When Nausea Takes Over - Creating the Alternative Tummy Toolkit

Note: This is one of my most viewed posts, originally shared in 2012. It has been updated with some tips and products that I have found helpful over the years and hope you do too!  

One of the most unsettling and tough to manage symptoms of gastroparesis is nausea. It can be hard to explain why we are fine one moment and the next sick with the stomach/body spins. Yesterday, as my husband and I were out running errands and laughing about something on the radio, it hit me like an unforeseen tsunami. I could only compare it to the feeling of just stepping off the tilt-a-whirl at the amusement park, wobbly and unstable as though the blood had actually rushed out of my body.

So, what can we do in these unplanned, insufferable situations?

My best advice is to, one, be prepared with a "tummy toolkit," and two, practice deep breathing and relaxation techniques. Yes, I know, I see the eyes rolling, but trust me that it may at least bring a bit of relief. Here are some tips and tools to prevent nausea from taking over.

1. Tummy Toolkit
Think of it as a first aid kit for the belly. Nausea can be soothed through many of our senses like smell, taste, touch, sound, and sight. Here are some of my favorite tips for each:

Smell
The aromas of peppermint, ginger, and lavender have been shown to help ease symptoms. You can find these essential oils in single bottles or look for combos with other blends to help fight nausea. 

• Essential7 oils, created by someone who has lived with digestive trouble and specifically made for those living with GP. She carries one I love called Queeze Away that has been thoroughly researched and proven to help reduce these challenges. Apply a few drops to the bottoms of your feet or inside wrists for best results or simply inhale. 
• Quease Ease Aromatic Inhaler is another product that can be used and easy to take on the go.

Taste

• Ginger tea, ginger chews and ginger candy may help to calm the belly as well as indigestion. My favorite products are made by The Ginger People, wich most stores and Amazon carry. I've even found ginger salt that is not only great for nausea but for those of us who need the extra salt to help with the symptoms of dysautonomia. I carry the Ginger Rescue Strong tablets, which trust me they are not joking when they say strong but they have been the best when it comes to severe nausea hits, especially when I'm on a long car ride or flying! 
• Lavender tea is not always thought of but I've found it helpful as well, not to mention calming at bedtime. 
• If you are able to eat, though it may seem counterintuitive, finding something small to snack on can be very helpful. Protein is ideal but even a couple of crackers can make quite the difference to help things settle. 

Feel

• Acupressure wristband - These are often used when going on a cruise or a boat for seasickness. The band gently stimulates a point on the wrist known in Chinese medicine as nei-kuan. A big fan of acupuncture and previous student of it, I really believe this can be helpful. If you don't have the band you can massage the point yourself. To learn more check out this video and simple instructions from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. 

Hear

Music therapy and guided imagery - Both have been shown to reduce nausea and anxiety. If its an option, keep a playlist on your phone, music player, or CD with tunes that make you feel calm and relaxed. Just Google "nausea and sound therapy" for endless videos and information!

• Binaural beats are an emerging form of soundwave therapy in which the right and left ears listen to two slightly different frequency tones yet perceive the tone as one. Search for samples online to try, there is a lot of research linking this type of sound with nausea relief as well as other challenges like anxiety and stress.

Sight

Or rather the opposite! Keep reading to learn more about closing your eyes and taking some deep breaths to help calm many of the challenges we live with like nausea, pain, and trauma. 

2. Breathing Techniques

When nauseous, or in any pain for that matter, its easy to sort of freeze up, focus on the pain and forget what the body naturally wants to do...breathe. So, I encourage you to make this a habit whenever that unpleasant feeling starts to take over and begin to make this a daily practice. This can be done anywhere you go so its one of the best "items" in your toolkit!

Alternate Nostril Breathing
"...you can improve sleep, encourage a calmer emotional state, boost your thinking power and soothe your nervous system."

Diaphragmatic (Abdominal) Breathing

"...when practiced regularly, lead to the relief or prevention of symptoms commonly associated with stress, which may include...stomach conditions, depression, anxiety, and others."

If you want to learn more about tips and tools for living with gastroparesis, hear interviews stories from others who understand, join my friend and co-author Chalyce Macoskey and I as we dive into these topics and more on our new live (and recorded radio) show beginning Friday, August 17th!
Episode One - What Does Healing Truly Mean?

$3000 Giveaway and Help Give Me Hope!

Well, it's not exactly a giveaway but it might as well be for what you have the chance of winning!

Hmm, where do I start?  This is honestly a bit awkward for me, that is to ask for help.  My focus for so long has been to help others, to find answers for those of you who are having such a challenging time finding hope and ways to live with this illness.  In fact, I'm still convinced there is hope because I have personally met those who have overcome gastroparesis.  I am more determined than ever to one day be one of these stories because I truly believe our bodies can heal.

