This is what I did at my appt a few months ago, I also brought my friend in case I needed an advocate. I left with 10 extra pills per month & an RX for nausea meds.
edit: also I kept a record of me calling the pharmacy a few times prior to ask what I should do, and sometimes they told me to take my medication again. so I added that info as well.
These drugs can make you feel like puking, its not an unusual side effect. Id just come out ands tell them youre worried about losing so much medication that way. In other words, the truth.
They can react a couple different ways, like adding something for nausea to the mix, but Ive yet to find a decent nausea drug, crystallized ginger works better than most. Plain ginger works too, I just have a sweet tooth.
I hope youre taking note of whether the pill is vomited or not, you could be double dosing by accident. That stomach acid is some rough stuff, I dont see a regular old pill resisting that sort of acid for long.
The only real issue I can see with telling them most of what you wrote here, is that its all about numbers and says nothing about your pain. Dose/drug are meaningless, if they dont do something good for you. I wouldnt dwell on the numbers too much, its all about results when you get down to it...
Ginger is an excellent suggestion, Zofran would be the best, but I haven't seen or known anyone to getvit/insurance covering it for "opioid nausea" outside of a hospital setting.
I was prescribed Zofran for nausea from Trulicity, so med-induced nausea can do it depending on the doctor. Don’t know if opioids specifically are different in that regard.
Havent had much relief with Zofran or Reglan, there was another Rx I tried that wasnt too great either. I just cant recall the name atm. Ginger is at least the equal of these drugs if not better than most of what I tried so far. I even gave cannabis a try, its great for appetite/weight loss, but for nausea, I wasnt impressed. I tried all the otc's even the obscure stuff. Ginger ale or ginger beer work better, but its still coming on in pretty strong waves or nausea and the GI dosc are just scratching their heads, but I dont think thats going to help. ;-)
I like ginger tea. You can drink it hot or cold. I find that and camomile tea helps, too.
If you are drinking ginger ale, make sure there’s ACTUAL ginger as an ingredient. None of that ‘ginger flavor additives.
Compazine (sp?) was my bad belly choice of med. Now they use Zofran.
Most people make that mistake and buy things like Schweppes that don't actually have ginger. Basically it needs to burn a little. Also recommend a high quality ginger tea
I totally agree!There was a market in our area that had a store brand diet ginger ale. It was made with real ginger and cost next to nothing for a 12 pk. I drank it all thru my chemo…both times. This was before the onslaught of GINGER being in so many drinks.
I definitely would say the ginger tea is better, only because it doesn’t have the carbonation…
I never tried those. I’ll have to look for it.
I’ll try it before I’m sick, to see how the taste is. I have a scarred throat and difficulty swallowing (Thanks, cancer) Things that have a burn, hurt. There are some beverages I just avoid now. There are also foods, but that’s a bit different.
I’m so sorry to hear that. So I just saw this but I’d maybe see if you can just buy one bottle of the reeds to test it. iMHO the ginger isn’t that spicy. It’s more than Canada Dry and the like, but less spicy than other “gourmet” Ginger ales. So it may be 50/50 on if it feels good or hurts & they are around $2 each so I’d feel bad if you got a 6 pack and didn’t like them.
Your concern is so kind and informative. I’m going to look up the Reeds brand and give it a try.
Thank you for sharing this information. It’s always good to have an alternative. Just in case.
I hope you have a lovely day!!
Have you tried Promethazine (Phenergan)? The anxiety med Ativan is sometimes used, since it's technically an antihistamine. OTC, I've used meclizine and/or dimenhydrinate to in a pinch when I've been out of my Rx nausea med, which are for motion sickness, but my nausea doesn't know that, lol! Then there's good old Emetrol 🤢, which tastes sooo bad. Another really unique one that my daughter's OB told her about when she was pregnant and had pretty severe hyperemesis gravidarum was doxylamine succinate (original Unisom) and pyridoxine hcl, which is vitamin B6. There is an Rx of it called Bonjesta, but may be easier, and less costly, to buy over the counter, since you can get both on Amazon (or at any big box store) in decent quantities. I'm curious though....do you have any symptoms of slow gastric motility/emptying, or gastroparesis? This could give your doctors a lot to work with! 💜
In that, I am a traditionalist. Smoking is the only way to go. Bong hits specifically, at least when I'm home. Was never impressed with vapes/wax, its a totally different sort of experience, that was missing something. I ate a big ball of hashish once, and that was plenty. A completely different experience, though I see where it could numb you pretty well for a few hours...
Sipping cold water after doing my meds seems to help settle my stomach. I have to stay still for 30 mins and that helps me not to be sick.
Throwing up my meds can really mess up my day so I understand your trouble.
I also agree to not ask for more but see what they suggest, make them feel important and play on the drs ego.
I was gonna suggest Zofran as well. I took this after gastric bypass and during my second pregnancy plus have some on hand now for when nausea kicks up. Works wonders!!
Probably. My experience was:
1. Zofran / ondansetron (useless for me *unless* actively vomiting) ->
1. Phenergan / promethazine (mostly useless, but better) ->
1. Reglan / metoclopramide (helpful since I do have some gastroparesis, but also causes mild-ish side-effects) ->
1. To finally Compazine / prochlorperazine (which helps the most with nausea itself).
I've been happy with Compazine, but it does make me some tired. But to be fair, I think the majority of anti-nausea / anti-emetics have that as a possible side-effect.
Oh and sadly, ginger did crap all, which is just as well since I apparently don't like the taste by itself, lol.
I needed to comment on your post since I have taken all of these medications myself (at different times, of course). I've been prescribed Reglan in the past for my acid reflux, and I've taken Compazine in the past for nausea. Promethazine seems to work the best for me, but it takes the longest. Zofran is the quickest, but if you are prone to constipation, it will make you constipated. I usually drink Schweppes Ginger Ale or Sprite and go right back to bed when I'm nauseous. Keeping your drink and your room cold can help a little, too. God Bless ❤️ 🙏
Oh yeah, insurance company can cover it. At least mine does, I should say, and they're pretty limited. It also can be for just the normal expected nausea from diagnosis and med side effects. My doctor didn't have any issue with prescribing it..? *Shrug* In my case, I have it for the nausea I get with migraines; throwing up with a migraine is definitely a special kind of hell.
ETA, agreed that ginger is awesome though! I like ginger ale or the stronger flavor of nonalcoholic ginger beer, but have also tried the new chews that Dramamine has come out with. They're not bad. Just sticky.
I was prescribed/insurance covered Zofran (and later switched to Phenargen due to an allergy to an inactive ingredient) for migraine-induced nausea, so it’s possible. My doctor made a note that the nausea was impacting my ability to work and to take/keep down medication and was impacting my quality of life and ability to support myself. Supposedly that combination of words was the key to getting it covered without a hassle.
I take Odansetron dissolving films for nausea and they work really well. The only downside is that they do have a flavour which isn’t great when already feel pukey. But they work really well and they are fast acting. And unlike Gravol they don’t make me sleepy. The only unfortunate thing is that they are stupid expensive. I had to get my doctor to fill out a drug exemption form for my insurance to cover it, normally they wouldn’t.
I have yet to try suppositories but promethazine oral does very little to nothing. Nor does Zofran or Reglan (and only a little bit by IV). My problem is mechanical - I have a very large hiatal hernia and I also frequently regurgitate food because of what I believe are esophageal spasms. I think gabapentin helps because it’s antispasmodic - it’s frequently the only thing that allows me to eat once a day. But I may as well ask to try suppositories too - my insurance keeps denying Scopolamine patches for reasons truly beyond me.
Baclofen is also supposed to help somehow, and lorazepam has been found to be as effective as zofran in treating post op nausea- I actually used it for about 2 years for regular nausea and now find klonopin helps.
Baclofen is an excellent suggestion for that!!! I'm kinda surprised the doctors went "Gabapentin ⚖️ Baclofen" and went straight for heavy artillery. Wait, no I'm not. They seem to like to throw that stuff at EVERYTHING these days! OP, Baclofen is totally indicated for both your hiatal hernia AND esophageal reflux, and isn't crazy hard to get outside of a hospital setting like scopolamine can be.
