Morning sickness what does it feel like
Not Pregnant, Early Pregnancy, and More
Overview
Nausea is one of the most common medical symptoms and it can be related to many different conditions. Usually, nausea is not a sign of a serious problem and passes on its own. But in other cases, nausea may be a sign of a health condition that needs attention, such as stomach flu, pregnancy, or a side effect from medication.
Nausea is defined as having discomfort in the stomach usually accompanied by an urge to vomit. Discomfort might include heaviness, tightness, and a feeling of indigestion that doesn’t go away.
Vomiting is what happens when your body empties its stomach contents through your mouth. Not all cases of nausea cause vomiting.
Nausea can affect all people of all ages. Your nausea might be caused by something as simple as eating a food that doesn’t agree with your stomach. But in other cases, nausea has more serious causes.
Common causes of nausea include:
- anesthetics
- chemotherapy from cancer treatment
- digestive problems such as gastroparesis
- inner ear infections
- migraine headache
- motion sickness
- obstruction in the intestines
- stomach flu (viral gastroenteritis)
- viruses
Morning sickness is a common symptom of pregnancy. It’s described as nausea experienced during pregnancy, usually in the mornings after waking up. It’s most common during a woman’s first trimester. Sometimes, it begins as early as two weeks after conception.
Morning sickness is an uncomfortable condition that can occur with or without vomiting. But the main difference between nausea caused by morning sickness and nausea caused by other conditions is morning sickness is accompanied by other symptoms of early pregnancy. These symptoms include:
- A delayed or missed period. Some people may experience bleeding after they become pregnant but this bleeding is very light and is much shorter than a typical period. A missed period can also be caused by excessive weight loss or gain, fatigue, stress, change in birth control use, illness, high activity level, and breastfeeding.
- A change in breasts. Usually pregnancy causes swollen or sensitive breasts that feel tender to the touch. It can also cause darkening of the areas around the nipples (areolas).
These changes in breasts can be caused by hormonal imbalances, changes in birth control, and PMS. - Tiredness or fatigue. This symptom can also be caused by stress, overworking, mental health problems such as depression, the cold, the flu, a virus, allergies, insomnia, and poor nutrition.
- Lower backaches. These can also be caused by PMS, poor form when exercising, injury, poor sleeping habits, poor footwear, being overweight, and stress.
- Headaches. Headaches are commonly caused by dehydration and caffeine. They can also be caused by PMS, withdrawals from drugs or alcohol, eye strain, and stress.
- Mood swings caused by hormonal changes. You might feel happy one moment and depressed another. Mood swings can also be caused by poor nutrition, hormonal imbalances, or underlying mental health issues.
- Frequent urination. This can also be caused by urinary tract infections and diabetes, as well as an increase in liquid intake, or consumption of diuretics such as coffee.
- Food cravings or food aversions. You might feel like eating foods you normally don’t like eating or avoiding foods you normally like to eat. These symptoms can also be caused by a poor diet, lack of proper nutrition, anxiety and stress, depression, PMS, or illness.
You should consider taking a pregnancy test if you experience nausea with a few of these symptoms, especially if you’ve missed a period.
The only way to know for certain whether or not you’re pregnant is to take a pregnancy test. You can get early detection tests at most drug stores. If you want a certain result, your doctor can do a blood test to check for pregnancy.
Both morning sickness and nausea can greatly impact your quality of life.
If you’re not pregnant and you’ve been nauseous for more than a month, especially with weight loss, schedule an appointment with your doctor. In the meantime, try to relax and stay hydrated.
Keep away from strong odors such as perfume and food and other triggers like heat that could make your nausea worse.
Stick to eating bland foods such as crackers and rice, and take over-the-counter motion sickness medication.
Eating small meals and snacks, staying hydrated, avoiding nausea triggers, and taking vitamin B-6 supplements and antihistamines can ease most cases of morning sickness.
If you’re pregnant and experiencing morning sickness that’s getting in the way of your daily activities, schedule a visit to your doctor. They can prescribe anti-nausea medication that will make you feel better and able to eat so you can nourish your pregnant body.
Again, in most cases, nausea and morning sickness are not a cause for concern. But it’s important to see a doctor if you’re concerned or if your symptoms are getting in the way of your daily activities, so you can be happy and healthy.
What Morning Sickness Really Feels Like
You know what they never taught us about in sex ed? Morning sickness. And as someone who wants to have kids one day, I would like some answers.
