Intense fear of vomiting....your feedback?

[thekatsmeow]

I have emetophobia (fear of nausea and vomiting) and have never actually thrown up since I was a toddler (am now 43 with two kids). I am considering this surgery but am terrified I'll get nauseous or actually vomit. Has anyone gone through this with zero nausea/vomiting? anyone have any feedback or tips? Thanks

[ltlsqueak]

Welcome to the site! I am also scared to death of getting sick to my stomach. I have only had one occasion and I'm 49. I am having the gastric bypass on November 20th and my surgeon told me that I will probably "feel" like I'm going to get sick, but unless I truly overeat I should be fine. A friend of mine had the surgery several years ago and never got sick. She just knew the feeling and when to stop. Let's hope we are so fortunate!!! Hope this helps in some way. I'll keep you posted once I've had surgery. Best of luck to you!

[thekatsmeow]

Thank you so much for responding! Would you mind if we kept in touch? I'd like to know how you do and you and I are about the same weight so we have the same amount to lose give or take We are also close in age!

[ScreamAndBeFree]

I wouldn't say I have a fear of vomiting, but I hate it and avoid it at all costs. I am 10 weeks out and have not thrown up. I have however had a bit of nausea, mostly if I eat too fast, or drink too fast. If I am really really sick to my stomach I will dry heave but I rarely throw up. When I was pregnant I dry heaved everyday but never threw up. I have NOT dry heaved at all since I had surgery. The nausea has not been bad.

[niamh]

Some people have nausea, some people don't. It's hard to predict whether or not it's going to be you. I had a bit of nausea in the first couple of days, and I think I threw up once. But yes I've definitely read of other people who have no nausea or vomiting. On the other hand there's some who've had quite a lot.

Have you had psychological treatment of your emetophobia? It would be a dreadful shame if your phobia stopped you going through with the surgery if that's what you need for your health.

[Kimpossible318]

I haven't had nausea, per say, with the exception of the first time I tried jello and my surgeon was able to walk me through the experience (deep breathing) so that I didn't throw-up. That being said, I have had a few occasions where I have thrown up, but it wasn't from being nauseous...it was from stuff getting caught in my sleeve making me so full that it came up. You can prevent that from taking the tiniest of bites, chewing to the fullest before swallowing and then waiting to see how it feels before taking another bite. It's kind of a practice makes perfect kind of thing. I'm sure if you talk to your doctor about your fear, he can prescribe anti-nausea meds to you to help you through that initial transition period.

[ximmia]

Everyone is different. I had a great deal of nausea for about a week but didn't vomit. I have thrown up a couple of times, usually if I eat too much, or I eat too much of a new food. I find that some things I used to eat before I just can't tolerate and since I'm not very patient... well we know what happens. If you go slow you should be fine. I left the hospital with two huge bottles of anti-nausea meds along with some tablets. They helped tremendously.

Bottom line, if this is a fear make sure your surgeon knows. You're not the only one with this issue, and they'll know what precautions to take.

[Emstar]

I've got exactly the same phobia! I'm absolutely petrified of getting sick, being sick, seeing someone else be sick or even just seeing vomit on the pavement! I'm 23 now and haven't been sick since I was 14 (touch wood!) and I'm hoping to keep it that way after surgery! However I kind of feel the only way of getting rid of my phobia is actually experience getting sick... Which is the last thing I want to do but it's pretty much the only cure for Emtophobia. So that's why I'm getting surgery, I'm killing two birds with one stone, lose weight and potentially get used to being sick. Ideally I'd rather not get sick but I'm not going to let stop me from getting the surgery. I'm putting on a brave face now but when I wake up nauseous after surgery I'll be going crazy and getting hysterical haha My surgery is on the 24th of Oct, so I can give you first hand experiences from an emetaphobic in a couple of weeks!

[HeartsInNC]

Me too! I think I'm borderline psychotic with my phobia, and it's fear of me or anybody else vomiting or even acting like they're going to. How do you do it with kids? Kids throw up all the time!

In any case, I'm 4 months post-op and I have not thrown up at all. The closest I came was after eating breakfast a little over 1 month post-op and having to walk a ways to our car afterward. I'm pretty sure I didn't eat too much or too quickly, so I figure it must have been the walking right away after eating. We were on a road trip out in the middle of nowhere so it really sucked, and it lasted several hours, but no vomiting.

I was not nauseated at all after the actual surgery, so I guess I'm not one who has problems with anesthesia, but the nursing staff asked constantly if I needed anything for nausea. I would say people like us just have to be EXTRA diligent with chewing thoroughly and taking our time eating, especially when adding new solid proteins. These were the things that felt the "ickiest" to me at first. Salmon was my first attempt, and it went pretty well. Steak was a little more difficult, but I can and do eat it. Slow, slow, slow, and chew, chew, chew because we definitely don't want to learn the hard way!

[lulunics]

I had my surgery 8 days ago and haven't been sick, in hospital they gave me anti-sickness for 4 days and sent me home with medication but touch wood I haven't needed it. everyone's different though so nothings guaranteed but I was petrified of being sick/feeling sick after surgery.

[niamh]

I work as a psychologist in the NHS in the UK. We provide treatment to people with emetophobia on a fairly regular basis. You can be treated for it - obviously with varying degrees of success for different individuals. I'd see if you can get your insurance to pay for psychological treatment for it. Good luck!

[Emstar]

I work as a psychologist in the NHS in the UK. We provide treatment to people with emetophobia on a fairly regular basis. You can be treated for it - obviously with varying degrees of success for different individuals. I'd see if you can get your insurance to pay for psychological treatment for it. Good luck!

I've had no luck with treatment for my Emetophobia on the NHS, I've had some CBT but it hasn't really worked for me as it's not been phobia specific, do you know of any other treatments I could get?

[PipperMarrow]

I can't stand vomit either! I did not get sick at all during surgery, I have had no "slimies" or weird impacts that others have had. However, Friday night I ate a fresh jalapeno wrapped in bacon with cream cheese and my sleeve was DYING, I wanted to throw up so bad, but my phobia wouldn't let me. I felt bad all weekend from it. It is the only thing I have eaten that made me feel sick. But it was REALLY hot so I probably would have gotten sick anyway with or without my sleeve Sybil.

[greenmomma]

I'm day 20 post op and have not vomited, nor have I had any nauseau ( whether spelled correctly or not ). Good luck!

[short sleeve]

Please don't let your fear of getting sick from getting the life saving surgery. You will have the opportunity to talk with your anesthesiologist, let him/her know your fear. I had the sleeve, was nauseous after the surgery although I never vomited. 6 weeks or so later I had my gallbladder removed, I had the same anesthesiologist, I let him know that I was very nauseous after the sleeve surgery. Whatever drugs that he gave me worked wonders I had absolutely no issues whatsoever. If you need the WLS please don't let this phobia stop you from getting it. If you think of it one of two things will happen...you will have the surgery and not get sick, or you will get sick and be forced to face your fear head on... win, win??? In the end you will begin your journey and as a result lose weight. You can do anything you put your mind to, if you need professional help they can offer you several useful techniques. Best of luck to you.