How do we act when we actually have to vomit??

[Bezza1992]

Hi,
I have only had emetophobia for Eight months so I am yet to vomit with it ....for all of you out there that have had it for years I am just wondering what actually happens when you do catch a SV and have to Vomit ?? I am only asking because I actually cant ever imagine myself being able to Vomit , I would freak out completely and try and kill myself if I knew it was going to happen....

Please share your experiences.

Thank you.
Samxx

xx Everything will be alright in the end and if it's not alright ,it's not the end xx

[DeadxxInside92]

You just have to listen to your body. In the time before vomiting, your body just takes over and you don't even have time to be afraid. It's not as bad as it seems although I wish I could tell myself that and actually believe all the time as opposed to 75-80% of the time. Welcome to IES btw

[clbrooks14]

I tend to panic before hand, but when it comes time when it actually happens you cant do anything about it. Afterwards i feel a sense of relief and achievement that i did it and it wasn't as bad as i ever imagined. Plus it made me feel better! Surprisingly even though i have thought this many times in my past (that v* is not bad and that i should't have this fear anymore) it always comes back a few months or weeks later.

[asianeko]

Just as everyone is different, everyone's emetophobia is different as well. I'm usually okay until I'm 100% positive that I'll be ill, and then for that minute or two I'm very stressed, then I'm okay while I do it and after.

[gumdropper1]

Bezza,

I don't think we have to vomit. Most emets are good at keeping nausea under control. You're new here, but one of the things you'll learn is that most emets haven't vomited in years. Some of us haven't vomited in decades. For me, it's been 36 years, and there are emets here who have gone even longer. I'm also in contact with an emet on another site who hasn't puked since 1935.

Most emets get into dreadful panics when they imagine they have nausea. Nearly all of the time, it isn't real nausea. Panicking doesn't help nausea and only makes it worse.

Since I have been emet, I have only had severe nausea three times. The two most recent bouts of nausea, I kept it under control and kept from vomiting. The first of these I used only will power, and the second time I combined will power with Pepto-Bismol and then took Dramamine at bedtime.

The first time I was severely nauseated after becoming emet, I really did vomit, but I held off for about three hours, and if I knew then what I know now, I could have kept it from happening altogether. I learned an awful lot about nausea and how to prevent and cause vomiting that morning. Although nausea is awful, every time it happens, you can use it to learn things to prevent vomiting both then and next time.

So if you get nauseated, don't kill yourself. Before that day comes, study my Vomiting FAQ and my Emetophobia FAQ and learn all you can about this dreadful act so you can keep it from happening. You can find them at http://emetophobia.byethost15.com

Doug

[MarrickFait]

Uhmm, it really depends. I say it sukks cause I know I'll feel horrible in a few more hours.

[jet1550]

This is for Doug:

No doubt vomiting is not a pleasant thing. We all know that!

But I'm not sure if avoiding it at all costs is the best thing. In my experience, and in most of the posts I've seen about it on here, it's the anxiety and panic brought about by nausea which is far worse than the actual act of throwing up. Infact, most people say it isn't as bad as they expected, that it was no big deal and that they felt relief afterwards.

Two experiences of mine-

In 2009 I got the noro. It came on so suddenly that I didn't have time to panic, just to get to the bathroom. The nausea lasted no more than 30 seconds, and after that I was being sick every 20 minutes for the next 7 hours. Yeah, it was horrible but the next day I felt completely refreshed and, even though it sounds weird, I got used to the vomiting after the first two bouts. It wasn't really a major, life changing experience, just an unpleasant episode.

When I was 11 I got food poisoning while on a family break from some tainted burgers my dad put on the barbecue. It didn't involve any vomiting, just a week of nausea and stabbing and twisting abdominal pain so severe it had me shivering and crying, which ruined the holiday for me. I can safely say I'd have rather vomited a few times, and would still rather throw up than go through the level of pain again.

Food poisoning is definitely worse than norovirus, and endless, painful cramps and nausea are definitely worse than an episode of vomiting! There's no relief.

My advice to an emetophobe (including to myself) is to be brave. If you know you're ill and you're going to vomit, don't stock up on antiemetics and spend the next few days in a panic. The nausea and anxiety really are much worse than the act of vomiting, even though that's difficult to imagine.

By the way, your site is fascinating. Found out a lot about the stomach I didn't know.

[gumdropper1]

Jet! (now I've got that Paul McCartney song stuck in my head)

I mostly agree with what you say, but remember that what we really have is emetomania: obsession with vomiting. I know that if I let myself vomit, it would be over quickly and I would be nauseated for a shorter time than by fighting it, but vomiting would make me relive that horrible day over and over. It would be something I never get completely out of my mind. I still obsess too much about that awful day 36 years ago. I know that must sound very stupid. I don't think as often about the days I successfully fought nausea. Nausea is bad, but vomiting is unthinkable.

It's a choice I've made. I'm willing to endure nausea for extra hours if it means I won't puke. I'm telling Bezza and other that they can make the same choice. You advocate a different choice, one that most people would make. Please understand that not all emets will make the same choice as you, and I will understand that not all emets will make the same choice as me.

Doug

[katherines6]

It's a little weird describing v*ing... its kind of strange because if you think about v*ing at this very moment, you'd think 'that'd be so horrible, i wouldn't be able to handle it!' but if you are actually going to v*, a new feeling comes over your body for before and during the v*ing... so you are no longer that 'i cant handle it' person and more of an 'ew, i dont like this' person like a non emet would be.

[Bezza1992]

You just have to listen to your body. In the time before vomiting, your body just takes over and you don't even have time to be afraid. It's not as bad as it seems although I wish I could tell myself that and actually believe all the time as opposed to 75-80% of the time. Welcome to IES btw

Thanks it's so nice to have a support network , makes everything seem so much more normal xx