... doctors don't know the cause. Phenergan and zofran don't seem to help much. She also has gastroparesis and they've started her on erythromycin, hoping to improve stomach motility and decrease nausea, but no improvement yet. Help!
Marinol - My 89 year old mother has been suffering from persistent nausea for over 2 years. The?
Question posted by Hopefuldaughter on 3 Oct 2013
Last updated on 8 March 2019 by JoGilbert
6 Answers
JoGilbert
9 March 2019
None of those drugs worked for me. I’m in a study at MDAnderson in Houston. I’m in a drug called domperidone... must be in a study to obtain it. Five centers in the country do these studies... drug cones from Europe through Dallas. Finally, I’m back to normal. Stimulates muscles in stomach to move the food.
Loripen
6 March 2019
Hi! This has been a while but did you ever get any answers as to what your mother's chronic nausea was from?
lucyb78
4 Oct 2013
I had problems with nausea, stomach pain and IBS symptoms but no one could figure out why and have never had an official diagnosis. Nexium has been the only thing that helped me and no side effects. To me it is a miracle drug. It may not work for everyone but is defenitely worth a try.
HeadStarter
3 Oct 2013
Hello hopeful and welcome to DC. Ummmm, excuse my ignorance but maybe I missed something here. Why is your mother being given e-mycin?
I know she is 89 years young but has she had an upper G.I. or endoscopy to see down into her stomach? At one point in my life, I was becoming so sickthat I ccouldn't stomach any food at all. I was only able to stomach liquid and sometimes jello, ice cream and sometimes mashed potatoes. The diagnosis I ended up with after passing flat out in my doctors' office was Addison's and that was no fun. By the way, my stomach issues were not addressed at any time during my 2-week hospital stay. My gastroenterologist ordered the endoscopy after I got out of the hospital. My stomach was 95% inflammed and that is why I couldn't stomach food. I was on a liquid diet at the hospital because I asked for it and because I was also on an MAOInhibitor (psych med) and was afraid to eat food.
What your mother isn't able to stomach could actually be causing a similar condition - inflammed stomach. Another thing that came to mind is what my father-in-law used to do when he didn't feel well. He would take a daily dose of bromo-seltzer which in turn caused esophageal ulcers. His first symptoms were the nausea... then he'd take the bromo... then he started vomiting blood. That landed him in the hospital until the doctors figured out it was the bromo that caused all of this mess.
Because I was on an MAOI, I believe I was given prevacid but I could be wrong... it was the purple pill. Not nexium. It took one year for me to be able to stomach food. I was 51 when that nonsense started. Do you know exactly what your mother was consuming that may have contributed to her current problems??? Just bearing in mind my bromo story... just a thought.
I hope your mother gets help that will truly be of benefit to her and you get to a place of peace in your life. I can feel your pain and frustration.
Mary
DzooBaby
3 Oct 2013
Marinol is a phenomenal drug for nausea. That is why they give it to cancer patients on chemo and AIDS patients. It stops nausea and improves appetite.
DzooBaby
3 Oct 2013
I cant imagine giving someone like this erythromycin. That stuff really strips the stomach. It is terribly hard on the stomach but if she is allergic to other antibiotics, she may not have a choice but it certainly isnt going to improve nausea until she is dont with the e-mycin
kaismama
3 Oct 2013
I was thinking that too, erythromycin makes me sick to my stomach. It sounds like they are using it as an irritant to get the stomach moving. I just thought of something, wonder if reglan would help.
kaismama
3 Oct 2013
Is she on Marinol? It is extremely expensive. Marijuana works wonders for chronic nausea, unfortunately our government thinks they know what is best for us. All she can do is eat small portions of foods that are light on her stomach.
Hopefuldaughter
4 Oct 2013
No, she's not on Marinol. I was searching this site for other nausea medicines and found Marinol. Thank you for the advice about light foods, but her nausea seems to defy common sense. Sometimes she's sick when she wakes up before consuming anything. Other times she gets sick after a few bites of egg or crackers or jello or can eat a fast food burger with no nausea. The erythromycin is supposed to make the stomach contract better to improve digestion. She was on Reglan but had side effects and still had the nausea. She had an endoscopy last year which revealed no problems other than her esophagus needed to be dilated.
kaismama
4 Oct 2013
I've seen this happen in the elderly before. Its for no apparent reason at all. Marinol does help nausea not relieved in other ways, but it is very expensive.
Ginger root can help nausea, as in schweppes ginger ale. Or ginger tea. Acupuncture has been used with some good results too.
Related topics
phenergan, zofran, gastroparesis, nausea/vomiting, erythromycin, doctor, stomach
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