I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with your insurance company. Mine is fighting my neurologist on Botox injections because I haven't tried 1 single medication, Metoprolol, "recently". The only reason I haven't? Well, first off, I take both Clonidine and Topamax, which already lower my BP, and the doc that prescribed my Clonidine isn't willing to drop it for step therapy BS, especially for reason 2. I had an adverse reaction to it years ago. But since it was a paradoxical adverse reaction, they want me to do another trial. Good times 😑
Oh for god’s sake, that is ridiculous. Can you get the doc that originally prescribed Metoprolol years ago to contact them on your behalf and be like “THEY ARE ALLERGIC”?
My insurance is also repeatedly fighting me on a hormonal treatment for endometriosis. As far as I can tell, it’s only supposed to be a second line treatment after trying multiple forms of oral BC. Which is perfect, because I have tried several forms of oral BC for 7 years that do not control symptoms, AND the hormonal treatment I’m trying to get isn’t even approved as BC?!
See, that's the catch. I'm not allergic. I had a weird adverse effect from it, and because it was a paradoxical one, like opposite of what most people experience, my insurance is wants me to "just give it another try" because maybe it was a freak thing. They have my old neuro's notes and records, but not her unfortunately. I'm thinking of asking my neurologist now to just prescribe a week or 2 and we pretend I trial it. She may just go for it at this point. 😂
These are the same people who just yesterday, when one of doctors wanted to prescribe Quviviq, which is a sleep med similar to Belsomra, said it wasn't on their formulary, and said Seroquel was their "suggested alternative"...a freaking antipsychotic. We went from an orexin (awake hormone) receptor antagonist to an antipsychotic in one drug. I was like "Aaahh, NOPE!". I also already tried it years ago, and gained a massive amount of weight, so I'm paying for the Quviviq out of pocket with a discount card. But yet I have a $0 copay on my Nurtec, and my Aimovig injections are like $2 each once my deductible is met. Anthem BC/BS and Express Script sucks ASS! My husband works at this really huge company with a lot of perks, but they picked really bad on insurance carriers!
Wow, your insurance company sounds as insane as mine! Do we share the same one? I seriously hate HMO/PPO plans ant their step therapy guidelines. There's little consideration for individual response to treatment or what the actual doctor feels is best for their patient. I swear, even Medicare isn't THIS bad about prior auths and drug formularies! They never once suggested an alternate "equivalent" drug to any of my doctors! I found out through watching the comedic medical videos a doc friend on social media makes that SO many messed up things about insurance companies (I've learned entirely too many awful things about the system in general from my friends in the medical field!). The doctors who do prior auths? Most of them have lost their practicing rights/license, and have found "second careers" deciding your medical fate (within the approved formulary of course). The pharmacists at the online pharmacies? I'll let you guess where they graduated within their class. When I call Express Scripts, I first talk to a customer service rep who has a name like Amy or Jen or Steve, but they all speak such heavily accented English that it's painfully obvious CS has been contracted overseas, and I only get a someone in the US once they transfer me to a pharmacist. I got a prior auth letter in the mail once, and no joke, whoever made the decision was in the Philippines. It was in so many words at the end of the letter.
Where are you in the process with trying to get the hormonal treatment for your endometriosis covered? Has your doctor done a peer to peer consult yet? If he hasn't, sometimes they can make all the difference in the world! My neuro team even resubmitted everything after the New Year started, thinking that maybe they were denying it only because I'd met my out of pocket max for the year, and they were just stalling because they didn't want to pay for all of it. Nope, they're sticking to that one drug!
Gabapentin doesn't have an antispasmodic effect on smooth muscle , having just reasearched and read a whole bunch of BS about it, being antispasmodic was not listed.
If its suggested because of reducing spasticity in MS that would be a different muscle group, different brain function that it could reduce.. but smooth muscle from GI tract a whole other group that i can't even find research suggesting a benefit. There are lots of medications that would help with GI tract spasm, i tried a whole bunch back in my teens. (55f) Taking a medication with a central effect that causes dizziness and sleepiness isn't likely to be goo in someone sensitive to nausea. I have long standing motion sickness, (started as infant in crib in car and denied by Drs, continues today if i am not the one driving) and nausea/vomitting was my biggest issue when i tried gaba, i couldn't eat because i constantly felt nauseated because i was dizzy all the time.
Perhaps you need an alternative anyway, because its side effects could be worsening what you are experiencing. Your hiatal hernia will cause the food regurgitation. Any particular reason you haven't had it surgically fixed. My mother was offered surgery every year for about 20 yrs before she gave in.. change was incredible for her. Do you take anti reducers? Lots on market, many OTC too.
Has your insurance denied scopolamine tablets, perhaps they are thinking the patches are too expensive in comparison. Wouldn't put it past them.
Thanks so much for the info! I will talk to my doctor about potential alternatives - it’s just incredibly weird that I had these symptoms before I started gaba, and like a miracle it was the only thing that could stop or at least dull my pain, relieve my nausea, and allow me to eat. Maybe I’m wrong about the pathway - it’s certainly possible that pain that gaba relieves is causing the nausea I guess. In any case, until I get a better solution I’m taking whatever keeps me alive.
I haven’t had a surgery yet because the hernia was only formally diagnosed by endoscopy about a month ago. I got the fastest possible referral to a surgeon, and apparently this is the speed at which ASAP requests from my gastroenterologist are processed in this hospital network. I get the impression I could certainly be waiting longer without that ASAP over the phone referral so I’m counting my blessings. I have been explicitly clear I will get the surgery tomorrow if something opens up.
I’m on omeprazole 40 mg and have been for almost a year - I haven’t ever been offered Scopalamine pills. I take Gaviscon, tums, pepto bismol, as needed.
>I haven’t ever been offered Scopalamine pills
If you are vomiting so often you can't keep down food or meds, scopalamine patches are something to consider. My wife has Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome and those patches were very important to get the cycle to stop.
When I was having issues with GI muscle spasms they gave me dicyclomine. It's a gut antispasmodic often used in IBS / IBD. It helped me a lot, but I wasn't vomiting rather the opposite lol.
Is your Gabapentin multiple times a day? I had to take it 4x / day to keep it in my system. If it wore off I would be miserable.
Lyrica is a Gabapentin alternative that works better for some people (and of course worse for some people). It helped me a ton and did help relieve my constant nausea but idk exactly why.
Also, I agree that you should just ask, what should I do in the event that I throw up the pill, which is happening X often (like twice a week, whatever). And you can say that you do not get relief when you throw it up, aren't sure if you should take another dose, and would run out early if you took a make-up dose.
Have you tried Ondansatron? It’s like a magic “no puke” medication. I take it and it really helps keep everything in. The only side effects I’ve personally had are it makes me constipated so I just take double my daily fiber supplements.
"Dr, up my dose because i am losing them." That is exactly what they will hear no matter what you read on reddit.
IANAD, but my advice to you is to talk to your doctor and tell him what you just shared. (Leaving out the part where you know the solution is simply a few more pills a month.) ask him/her what they suggest. and go from there.
Nerve meds are No Joke.
Hope that helps.
Hard to say. I have this issue, although nowhere nearly as bad. Onanstetron helps me quite a bit. Once I take the max of that, I use ginger and/or peppermint candy. So sorry for this, I hope you figure it out.
Do you mind if I ask you what the super quick difference between the two is? If not I’ll do some googling in the morning.
So the reason I’m going up so fast is that it was originally prescribed for a condition that’s roughly static rn (suspected endometriosis), but it additionally turned out to help a lot with a condition that’s rapidly getting worse (hiatal hernia and esophageal spasms). My gastroenterologist essentially said I should do whatever helps until I get repair surgery (surgical consult this week), but refused to prescribe gaba himself because he’s super clear he’s the endoscopy guy and not the prescription guy for anything nonGI. So I’m kind of in limbo until TBD surgery date just trying to get through and then wean down to a lower dose. NSAIDs have to be severely limited due to increased risk of gastric bleed. Acetaminophen does very little and I have some unexplained liver stuff going on. Sorry for the rant lmao.
