Anxiety nausea or real nausea?

[DillonAitken]

Hi, I wanted to know if there were any differences between nausea caused by anxiety and nausea caused by something like nirovirus or food poisoning.

The reason I ask is because the other day, I woke up feeling nauseous as usual and forced myself to get on with things, and ended up v*ing outside and I'm worried it will happen again today. Anxiety never makes me sick but when it happened I couldn't tell it wasn't anxiety. Can anyone help me?

Also, it's been almost 48 hours since I last v*d. Is it likely that I might get sick again or can I stop worrying?

[DillonAitken]

I really need answers here

[DillonAitken]

Even though it's been a couple days I still think this information would be really helpful so if anyone has any input...

[chlo-bo19]

I think you can stop worrying, 48 hours clear is a very good sign. When you have had either v* or d* notice they tell you to wait 48 hours before returning to work, if you have been 48 hours clear you should be safe. Do something which calms you down and try to rationalize the situation, you will be okay

[DillonAitken]

I'm fine now but I really need to know if there's a sure way to tell whether I'm experiencing real nausea or nausea caused by my anxiety. I ended up getting sick outside that day but it's lucky I managed to get outside quickly enough.

[callmejessicag]

I'm fine now but I really need to know if there's a sure way to tell whether I'm experiencing real nausea or nausea caused by my anxiety. I ended up getting sick outside that day but it's lucky I managed to get outside quickly enough.

I would also love to know people's response to things ) x x x

[chlo-bo19]

I'm fine now but I really need to know if there's a sure way to tell whether I'm experiencing real nausea or nausea caused by my anxiety. I ended up getting sick outside that day but it's lucky I managed to get outside quickly enough.

If I'm honest, I do not know of any sure way to tell the difference, although I'd love to know. Anxiety nausea tends to lessen or disappear when I am distracted or busy where actually nausea won't stop whatever I do and it often accompanied with other symptoms eg headache, stomach cramps, diarrhea

[DillonAitken]

If I'm honest, I do not know of any sure way to tell the difference, although I'd love to know. Anxiety nausea tends to lessen or disappear when I am distracted or busy where actually nausea won't stop whatever I do and it often accompanied with other symptoms eg headache, stomach cramps, diarrhea

A lot of the time I can get headaches and diarrhea with my anxiety so that's nothing new. Its also very hard to distract myself because I have most of my attacks at night or at times where I can't do anything other than sit around or lie in bed.

However, I did feel something different that morning and I remember saying to myself that my stomach felt light and ready to expel its contents but I ignored it and left the house anyway. I didn't get far

[DillonAitken]

Bump..

Does anyone else know of any differences between anxiety nausea and real nausea?

[DillonAitken]

._. Bump again

[XDark_MinxX]

Anxiety vs real nausea is hard to distinguish, when i feel nauseous I generally think I have a bug, but it passes so I would call it anxiety.

I think real nausea would be part of a SV or food poisoning. With real nausea, I suppose you would feel deathly nauseous and cannot function, problem is I feel like this during a panic attack, which actually feels like true nausea.

Anxiety nausea is the worst, so many false alarms

[Pigatron]

To be honest, I'm not sure I can tell the difference either. When I was sick for real with a SV in 2010, I spent hours thinking it was just a panic attack before I actually admitted I might be sick. I just paced around the apartment in pure misery. Then I woke up very N in the middle of the night, and in a panic took a whiff of a lavender hand cream from my nightstand, and it made me dry heave...that's when I finally realized 100% I was ill. I never V though, but only by sheer will power. This is what is so terrible about this phobia, always wondering if it's really "going to happen." But for me, when it's N caused by anxiety, once the peak of the panic attack passes, I think about Saltines, and if they don't gross me out, I believe that I am not ill.

[KimberlyP]

After you V did you feel completely better? If it was a bug, especially Noro, you would have been wanting to just stay in bed and do nothing. If it was nerves, or possibly something you ate not agreeing with you, it would be a one and done.

How nervous were you before you V? If you were in a full on, hyperventilating panic attack, yes that can definitely make you feel sick enough to V, depending how your stomach reacts to things like that.

[DillonAitken]

I'd like to revive this thread, as I often find myself still searching for answers on this topic. It's been a while now, and I'm wondering if anyone has ever found a way to distinguis whether they're feeling real nausea caused by illness, or nausea caused by anxiety?

[andee]

Hi Dillon, this is THE biggest question and has been asked on here before. I'm 45 years old, had this phobia since I was 10, and I STILL often cannot tell the difference!! It's very hard. And for me, the nausea feels different depending on the food I ate. So if I'm anxious after eating, it will often not feel the same way each time. Someone once said on here, and I think it may help, that if you think about some type of food or your favorite food, and you could eat it, then it's anxiety...but if the thought of any food really turns you off, then it may be something more. Not sure if this works for everyone but...

