Does not eating really help?

[scaredycat]

I've noticed that a lot of people here tend to not eat when there is a threat of sv or v*.I used to do this more and still have the tendency to do so. I still think about it, of course, but make myself eat even if sickness is going around.

Does it really help though, to not eat? I mean, if you're really sick, won't it just happen regardless of if you've eaten or not? And from what I hear, it is less painful to actually have food in your belly, rather than nothing.

[grgygrl]

I used to do that, but then I figured out that sometimes not eating can make you feel worse.

[johnlp]

I do itbut don't know how much it contributes to my success in not v*.

[k8eb]

I do it too. I think that if I don't eat then there is nothing for me to v* if I am ill. If I do eat then I will only eat crackers or bread and drink water. I can make it about 2days like that, then I have to give in and eat the B*R*A*T diet for the next week. I end up losing a lot of weight, but once I am over my attack, I will eat normal again and gain it back. I know thats its not good for my body, but it makes me feel better... kinda.

[rubysoho120]

I wouldn't think it would help because eating helps your immune system
and I think no eating makes it weak, so I would say it makes you more
susptiable to getting the sv*. Eating will make you stronger. I think
if you are going to v* and you try and eat that it wont help, but im
talking about just out of fear of the sv*

[marieb73]

I do it only because everyone I know who eats when ythey are n* and have an sv* ends up v*. It doesn't make the n* any better...indeed I am sure it maes it worse.

[sheri-baby]

my theory is the reason some people v* over and over is because the digestive system shuts down when you have an sv and it's ridding itself of the contents...i myself cannot eat because of nerves and fear, but i think the less the better also....but everyone's body reacts differently, so it's hard to say what is better

[crimgoddess]

Trust me- you can still vomit even if you have no food in your stomach- you will bring up bile, or in extreme cases even blood- and it is 10X worse than vomitting food. A few times for me it was so bad that I drank water just so I would have something to bring up, because my stomach straining to bring up bile was so much worse.


Not eating doesn't mean that you won't vomit- and as Ruby mentioned, lack of nutrition will make you weaker and more susceptible to illness.


*amber*

[chicajojobe]

And from what I hear, it is less painful to actually have food in your belly, rather than nothing.

I really don't know if it helps, and yeah that thing about having food in your belly feels better having none is what I always hear but I personally always remember my experiences with not having much in my stomach or only water in my stomach as being much less traumatic.

When there was a lot it was always so awful!


However, I wouldn't recommend not eating unless you're 100% sure you're actually sick, and even then if you don't v* for 24 hours then you're probably safe to eat. Lack of nutriton makes you weaker and more succeptable to illness, and hunger can also cause nausea.
Edited by: chicajojobe

[lianaismadchill]

I would think not eating would make it more easy for you to catch a sv* because I agree w/ Ruby..Eating helps your immune system.

[domino2006]

All of the times I have v* with a virus were after I ate even when I felt nauseated. However, with emet, I find that my symptoms get WORSE when I don't eat and that makes the cycle perpetuate. When I have had a true stomach virus when I eat anything, even a sip of water, I get immediate discomfort. However, when I only feel nausea induced by anxiety, eating doesn't make things worse, it only stays the same. Then if I eat a little bit more, I actually start to feel better. I think trying to eat a little something is a good test.

[longgone]

Sometimes I get n* if I don't eat for a long time but that's only if I
am ok. If I feel not too good, then not eating helps but I need to
drink lots of water. When I had sv last winter, I started feeling n*
and I thought that it was because I was hungry, so I took an apple..
and it made me start v*. I still think that if I hadn't taken that
apple, I would have probably not vomitted at all.

[dbacks]

*********graphic***********

I don't want to eat for one thing when I am n*. I feel that crackers and water is better to throw up then a mexican food dinner. When sv* was going around my house at Thanksgiving, I basically lived on crackers and water for a week, because I didn't know if my turn was next, and I made SURE that what I was going to throw up would be less discusting then other things.

[domino2006]

*********graphic***********

I don't want to eat for one thing when I am n*. I feel that crackers and water is better to throw up then a mexican food dinner. When sv* was going around my house at Thanksgiving, I basically lived on crackers and water for a week, because I didn't know if my turn was next, and I made SURE that what I was going to throw up would be less discusting then other things.

Don't you think this is a pretty normal reaction? I think most people, even non-emets would agree with this. I don't think this is phobic. Starving ourselves, now, that's phobic. Maybe water and crackers for a little time is okay, but maybe we should try to eat something, even something light, when we feel at-risk (but are not feeling immediately n*).