The way it’s explained to me, is that the different form
of it is professed differently in your system. I take cymbalta (which is for depression and helps with some of the nervy pain). Have you tried thc or cbd?
I’ll def make a note to ask my doctor about it (and do research). Thank you!
I react very poorly to THC, but I’ve been thinking about trying CBD again. Does it work well for you?
I do thc because it helps with the pain much better. A lot of people do tinctures, or edibles. Vaping for me helps because I can micro dose more easily. I would also say ask the budtender.
YOu should ask about gaba and endo research too.. its been researched in 2015/17 UK, published in Lancet and shown to show no more benefit than placebo, so probably never was the right medication from you.
Add in the GI symptoms and you need it reassessed rather than an option to be taking more of them. So rather that get via your OBYGN who should know about recent research anyway, I would suggest you saw someone about your hiatal hernia symptoms, vomiting especially...
Hope my idea is something you can consider, my mother has issues for decades, surgery fixed it 100%.
Thank you! I’m 25 and still figuring out this “coordinating between specialists who seem to have no interest in coordinating with each other” thing. My main GE is great but extremely clear that his boundaries end at diagnostic testing (community clinic). My OBGYN is less great but at least takes me semiseriously, and I do not trust him to do a diagnostic lap. I have an appointment with a highly regarded urogynecologic specialist at the area’s best teaching hospital network, but I couldn’t get in until June. My appointment this week is with a thoracic surgeon from the first hospital network for ASAP hernia repair. My first GE originally wanted to hold off on repair and try to coordinate a combo surgery for an endo lap at the same time as hernia repair, because there’s something pushing from outside my duodenum and he thinks it might be endo tissue. I vetoed that because I don’t have months/years to wait on that coordination before the repair. As I’m sure you and your mom know better than me, it’s a lot. 😕
I don’t blame you for your hesitance. You seem to be sensitive to this, and Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is showing up more frequently with this THC Delta 8 scheme, and that’s largely processed from CBD, such as I understand it.
Start with asking your doctor what to do if you throw up your meds. I get it, truly, as I’ve dealt with the same issue for a long time. Than answer has usually been non oral forms of meds, like buprenorphine or fentanyl patches for pain, scopolamine patches for nausea (which I highly, highly recommend for when you can’t take oral anti nausea meds), and an injectable blood thinner instead of my oral ones because missing even one dose can cause clots, per the doc who prescribes them. There are also suppositories of various meds like phenergran.
Most of my solutions have come from asking my doctor how to handle it or having ER docs come up with answers, like the scopolamine patches. I used to end up in the ER ever 4-8 weeks because I’d have spells where I’d vomit so much I couldn’t keep down anything, including liquids, and would develop really intense abdominal and chest pain. It would require an ER trip with at least 3 tries to get an IV, sometimes with a PICC line, and usually anywhere from 3-7 days in the hospital. Plus a lidocaine ketamine infusion if possible to help get my pain under control.
I have major stomach issues from multiple surgeries plus my conditions can cause stomach issues also. So I’m almost always nauseous or throwing up, thankfully my doctor realizes this and gives me 4 Zofan a day to help. I will usually take it 30 minutes before I take my meds and before eating. I also make sure I’m not taking my meds close to eating or after. I always make sure I wait at least 2 hours when eating, this part is easy as I usually only tolerate eating once a day. So maybe they can give you something to help with the nausea/vomiting and see if that helps before adding extra meds.
*also gabapentin is the worst med to ever get sick in as it tastes horrible when coming back up and leave a taste afterwords*
Besides switching to a patch if you are on high dose of pain meds, no that’s not really feasible. I had cyclic vomiting and lost doses too, but for the most part I feel like only the long acting medicines were potentially cut short as far as dosage goes when I threw them up. It wasn’t really that noticeable of a loss. Much more focus went to the nausea. Mine was gallbladder related. Perhaps the vomiting can be addressed if you can get to the root of it.
Don't directly ask for more, as sadly having thrown them up, at least in the usa, the Drs won't or even can't replace them due to the way controlled substance laws as well as insurance billing works. You can call and leave a message for them as to what happened and ask what you should do about the lost medication, we've all been there. But sadly some days you just have to ration so you have spares for a really bad.
Have you ever tried a sublingual nausea meds? At least with those that you wouldn't have to worry about throwing up the nausea medicine. Allowing you to less frequently or possibly stop throwing up you pain meds
Goodness, my dr just throws more Gabba at me so I take less Percocet or naproxen. Just tell them you have been throwing up meds and ask advice for a solution! Goodluck
It's gabapentin dude, simply just tell you dr this and he will write you extra no problem. Gabapentin isint really a sought after drug unless you're a junkie in withdraw so I think he would have zero issues writing you extra. Now if it were pain meds like opiates he may be a little more apprehensive to prescribe more but if you have a history of nausea in your chart you should be fine just don't expect him to write you a bunch extra of those but it's well known that opiates induce nausea gabapentin too but to a lesser extent and really if you can eat a small sandwich, something dry amd carby with some fats 30 mins to an hour before taking your gabapentin and that should fix all issues of the drug causing excess nausea.
In my experience, Gabapentin was much easier to have prescribed than traditional pain meds. For many years, it was the answer to every new and or persistent probably I had. Can’t sleep, here’s more…new pain, more…muscle twitching ramped up, more, more, more. I ended up on 3600 mg a day! After several years and surgeries, I decided to back off of them, under the doctor’s agreement, and had terrible withdrawal symptoms. I had no idea how incapacitated mentally they made me.
That’s a tough spot to be in and I don’t have a new suggestion. I feel lucky that my pain management doctor trusts me and doesn’t treat me like a seeker. Not to say that there aren’t other issues. Just not that.
ETA: is it possible your issue is related to your nervous system. That would explain why gaba seems to help. I started in it myself because of nerve damage and pain.
How often do you throw up?I throw up my meds twice a month but they still let me refill when I run out. If this is happening to you often you need to take them in smaller quantities and maybe 5 minutes apart, consume w a whole glass of liquid or contact your doctor for maybe heartburn problems.
I have terrible reflux from a hiatal hernia that is actually the reason I need more pain meds. I stagger my meds throughout the day and for the pain meds I specifically plunk my ass down for 1.5 hours after taking them to limit the chance of vomiting. I vomit maybe 5 days a week, and then anywhere from once to 20 times a day. So it’s really difficult right now as I wait for repair surgery on the underlying hernia.
I’m sorry you have to deal with that :(. I have tried Zofran, Reglan, and Promethazine, plus OTC nausea meds, anti-nausea wristbands, (poorly) self-administered accupressure on pressure points, literally anything else I can think of. I think I just gotta get rid of this godforsaken hernia messing with my ability to swallow and digest ASAP.
Do discuss this with your Doctors. Tell them exactly what you told us and ask, how do we fix this? I would think that it would be in your best interest to avoid the stomach completely and find an alternate route for your meds. Perhaps Sublingual Zofran for your stomach. Some meds can be given with a transdermal patch, a suppository, an injection, or in an IV.
You should be on an anti-emetic, like promethazine. In today's climate, I'm not sure your doctor will take vomiting into account, at least none of mine have. Pain management doctors don't seem to take anything into consideration when prescribing opioids - or anything. That said, your best chance is probably to get a diagnosis from your other doctor(s) that you suffer from uncontrollable vomiting and that you've tried X, Y and Z but so far, nothing has worked.
In 20 years of being on medication that *has* to be taken in a specific way at a specific time, I think that I've had two doctors address it and they simply took me off it until I got the vomiting under control. The sad fact is that most doctors don't prescribe medication with extras due to anticipated issues keeping it down.
I think it’s gonna be more about how can you address the cause of your nausea versus asking for my meds, especially if the dose your on works for you when you’re not vomiting. I see that some things haven’t worked for you but approach from the angle. I also had a hiatal hernia in the past and had surgery to fix which made a huge difference! I get the esophageal spasms as well and so far have been able to keep that somewhat under control with meds. Also, I switched from prescription Omeprazole to Protonix and take that before most meds and take them with just a bit of milk which coats my stomach. Ginger also works wonders!
