why do emets let themselves V

[hairyfairy]

I`ve read quite a few threads from emets about how they Vted recently, despite being scared to death of it happening. I always carry Dompiradone( Motillium), & if I feel the slightest bit under the weather, I take one. I`m sure if everyone did the same, hardly any emets would ever get sick. what do other members think?

[FurryMane]

I went to the Doctors and was told I could not get anything to stop myself being sick.

Sorry to interrupt the thread, what are these things you take to stop yourself?

[paulinek]

that's making it sound like emets who vomit are somehow letting the side down which could be taken as a bit of an insult really to those of us who have been!!

vomiting is a completely natural bodily process we just happen to be phobic about it and maybe if we employed as much effort in trying to overcome the phobia as we do in trying not to be sick we'd probably do ourselves a big favour!

taking any anti emetic regularly will reduce its effectiveness then when you really need it it won't work which is the last thing you want. i'm not criticising as i used to take them all the time too but someone on here told me that my body would become resistant so i stopped.

i have cyclizine on prescription from my gp and have took about 3 in the last year 1 of which was today as i'd been feeling sick at work for 2 hours and still do in fact.

think of how many motilums you have taken this year, if you believe they have genuinely stopped you being ill each time then what you are saying is without them you would have vomited so even if you've only had 1 a month it means you would have vomited 12 times this year! even non emets don't get that ill that often!

i was sick with noro 2 yrs ago this week and took a motilium but nothing on earth could have stopped it and believe me when i say i fought as hard as i could!and i'm no less emet than you i was terrified and still am.

we need to work on our fear really but i appreciate that is hard to do

[Rebecca85]

Last time I v'ed, it was because I was on a plane, and due to my Crohn's and the pressure change, my intestines and stomach expanded. It was pretty painful and made me feel really n. Passing wind and burping just wasn't helping. So I let myself v, yes it was unpleasant but it helped so much! If I hadn't, I could have made myself really ill. And when I say I let myself v, I was at the point where it was more a question of when than if, and I deal with it far better when I have some control over the situation still.

[turbokinetic]

Some people are more able to suppress vomiting than others. But anyone could have emetophobia. Some of us suppress it more than others because we are affected by the phobia differently. For instance; those who only fear OTHERS being sick would have no reason to suppress themselves vomiting.

[asianeko]

As scary as it is, when the human body vomits it is to expel something that shouldn't be there. Keeping it in makes it even worse

[teh folder]

I can't stop myself from getting sick, and I have tried. Besides, - I feel better after being sick. It also calms my phobia. It is like when you fear going on a fair ride, then do it anyway. After it usually wasn't so bad. (For me personalty, others will feel different I am sure.)

[MelP]

Yes, what helps my phobia is to tell myself that really there isn't anything to be afraid of. It is a normal body function that actually serves a useful and necessary purpose. If you have a poison in you, the most effective and quickest way to get it out is to empty the stomach. That's why you feel so much better after you have gotten it out.

Don't get me wrong, I hate it still. But I have to tell myself positive things if I think I am really going to v. I have to imagine I am getting rid of something bad. If I let it say in my stomach longer than necessary, I will just feel ill longer. Sometimes I have to scream it over the ramblings of the crazy emet talk, but it does make me feel better, nonetheless.

[hairyfairy]

I have to disagree with a lot of the threads posted here about the body ejecting poisons etc, it`s true that vting evolved to prevent us from being poisoned, but that was millions of years ago, when our ancestors didn`t know the safe plants from the dangerous ones, & would eat anything that took their fancy. Modern humans have more sense than eat anything suspect, & so don`t really need to v at all.

[x...RaChE...x]

Its horrible but when you' feel so ill that the only thing that will help is v*ing, you do it, well your body does it for you, and you feel so much better afterwards. A major part of fearing throwing up is fearing the gagging feeling you get right before and that we can't help. x

[KaydeeJayde]

Um, of course humans need to v*, because as intelligent as modern humans may be, we still eat things that don't sit well with us, or that are bad for us, that could contain bacteria that aren't good for us. How about when children ingest harmful chemicals out of curiosity? What happens to them if they cannot get it out of their system before it might perhaps be too late? How about when a baby swallows something it shouldn't? How about when someone eats meat which is undercooked and could contain something harmful (as rare as that is)? Humans need to V*, as much as we might hate it, it's a necessary preservation device.

