Constant Nausea 8 weeks post-op!?!

[Allie bird 3]

Hello all, I waited a while to post this and just left the doctors (and I’m a little frustrated) so I finally decided to reach out via the forums.

I am eight weeks postop and I have been dealing with constant but random bouts of nausea for three weeks now. They do not coincide with eating. They happen before I’ve even eaten anything and sometimes even directly after eating things. The best I can describe it as is a hunger pang. I am on omeprazole and have been for the entire time and that fact alone made my doctor almost completely rule out an ulcer or anything like that in my actual stomach. They thought it was gall stones maybe, but the ultrasounds came back negative and I’m not having sharp shooting pains, I’m just having radiating hunger pangs - The kind of nausea that you get when you haven’t eaten anything. I feel these randomly throughout the day including just plain nausea, gas and have had light color stools sometimes.

The doctor put me on a stronger PPI but told me we can do an endoscopy if it doesn’t work so I am just waiting.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? It is really putting a damper on my life, I am constantly interrupted with any good mood by queasiness.

My next instinct is to assume that maybe I am just very dehydrated? I have been struggling since the beginning to get enough Water in, so maybe that is it. I am scheduled for a appointment with my primary doctor on Tuesday, but any help or tips would be appreciated while I wait for the doctors to figure it out.

Edited October 7, 2021 by Allie bird

[Candace76 211]

I am sorry to hear you are having difficulty with nausea. It must be frustrating to not know what is causing it.

I was given anti-nausea meds by my surgeon for after the surgery. If you don't already have a prescription for that, perhaps you can ask your surgeon if that is appropriate. I agree it might be a good idea to see what your primary doctor thinks, too, maybe they have some suggestions to help figure it out.

I only seemed to get nauseated at night before bed and it was right after taking my nighttime medications & Vitamins. I think it was connected to the vitamins in my case. The anti-nausea medication helped, and I continued that for a few weeks & changed some of my vitamins & timing of them.

Dehydration can cause nausea (& so can blood pressure changes), so you could be right that it could be a contributing factor. If you suspect you are just slightly dehydrated, maybe you can try incorporating electrolyte powders (Liquid IV, Pedialyte). I know it is tough to get those fluids down the first few weeks, and even harder with nausea.

I hope you figure it out & feel better soon. 🤞 Keep us updated. 😁

[lizonaplane 1,605]

I would agree that it sounds like it might well be GERD, so a stronger PPI is a good way to start.

I would also suggest working on increasing your Fluid intake for a variety of reasons - keep a water bottle with Water or flavored water or something in your hand or right next to you as much as possible so you can sip sip sip all day. Try different temperatures of water, different flavor packets, etc.

Hope you find a solution!

[Candace76 211]

There are also over the counter anti-nausea pills & Mylanta that may be helpful in the meantime.

[NovaLuna 710]

My nausea for the first few months following surgery was as follows: I waited to long to eat... I got nauseous. I ate too much... I got nauseous. Needless to say, I dealt with frequent nausea as well. I think it's the norm in some. It does get better and eventually go away. Mostly (I just learned to not wait too long to eat otherwise I get nausea or I get stomach upset AFTER I eat. It's annoying).

[laurenantics 76]

Omeprazole was the cause of my early nausea. Does this happen when you take the Omeprazole prior to a meal?

[Allie bird 3]

56 minutes ago, laurenantics said:

Omeprazole was the cause of my early nausea. Does this happen when you take the Omeprazole prior to a meal?

Nah I’ve been taking omeprazole since before surgery and have never had issues.

2 hours ago, NovaLuna said:

My nausea for the first few months following surgery was as follows: I waited to long to eat... I got nauseous. I ate too much... I got nauseous. Needless to say, I dealt with frequent nausea as well. I think it's the norm in some. It does get better and eventually go away. Mostly (I just learned to not wait too long to eat otherwise I get nausea or I get stomach upset AFTER I eat. It's annoying).

Interesting. This may also be it for me as well. I do tend to wait too long to eat and it could very well be this same situation.

2 hours ago, lizonaplane said:

I would agree that it sounds like it might well be GERD, so a stronger PPI is a good way to start.

I would also suggest working on increasing your Fluid intake for a variety of reasons - keep a water bottle with Water or flavored water or something in your hand or right next to you as much as possible so you can sip sip sip all day. Try different temperatures of Water, different flavor packets, etc.

Hope you find a solution!

I am excited to try the new one. Maybe it will help.

2 hours ago, Candace76 said:

I am sorry to hear you are having difficulty with nausea. It must be frustrating to not know what is causing it.

I was given anti-nausea meds by my surgeon for after the surgery. If you don't already have a prescription for that, perhaps you can ask your surgeon if that is appropriate. I agree it might be a good idea to see what your primary doctor thinks, too, maybe they have some suggestions to help figure it out.

I only seemed to get nauseated at night before bed and it was right after taking my nighttime medications & Vitamins. I think it was connected to the Vitamins in my case. The anti-nausea medication helped, and I continued that for a few weeks & changed some of my vitamins & timing of them.

Dehydration can cause nausea (& so can blood pressure changes), so you could be right that it could be a contributing factor. If you suspect you are just slightly dehydrated, maybe you can try incorporating electrolyte powders (Liquid IV, Pedialyte). I know it is tough to get those fluids down the first few weeks, and even harder with nausea.

I hope you figure it out & feel better soon. 🤞 Keep us updated. 😁

You are so so kind. I didn’t anticipate anyone even responding and am overwhelmed with everyone’s support. Thank you and everyone!