Sure, I sort of know what it is (there's puking involved, yes?), but why does morning sickness happen? Does random nausea mean you might be pregnant? Is there any way to prevent morning sickness (🙏)? These are the questions that keep me up at night.
And whether you're currently pregnant or think you might want to be eventually, I'm gonna go ahead and bet you have some of the same Qs. Don't worry, I'm here to help help. But as a person with no medical degree who's never experienced morning sickness herself, here's where I call in backup (aka, four ob-gyns).
First, let's define morning sickness. "Many women, I can't say all women, but many women get nauseous during pregnancy," explains Mary Jane Minkin, MD, clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale University School of Medicine. "It's called morning sickness because many people experience nausea and vomiting in the morning, however, there are many women who experience these symptoms throughout the day," adds Heather Irobunda, MD, an ob-gyn based in Queens, New York.
Ok, now that we've got the basics down (morning sickness = nausea and vomiting during pregnancy and it doesn't just happen in the morning) let's get down to the nitty gritty of why it happens, what it feels like, and what you can do about it.
Below, find literally everything you could ever want to know about morning sickness.
What causes morning sickness?
Short answer: Experts don't totally know. "No one really knows the exact mechanism of nausea, but we do think that it's partly because of the hormonal changes—mostly beta human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is the baby hormone that's produced in very high amounts," says Sherry A. Ross, MD, women's health expert and author of She-ology and She-ology, the She-quel: Let's Continue the Conversation. Doctors think higher levels of hormone are responsible for morning sickness because women who have higher levels of hCG, like those who are pregnant with twins, tend to experience more nausea.
It could also have to do with the increased production of the hormone progesterone, says Dr. Irobunda. "The extra progesterone may cause your gastrointestinal (GI) tract to slow down, causing food to sit in your stomach longer than normal which can give you a nauseous feeling," she says.
As for why morning sickness usually happens in the morning, experts think it's because some women's symptoms worsen when they have an empty stomach, Dr. Irobunda says. That's why some docs recommend patients with morning sickness eat something small before getting out of bed, adds Dr. Ross.
What does morning sickness feel like?
Welp, it kinda sucks. It ranges from a mild queasy feeling to the more extreme kind of nausea that you feel when you have the stomach bug, says Dr. Minkin. If you're in the unlucky group, it can be "10 to 12 weeks of feeling exhausted and miserable from being on the verge of throwing up 24/7," says Dr. Ross. Ugh.
Either way, you'll probably be more sensitive to smells that have never bothered you before. According to Dr. Ross, everything from the smell of coffee brewing in the morning to your partner's body wash can send you running to the toilet. Yikes.
Is morning sickness a good sign?
It definitely can be! Dr.
Ross tells her patients that morning sickness is a great first sign of pregnancy. "When people have nausea I'm always like 'ah, I'm so happy for you' because it's a good sign that things are going in the right direction," she says. In other words, it means your body is producing the hormones it should be.
But don't freak if you don't have it. If you're not nauseous, it doesn't necessarily mean that anything is wrong, says Dr. Minkin. It just means you're lucky.
And if you have random nausea, it doesn't automatically mean you're pregnant. If you think you might be, pick up a First Response home pregnancy test kit, says Dr. Minkin. She recommends this one because it's most accurate and can pick up on tiny levels of hCG before you even miss your period.
When is morning sickness the worst?
Good news: Morning sickness doesn't last through the entire nine months of pregnancy (phew). In fact, it tends to be the worst during the first eight weeks, says Dr.
Ross. It should stop by the end of the first trimester, so around 13 weeks.
But, FWIW, some women do experience morning sickness all the way until 20 weeks, or halfway through the pregnancy, says Dr. Minkin. And in some super rare cases, it can last throughout the whole pregnancy, says Jackie Walters, MD, an Atlanta-based ob-gyn and author of The Queen V: Everything You Need to Know About Sex, Intimacy and Down There Care. In that case, you'll definitely want to talk to your gyno about ways to manage it. Speaking of which...
Is there anything you can do about morning sickness?
Yup. Thankfully there are a ton of ways to relieve morning sickness. From eating strategies to natural remedies to prescriptions, here's what the experts recommend.
Eat bland foods
Stick to the BRAT diet (that's bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast), suggests Dr. Ross. These foods and other blah, easy-to-digest foods like crackers and clear soups are less likely to upset your stomach and trigger morning sickness symptoms.