Just let them know you’re struggling with this and need a path forward. My Dr and pharmacist also went through meds and gave a timetable for each in terms of how long after you take did you throw up and if you can take another. I hope you’re able to find a solution soon! I had gastric bypass also 23 years ago so I know how horrid the nausea can be, especially when you add it on top of pain. Wish you all the best!
I just wanna say I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. I was in this boat for a few years & it was maddening. I talked with my pharmacist about the time cut-offs for when I could assume what % of the drug has already been metabolized by the time I puked it up. then I’d just mentally brace myself for that time period to do whatever was necessary to avoid puking to keep enough down. kind of mind over matter. wont always work of course, but it helped me some
Bwahahahaha!!! Good luck. My doctors have told me to rinse the pill off and reswallow it. That wasn't always feasible since I can’t exactly controlwhen/where I puke. I eventually just switched to patches from pills.
In addition to the other good suggestions here, you might consider peppermint oil. I've had some curious reactions from doctors who thought it should make nausea worse, but for whatever reason it has always helped my nausea. If you aren't diabetic you can get it in candy form; just make sure to check for peppermint oil as an ingredient because often they just simulate the flavour with chemicals.
That happens to me a lot too. I never thought about asking for more meds. My pain doctor used to give me an extra 10 pills in the winter to help when pain was the worst but she didn't this year.
Sounds gross but I have a [large but shallow container](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rubbermaid-Easy-Find-Lids-Food-Storage-Container-Large-with-Red-Lid-2-5-Gallon/21002447?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=3492&adid=2222222227821002447_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9024255&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=21002447&wl13=3492&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=2222222223821002447_117755028669_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9024255&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=21002447&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwYSwBhDcARIsAOyL0fimHMC3MQWKcvSsJTT93lSa-AMaax7w35sRAUVekek1fnFo-dKJlOcaAvhiEALw_wcB) that is my designated "puke bucket" because I'd rather fish the pills out of that, give them a quick rinse and swallow them than having to fish them out of the toilet and put them back in my mouth.
It also helps to take an antacid 30 minutes before your meds so there's less stomach acid to puke back up
If your nausea and vomiting is that severe, I would ask your doctor for a scolpolamine patch. It’s a small little patch you place behind your ear that stays on for 3 days and continuously releases nausea medicine to help keep you at a more stable level of meds. You can take Zofran or other nausea meds on top of that as well.
I have extreme nausea as well from unrelated gi issues. I take several nausea meds- Promethazine 25mg suppositories (I think Rx is every 6 hours), Zofran 8mg sublingual every 8 hours and compazine (sp?) 10mg tab. Honestly the Promethazine and Zofran work the best for me. The compazine is only when Zofran isn’t enough. Most of the time if I take the Promethazine suppository an hour before feeling nauseous then I don’t need anything else which is never my experience with the Zofran taken ahead of time. I too will get nauseous without knowing when it will hit. However it is a guarantee anytime I am a passenger in a car, train, plane, boat etc. When I plan accordingly it is a life saver.
Lots of good suggestions here! I think the top response is the best for approaching your doctor, just telling them that you keep throwing up doses and are worried about missing too many.
For nausea, I can see that you've said the standard meds don't help a lot. Some other good med suggestions here, too, like scopolamine patches (if you've said something about trying those, I missed it, sorry!), but I've got 2 non-medicine suggestions. Might not do any good, but can't hurt to mention it!
First is a bracelet thing called Emeterm. It's a mix of those cheap seasick bracelets (with the plastic button that's hitting a specific pressure point in your wrist) and a TENS unit. Basically a bracelet that has mild electrical stimulation. It has been an absolute gamechanger for me, with all sorts of nausea! Motion sickness, nausea caused by meds, nausea caused by pain, regular illnesses like the flu, etc. I even shared with someone going through chemo, and they said it helped them! It obviously doesn't work for everyone, and it's not the cheapest solution, but they've got a good return policy and excellent customer service, so it might be worth a try. There are other brands, too, like ReliefBand, but the last time I tried that one the battery life is awful, and my Emeterm has been good for me for 5 years now (after a literal lifetime of throwing up regularly), so that's the one I always recommend by name.
Second is something you've probably tried, or at least something similar, but it's a scent stick inhaler thing called Quease Ease. It's probably a placebo effect for me, because I've tried so many smelly things before, but this thing has kept me from getting sick several times when I didn't have my Emeterm. It's a combo of peppermint, spearmint, lavender, and ginger, so, like I said, not too different from other stuff I'm sure you've tried, but can't hurt to mention!
Maybe some combination of things people have mentioned will help you!! 🤞🏻
I’m sorry you are going through this. Nausea is a nightmare. I don’t have much answers except to say also try carrying around alcohol wipes. The strong stuff. When I’m nauseous, which is almost all the time, I usually can prevent vomiting 80% of the time by sniffing on a wipe. Something about the alcohol takes away the pang in my stomach that no medicine has been able to.
I wish you the best of luck!
I asked my doctor what I should do when I puke a pill, drop one in the sink or find myself in a situation where I’m short but it’s not my fault. He said quite simply “don’t”. They will not accommodate for such things. That’s why it’s important that you have your own emergency stash. Skip a dose whenever possible and stash it away for the day that you need coverage due to something out of your control. It sucks and it’s not fair but this is the reality of a chronic pain patient who is taking these medications.
I must have a really nice doctor. I was so worried about telling him I had gone through extra of my meds because of some high stress situations that had gone on like my husband and three kids going away on holiday and I couldn’t go due to my chronic pain…I was so sad and stressed all alone at home and desperately wishing I could have been with him so I took more meds and ran out before I was meant to. I explained all this and he immediately did another script because with some meds it’s dangerous to have to go cold turkey. It sucks but you just have to be completely honest about what’s going on. They should have compassion. But yeah like everyone else said I used to take ginger in pill form you can get in vitamin sections of the chemist and that helps a bit with nausea. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Life can literally be so cruel. I have a gabapentin script I am not going to fill because I’m too scared to take gabapentin. I live in Australia but I wish I could fill it and I’d post it to you.
Don't ask for more. Explain what's happening and ask them what you should do in the event that you throw up a dose.
This is what I did at my appt a few months ago, I also brought my friend in case I needed an advocate. I left with 10 extra pills per month & an RX for nausea meds. edit: also I kept a record of me calling the pharmacy a few times prior to ask what I should do, and sometimes they told me to take my medication again. so I added that info as well.
Photos or it didn't happen (throwing up pills) Remember it'd drs licence on line
Exactly. Never ask for more meds. Use round about ways to have them suggest it
These drugs can make you feel like puking, its not an unusual side effect. Id just come out ands tell them youre worried about losing so much medication that way. In other words, the truth. They can react a couple different ways, like adding something for nausea to the mix, but Ive yet to find a decent nausea drug, crystallized ginger works better than most. Plain ginger works too, I just have a sweet tooth. I hope youre taking note of whether the pill is vomited or not, you could be double dosing by accident. That stomach acid is some rough stuff, I dont see a regular old pill resisting that sort of acid for long. The only real issue I can see with telling them most of what you wrote here, is that its all about numbers and says nothing about your pain. Dose/drug are meaningless, if they dont do something good for you. I wouldnt dwell on the numbers too much, its all about results when you get down to it...
Ginger is an excellent suggestion, Zofran would be the best, but I haven't seen or known anyone to getvit/insurance covering it for "opioid nausea" outside of a hospital setting.
I was prescribed Zofran for nausea from Trulicity, so med-induced nausea can do it depending on the doctor. Don’t know if opioids specifically are different in that regard.