So now I must ask you for your help on my own journey AND give you the chance to win a $3000 Kona Cadabra mountain bike!  Not interested or able to take on mountain biking (I personally had to give this up when I got sick)?  Recycle this prize and use it to raise money for your own journey to wellness by selling it or having another auction.

Treatment Plan Continues

Well, I keep promising to update this new adventure of mine in GP treatment but time keeps getting the best of me.  If you read the post that shared a video from Tess, a woman who recovered from her own battle, I am following in her footsteps, lucky enough to live within 90 miles of the clinics.

Inspiring Video: Story of a Girl Who Cured Her GP

"It is better to believe than to disbelieve; in so doing you bring everything to the realm of possibility. 
-Albert Einstein

I recently came across a video on YouTube titled Gastroparesis (GERD) Cured, My Journey to Recovery.  Of course this intrigued me as would anyone so I quickly clicked on the link, anticipating a story that was probably too good to be true.

A beautiful voice began singing Blackbird by the Beatles, the sound so sweet it gave me chills.  Tess, diagnosed with severe idiopathic gastroparesis and GERD, begins by going over the definitions and prognosis of both, then talks about her experience as she became sicker and sicker, and the limited options that were available in Western medicine, none of which provided her relief.  Both her and her mother began exploring alternative options which led them to visit Dr. Matsen, a naturopathic doctor, as well as a doctor of Chinese medicine, Dr. Che, both in Vancouver, B.C.  Between the two, she slowly started a path to wellness and within a year fully recovered.  With the help of a family friend, they were able to create this professional video, hoping reach out and to give others hope.

Post Johns Hopkins: Great Visit, Test Results, and Plan of Action

It's hard to believe only one week ago we were driving to Seattle to board our midnight flight, what turned out to be a long trip to the East Coast (due to the connection flight cancelled at 4 am!).  Even harder to wrap my head around how much I learned in just one day, and yes, it was well worth the trip.

Now, where to begin on sharing about this adventure?  If you read my previous post about why I chose to make this trip, then you are well informed about my battle with what I suspected to be SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth), and determination to find an expert I could trust.  Dealing with SIBO alone is one thing, but treating it while managing gastroparesis presents a whole new set of challenges.

This Little Lark Guest Post on Acupuncture

I was recently asked by one of my favorite bloggers, this little lark, to write a more detailed story on my experience with acupuncture.   To to read it you can visit her post here.You might recognize her from my recent link to her wonderful tips on Overcoming Emotional Blockages During Dietary Changes.


What a treat to be able to contribute to her site!
If you've have any stories to share about your experience with acupuncture please feel free to comment.  We can continue to learn through each other :)

Taping the Tube and Deep Breathing Continues

Great News:  The doctors called on Monday morning and decided that it would be better and obviously less invasive to continue to tape the tiniest of tiny hole in my tube instead of going back in and having it replaced.  Apparently, they had to remove the latex part of the tube due to an allergy that could have caused the hole, which inevetibly could happen again.  So, the journey continues, slowly and one day at a time.
I went to have acupuncture today and it did wonders for my anxiety.  The idea of this tube is a little overwhelming at times, as well as accepting my body not being able to do much for myself right now while I recover.  Luckily, I'm surrounded by support (husband and mother ESPECIALLY!) and don't know what I would do without everyone.  It can be hard to accept the help but learning to receive can be as great of a gift as giving, good for both the heart and soul.
That said, a technique I often turn to to reduce anxiety and bring myself to the present moment is called pranayama breathing (click for instructions).  According to Yoga Journal it has a  "mysterious power to soothe and revitalize a tired body, a flagging spirit, or a wild mind."  


Please share any techniques you have for dealing with anxiety during trying times!
Stephanie

Acupuncture and GP

Acupuncture has been an essential part of maintaining my symptoms, particularly nausea and appetite.  I encourage anyone who has the option to do some research on a good practitioner in your area and give it a try.  Weekly visits could significantly improve not only symptoms but state of mind.  Often assosciated with gastroparesis is an increase in anxiety and depression as well as insomnia.  On treatment days I can eat more, have increase in energy and sleep better.

Part II: A Passion Ignites But is Short-Lived

For many years I have been passionate about nutrition, healing and acupuncture.  After what I had gone through with the illness I felt a new spark light up in me.  Life is too short for regrets and I decided to pursue my dream of attending acupuncture school.  In the summer of 2010 I completed all my prerequisites and with the encouragement of family and friends I applied and got accepted to the program at Bastyr University.