Have small, frequent meals
As I mentioned earlier, morning sickness can be worst when you have an empty stomach. By eating small, frequent meals, you'll always have a little something in your stomach so the whole empty stomach thing never comes into play. Plus, it's easier on the digestive system, says Dr. Irobunda.
Eat and drink separately
If you find that sipping on a bev while you're eating makes you feel queasy, try eating and drinking separately, says Dr. Irobunda. Doctors aren't totally sure why it works, but it seems to help.
Stick with foods that sound good to you
Craving chocolate cake? Eat it for three meals a day if you want. It's way more important to focus on getting enough calories in vs. nutrition during this time says Dr. Minkin. Your prenatal vitamin will ensure that the baby is getting the right nutrients, so just focus on eating meals that sound good to you.
Keep a food journal
It helps to learn what foods and smells agree with you—and which ones definitely don't.
Keep a notebook in your kitchen or purse and jot down what makes you feel like you're gonna hurl so that you can avoid those things accordingly, suggests Dr. Ross.
Try ginger
Ginger is thought to help by relaxing the GI muscles associated with morning sickness, explains Dr. Ross. You can drink it in a tea, pop a ginger capsule, suck on a ginger lozenge, sip a non-alcoholic ginger beer, the world is your oyster.
Take some vitamin B6
Taking 25 milligrams of vitamin B6 three times a day is a game-changer for some women, says Dr. Ross. This is another case where gynos aren't really sure why it works, they just see clear results. If taking it orally doesn't help, you can also ask your ob-gyn about getting a dose of vitamin B6 through an IV once or twice a week, says Dr. Minkin. She's had patients swear by it.
Consider taking a prescription
If you've tried all of the remedies above and you're still puking your guts out, talk to your doctor.
There are prescription medications, like the mega popular Diclegis—which is a combination of vitamin B6 and an antihistamine—that can help you feel better, says Dr. Minkin.
Why nausea in the morning on an empty stomach - causes and how to treat at home
Most often, pregnant women face nausea in the morning on an empty stomach, due to intoxication, but it is not uncommon for this problem to occur in males or even children
Do not worry too much if you have encountered such a problem once, it is likely that this is a banal poisoning. But, if nausea in the morning on an empty stomach does not go away, you should immediately consult a doctor. Some people are used to dealing with this problem with folk remedies and medicines and they really get better, but it is worth considering that most likely the disease or pathology itself continues to develop. And as a result, it will turn into a more serious form. That is why it is so important to consult a doctor who will find out the cause of morning sickness and prescribe the most effective treatment.
Possible diseases
Most often, morning sickness on an empty stomach may indicate the presence of the following diseases: unpleasant symptoms. This is due to inflammatory processes in the duodenum 12. The patient can also be tormented by: burning, bloating during and after eating, heartburn.
Other causes of nausea in the morning
After excluding the above diseases from the list of causes, the following causes can be considered:
- Pregnancy.
Intoxication and nausea in the morning is often found in pregnant women, especially in the early stages. This is a normal reaction of the body to significant changes and hormonal changes. It is very important to completely exclude drugs for the treatment of the digestive tract during pregnancy. These funds can have an extremely negative impact on the health of the patient, the unborn child and the course of pregnancy. Therefore, you will have to endure this ailment and get by with folk remedies, but be sure to consult your doctor. - Migraine. Morning sickness on an empty stomach may precede a severe headache. You will most likely still feel a lot of noise and increased sensitivity to smells.
- High blood pressure (hypertension). The problem of morning sickness can be accompanied by headache and dizziness. If you do not pay attention to these symptoms in a timely manner, you risk starting this disease, which in turn can lead to a stroke.
- Cardiovascular disease - rarely, nausea on an empty stomach occurs with heart failure or developing myocardial infarction.
If nausea is accompanied by pain, a feeling of heaviness and tightness behind the sternum, numbness or tingling in one half of the body, it is necessary to seek medical help as soon as possible, as this may be an incipient myocardial infarction. - Increased intracranial pressure - Nausea and regurgitation in infants can occur when pressure increases inside the ventricles of the brain.