[Lieke]

People are different, people experience emet differently. I used to believe I was just not able to v* since the last time I did it, 15 years ago, was caused by drugs and alcohol, so it made sense that it happened. My nick name is Lieke with the Stomach of Steel". Does that make me more/less emet then others? of course not.

We have to be careful not to start grading each other with "severeness of emet." We are al anxious, and we all work on it a different way. Some will prevent, others will try to become friends with their phobia. I do believe in the long run, the last one will help better.

[Elski]

There is no evidence to suggest that any person can stop themselves v* and the truth is that if you're going to v*, you'll v*. You can't over-ride primitive reflexes. For example, the onset of a womans labour is a primitive reflex and you can't stop it from happening. It's been that way since the beginning of time and just because we've evolved as a species and can undertake caesareans now without the need for a woman to labour, it still doesn't negate the fact that the body will go into labour if left to do so on its own anyway and there's jack you can do to stop it

The rat is the only animal that is physically unable to v*, hence why rat poison is so effective. Evidence also suggests that efficacy is poor when taking anti-emetics to stop the symptoms of something like noro. If you've taken motilium when you've felt n* this year, it's not the drug that has stopped you from v*, it's the fact that you weren't going to v* anyway.

[crd08]

If your body wants to vomit bad enough, it will.
Plus, facing it could help them in overcoming it. Giving in doesn't make them weak. If anything, it makes them strong in facing and doing what they fear most.

[Jen06]

No one vomits because they WANT TO give in to it. It's something normally out of our control. And yes, we do vomit normally because something is in our body that shouldn't be...bacteria, virus, food poisoning, etc. If we didn't get it out naturally, it could cause infection and even death. I can only speak for myself, but I don't "let" myself be sick...it happens on its own. If you're going to, you will. You can't really stop it. I've taken Phenergans before the onset of a stomach bug and I still got sick. So, no, Hairyfairy...we don't always "let" ourselves vomit...it just happens. Yes, when we feel nauseous and get anxious, we can suppress it...but if it's truly needed (like noro or food poisoning), your body will do this on its own. There's nothing you can really do to stop it. Not even anti-emetics. We DO need to vomit. Yes, we may hate it...dreadfully. But it's something we all do at one point or another. If your body is doing this, it is rejecting SOME sort of poison or infection within it. If you can ALWAYS suppress vomiting, lucky you. But we are all not that way.

[StaceySGMW]

The rat is the only animal that is physically unable to v*,

That's it. I'm coming back as a Rat in my afterlife.

[karissagabel]

I was worried about the anti-emetics loosing the effectiveness. I asked my GI doctor and he said it doesnt loose the effectiveness no matter how often you take it.

[hairyfairy]

I have to disagree with many of the threads above, yes, I know that sometimes people ingest things that are very bad for them, but the trick of staying V free is to know what these things are & steer clear of them. I have managed this for some years now, & shall do so for the rest of my life, hopefully. As for rats, if there is such athing as reincarnation, I definately want to come back as one!

[Jen06]

Haha, the rat thing is funny. Hairyfairy, I have desperately tried before to keep from throwing up. Sometimes it's out of my control, though. If I get sick, I better be VERY close to SOMETHING (normally a trashcan b/c toilets scare me...) or it will be everywhere. Sometimes, though...your body just rejects whatever it is. Yes, you can avoid food poisoning if you never eat out and you are the ONLY one that ever prepares food for yourself (although, I have ALWAYS eaten out and ate food that others prepared and as far as I know, I have never had food poisoning). I work in a school with 4 and 5-year-olds so coming in contact with the sv* bacteria is inevitable. Yes, I constantly wash my hands...I constantly disinfect the room (whether children are sick or not)...I am extremely careful when serving their food and cleaning up after them...but I am still very likely to pick up germs. I also go to church regularly. Small children are always present. People hug. It's just a part of life, I guess. But when I DO get sick...it isn't from lacking of attempting to keep it from happening. I'll try for HOURS to stop it...but if it's going to happen, it will happen whether I want it to or not. I was sick three nights ago (actually v*ed) and I had taken anti-emetics about an hour before so I know it had time to kick in. I don't know. Either way, v* is never something we'd like to happen, whether you're emetophobic or not.