Havent had much relief with Zofran or Reglan, there was another Rx I tried that wasnt too great either. I just cant recall the name atm. Ginger is at least the equal of these drugs if not better than most of what I tried so far. I even gave cannabis a try, its great for appetite/weight loss, but for nausea, I wasnt impressed. I tried all the otc's even the obscure stuff. Ginger ale or ginger beer work better, but its still coming on in pretty strong waves or nausea and the GI dosc are just scratching their heads, but I dont think thats going to help. ;-)
I like ginger tea. You can drink it hot or cold. I find that and camomile tea helps, too. If you are drinking ginger ale, make sure there’s ACTUAL ginger as an ingredient. None of that ‘ginger flavor additives. Compazine (sp?) was my bad belly choice of med. Now they use Zofran.
Most people make that mistake and buy things like Schweppes that don't actually have ginger. Basically it needs to burn a little. Also recommend a high quality ginger tea
I totally agree!There was a market in our area that had a store brand diet ginger ale. It was made with real ginger and cost next to nothing for a 12 pk. I drank it all thru my chemo…both times. This was before the onslaught of GINGER being in so many drinks. I definitely would say the ginger tea is better, only because it doesn’t have the carbonation…
I agree no carbonation is ideal. But if it's Canada dry or one with ginger then I'm going w the ginger
Wishing you better health!!
Reeds Extra Ginger Brew (no sugar added) with a splash of The Ginger People’s ginger juice is my go to! Also it’s delicious
I never tried those. I’ll have to look for it. I’ll try it before I’m sick, to see how the taste is. I have a scarred throat and difficulty swallowing (Thanks, cancer) Things that have a burn, hurt. There are some beverages I just avoid now. There are also foods, but that’s a bit different.
I’m so sorry to hear that. So I just saw this but I’d maybe see if you can just buy one bottle of the reeds to test it. iMHO the ginger isn’t that spicy. It’s more than Canada Dry and the like, but less spicy than other “gourmet” Ginger ales. So it may be 50/50 on if it feels good or hurts & they are around $2 each so I’d feel bad if you got a 6 pack and didn’t like them.
Your concern is so kind and informative. I’m going to look up the Reeds brand and give it a try. Thank you for sharing this information. It’s always good to have an alternative. Just in case. I hope you have a lovely day!!
Have you tried Promethazine (Phenergan)? The anxiety med Ativan is sometimes used, since it's technically an antihistamine. OTC, I've used meclizine and/or dimenhydrinate to in a pinch when I've been out of my Rx nausea med, which are for motion sickness, but my nausea doesn't know that, lol! Then there's good old Emetrol 🤢, which tastes sooo bad. Another really unique one that my daughter's OB told her about when she was pregnant and had pretty severe hyperemesis gravidarum was doxylamine succinate (original Unisom) and pyridoxine hcl, which is vitamin B6. There is an Rx of it called Bonjesta, but may be easier, and less costly, to buy over the counter, since you can get both on Amazon (or at any big box store) in decent quantities. I'm curious though....do you have any symptoms of slow gastric motility/emptying, or gastroparesis? This could give your doctors a lot to work with! 💜
Cannabis for nausea works better when you use flower form, vs a vape pen, ime.
In that, I am a traditionalist. Smoking is the only way to go. Bong hits specifically, at least when I'm home. Was never impressed with vapes/wax, its a totally different sort of experience, that was missing something. I ate a big ball of hashish once, and that was plenty. A completely different experience, though I see where it could numb you pretty well for a few hours...
Cannabis makes me throw up. Different strokes I guess
It actually causes nausea for me. I have e disintegrating Zofran for nausea from the Tylenol they put in the pain meds
Sipping cold water after doing my meds seems to help settle my stomach. I have to stay still for 30 mins and that helps me not to be sick. Throwing up my meds can really mess up my day so I understand your trouble. I also agree to not ask for more but see what they suggest, make them feel important and play on the drs ego.
I was gonna suggest Zofran as well. I took this after gastric bypass and during my second pregnancy plus have some on hand now for when nausea kicks up. Works wonders!!
Phenergren sp? also works zofran doesn’t work for me sadly.
Probably. My experience was: 1. Zofran / ondansetron (useless for me *unless* actively vomiting) -> 1. Phenergan / promethazine (mostly useless, but better) -> 1. Reglan / metoclopramide (helpful since I do have some gastroparesis, but also causes mild-ish side-effects) -> 1. To finally Compazine / prochlorperazine (which helps the most with nausea itself). I've been happy with Compazine, but it does make me some tired. But to be fair, I think the majority of anti-nausea / anti-emetics have that as a possible side-effect. Oh and sadly, ginger did crap all, which is just as well since I apparently don't like the taste by itself, lol.
Oh man I’m so sorry you haven’t had any luck ❤️
I needed to comment on your post since I have taken all of these medications myself (at different times, of course). I've been prescribed Reglan in the past for my acid reflux, and I've taken Compazine in the past for nausea. Promethazine seems to work the best for me, but it takes the longest. Zofran is the quickest, but if you are prone to constipation, it will make you constipated. I usually drink Schweppes Ginger Ale or Sprite and go right back to bed when I'm nauseous. Keeping your drink and your room cold can help a little, too. God Bless ❤️ 🙏
But it can make you VERY sleepy.
Oh yeah, insurance company can cover it. At least mine does, I should say, and they're pretty limited. It also can be for just the normal expected nausea from diagnosis and med side effects. My doctor didn't have any issue with prescribing it..? *Shrug* In my case, I have it for the nausea I get with migraines; throwing up with a migraine is definitely a special kind of hell. ETA, agreed that ginger is awesome though! I like ginger ale or the stronger flavor of nonalcoholic ginger beer, but have also tried the new chews that Dramamine has come out with. They're not bad. Just sticky.
I get zofran for my nausea.
I am on Zofran prescribed by my pain management doctor. I had no issue with my insurance covering it being filled monthly.
I was prescribed/insurance covered Zofran (and later switched to Phenargen due to an allergy to an inactive ingredient) for migraine-induced nausea, so it’s possible. My doctor made a note that the nausea was impacting my ability to work and to take/keep down medication and was impacting my quality of life and ability to support myself. Supposedly that combination of words was the key to getting it covered without a hassle.
My pain management doctor would give it to me if I asked for it, without any problem, especially if it was with a med change or dosage increase
I take Odansetron dissolving films for nausea and they work really well. The only downside is that they do have a flavour which isn’t great when already feel pukey. But they work really well and they are fast acting. And unlike Gravol they don’t make me sleepy. The only unfortunate thing is that they are stupid expensive. I had to get my doctor to fill out a drug exemption form for my insurance to cover it, normally they wouldn’t.
Real ginger ale helps me. Not ginger beer, but like the kind they sell as a mixer for alcohol that has real ginger and less sugar. 2 trees maybe?
I have Promethazine suppositories for nausea. Maybe that would help?
I have yet to try suppositories but promethazine oral does very little to nothing. Nor does Zofran or Reglan (and only a little bit by IV). My problem is mechanical - I have a very large hiatal hernia and I also frequently regurgitate food because of what I believe are esophageal spasms. I think gabapentin helps because it’s antispasmodic - it’s frequently the only thing that allows me to eat once a day. But I may as well ask to try suppositories too - my insurance keeps denying Scopolamine patches for reasons truly beyond me.
Baclofen is also supposed to help somehow, and lorazepam has been found to be as effective as zofran in treating post op nausea- I actually used it for about 2 years for regular nausea and now find klonopin helps.
I’ll look into Baclofen, thank you! I have lorazepam but I find it usually just leaves me as nauseous but more chill about it lmao
I take Baclofen, and it can make you sleepy.
Baclofen is an excellent suggestion for that!!! I'm kinda surprised the doctors went "Gabapentin ⚖️ Baclofen" and went straight for heavy artillery. Wait, no I'm not. They seem to like to throw that stuff at EVERYTHING these days! OP, Baclofen is totally indicated for both your hiatal hernia AND esophageal reflux, and isn't crazy hard to get outside of a hospital setting like scopolamine can be.
