All of this sounds oh too familiar.
I am a 40 Year old Male
I don't smoke
I drink on occasion
I eat really well
Doctors take: Anxiety, psychosomatic, etc.
My first dry heave (that I can remember) was about 3 years ago.. It was sorta random while I was cleaning the back patio up after my dogs. The smell kinda made me gag and then the next day it made me gag again. The only stressful part of my life then was breaking up with my girlfriend of many years. I moved and the dry heaves went away. I never thought about it. I took some time off as well.
Then about 5 months ago the dry heaves came back..violently. I was on a morning run and my soft palate felt like it was vibrating. Chattering kind of. The naturally invoked a dry heave. Then two, then three. I muscled through it and kept running.
A few days later it happened again right before an interview. Nobody wants that. Ugh.
So I started to keep a journal on it like i do with a lot of health things. I'm in IT and it's just a habit. I found that it happened 90% of the time in the morning. Most o f the time it lasts for 3-10 seconds. Sometime between waking up and sometime before launch. That was the highest probability. The doctor claimed is was anxiety but I would do things that had zero stress; like walk to the store to buy milk, take a shower, etc. so I had a hard time swallowing (pun!) that diagnosis.
I also starting looking at caffeine and what I ate. They were not causes but they certainly amplified the effect. I always eat well but for a couple weeks I stopped all caffeine, no beer, no red meat, etc. I dry heaved nonetheless. I also looked at parts of a week when there was stress and that also amplified the effect but again, not the root cause since I could take a walk and grab some early morning groceries...DRY HEAVE.
I also looked into apnea, snoring, dry throats, etc. That's been off and on for years and years so I am not really entertaining those potential causes. Based on everything I have experienced this is the perfect conditions for a dry heave:
I start thinking about it + it's really hot outside + morning + had coffee + bad smell + have an interview later in the day = dry heaves for sure.
So what now? Well I am not keen on taking drugs for it. I feel it is a mixture of my Chi, energy, brain waves, etc. that are too amp'ed up in the morning for whatever reason. So my routine as of late which helps center me is this...
I do not turn on the computer or any technology at all during this hour.
#1 First thing in the morning is I make a fresh cup of hot ginger water (1 tsp fresh ginger grated/zested in water + lemon + honey)
#2 Then I immediately go do a slow, slow jog or do yoga. This releases some anxiety from sleep.
#3 When I come back I take a nice hot shower and eat something non acidic like a banana, some milk and a piece of bread.
#4 Then I stare outside the window (I have a view) for 10 minutes straight trying to think of nothing.
I have days now that are Dry Heave free!
In 3 more months when it turns winter I will return to the doctor for a check-up if it continues at all. I will look at my tonsils, my soft palate, liver test and another blood test.
I have exactly the same kind of problems which everyone has been describing on this thread.
I have had this condition since maybe about 8 years old, on-and-off. Then its returned more recently over the last 4-5 years I am now 24. It severely affects my day-to-day life because it can randomly, such as when brushing my teeth, walking outside to town or station, in social situations with friends, sometimes after just going to the toilet.
Here are some of the things I have learnt: When you feel like you're going to heave, look out for the signs before it happens like a change in heart rate, etc. For me, I notice that my abdominal muscles are contracted (almost as though I'd just been doing sit-ups), but instead of relaxing they remain tense. It seems as though it is caused by anxiety more than anything else, things such as worrying about paying bills, mortgages, sitting an exam and general everyday problems in our lives.
How I've learnt to deal with it is if I find the abdominals are tense, I will usually try by laying down and it really helps. Where I cannot do this, I always need to have some kind of non-alcoholic drink nearby at all times or some chewing gum. When it occurs before meal times, I've found that eating whilst sitting at the table (instead of food on my lap or on the sofa watching tv) can help with staying health and eating properly whilst dealing with the problem of dry heaving.
