Nausea While Exercising

swampwitch

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Has anyone else experienced this? I think I'm drinking enough water and I always have a light breakfast first, but it is very difficult to exercise when you feel like you are going to throw up the whole time!

Nausea has been my constant companion for decades; my doctors have thought it is because of my pernicious anemia and fluctuating B12 levels, but the nausea is really kicking in when I exercise.

I'm getting my blood sugar levels checked again this month, and my yearly CBC... I haven't eaten any refined sugar in about 18 months, but I do love fruit. My bloods levels have always been excellent despite my many chronic health conditions.

(I've been doing 50 minutes of yoga and pilates three times a week.)

Anybody else have this problem? Any advice?
 

vampcow

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I do!!! Or rather I did.


For me it was an electorlite (spelling?) problem...I found that just water isn't good enough for me....soo what i do is get a sports drink or orange juice and mix it with water and put it in my water bottle. It tastes gross but has helped tremediously.
 

yosemite

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I avoid formal exercise as much as possible. When I've heard of joggers falling over dead, I've said, "Wow, you'll never catch me jogging!".


Seriously though, have you talked with your doctor about it? That would be my first suggestion if you haven't already done so.
 

natalie_ca

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Sounds like dehydration. When you exercise you sweat, and sweat contains salt (sodium). Where sodium goes other electrolytes also follow. In order to maintain hydration you need adequate sodium in your body. Sweating reduces that sodium so just plain water isn't enough to maintain hydration if you are low on salt. That principal is why if you have too much salt intake you tend to retain fluid and your feet and hands can feel "swollen."

Best to drink a sports drink or have something really salty like potato chips while drinking the water.
 
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swampwitch

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I thank you all for the information!

I am seeing my doctor in two weeks and will talk to him then. Is there something healthy I can put in my body electrolyte and salt-wise? I don't drink sports drinks because of the sugar, or eat chips because of the fat... I've just started on a better multi-vitamin, maybe that will help?

I don't sweat hardly at all, this is one of my problems. I just overheat and have to jump into a cool shower! Also, it is extremely difficult to get my heart rate up; when I walk with friends they get out of breath while I am fine and my heart is still beating quite slowly. My doctor says I don't have fat around my heart which is a good thing, but it also makes it very difficult to get that heart rate up.

I knew I would get help here, thanks!
 

strange_wings

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^That's probably it right there. Lots of people who don't sweat properly have issues with exercise. With your heart rates staying low, do you know what your blood pressure is doing? Mine falls and along with this I get nauseous - but I get tachycardia which can also cause nausea.

You may have to change how you exercise. Do you know of any gyms with heated pools?
Swimming it generally recommended to those who don't sweat correctly (or at all) and because it's not as stressful on the body.

There are a lot of sports drinks now that have artificial sweeteners. There are some flavors of Propel that taste nice - black cherry, especially. But if you have a problem with sweeteners, like I do, these may only end up making you more nauseous.
There is Emergen-C. It doesn't have sweeteners, but does contain aspartic acid. Large doses of this may cause problems for some people - aspartame contains aspartic acid, so I'm leery to try it in case that may be one of the things triggering the bad nausea.
 
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swampwitch

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Thanks for the good advice! I do remember that I got nauseous when my blood pressure dropped, it's only happened once that I know of, during the cesarean when I had my daughter.

I never eat artificial sweeteners... somebody should make a sports drink sweetened with real fruit juice!

All of this information is very interesting, do you know why some people don't sweat much? (I'm really happy to be out of Texas!)
 

strange_wings

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Because your sweat glads are innervated by the sympathetic nervous system it would be caused by damage to the autonomic nervous system, generally from autonomic/peripheral neuropathology. There can be problems with the glands themselves and anticholinergics can also impair sweating.

There's a lot more too it than that, but thyroid problems generally do throw the ANS off as can many other things.

I have the ANS issues, but I also had bad heat exhaustion/heat stroke. It was directly after this that I couldn't sweat at all and become extremely heat intolerant. I had the ANS issues before, but I suspect that damaged more. So anything can cause it.

Definitely have your doctor check you blood pressure during exercise. This would be called a Stress test and it would be good to see what your heart is doing, too.

Also, exactly what all meds are you on? List OTC too.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

Thanks for the good advice! I do remember that I got nauseous when my blood pressure dropped, it's only happened once that I know of, during the cesarean when I had my daughter.

I never eat artificial sweeteners... somebody should make a sports drink sweetened with real fruit juice!

All of this information is very interesting, do you know why some people don't sweat much? (I'm really happy to be out of Texas!)
there is a maker who has a fruit juice based sport drink... the drink is called recharge...
http://www.knudsenjuices.com/news/item/22

salt / potassium imbalance can cause your symptoms...
 