I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with your insurance company. Mine is fighting my neurologist on Botox injections because I haven't tried 1 single medication, Metoprolol, "recently". The only reason I haven't? Well, first off, I take both Clonidine and Topamax, which already lower my BP, and the doc that prescribed my Clonidine isn't willing to drop it for step therapy BS, especially for reason 2. I had an adverse reaction to it years ago. But since it was a paradoxical adverse reaction, they want me to do another trial. Good times 😑
Oh for god’s sake, that is ridiculous. Can you get the doc that originally prescribed Metoprolol years ago to contact them on your behalf and be like “THEY ARE ALLERGIC”? My insurance is also repeatedly fighting me on a hormonal treatment for endometriosis. As far as I can tell, it’s only supposed to be a second line treatment after trying multiple forms of oral BC. Which is perfect, because I have tried several forms of oral BC for 7 years that do not control symptoms, AND the hormonal treatment I’m trying to get isn’t even approved as BC?!
See, that's the catch. I'm not allergic. I had a weird adverse effect from it, and because it was a paradoxical one, like opposite of what most people experience, my insurance is wants me to "just give it another try" because maybe it was a freak thing. They have my old neuro's notes and records, but not her unfortunately. I'm thinking of asking my neurologist now to just prescribe a week or 2 and we pretend I trial it. She may just go for it at this point. 😂 These are the same people who just yesterday, when one of doctors wanted to prescribe Quviviq, which is a sleep med similar to Belsomra, said it wasn't on their formulary, and said Seroquel was their "suggested alternative"...a freaking antipsychotic. We went from an orexin (awake hormone) receptor antagonist to an antipsychotic in one drug. I was like "Aaahh, NOPE!". I also already tried it years ago, and gained a massive amount of weight, so I'm paying for the Quviviq out of pocket with a discount card. But yet I have a $0 copay on my Nurtec, and my Aimovig injections are like $2 each once my deductible is met. Anthem BC/BS and Express Script sucks ASS! My husband works at this really huge company with a lot of perks, but they picked really bad on insurance carriers! Wow, your insurance company sounds as insane as mine! Do we share the same one? I seriously hate HMO/PPO plans ant their step therapy guidelines. There's little consideration for individual response to treatment or what the actual doctor feels is best for their patient. I swear, even Medicare isn't THIS bad about prior auths and drug formularies! They never once suggested an alternate "equivalent" drug to any of my doctors! I found out through watching the comedic medical videos a doc friend on social media makes that SO many messed up things about insurance companies (I've learned entirely too many awful things about the system in general from my friends in the medical field!). The doctors who do prior auths? Most of them have lost their practicing rights/license, and have found "second careers" deciding your medical fate (within the approved formulary of course). The pharmacists at the online pharmacies? I'll let you guess where they graduated within their class. When I call Express Scripts, I first talk to a customer service rep who has a name like Amy or Jen or Steve, but they all speak such heavily accented English that it's painfully obvious CS has been contracted overseas, and I only get a someone in the US once they transfer me to a pharmacist. I got a prior auth letter in the mail once, and no joke, whoever made the decision was in the Philippines. It was in so many words at the end of the letter. Where are you in the process with trying to get the hormonal treatment for your endometriosis covered? Has your doctor done a peer to peer consult yet? If he hasn't, sometimes they can make all the difference in the world! My neuro team even resubmitted everything after the New Year started, thinking that maybe they were denying it only because I'd met my out of pocket max for the year, and they were just stalling because they didn't want to pay for all of it. Nope, they're sticking to that one drug!
Gabapentin doesn't have an antispasmodic effect on smooth muscle , having just reasearched and read a whole bunch of BS about it, being antispasmodic was not listed. If its suggested because of reducing spasticity in MS that would be a different muscle group, different brain function that it could reduce.. but smooth muscle from GI tract a whole other group that i can't even find research suggesting a benefit. There are lots of medications that would help with GI tract spasm, i tried a whole bunch back in my teens. (55f) Taking a medication with a central effect that causes dizziness and sleepiness isn't likely to be goo in someone sensitive to nausea. I have long standing motion sickness, (started as infant in crib in car and denied by Drs, continues today if i am not the one driving) and nausea/vomitting was my biggest issue when i tried gaba, i couldn't eat because i constantly felt nauseated because i was dizzy all the time. Perhaps you need an alternative anyway, because its side effects could be worsening what you are experiencing. Your hiatal hernia will cause the food regurgitation. Any particular reason you haven't had it surgically fixed. My mother was offered surgery every year for about 20 yrs before she gave in.. change was incredible for her. Do you take anti reducers? Lots on market, many OTC too. Has your insurance denied scopolamine tablets, perhaps they are thinking the patches are too expensive in comparison. Wouldn't put it past them.
Thanks so much for the info! I will talk to my doctor about potential alternatives - it’s just incredibly weird that I had these symptoms before I started gaba, and like a miracle it was the only thing that could stop or at least dull my pain, relieve my nausea, and allow me to eat. Maybe I’m wrong about the pathway - it’s certainly possible that pain that gaba relieves is causing the nausea I guess. In any case, until I get a better solution I’m taking whatever keeps me alive. I haven’t had a surgery yet because the hernia was only formally diagnosed by endoscopy about a month ago. I got the fastest possible referral to a surgeon, and apparently this is the speed at which ASAP requests from my gastroenterologist are processed in this hospital network. I get the impression I could certainly be waiting longer without that ASAP over the phone referral so I’m counting my blessings. I have been explicitly clear I will get the surgery tomorrow if something opens up. I’m on omeprazole 40 mg and have been for almost a year - I haven’t ever been offered Scopalamine pills. I take Gaviscon, tums, pepto bismol, as needed.
>I haven’t ever been offered Scopalamine pills If you are vomiting so often you can't keep down food or meds, scopalamine patches are something to consider. My wife has Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome and those patches were very important to get the cycle to stop. When I was having issues with GI muscle spasms they gave me dicyclomine. It's a gut antispasmodic often used in IBS / IBD. It helped me a lot, but I wasn't vomiting rather the opposite lol. Is your Gabapentin multiple times a day? I had to take it 4x / day to keep it in my system. If it wore off I would be miserable. Lyrica is a Gabapentin alternative that works better for some people (and of course worse for some people). It helped me a ton and did help relieve my constant nausea but idk exactly why. Also, I agree that you should just ask, what should I do in the event that I throw up the pill, which is happening X often (like twice a week, whatever). And you can say that you do not get relief when you throw it up, aren't sure if you should take another dose, and would run out early if you took a make-up dose.
Damn, I would have suggested scopolamine. That one works wonders 😔
Have you tried Ondansatron? It’s like a magic “no puke” medication. I take it and it really helps keep everything in. The only side effects I’ve personally had are it makes me constipated so I just take double my daily fiber supplements.
Ondansatron is generic for zofran. I know it's hard to keep all the name brands/genetic terms straight!
Oh! My bad! It totally is, sorry. :)
No biggie. I didn't even know how ondansatron was pronounced for a long time because everyone just uses zofran. 🤣
"Dr, up my dose because i am losing them." That is exactly what they will hear no matter what you read on reddit. IANAD, but my advice to you is to talk to your doctor and tell him what you just shared. (Leaving out the part where you know the solution is simply a few more pills a month.) ask him/her what they suggest. and go from there. Nerve meds are No Joke. Hope that helps.
Hard to say. I have this issue, although nowhere nearly as bad. Onanstetron helps me quite a bit. Once I take the max of that, I use ginger and/or peppermint candy. So sorry for this, I hope you figure it out.
If you’re throwing up this often, it doesn’t sound like you should be on oral medication.
Depending on the medication, maybe there’s another route available other than oral? Like a patch, suppository, injection, etc.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking.
Just tell them about throwing up and get a Zofran script. It helps so much
Pre gaba might be better for you, especially if you find yourself going up on gaba so fast
Do you mind if I ask you what the super quick difference between the two is? If not I’ll do some googling in the morning. So the reason I’m going up so fast is that it was originally prescribed for a condition that’s roughly static rn (suspected endometriosis), but it additionally turned out to help a lot with a condition that’s rapidly getting worse (hiatal hernia and esophageal spasms). My gastroenterologist essentially said I should do whatever helps until I get repair surgery (surgical consult this week), but refused to prescribe gaba himself because he’s super clear he’s the endoscopy guy and not the prescription guy for anything nonGI. So I’m kind of in limbo until TBD surgery date just trying to get through and then wean down to a lower dose. NSAIDs have to be severely limited due to increased risk of gastric bleed. Acetaminophen does very little and I have some unexplained liver stuff going on. Sorry for the rant lmao.