[KaydeeJayde]

I totally agree with Jen06. It's not a weakness to V*. It's something that happens, and it's not always possible to avoid things that might make you V*. One of the times that I got really ill, it was because I ate something that I'd been eating for years, and it made me v* because they'd changed one ingredient. I tried my hardest, but I had to do it. I didn't let myself, nothing I could have done could have stopped it. Sometimes, no anti-emetics in the world will stop it. It is NOT a weakness, and it doesn't make anyone 'less of an emet' if they have to.

[teh folder]

It is not a weakness to vomit. It is a bad decision to try forcing yourself not to vomit. It would be like someone who had coprophobia, (fear of fecal matter,) refusing to have bowl movements. You get sick for a reason. Sometimes it is essential. A body doesn’t just decide to expel the stomach contents for the heck of it.

[mooki]

Its horrible but when you' feel so ill that the only thing that will help is v*ing, you do it, well your body does it for you, and you feel so much better afterwards. A major part of fearing throwing up is fearing the gagging feeling you get right before and that we can't help. x

Good point. Even without vomiting, the gag feeling is horrendous. I once had an endoscopy and woke up prematurely with tube down my throat and was gagging and wretching. Luckily I went unconscious again a few secs later.

[mooki]

It is not a weakness to vomit. It is a bad decision to try forcing yourself not to vomit. It would be like someone who had coprophobia, (fear of fecal matter,) refusing to have bowl movements. You get sick for a reason. Sometimes it is essential. A body doesn’t just decide to expel the stomach contents for the heck of it.

If it's noro, there's no reason to vomit. It's the virus just making your nervous system go haywire and tricking the vomiting center of your brain into thinking there's something bad you ingested even if there isn't. Only actual poison or alcohol needs to be vomited. I even hear that vomiting does nothing to help food poisoning since by the time you start vomiting, it's already established itself in your gut.

[mooki]

There is no evidence to suggest that any person can stop themselves v* and the truth is that if you're going to v*, you'll v*. You can't over-ride primitive reflexes. For example, the onset of a womans labour is a primitive reflex and you can't stop it from happening. It's been that way since the beginning of time and just because we've evolved as a species and can undertake caesareans now without the need for a woman to labour, it still doesn't negate the fact that the body will go into labour if left to do so on its own anyway and there's jack you can do to stop it

The rat is the only animal that is physically unable to v*, hence why rat poison is so effective. Evidence also suggests that efficacy is poor when taking anti-emetics to stop the symptoms of something like noro. If you've taken motilium when you've felt n* this year, it's not the drug that has stopped you from v*, it's the fact that you weren't going to v* anyway.

Hmmm, my ex had noro and took pepto bismol tablets. She said even though she vomited, she felt like they helped her to do it less than she normally would have.

Btw, and this is purely hypothetical, but what would happen if at the onset of a 24hr stomach bug and anesthesiologist put you under for a day. Would that stop you vomiting? Because people wake up before they vomit in the night. I've never heard of anyone vomiting in their sleep, only exception is people piss drunk and passed out or OD'd on drugs. I think normally, it's a requirement that you be awake before the brain will trigger vomiting. So if it's impossible for you to be conscious, would that stop vomiting? Like I said, purely hypothetical. Michael Jackson had a personal anesthesiologist that put him under ever night, but we see where that got him.

[Elski]

Hmmm, my ex had noro and took pepto bismol tablets. She said even though she vomited, she felt like they helped her to do it less than she normally would have.