What to do if you feel sick in the morning
It is important to understand that regular morning sickness is a signal of the presence of a pathology or disease and it is highly undesirable to self-medicate. Be sure to consult a doctor for an examination, but if you don’t have such an opportunity at the moment, there are several effective ways that will help reduce or temporarily get rid of this problem:
- Medicines. You need to be very careful and you must be sure that morning sickness is not the cause of pregnancy or an intestinal disease.
- Ginger root, mint and lemon drinks.
You can make infusions of these products for maximum effect, simply by adding them to a glass and boiling water, after 15 minutes you will have a very effective and safe (in the absence of allergies) remedy for morning sickness. YOU can also just add them to hot tea. - Medicinal collection - if nausea relentlessly torments you in the morning, you can try a collection of mint, oak bark and celandine. To prepare the drink, take 1 tsp of mint leaves, dried oak bark and chopped celandine, pour 0.5 l of boiling water and boil in a water bath for 10 minutes. After the broth is cooled and filtered, take 1 tablespoon 3-5 times a day before meals.
- During pregnancy. There are some little tricks you can use. For example, do not get out of bed quickly, drink plenty of fluids. Eliminate fatty and heavy foods from your diet. Eat small meals several times a day.
Why you feel sick in the morning: causes and methods of eliminating the problem
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Nausea in the morning can be caused by various conditions and diseases freepik.com- Nausea due to lack of sleep
- Low blood sugar
- Nausea due to acid reflux
- Morning anxiety, anxiety and nausea
- Other causes of morning sickness
- How to get rid of morning sickness
9 as the cause of some disease. Nausea may not necessarily be associated with problems of the gastrointestinal tract. It turns out that there are many reasons why a person feels sick in the morning on an empty stomach. Why do you feel sick in the morning?
Nausea due to lack of sleep
Nausea in the morning may be due to not getting enough sleep. The fact is that our biorhythms are closely connected with the gastrointestinal tract. If circadian rhythms are disrupted, it may well cause morning sickness.
By the way, this is the most common cause of nausea in the morning.
Low blood sugar
The second common cause of morning sickness is low blood sugar. If you wake up and feel nauseous and dizzy, eat something carbohydrate. Often, the first meal after a night's sleep should improve the condition, because immediately after the meal, blood sugar levels rise.
Nausea due to acid reflux
You may have eaten something spicy, fatty or fried the night before. Such food lingers in the stomach for a long time, and the acid rises up the esophagus, especially if you take a horizontal position (go to bed). Watch your evening diet. If you feel sick in the morning because of evening overeating or unhealthy food at night, exclude such moments and reconsider your diet. Dinner should be light and as useful as possible. Well, try not to overeat - it can also cause nausea in the morning. If heartburn often torments you, we recommend that you contact a gastroenterologist and read an article about drugs that help get rid of heartburn (of course, only a doctor prescribes them!).
Nocturnal reflux (heartburn) can cause morning sickness Monkey Business Images
Morning restlessness, anxiety and nausea
This condition can also cause morning sickness. For example, you didn't sleep well at night because you were worried about exams, an upcoming job interview, family problems, etc. In the morning, it is quite possible that you will feel nauseous.
Other causes of morning sickness
- It is important to determine whether morning sickness occurs only occasionally or is a systematic phenomenon. If you feel sick often, the reasons may be as follows.
- Side effects of medications you are taking.
- Intoxication of the body due to food, alcohol or any other poisoning.
- May vomit if there are problems with the gastrointestinal tract. Parallel symptoms will be: bitterness in the mouth, flatulence, abdominal pain, heartburn, etc.
- Morning sickness may manifest hypertension, hypotension (low blood pressure), pressure surges.
Headaches and pains in the heart, shortness of breath and even vomiting are possible. - Nausea in the morning (nausea usually turns into vomiting and sharp pain in the abdomen) may be due to acute appendicitis.
- Pregnancy is one of the conditions in women when they can feel sick in the morning.
- Morning sickness may occur in those who have a disrupted endocrine system (namely, the thyroid gland).
- Some psychological problems (depression, panic attacks, etc.) can also cause nausea.
If you have not identified the cause of nausea and could not eliminate it, be sure to consult a doctor - this symptom should not be ignored.
Ginger tea helps with nausea freepik.com
How to get rid of morning sickness
- Ginger is an effective folk remedy to combat nausea. You can make your own tea with ginger root. Pour a teaspoon of crushed ginger into a glass of boiling water and let it steep for 20 minutes.
- Lemon also helps stop nausea.
