Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome

[Jake_s0]

Anyone have this? I recently read about this on the web and it sounds like what i have. I have been to gastro specialists for about 3 years now, and no one has been able to pin point my problem.

Typically what happens is that am fine for durations of time (weeks to months) and then in just one day i get slammed. My stomach fills up with fluid, i vomit multiple times, and then typically i am fine within a day or two. They currently have me on nexium and Ranitidine, but I think they give this to any shmo who has stomach problems. I dont have reflux, i have been thru every test and everytime they come back good. A few times i had to go to the ER when i had an 'episode'. mostly it was because of the dehydration. I also have a history of migraines.

But yet, with all of this, the doctor (whom i havent seen yet--a new one) says it doesnt sound like CVS. I am pretty confident that this is it. I guess i will have to wait until my appointment.

[jboon]

My son had cyclic vomiting caused by delayed pattern food allergy. Symptoms were the same as yours, only he would become ill every 10-12 days. Instead of having an immediate reaction to the food to which he was allergic, it would build up in his system until it became toxic, and then for 2-3 days he would vomit and be ill until the allergin was gone. Then the cycle would begin again. Let me know if you would like any other info or details. Good luck.

[Jake_s0]

Thanks for your reply. I recently had a second scope of my stomach done and everything looked great. The doctors are now suspecting CVS, which is what i thought all along. They said it could be caused by anxiety. I am not really sure. It now happens maybe once every few months, which is down from once every month. I am somewhat thankful for that. The only problem is that it seems to persist for more than 24 hours. In any case, i have never heard of anyone with this condition before, so i know nothing about it. There isnt much information about it on the internet either. If anyone knows of a support group or something for this, please let me know.

thanks,
Jake

[jboon]

Jake,

There is an organization called the Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome Foundation. You should be able to find its website by doing a search on Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. When you had the endoscopy, did they specifically look for something called eocinophils (sp?)? If a person has true food allergies, the level of these cells is usually high. When my son was ill, we took him to Johns Hopkins to be evaluated by pediatric GI's, allergists, ENT's. The GI doctor there at the time was involved in a grant to study delayed pattern food allery that was causing CVS-like symptoms. Our son was there at the right time. The grant expired, and I've never heard anything more about the connection between delayed pattern food allergy and CVS. The doctor is no longer at Hopkins, but I did run into him several years ago (he now works at a hospital in VA). He told me that whenever he gets a new patient with CVS symptoms, he always examines the delayed pattern food allergy possibility. I know of no other doctors who do. I can tell you that allergy testing (both skin and blood) yielded no results because they only pick on immediate allergic reactions. The theory on delayed pattern food allergy is that the person can tolerate small amounts of the allergic food with no immediate reaction. However, if the food is consumed consistently over time, it can build up to a point of toxicity. That is when the person becomes violently ill with vomiting for however long it takes until the "toxin" is fully expelled. Then the person is fine...until the next time. The hard part is trying to find out what the person is allergic to. We were lucky, our son was very young and not consuming many different foods. As the food he was allergic to was consumed less frequently, the episodes between sick periods became longer. Once the food (it did take months to figure out what it was) was no longer consumed, he never threw up for that reason again. I've checked over the years to see what progress has been made on the causes of and treatment for CVS. Please keep me posted on how you're doing--I know it's not an easy existence--I watched someone live through it. Be strong!

[Jake_s0]

Just to give an update on my condition.

I had gotten sick in May (around that time) that lasted 3 days in duration. Around that time i had also been diagnosed with hearing loss and was told that I needed hearing aids. Because I struggled hearing people all the time, especially in noisy places, i decided to go for it even though i am ONLY 29 and feel i am too young to wear them. But anyways, after that, i had no more stomach problems until around early August (3 months later). That was the same day that i had gone for a job interview in which I did not wear the hearing aids. I got sick a few hours after the interview. I always knew that my stomach problems were caused by stress, but it wasnt until this that i realized that the stress was probably from not being able to hear people. Now, 4 months later, completely off of meds (for 4 months), I am episode free. Who would have thought!!? 4 months is my new record! I hope I didnt just curse myself by saying that! because throwing up every 4 hours for 3 days straight and losing 10+ pounds is no fun!

STRESS IS EVIL!!! I would guess that people have high levels of stress and dont even realize it. And I am also guessing that stress reeks havoc on stomachs!