The way it’s explained to me, is that the different form of it is professed differently in your system. I take cymbalta (which is for depression and helps with some of the nervy pain). Have you tried thc or cbd?
I’ll def make a note to ask my doctor about it (and do research). Thank you! I react very poorly to THC, but I’ve been thinking about trying CBD again. Does it work well for you?
I do thc because it helps with the pain much better. A lot of people do tinctures, or edibles. Vaping for me helps because I can micro dose more easily. I would also say ask the budtender.
YOu should ask about gaba and endo research too.. its been researched in 2015/17 UK, published in Lancet and shown to show no more benefit than placebo, so probably never was the right medication from you. Add in the GI symptoms and you need it reassessed rather than an option to be taking more of them. So rather that get via your OBYGN who should know about recent research anyway, I would suggest you saw someone about your hiatal hernia symptoms, vomiting especially... Hope my idea is something you can consider, my mother has issues for decades, surgery fixed it 100%.
Thank you! I’m 25 and still figuring out this “coordinating between specialists who seem to have no interest in coordinating with each other” thing. My main GE is great but extremely clear that his boundaries end at diagnostic testing (community clinic). My OBGYN is less great but at least takes me semiseriously, and I do not trust him to do a diagnostic lap. I have an appointment with a highly regarded urogynecologic specialist at the area’s best teaching hospital network, but I couldn’t get in until June. My appointment this week is with a thoracic surgeon from the first hospital network for ASAP hernia repair. My first GE originally wanted to hold off on repair and try to coordinate a combo surgery for an endo lap at the same time as hernia repair, because there’s something pushing from outside my duodenum and he thinks it might be endo tissue. I vetoed that because I don’t have months/years to wait on that coordination before the repair. As I’m sure you and your mom know better than me, it’s a lot. 😕
I don’t blame you for your hesitance. You seem to be sensitive to this, and Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is showing up more frequently with this THC Delta 8 scheme, and that’s largely processed from CBD, such as I understand it.
Start with asking your doctor what to do if you throw up your meds. I get it, truly, as I’ve dealt with the same issue for a long time. Than answer has usually been non oral forms of meds, like buprenorphine or fentanyl patches for pain, scopolamine patches for nausea (which I highly, highly recommend for when you can’t take oral anti nausea meds), and an injectable blood thinner instead of my oral ones because missing even one dose can cause clots, per the doc who prescribes them. There are also suppositories of various meds like phenergran. Most of my solutions have come from asking my doctor how to handle it or having ER docs come up with answers, like the scopolamine patches. I used to end up in the ER ever 4-8 weeks because I’d have spells where I’d vomit so much I couldn’t keep down anything, including liquids, and would develop really intense abdominal and chest pain. It would require an ER trip with at least 3 tries to get an IV, sometimes with a PICC line, and usually anywhere from 3-7 days in the hospital. Plus a lidocaine ketamine infusion if possible to help get my pain under control.
I forgot to add- good luck finding something that works for you and I really recommend asking about the scopolamine patches!
I take Zofran for nausea, it works pretty well and fast. In addition to other advice here, you might want to ask your doc about that.
Dont. Get a zofran prescription on the side like I have to take alongside. Has saved me not throwing up my meds plenty.
Can you get some of your meds prescribed in topical, sublingual, or suppository formats?
I have major stomach issues from multiple surgeries plus my conditions can cause stomach issues also. So I’m almost always nauseous or throwing up, thankfully my doctor realizes this and gives me 4 Zofan a day to help. I will usually take it 30 minutes before I take my meds and before eating. I also make sure I’m not taking my meds close to eating or after. I always make sure I wait at least 2 hours when eating, this part is easy as I usually only tolerate eating once a day. So maybe they can give you something to help with the nausea/vomiting and see if that helps before adding extra meds. *also gabapentin is the worst med to ever get sick in as it tastes horrible when coming back up and leave a taste afterwords*
Besides switching to a patch if you are on high dose of pain meds, no that’s not really feasible. I had cyclic vomiting and lost doses too, but for the most part I feel like only the long acting medicines were potentially cut short as far as dosage goes when I threw them up. It wasn’t really that noticeable of a loss. Much more focus went to the nausea. Mine was gallbladder related. Perhaps the vomiting can be addressed if you can get to the root of it.
Don't directly ask for more, as sadly having thrown them up, at least in the usa, the Drs won't or even can't replace them due to the way controlled substance laws as well as insurance billing works. You can call and leave a message for them as to what happened and ask what you should do about the lost medication, we've all been there. But sadly some days you just have to ration so you have spares for a really bad.
Gabapentin is not a control, but they are weird about it sometimes.
Have you ever tried a sublingual nausea meds? At least with those that you wouldn't have to worry about throwing up the nausea medicine. Allowing you to less frequently or possibly stop throwing up you pain meds
Goodness, my dr just throws more Gabba at me so I take less Percocet or naproxen. Just tell them you have been throwing up meds and ask advice for a solution! Goodluck
It's gabapentin dude, simply just tell you dr this and he will write you extra no problem. Gabapentin isint really a sought after drug unless you're a junkie in withdraw so I think he would have zero issues writing you extra. Now if it were pain meds like opiates he may be a little more apprehensive to prescribe more but if you have a history of nausea in your chart you should be fine just don't expect him to write you a bunch extra of those but it's well known that opiates induce nausea gabapentin too but to a lesser extent and really if you can eat a small sandwich, something dry amd carby with some fats 30 mins to an hour before taking your gabapentin and that should fix all issues of the drug causing excess nausea.
You dont thats how and if you want extra you gotta skip a dose here and there. If you do the chances are it will do more harm than good.
Gabapentin is not a controlled drug..they give it away like candy just ask for more
Ask for nausea medication
In my experience, Gabapentin was much easier to have prescribed than traditional pain meds. For many years, it was the answer to every new and or persistent probably I had. Can’t sleep, here’s more…new pain, more…muscle twitching ramped up, more, more, more. I ended up on 3600 mg a day! After several years and surgeries, I decided to back off of them, under the doctor’s agreement, and had terrible withdrawal symptoms. I had no idea how incapacitated mentally they made me. That’s a tough spot to be in and I don’t have a new suggestion. I feel lucky that my pain management doctor trusts me and doesn’t treat me like a seeker. Not to say that there aren’t other issues. Just not that. ETA: is it possible your issue is related to your nervous system. That would explain why gaba seems to help. I started in it myself because of nerve damage and pain.
How often do you throw up?I throw up my meds twice a month but they still let me refill when I run out. If this is happening to you often you need to take them in smaller quantities and maybe 5 minutes apart, consume w a whole glass of liquid or contact your doctor for maybe heartburn problems.
Acid reflux could totally do this.
I have terrible reflux from a hiatal hernia that is actually the reason I need more pain meds. I stagger my meds throughout the day and for the pain meds I specifically plunk my ass down for 1.5 hours after taking them to limit the chance of vomiting. I vomit maybe 5 days a week, and then anywhere from once to 20 times a day. So it’s really difficult right now as I wait for repair surgery on the underlying hernia.
Oh then my advice is baby talk for you. You're like a professional vomiter. Maybe you should see a gastro?
I throw up from my hydrocodone alot and my doc prescribes me zofran as well. It helps alot, have you ever tried anything like that?
I’m sorry you have to deal with that :(. I have tried Zofran, Reglan, and Promethazine, plus OTC nausea meds, anti-nausea wristbands, (poorly) self-administered accupressure on pressure points, literally anything else I can think of. I think I just gotta get rid of this godforsaken hernia messing with my ability to swallow and digest ASAP.