HI I spoke to a girl just this morning and she was dry heaving after orgasm.(sex) This was the key information she gave her nerologist after months of tests for sensory problems amongst other things she was experiencing. It was descovered she was having silent migraines, Maybe looks the symptoms of this up and see if it is anything useful for you...
is he did it during sex it means she had a stink p***y lol
I became fed up with the gagging in cold weather , when ever I ski, and in the morning. Funny a ton of posts but no true solutions. Mine may be related to my snoring , and being overweight, I am not obese maybe 20 lbs over ideal. I have always had the reflex to dirty diapers and the sight of someone else puking, oh and the dentist is avoided whenever possible. Would love to hear a MD chime in.
At the risk of replying to an old post. A website I was going through said that dry heaving can be caused by one of the kidney's being stopped up. This can happen without you feeling any pain, peeing normal amounts, everything's good. But one kidney is blocked. I suspect that's what your doc was going for. Hope it was resolved!
I unfortunately can relate to others on here. I usually dry heave when I get up in the mornings and feel the cold air and haven't eaten anything. For some reason cold air triggers it for me. When I get out of the shower and feel the cold air it's like clock work...dry heave for a min and then I mentally make it stop by just being still and take deep breaths. I also gag when I'm at the dentist and everytime I brush my teeth. I try to brush my tongue, but that always triggers a gag. I wouldn't say mine is stress related. More set off by cold air or empty stomach.
SOLUTION??? It's obvious we can't stop it altogether, so I'd love to hear what some of your solutions are to getting through the gag as fast as possible. For me, it's being still and taking deep breaths that gets me through it fastest. Sometimes drinking water helps calm it down. Then...keep my mind busy so I don't think about it, and it usually goes away.
Any other suggestions on how you get through it?
I'm a desperate mom with a 20 y/o daughter who has been having daily episodes of dry heaving/retching for the past 8 months. Her problems actually started gradually with random and isolated episodes several years ago while she was still in high school.
Like with many of the posters here, it happens primarily in the mornings, while brushing her teeth, during physical activities, and can be brought on certain smells that she finds offensive. The retching typically doesn't produce anything but stomach acid (bile), and her esophagus has become inflamed and irritated as a result.
She has been going to doctors regularly (like almost every week) for the past 6 months (including a GI specialist), and we have run every test (twice!), as well as having her scoped and scanned (ultrasounds and CT scans) and everything has come back normal! Needless to say, I have spent many, many hours trying to research this and figure it out.
As a read these posts, there seems to be certain patterns emerging:
- Most posters are young adults - late teens & early 20's. Others point out that there symptoms started when they were younger - between post-adolesence and teenage years.
- Many experience it while brushing their teeth; especially in the mornings and/or when having to leave the house.
- Many have problems upon physical exertion; whether that be running, weight lifting, or even during or after having sex.
- Many see temperature (i.e., cold) as a condition for heaving. However, I don't see this as a factor with my daughter as we live in Arizona where cold temps aren't really a problem.
- I also noted that many of the posters were either in college or in the military and/or have served in the military. My daughter is in college as well.
- Stress, or a person's reaction to stress, may or may not be accompanied by heaving, but it does seem to play a role in aggravating it for others.
- Some smoke/drink while others do not, so that doesn't seen to make a difference in this particular case.
So far, all I see is a pattern, but I don't have any answers. We have tried prilosec (omnaprazole), amiltrytiline (for stress) as well as other meds prescribed by the doctors, probiotics, and other vitamin/herb supplements like milk thistle for liver function, ginger for digestion, keeping a journal, eliminating spicy foods, dairy, wheat/gluten, as well as deep breathing exercises, counseling, etc., all with no relief. The only thing that has ever seemed to help my daughter is promethezine (anti-nausea), but even that has stopped working of late.
I feel for everyone on here as I know the agony my daughter experiences with this problem. It is definitely not a pleasant condition to live with and it is particulary strange to me that it is affecting so many young, active & otherwise healthy individuals. I've also pretty much given up on the medical profession in terms of getting answers. All the doctors seem to do is test & prescribe various meds; which don't work and may have serious side effects.
Honestly, I am now starting to wonder if this is due to exposure to some toxin - either in the toothpaste, the environment, the water (which also makes my daughter retch), the air - SOMETHING! I have run out of options and am seeking answers and help with this issue as well.
