Nausea

[Guest guest]

,

You wrote, “Does anyone know what could be causing her to have nausea this

bad?â€

The nausea that comes from Chronic Pancreatitis can just be horrific. Actually,

I think it is worse than any of my pain has been, but that is just my opinion.

There are many things that can be causing the nausea.

The disease process in itself can cause nausea. When food is eaten and goes from

the mouth to the stomach, it normally is met with digestive enzymes that are

mixed in stomach fluids. Actually, saliva contains Amylase and begins the

digestive process. Many people with Chronic Pancreatitis have dry mouth (for

many different reasons). This is going to cause our food to hit our stomachs

behind in digestion to start with. Because we produce few to no enzymes from our

pancreas, or lack thereof), we either take Creon or Viokase. These compounded

medications can cause nausea, even though they should be helping digest the

food. Hopefully, switching to one or the other may help. Some people can

tolerate Creon and/or not Viokase. Others take OTC enzymes found at health food

stores.

As the disease progresses, the islet cells in the pancreas become damaged and

less insulin is produced. One of the side effects of what is Pancreatitis

Induced Diabetes is that a condition called Gastroparesis can develop. This is

when the nerves in the stomach (Gastro) become damaged, sometimes paralyzed

(paresis) from the excess glucose. When this happens, the nerves don’t

stimulate the muscles to move the food out of the stomach and into the duodenum,

or first part of the intestine. When the food lingers in the stomach, the food

begins to break down on its on, similar to a compost. That produces a byproduct

of acid, hence the term, acid indigestion, and why most of us, like Jackie, take

an ‘ant-acid’.

You also mentioned that Jackie is taking other medications like Zocor. Many

medications have bad side effects like nausea. These are usually worse when

taken on an empty stomach, although some medications are supposed to be taken

that way. It’s important to note that side effects and allergic or adverse

reactions are two different things. Some of the known digestive side effects of

Zocor are: nausea, vomiting, gas, heartburn, stomach pain/cramps, anorexia, loss

of appetite, inflammation of the pancreas, Pancreatitis, hepatitis, jaundice,

and fatty changes in the liver. When evaluating the side effects of a medication

it is important to always have an idea of the relationship to when the

medication was started and when the side effects started. There is no set rule.

Some side effects can start shortly after starting a medication, and some side

effects are accumulative and don not show up until after the medication has been

taken for a while.

Regarding treating the nausea: Talk to your healthcare provider. Make them aware

of any medication that is documented as causing nausea, but particularly

Pancreatitis. (I think they all list nausea). If you have medication insurance,

I suggest Zofran Elixir to treat the nausea, as Phenergan causes drowsiness. The

other thing that many people have to do is eat smaller more frequent meals.

Karyn

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Karyn E. , RN

Executive Director, PAI

http://www.pancassociation.org

Pancreatitis Association International