Chronic nausea- we've been to three doctors, and no answer...?

Question

My boyfriend has been feeling nauseous, off and on, for the last three months; and every doctor we've gone to has told us there's nothing wrong with him. His blood pressure is a little high, but other than that, there don't seem to be any other symptoms. His blood tests have all come back with normal results.

Sometimes he wakes up with the nausea, and it lasts through the day; other times its triggered by eating seemingly benign foods, like plain pasta or tortilla chips; at one point reading brought it on, but that does not seems to be a problem anymore.

He also feels slightly tired- though not overwhelmingly- most days, but again there was nothing on the blood tests to indicate why this was the case either.

I appreciate the bad pun.

Thanks for your time answering. I should have added before that he did have a bit of a 'clicking' sound in his ear at one point, and I had found Meniere's disease as one of the few diseases that had both as symptoms. Two doctors have also ruled out inner-ear problems, though.

Answer 1

Someone doesn't like the lengthy answer above, but that's the truth of it. Many disorders can be the cause. How did the two doctors rule out inner ear problems? That's a tough one to rule out. My instant thoughts were central nervous system vs gastrointestinal. A good internist will investigate until an answer is found or at least all treatable causes are excluded - then perhaps try empiric treatments. Unfortunately, this can lead to "ETKTM" as we used to call it.
[Every Test Known To Man]
This will be expensive and time consuming.
In many cases, medical diagnosis is not easy.
MD Internal Medicine

Answer 2

At first glance I would have thought maybe a liver or pancreas problem, but you say the blood tests were ok.
Another possible cause is Meniere's syndrome, which is an ear problem characterised by vertigo and nausea. I would be investigating that avenue. Here's a link http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/balance/meniere.cfm

Meantime I think the best you can do is get him on some anti nausea medication such as stemetil. Nausea can be so debilitating he shouldn't have to live with that.

Answer 3

Dear Asker!

Here is the Differential Diagnosis of Nausea and Vomiting

Central nervous system:
Closed head injury
Increased intracranial pressure
Cerebrovascular accident (infarction/hemorrhage)
Hydrocephalus
Mass lesion
Meningitis/encephalitis/abscess
Pseudotumor cerebri
Migraine
Seizure disorders
Vestibular
Labyrinthitis
Ménière's disease
Motion sickness

Gastrointestinal:

Functional disorders
Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction
Gastroparesis
Irritable bowel syndrome
Nonulcer dyspepsia

Obstruction

Adhesions

Esophageal disorders/achalasia

Intussusception

Malignancy

Pyloric stenosis

Strangulated hernia

Volvulus


Organic disorders:

Appendicitis
Cholecystitis/cholangitis
Hepatitis
Inflammatory bowel disease
Mesenteric ischemia
Pancreatitis
Peptic ulcer disease
Peritonitis

Infectious

Acute otitis media
Bacteria:
Bacterial toxins
Food-borne toxins
Pneumonia
Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
Urinary tract infection/pyelonephritis

Viruses

Adenovirus
Norwalk
Rotavirus

Medications/Toxins:

Medications
Antiarrhythmics
Antibiotics
Anticonvulsants
Chemotherapeutics
Digoxin

Ethanol overdose

Hormonal preparations

Illicit substances

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Opiates

Overdoses/withdrawal

Radiation therapy

Toxins

Arsenic
Organophosphates/pesticides
Ricin

Metabolic

Adrenal disorders
Diabetic ketoacidosis

Paraneoplastic syndromes

Parathyroid disorders

Pregnancy

Thyroid disorders

Uremia

Miscellaneous

Acute glaucoma

Acute myocardial infarction

Nephrolithiasis

Pain

Psychiatric disorders

Anorexia nervosa

Anxiety

Bulimia nervosa

Conversion disorder

Depression

Psychogenic/emotional

As you have constated, the causes of chronic nausea are multiple!
So, it's wiser for your boyfriend to go to a hospital and be generally checked. Perhaps they can find the reason of his condition!

Hope that may help you!
Good luck!

Answer 4

like above, there are way to many diagnosis that will explain nausea. You should watch out for new symptoms or go to another doctor and get a more comprehensive exam.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Marijuana