Btw, and this is purely hypothetical, but what would happen if at the onset of a 24hr stomach bug and anesthesiologist put you under for a day. Would that stop you vomiting? Because people wake up before they vomit in the night. I've never heard of anyone vomiting in their sleep, only exception is people piss drunk and passed out or OD'd on drugs. I think normally, it's a requirement that you be awake before the brain will trigger vomiting. So if it's impossible for you to be conscious, would that stop vomiting? Like I said, purely hypothetical. Michael Jackson had a personal anesthesiologist that put him under ever night, but we see where that got him.

Maybe they did help her do it less but research suggests (and it is only research, it's not fact) that even though she felt as if they helped her do it less, they probably didn't.

It would be physically impossible to v* while under general anaesthetic as all your muscles are in paralysis so even though the v* centre in the brain would probably be sending signals out, the body wouldn't be able to respond.... I can see us all running to our nearest anaesthetist if we ever get sick now I've said that

[KentuckyLivin']

I was sick on Wednesday night and I certainly don't feel like I "let" myself v*. Now... yes, when the feeling got bad enough (and it got bad enough relatively quickly) I pretty much forced myself to v*... but I didn't just sit there and "let" it happen.

I see where you're coming from because as an emetophobe I feel the same way. Why do we EVER v* when we could simply just hold it back? Is there something I could have done at the point the other night that would have stopped it? Maybe. Cold water splashed on my face or changing my breathing pattern, or something? I don't know. The truth is, at the moment it was happening, even as an emet, I just didn't care.

And I think if you go and read the posts of all of us unfortunate emets who've been sick in the past week or two... we've all pretty much said the same thing.

The fact of the matter is, we don't realize just how great the human body is when it comes to kicking into survival mode. Our bodies KNOW what to do and they do it. I wouldn't go and v* right now if someone offered me $1,000... but if I knew it was a matter of life and death... I'm sure I could. I'm sure my body could!

It's the same with all fears. There are people who have terrible fears of needles -- fears just as horrible as our fears of v*... and yet they get shots and have blood drawn because sometimes in life, it's not a choice. And somehow they survive.

In the end our bodies are pretty good at knowing what we can handle and what we can't. The other night I truly believe that my body knew I could handle the actual act of v* better than I could handle the horrible nauseous feeling I was experiencing at the time.

[KentuckyLivin']

Maybe they did help her do it less but research suggests (and it is only research, it's not fact) that even though she felt as if they helped her do it less, they probably didn't.

It would be physically impossible to v* while under general anaesthetic as all your muscles are in paralysis so even though the v* centre in the brain would probably be sending signals out, the body wouldn't be able to respond.... I can see us all running to our nearest anaesthetist if we ever get sick now I've said that

You know... anaesthesia has so many risks... and waking up from it is just plain ole not fun (no matter which way you look at it) that I'm not sure I would run off to have it done even to keep me from getting sick. I mean... there are quite a few people who v* waking up from surgery unless they're given antiemetics -- I had surgery in '09 and luckily was given both anti gas and anti emetics before going under... but I still felt pretty craptastic when I woke up. It's a rough feeling losing a chunk of your life.

Nope... I don't think I'd enjoy that one bit

I don't understand why Jackson did that each night. He's crazy. I mean... I went under for like an hour and woke up feeling like I'd been out for 30 seconds. You don't feel rested or relaxed... you feel zonked. I slept for HOURS when I got home.

He was nutso!

[Elski]

Hahaha, that was a joke, I hope you didn't think I was being serious! I don't for one minute think people would run to an anaesthetist when they feel sick.

[Potatoescangiggle]

I take peptp every time I feel the tinyest bit sick

[KentuckyLivin']

Hahaha, that was a joke, I hope you didn't think I was being serious! I don't for one minute think people would run to an anaesthetist when they feel sick.

Lol... no I knew you were joking... but in all seriousness, without all the side effects and what not... I'd run to one in a heart beat and be put under if I was feeling like crap and knew I could just sleep it off for a few days! Flu, strep, any of it!