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swampwitch

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Also, exactly what all meds are you on? List OTC too.
I've had heat stroke, too.

daily:
100 mg Prometrium progesterone
120 mg desiccated thyroid

once or twice a week:
80 mcg cyanocobalamin injection

OTC drugs:
don't take them really, I've had about 10 Advils the last 10 years
can't tolerate anti-histamines or aspirin

I haven't taken anything for my asthma since I got off of Advair about two years ago.



Originally Posted by sharky

there is a maker who has a fruit juice based sport drink... the drink is called recharge...
http://www.knudsenjuices.com/news/item/22

salt / potassium imbalance can cause your symptoms...
Thanks! That is great news; I love Knudsen juices. I'll definitely look for that!
 

sarahp

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I think I said this last time you were having nausea...

Maybe you're pregnant?
(Sorry, had to say it, cause I know you love that idea...)

I wonder if your doc can do some bloodwork to see if you're low in something important?
 

strange_wings

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Looked up Prometrium progesterone - it seems to cause ANS side effects that are more linked to increased sympathetic nervous system activation (increased sweating, hypertension, decreased intestinal motility, etc.), which wouldn't make you sweat less. It could be part of the nausea, though.

Maybe it's simply having a bit less thyroid hormone circulating - that can decrease sweating.
You may also want to start checking your temperature, maybe your body isn't regulating heat properly when you exercise. Getting too warm will make you feel sick.

B12 deficiency pops up a lot as being a cause/contributing factor of orthostatic hypotension and orthostatic intolerance. So that alone plays into the ANS and could be one a cause for the sweating problem and nausea.

But yes, best have your doctor retest and make sure everything looks good. Get a good cardiologist, maybe, and have a stress test.
 

cococat

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I cannot offer any medical advice. Just a life experience. I eat breakfast every morning but if I get up too early it has to be a light breakfast, of only a fruit to set well. I have been like this my entire life. If I do hard exercise in the AM, I do not eat a normal breakfast, I would just have a fruit and lots of water along with some OJ.
Afterwards I can eat normally. It doesn't feel good to me to exercise on a full stomach honestly, no matter the time of day. Walking or hiking is fine, light exercise doesn't matter, but not anything like a long game of tennis or an hour on the treadmill type stuff.

This is probably a great question for your doctor
I know you already said that
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by cococat

It doesn't feel good to me to exercise on a full stomach honestly, no matter the time of day.
That's because your stomach and digestive tract need a bit of extra blood to digest. If you're trying to exercise your body will pump out more adrenaline, send that blood elsewhere, and your digestion will slow down (see previous mention of sympathetic nervous system slowing down gut and intestinal motility). In other words, you're giving your body too much to do at once. Eat and relax.
IIRC it's even possible to trigger an episode of reactive hypoglycemia (or maybe it was fasting hypoglycemia) if one exercises too intensely not long after eating.
 

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You may be exercising too hard and getting your heart rate too high. That can definitely cause nausea. Try backing off a little. That doesn't necessarily mean doing shorter workouts, just don't go all out. Also, check your heart rate before you start and again at the end of your exercise. Then keep track of how long it takes for your heart rate to go back to normal. If it's more than a few minutes your body is probably not ready for the level of exercise you're doing. Check you pulse if you start feeling nauseated, too. There's nothing wrong with taking a break in the middle although you might want to do something like march in place until things settle down rather than stop moving entirely. (I'd never get going again).

None of this should take the place of a doctor visit. These are just some suggestions of things you can try while you're waiting for tests from the doctor.
 

strange_wings

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I did a bit more reading as I knew I had something in my bookmarks about it. It seems that autoimmune thyroiditis and B12 deficiency can both lead to an increase in parasympathetic nervous activity. I'm not saying this is the exact answer, but it could explain the lower heart rate, heart rate not changing much with exercise, decreased sweating, and nausea (but then everything can cause nausea).

Think of it as the body having the brakes partially engaged.

Again, a cardiologist that understands how your other health problems could tie in may be able to find the answer to the lower heart rate. Measuring exactly what is going on during exercise could be a big help to finding a solution.


Good luck figuring this out.
 

GoldyCat

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You've obviously had some medical issues along the way, but it's possible that the lower heart rate is normal for you now. Maybe you're just in better shape than your friends. When I first started working out about 4.5 years ago my resting heart rate was 84 and would get up to 150+ while I was exercising, making me feel like I was going to pass out. Now that I'm in better condition my resting HR is 64 and I have to work a lot harder to get it up to even 120.
 
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