Oh WOW! It has a name!

[Emma Rose]

Hello everyone!

My name is Emma and I'm new here.

An irrational fear of vomiting has been a daily part of my life for about a year now. I didn't know there was an actual name for it! If it has to have a formal name, I wish it was something cooler, like Dippydoodleitus or something.

I know exactly what caused it. All my life I had been fine, not afraid of anything, least of all, vomiting. It was something that happened so infrequently - only twice in my life - and when it did, it was uneventful: I felt sick, I vomited, I felt better, life went on. End of story.

Then I went on The Pill.

Nausea, and even vomiting, are common side-effects during the first month until the body gets used to it, so I was prepared for this possibility. Not a big deal, maybe a minor nuisance for a brief period of time.

First day on The Pill, no problem. Second day, no problem. Third day, still no problem. So far, so good. Fourth day, I wake up incredibly nauseated. Unpleasant, but not a big deal. The nausea stays with me all day long. I gag a couple of times throughout the day but do not vomit. Not a big deal, even if I vomit. I just have to endure this for a month. I can do that.

Fifth, sixth and seventh day still nauseated 24/7, gagging, still not vomiting, but now the entire world smells horrible to me. It's as if someone cranked up the smell volume on EVERYTHING. Even nice smells made me gag. It was as if I was pregnant.

The nausea, gagging, and smell issue did not go away after the first month. My doctor switched me to a different brand of Pill, several times. Each time, with each new Pill, an exact repeat of the first. Obviously I can't tolerate The Pill, so I decide to go off it completely and I choose a different form of birth control. I expected to go back to normal once The Pill was completely out of my system - a few days after stopping it. But it didn't.

Three days after stopping The Pill altogether, while driving, far from home, I get my first ever full-blown panic attack, although I did not know that's what it was, I had never had one prior. Out of nowhere I start retching, my whole body heaving so violently, it hurt. I managed to pull over to the curb, open the car door, and lean out, expecting to vomit by the side of the road, feel better, and proceed to drive home. Didn't happen.

For more than an hour, I'm retching violently by the side of the road, wanting to be sick to get relief, but nothing was coming up. It should have, I had eaten a big lunch about 20 minutes before getting on the road. I manage to drive myself home, having to pull over numerous times, hoping to throw up but not being able to. No relief was to be had.

Once home, the retching continued into the night. I spent most of it sitting by the toilet, retching into it, wanting so much to vomit because I knew if that would happen, I'd feel instantly better. But nope, didn't happen. I assumed I had some stomach bug, not a big deal, I would feel better the next day or at most in a couple of days. That didn't happen either.

From that day until now, I have full-blown panic attacks on a daily basis. In addition to all the classic symptoms, my main symptom is extreme nausea with dry-heaving. I never actually vomit. Since that day, I have had an extreme and chronic fear of vomiting that I never had before. It scares me more than anything. I am convinced that The Pill is what caused it. The fluctuation in hormones, especially synthetic hormones, seemed to have done a number on my system. It caused that first panic attack that terrified me, and because one of the most distressing symptoms was endless retching, I guess panic and vomiting are one in the same in my mind now. How else can I explain having a vomiting phobia when, until that moment, I did not fear it, and without even actually vomiting that day, or since, for that matter.

Please tell me there is a way out of this hell?


~ Em

[wargerbil]

Have you seen a doctor about this? If you haven't yet, get a referral to a gastroenterologist. If you're sure it's hormonal, then maybe see an endocrinologist. It seems pretty extreme to continue having side effects from a medication you aren't actually taking. After 10 years on the pill, my body re-regulated its hormones in under month. I'm sorry you're having such a miserable time though. I hope someone can help you.

[lauren37]

welcome to the sight there is a name for it! and we are all here

[Emma Rose]

Have you seen a doctor about this? If you haven't yet, get a referral to a gastroenterologist. If you're sure it's hormonal, then maybe see an endocrinologist. It seems pretty extreme to continue having side effects from a medication you aren't actually taking. After 10 years on the pill, my body re-regulated its hormones in under month. I'm sorry you're having such a miserable time though. I hope someone can help you.

I have seen both a gastroenterologist and an endocrinologist after a complete physical from my GP. They found nothing wrong with me despite putting me through a whole battery of tests.