One of the things I HATE the most is the fear of eating when this happens. This is a positive step I have been trying to take lately (eating even if I don't feel like it) and I find that all the times I've tried it lately it has helped, not hurt.

[xxsophiaxx]

*********graphic***********

I don't want to eat for one thing when I am n*. I feel that crackers and water is better to throw up then a mexican food dinner. When sv* was going around my house at Thanksgiving, I basically lived on crackers and water for a week, because I didn't know if my turn was next, and I made SURE that what I was going to throw up would be less discusting then other things.

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO ME! I'm sorry I keep telling this story but umm... ya


*G-R-A-P-H-I-C*


I was at my grandparent's house.I was feeling sort of ill the whole day. At about 12:30 PM I finally decided to have lunch. Didn't make me feel any better. So at about 1 PM, I had d*. And it was colorful. Yellow and orange, not one bit of brown. It was so bad.Anyway, after that Itook someMotrin and felt A LOT better! By the way, i didn't have a fever, butmy heart was racing a lot this whole time.


At around 5PM my mom calls and says we'reall going out to Torero's Mexican Restaurant for dinner. I couldn't wait, especially since Ifelt sooo much better now, and it's myfave restaurant (I still eat there all the time). I wasable to eat easily.


We arrived home at around 7 PM. Almostimmediatly when we got home I started dry heaving. and I was in the bathroom dry heaving for about an hour. It was badbecauseI could actually taste the food. ick. So then my mom suggested I take a shower. and it did help. Then i went to go lie in my bed. I had a bucket w/ me just in case. However, all of a sudden, I feltI really DID need to v*. and i did, in the bucket. And OMFG it was SOOO bad. ittasted weird too. There was a lot, I've never v*d such large volumes in my life. Iended up filling up the bucket, and the toilet 2 times. SOOOO BAD. However, i felt much better afterwards. And i was fine the next day. I didn't have afever, and that was theonly time I v*d that day.


*GRAPHIC ENDS HERE*


what the hell might that've been? Sv*? I doubt it

[raegen]

I know from personal experience that not eating does NOT help, and it may actually make things worse. When I was very young and my emet was just beginning (9 or 10 years old) I stopped eating for a while, and then I got the sv* twice. I think your immune system needs food to help fight off illnesses and not eating will just cause you to get sick. And you can definitely v* even if you don't have any food in your stomach. So, definitely KEEP ON EATING!!!! Trust me, your immune system will thank you! Haha. [img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

[samara's on tv]

I have to agree with it being worse without food. I remember this one time...


****GRAPHIC****


I wasn't feeling well so I did what I usually did at the time, sit by the toilet and wait. 9 times out of 10 I didn't vomit, but this night was the night I did. I remember it was Passover at the time and when I used to live at my parents house we kept Passover and that meant that I wouldn't eat (Have you ever TRIED to eat Matzah based foods for a week? BLECH!) so anyway that night I was feeling really sick.


So anyway I was at the toilet, and all I had eaten the WHOLE DAY was this weird Matzah lasagne that my mom had made. It was about 1 in the morning and I had eaten it at around 6 that night, so it was well gone by the time I was feeling sick. I had NOTHING in my stomach and all that came up was bile and it was the most HORRIFIC feeling EVER.


Not to mention:


**MORE GRAPHIC-NESS**


Once time I was on some medicine to help my bronchitus and it was making me totally nauseous. I was feeling sick and nauseous for like 15 hours, so that meant I wasn't eating. Well in the middle of the night I got up and ran into my bathroom and puked up a blob of bile. EWWWWW!


~~END GRAPHIC~


The point is, all the other times I vomited I have had food in my stomach and I prefer it that way.


~Monica

[ginger_saves]

Blech!! Okay, well, I am guessing there is no real easy solution then for making v* less scary-with food or without?![img]smileys/smilies_06.gif[/img] Damn this phobia...

[domino2006]

I can vividly remember v* with a lot of food and without any food, and yes, without it is pretty painful, but the food really didn't make it much better, in my opinion. You really can't win at all, if you don't like v* you're not gonna like v*. Better to try and eat if you can and stop when you're sure you can't anymore. It will be different for all of us. If you get in a pattern of not eating, you know you have a problem and need to eat something, right?

[ginger_saves]

Personally, there was a big difference btwn me v* liquid/bile and loads of food. The force, constant v* andacid taste from v* foodwasfar worse than v* liquid/bile. When I had more stomach contents, it was more traumatic and always uncontrollable. When there is hardly anything, yes, I felt n* but if I take ananti-emeticmed, rest and wait for the virus/poison to pass, then it usually works out ok.