old Pepto-Bismol. I have noticed that my bouts with this often occur when i havent eaten, which makes my stomach too acidic, causing nausea and vomiting. So, sometimes taking some Pepto, then waiting a few minutes and trying to eat a few crackers or something will help. I keep the Pepto in the fridge, since for me, it's easier to drink cold. Another thing I sometimes try is taking an antacid, (though the Pepto seems to work faster, so often I take it first and then take an antacid.) But, if those dont work, then I take the Phenegrin suppository.

I hope you (and I) and everyone else afflicted with this can find out what causes it for sure, (though I have been trying to find the cause of mine for years and we still dont know why!) But, the acid connection is the only thing i have ever come up with on my own.

Anyway, i hope you feel better soon!

Hugs,
Amaranthe