Also, what helps me with anxiety and nausea is the acupressure point inside my wrist. When I'm anxious or feel "funny" I press between the tendon about 2 fingerwidths down on my wrist. It really does help.

Another thing I do is try to get my mind off it...or imagine somewhere I would want to be, like the beach or whatever, and see if I feel better. I guess as I've gotten older, I've learned a lot about my body so that does help some, but not all the time. Sigh...

So sorry you got sick, are you okay now with your thoughts, etc? Not replaying it in your head? That's what is hard for me. Just try to move on and maybe try some of these tips. I wish I could be of more help but it still stumps me sometimes. Take care!!

[Mann48]

Honestly, this is only my opinion, but if your anxiety n* is enough to make you v*, then it's n*. The difference I experience is that n* associated with my anxiety will go away once I am able to calm myself, if you have a bug or illness, it won't. That's my 2 cents.

[NaiveAndTrue]

Here's the thing. Nausea feels different for every person. Anxiety feels different for every person. The only way to answer your question is to pay attention to your OWN body. How you feel when you're anxious, how you feel when you're really sick. No one else can answer this for you. Some people vomit when they're anxious - so for them, both nauseas are going to feel the same. Some people don't actually experience nausea, just discomfort that they worry will BECOME nausea. There's no way someone living outside your body can tell you what is causing your feelings.

[Collie]

What NaiveAndTrue said is absolutely correct. I know you really want an answer for this, but everybody feels things differently so there's no universal "x and x are signs of anxiety nausea" and "x and x are signs of regular nausea". You just have to be really in tune with your body. Sorry we couldn't be of more help.

[alex.j]

Hope you feel better, Dillon, that sounds horrible! You already went 48 hours though, I doubt it will happen again anytime soon. Were you around any strong smells? Any food triggers (hot or cold food smells), anxious thoughts, etc. could all contribute to it... (Might be graphic) I v*ed 4 times during labyrinthitis. Once, and then the three other times it was out of fear of v*ing again :/ it was purely triggered by smell and acid reflux. I was at the barn (I board my horses at a rescue) that day and was feeling nauseous already. I fetched both horses from the pasture and took care of them. While in the pasture I had to stop a few times and bend down and dry heave. The time I actually v*ed though was when I was laying on my left side... I threw up purely (graphic) bile, there was no food in it at all so I knew it wasn't something I ate the day before (I hadn't eaten that day or drank either) so for me it was a combination of nausea, strong smells, moving around a lot, acid reflux, hunger, and dehydration which caused that to happen... I had labyrinthitis for 2 or 3 months and didn't v* anymore from that. I lived off of saltine crackers and Gatorade, then I worked my way back to full meals and water after that. I also slept on my back, kept my window open so there was always fresh air, and always had the fan on my face. Usually there is a trigger if you v* at random and it's not a virus (or you would be v*ing all day most likely, sometimes for up to 3 days). I feel so bad for you feel better soon! Also a medicine I like is called "Tummy Drops" made from ginger. I also like ginger ale and ginger gum... I lived off of that stuff xD You will also like reglan it's very strong and helps along with valium. I got taken off of it recently because I had been on it for months. I started getting slurred speech, muscle spasms, and tremors... Stopped after I stopped taking the reglan. Just a warning not to take it more than a few months time regularly (I took it every day) but it really helped me when I had it. Now I just do the ginger drops, ginger ale, and meclizine. Another medicine that helps is famotidine, an antacid.

[EvilCookie]

To be honest, I'm not sure I can tell the difference either. When I was sick for real with a SV in 2010, I spent hours thinking it was just a panic attack before I actually admitted I might be sick. I just paced around the apartment in pure misery. Then I woke up very N in the middle of the night, and in a panic took a whiff of a lavender hand cream from my nightstand, and it made me dry heave...that's when I finally realized 100% I was ill. I never V though, but only by sheer will power. This is what is so terrible about this phobia, always wondering if it's really "going to happen." But for me, when it's N caused by anxiety, once the peak of the panic attack passes, I think about Saltines, and if they don't gross me out, I believe that I am not ill.

Yikes, I had that too - thinking it was anxiety or IBS at the start of noro, except it only lasted about 30 mins before I realized I was genuinely sick. But I also woke up with nausea and went to have a BM which was normal so I thought I wasn't sick, but the whole time I was feeling terrible with symptoms that could've been anxiety - shaking, weakness, cold sweat, rapid heartbeat. It was awful, and I ended up Ving half an hour later after having some water. So now I remember that every time I get N due to my IBS, which increases anxiety = the other symptoms, and I start freaking out that it's real, it's a bad cycle.

[DillonAitken]

Some interesting replies here. I wish I had a surefire way of knowing, but I always seem to feel different each time I v* so I can't note what the signs are. If anyone has any more input, it's all welcome.