I am seeing a therapist and his theory is this: For whatever reason I was born with a predisposition to panic disorder. It lay dormant until something flipped the switch on. That thing was The Pill. Who knows why, but my body chemistry didn't like those added hormones, and I never got used to them. Instead, it triggered my first panic attack. The adverse effects of The Pill wore off a long time ago obviously, but my body still remembers how to do panic very well, so it continues to do so on a regular basis. Because that first PA included prolonged retching is why I now fear vomiting. *shrugs*

[Emma Rose]

welcome to the sight there is a name for it! and we are all here

Thank you for the nice welcome, Lauren!

[lauren37]

No problem my pleasure how have u been doing?

[cinque]

Hello and welcome! It sounds like your therapist is pretty good and understanding which is excellent. Although maybe he doesn't quite specialise in emetophobia as he didn't tell you the name for it. But it sounds like you are comfortable with him which is the main thing! Hormones and the Pill can be more powerful than people realise, I think. The Pill isn't always a bad thing by any means - it saved me from awful unbearable PMS symptoms. But sometimes it is not so great. I'm really sorry you had that experience. I feel because the phobia is a relatively recent development for you, it will probably be quicker to treat than a more 'embedded' one. Have you tried CBT? I don't know where you are in the world and I know such things can be expensive in some countries xxx

[Julia31]

I wish I could rewind my life and not take the pill and warn everybody!! It wasn't all birth control that affected me it was only Yaz. If you were on this pill go to the Yaz survivor forum and you'll see what people are going through that were on it. Yaz has a different horomone than other pills and causes side effects that are much worse!! I was only on it for 3 months and it made my Emetophobia ten times worse, I was having panic attacks and social anxiety problems. I was petrified to pick my kids up at school because paranoia would kick in. It also caused the runs, I lost 15 pounds and n*** It was absolutely awful and it took me months for the symptoms to go away. I just wanted to let you know that it could very well have been the pills that caused this and to let you know that I understand what you're going through

[Kristen11]

I wish I could rewind my life and not take the pill and warn everybody!! It wasn't all birth control that affected me it was only Yaz. If you were on this pill go to the Yaz survivor forum and you'll see what people are going through that were on it. Yaz has a different horomone than other pills and causes side effects that are much worse!! I was only on it for 3 months and it made my Emetophobia ten times worse, I was having panic attacks and social anxiety problems. I was petrified to pick my kids up at school because paranoia would kick in. It also caused the runs, I lost 15 pounds and n*** It was absolutely awful and it took me months for the symptoms to go away. I just wanted to let you know that it could very well have been the pills that caused this and to let you know that I understand what you're going through

OMG the same thing happened to me. My emet went away when I was like 9 then at 17 I started taking YAZ and after a few months I expierenced anxiety for the first time. And the reason was because I felt sick 24/7. During the last 4 months of my senior year in high school I went from 109 to 97. I didnt know what it was at first till I put everything together. The pill was giving me anxiety, which in part was making me feel sick, and I had a fear of getting sick, therefor I didnt eat to avoid feeling sick. Ugh it was the worst year of my life. Im glad im not the only one this happened to.

[m0ndaymay]

There's a class-action lawsuit going on against Yaz and another pill, can't think of it off-hand. You may want to look into that.

Hormones are very powerful things.

[Cupcake x]

Welcome to the site. You'll find tons of support here and there's usually someone on 24/7. You sound like me when I first joined, I was so excited to discover I wasn't just nuts but there was actually a name for the phobia!

As Mondaymay said, you definately might want to look into the lawsuit against Yaz. There are some serious side effects that were found and they might be what's happening to you.

See you around!

Ps. lmfao @ Dippydoodleitus...that'd be sweet if that was the name for emet! haha

[Julia31]

It's Yaz and Yasmin that people are sueing. It affects the potassium levels in your body which can be extremely dangerous. I only found this out after I was on it for three months. What happened to me may not happen to everyone because everyone is different. Bayer is denying it has these side effects in people but the proof is in the pudding. Healthy people in their 20s are having strokes, gall bladder removal, blood clots and heart attacks and they all take this pill. There are people working really hard to take it off the shelves. The person I became after taking this stuff was a shell of my former self. My husband can vouch for that. I was a bag of bones lying on the couch and I didn't lwant to leave the house. I had Emetophobia berfore that but it was ten times worse after. My doctor gave it to me for free!! I now don't take any free samples and I stick to what works for me. I have made it my mission to warn as many friends as I can to get off of it. Some people on the survivor forum have been off of it for a year and are still having side effects!!

[cinque]

That sounds absolutely awful. Are they still prescribing it to people??