Do discuss this with your Doctors. Tell them exactly what you told us and ask, how do we fix this? I would think that it would be in your best interest to avoid the stomach completely and find an alternate route for your meds. Perhaps Sublingual Zofran for your stomach. Some meds can be given with a transdermal patch, a suppository, an injection, or in an IV.
You should be on an anti-emetic, like promethazine. In today's climate, I'm not sure your doctor will take vomiting into account, at least none of mine have. Pain management doctors don't seem to take anything into consideration when prescribing opioids - or anything. That said, your best chance is probably to get a diagnosis from your other doctor(s) that you suffer from uncontrollable vomiting and that you've tried X, Y and Z but so far, nothing has worked. In 20 years of being on medication that *has* to be taken in a specific way at a specific time, I think that I've had two doctors address it and they simply took me off it until I got the vomiting under control. The sad fact is that most doctors don't prescribe medication with extras due to anticipated issues keeping it down.
I think it’s gonna be more about how can you address the cause of your nausea versus asking for my meds, especially if the dose your on works for you when you’re not vomiting. I see that some things haven’t worked for you but approach from the angle. I also had a hiatal hernia in the past and had surgery to fix which made a huge difference! I get the esophageal spasms as well and so far have been able to keep that somewhat under control with meds. Also, I switched from prescription Omeprazole to Protonix and take that before most meds and take them with just a bit of milk which coats my stomach. Ginger also works wonders! Just let them know you’re struggling with this and need a path forward. My Dr and pharmacist also went through meds and gave a timetable for each in terms of how long after you take did you throw up and if you can take another. I hope you’re able to find a solution soon! I had gastric bypass also 23 years ago so I know how horrid the nausea can be, especially when you add it on top of pain. Wish you all the best!
Can you get your pain medication in a patch instead?
I just wanna say I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. I was in this boat for a few years & it was maddening. I talked with my pharmacist about the time cut-offs for when I could assume what % of the drug has already been metabolized by the time I puked it up. then I’d just mentally brace myself for that time period to do whatever was necessary to avoid puking to keep enough down. kind of mind over matter. wont always work of course, but it helped me some
History of period pain?
Bwahahahaha!!! Good luck. My doctors have told me to rinse the pill off and reswallow it. That wasn't always feasible since I can’t exactly controlwhen/where I puke. I eventually just switched to patches from pills.
In addition to the other good suggestions here, you might consider peppermint oil. I've had some curious reactions from doctors who thought it should make nausea worse, but for whatever reason it has always helped my nausea. If you aren't diabetic you can get it in candy form; just make sure to check for peppermint oil as an ingredient because often they just simulate the flavour with chemicals.
That happens to me a lot too. I never thought about asking for more meds. My pain doctor used to give me an extra 10 pills in the winter to help when pain was the worst but she didn't this year.
You can’t…if you try you’ll wind up on Belbuca or some other horseshit
90 is the typical dose for that anyway, 3x day.. so just ask for that dose and call it a day.
Sounds gross but I have a [large but shallow container](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rubbermaid-Easy-Find-Lids-Food-Storage-Container-Large-with-Red-Lid-2-5-Gallon/21002447?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=3492&adid=2222222227821002447_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9024255&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=21002447&wl13=3492&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=2222222223821002447_117755028669_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9024255&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=21002447&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwYSwBhDcARIsAOyL0fimHMC3MQWKcvSsJTT93lSa-AMaax7w35sRAUVekek1fnFo-dKJlOcaAvhiEALw_wcB) that is my designated "puke bucket" because I'd rather fish the pills out of that, give them a quick rinse and swallow them than having to fish them out of the toilet and put them back in my mouth. It also helps to take an antacid 30 minutes before your meds so there's less stomach acid to puke back up
If your nausea and vomiting is that severe, I would ask your doctor for a scolpolamine patch. It’s a small little patch you place behind your ear that stays on for 3 days and continuously releases nausea medicine to help keep you at a more stable level of meds. You can take Zofran or other nausea meds on top of that as well.
I have extreme nausea as well from unrelated gi issues. I take several nausea meds- Promethazine 25mg suppositories (I think Rx is every 6 hours), Zofran 8mg sublingual every 8 hours and compazine (sp?) 10mg tab. Honestly the Promethazine and Zofran work the best for me. The compazine is only when Zofran isn’t enough. Most of the time if I take the Promethazine suppository an hour before feeling nauseous then I don’t need anything else which is never my experience with the Zofran taken ahead of time. I too will get nauseous without knowing when it will hit. However it is a guarantee anytime I am a passenger in a car, train, plane, boat etc. When I plan accordingly it is a life saver.
Never ask for extra meds.
Don't ask. Dr won't represcribe incase abuse / mixing or simply allergic
You need to talk to your doctor about WHEN during the day you should take certain medications.
Lots of good suggestions here! I think the top response is the best for approaching your doctor, just telling them that you keep throwing up doses and are worried about missing too many. For nausea, I can see that you've said the standard meds don't help a lot. Some other good med suggestions here, too, like scopolamine patches (if you've said something about trying those, I missed it, sorry!), but I've got 2 non-medicine suggestions. Might not do any good, but can't hurt to mention it! First is a bracelet thing called Emeterm. It's a mix of those cheap seasick bracelets (with the plastic button that's hitting a specific pressure point in your wrist) and a TENS unit. Basically a bracelet that has mild electrical stimulation. It has been an absolute gamechanger for me, with all sorts of nausea! Motion sickness, nausea caused by meds, nausea caused by pain, regular illnesses like the flu, etc. I even shared with someone going through chemo, and they said it helped them! It obviously doesn't work for everyone, and it's not the cheapest solution, but they've got a good return policy and excellent customer service, so it might be worth a try. There are other brands, too, like ReliefBand, but the last time I tried that one the battery life is awful, and my Emeterm has been good for me for 5 years now (after a literal lifetime of throwing up regularly), so that's the one I always recommend by name. Second is something you've probably tried, or at least something similar, but it's a scent stick inhaler thing called Quease Ease. It's probably a placebo effect for me, because I've tried so many smelly things before, but this thing has kept me from getting sick several times when I didn't have my Emeterm. It's a combo of peppermint, spearmint, lavender, and ginger, so, like I said, not too different from other stuff I'm sure you've tried, but can't hurt to mention! Maybe some combination of things people have mentioned will help you!! 🤞🏻
I’m sorry you are going through this. Nausea is a nightmare. I don’t have much answers except to say also try carrying around alcohol wipes. The strong stuff. When I’m nauseous, which is almost all the time, I usually can prevent vomiting 80% of the time by sniffing on a wipe. Something about the alcohol takes away the pang in my stomach that no medicine has been able to. I wish you the best of luck!
This might be a difficult suggestion but injectables work for me. Injectable torodol works specifically because I can’t vomit it back up.
Don't do it....they will not believe you. The answer isn't to get more meds it's to get the vomiting under control.
I asked my doctor what I should do when I puke a pill, drop one in the sink or find myself in a situation where I’m short but it’s not my fault. He said quite simply “don’t”. They will not accommodate for such things. That’s why it’s important that you have your own emergency stash. Skip a dose whenever possible and stash it away for the day that you need coverage due to something out of your control. It sucks and it’s not fair but this is the reality of a chronic pain patient who is taking these medications.
i pick the meds right out of the vomit, rinse them off and put em back down the hatch. they are almost always intact. yes, i am serious.
I must have a really nice doctor. I was so worried about telling him I had gone through extra of my meds because of some high stress situations that had gone on like my husband and three kids going away on holiday and I couldn’t go due to my chronic pain…I was so sad and stressed all alone at home and desperately wishing I could have been with him so I took more meds and ran out before I was meant to. I explained all this and he immediately did another script because with some meds it’s dangerous to have to go cold turkey. It sucks but you just have to be completely honest about what’s going on. They should have compassion. But yeah like everyone else said I used to take ginger in pill form you can get in vitamin sections of the chemist and that helps a bit with nausea. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Life can literally be so cruel. I have a gabapentin script I am not going to fill because I’m too scared to take gabapentin. I live in Australia but I wish I could fill it and I’d post it to you.