I have been experiencing this issue for 2 years, four months, and 3 days now. I can remember the exact day and time that it started. It was new years eve, I was involved with a woman, but she was with someone at the time. She had been promising me that she would leave him for a while. She chose to spend the evening partying with him, I had been a smoker for about 5 months, about half a pack a day, but this night, I was so stressed I was chain smoking like crazy. I literally used one cigarette to light the next. Then it happened. The first time I had experienced this dry-heaving phenomenon. It was about 10 minutes to midnight, I was texting this girl, and she stopped replying, it had been about 30 minutes since last message. It started out gradually, maybe 3 times a week, then more. It ALWAYS corresponded to a time when I was stressed. After a while, she finally did break up with him, and we were together, however I suspected her of cheating on me with him(she was, for the record), and we had a confrontation. It was non-violent, I asked to talk to him after he got off work, and was waiting outside when the most severe incident occurred. Every 30-40 seconds, I would gag 2-3 times for about 20 minutes while I waited. A lot of emphasis has been placed on times when I was having girl-trouble, but those are just the most memorable ones. It happens all the time, I take a late-yellow light and see that there was a cop waiting on the red, I have a job interview, I need to talk to my boss about something, I think about financial troubles, etc. Virtually anything stressfull will cause this. But the really irritating part, is that if I think about gagging, I will. I get one solid thought, and it grows, until I cant help it. Lately, this is the most common cause. It's really rough when you are in an area where you cannot vomit. I have been forced, on more than 100 occasions to actually swallow whatever comes up, and then if I think about how disgusting that is, more comes up, and I have to repeat. I find myself chugging a bottle of water after a meal since one time my stomach was rather dry, and I had an intense episode, stuff was coming out like logs, it looked like stool, but not brown. I've had dreams about pooping from my mouth as a result of this(and that wretched SouthPark episode), and wake up vommitting. Another common cause is singing along to a song. However I think it is mainly linked to the thought provocing cause. It happened once or twice, and now, any time I sing with some effort, I think about gagging/puking, and I do.I realize that this is entirely mental, I have one or two bad experiences, and it gets ingrained, that any time it happens, I will have an incident. My concern is that this is causing damage to my stomach/throat/etc. I need to find a way to fix this, I am hoping that someone may have some insight as to how to block these thoughts. I have tried self hypnosis, yoga, and meditation, and nothing helps.Thank you all for listening, and any advice you may offer.
I have been experiencing this problem for a couple of months now. Dry heaves in the morning before eating or drinking. It sometimes bring things up but mostly not . It goes on for a few minutes and then its done and at no other time. I thought it might be a gag reflex due to my sleeping lately with my mouth open causing the mucus in my mouth to be more congealed or something related. I also have diabetes and heart problems. I am not sure if it is related to those or the associated drugs or not.
I am a 28 year old account Rep. I travel all around and up untill now, NOTHING bothered me. in fear of getting the dry heave's and puking, i won't eat in the morning and will limit my liquids. Trust me, I know this is awful but it's what i have to do. going to a social event all of a sudden scares the c**p out of me. even with best friends. I am SCARED sh*tless to do presentations all of a sudden from just dry heaving! although, when the meeting starts going well, my dry heaving goes away. also, after a few beers, this goes away. it's KILLING me and i dont know what the hell to do. My doctor prescribed Xanax, and i cant really tell if that's worked or not. Please help :(
This same exact thing is happening to me! The doctors cant figure out what's going on. Mine started on July 30, 2014 and has continued for over a month. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
mine is certainly not stress, and I'm sure it goes for others on here, though it is important to point out that stress can induce the symptoms, nowadays I started developing a gagging response in cold air 2 winters ago. It was very clear cut. At the time I lived a very non stressful life. I do not suffer from it in the mornings like many of you do though I do sleep late most days. We really have to find out what's going on here.
you're right that there haven't been any real solutions besides some people saying it went away, (one was an duodenal ulcer, and one was thyroid cancer). I do not snore at all, so I don't think that is necessarily related.