gag reflex is destroying my life. long read

[TyLeR DuRDeN x2]

ok, i have a very bad gag reflex and it has gotten to a point where i cant go out of my house. i will explain how i think it first came about and to the point where i am now.


ok im 26 now and have had it since 2002, the first time i had it ( which was for about a month ) was when i was 18 i think. i was at work and wanted to go home so i faked being sick ( making myself gag ) i wish i never done that cause now im miserable. it went away for a while and only came and went every other couple of months, nothing bad though.
the next time i got it was in 2002. i went to a korn concert and was singing really loud, i was feeling great, the next day going to work i was on the train and i felt it. i get off the train and as i was walking to work i gagged very bad, to the point where i fell to the floor and kept gagging. someone asked if i needed some help and he got me some cookies from a cvs, after that i felt fine, but i always felt it, so i started taking vitamin c halls which worked really good cause when i felt it coming the taste of the candy would always control it. this worked throughout the years until this year.
in Nov of 05 i started getting dizzy and passing out for no reason and was out of work for about 3 months and in the hospital, they found the problem which was called vissa vegal ( typo ) basically my blood pressure was dropping very quick and my heart would beat very fast which caused me to pass out so they gave me propranolol which i have been taking since march of 06 and since then i haven't felt dizzy or passed out at all. so that's great for me, i felt great until this past November. my gagging got out of control, the candy doesn't work anymore, food doesn't work, drinks etc etc.
i have been out of work since November and the gagging is so bad that i cant leave my house at times. i feel it contently. the gagging is very violent and hurts so much that i cry cause of the pain to my chest and throat.
i have been to every doctor..ears nose throat, specialist, stomach doctor thinking there was something really wrong with me, but they all say the same thing. im perfectly fine and they don't see nothing wrong with me. i have had a colonoscopy and a endoscopy and both came out negative. the stomach doctor that gave me the endoscopy gave me paroxetine hcl 20 mg. i was taking it for a month and didn't feel any different ( maybe it need more time to work ? )
at that point i was out of options and went to a psychologist and they said it is a panic attack ( anxiety ) he said it is common and can help me.
here's where i start to panic more now.
he basically wants to put me on a study that his other patients are on and he says it has worked great. the drug is called seroquel. he gave me a carton with 10 bottles in it. there's 4 pills in each bottle and i have to take them all at the same time. the pills are random. so it could be a low dosage, placebo, or a high dosage. the lowest is 300 and the highest is 800. im am very nervous about taking these pills cause of what i read about them.
people who have taken seroquel started falling asleep 10 mins prior to taking them and sleeping for 15 hours straight. they have a hard time waking up in the morning, have horrible nightmares and gain 50-100 pounds on it. i don't have a sleeping problem at all but it seems like this is a sleeping pill that sedates you. i was supposed to take it this past Wednesday but have yet to. i made an appointment with my regular doctor to run this by him to hear what he has to say.
im scared as hell to take these pills and don't want to sleep the rest of my life just cause i have a problem gagging. its sometimes odd cause if im doing something that keeps my mind off of the gagging i feel fine like being with family or watching a movie.
this problem is affecting my life. i need to get back to work and i need to get my life back on track. i don't care of the gagging doesn't go away. i just want to control it. even if that means i have to eat those halls candy everyday.
can someone please help me with any opinions or maybe you have suffered the same thing. i would really appreciate the help and feedback.

[ocdengineer]

Anxiety can manifest itself in strange ways. My advice would be to NOT take the seroquel simply because a doctor gave it to you. Th doctor who gave it to you has an agenda that has nothing to do with your well doing, so talk to your general practicioner and then see about some CBT and possibly anti-anxiety meds. I wish you luck.

OE

[alex12]

I feel so bad for you...I am 34 and have had anxiety my whole life. Recently I was diagnosed with Vocal Cord Dysfunction. I was and still am having shortness of breath, feeling like someone is choking me. I went to the ER 2 times, saw every Dr. and basically was told I was fine and it's my anxiety. Well it did turn out to be something. I know my body and I know what a panic attack feels like.
My suggestion to you is first off switch Psychiatrists...You are in no condition to be in a study. You need help ! Seroquel is usually used to treat insomnia. I take Klonopin for panic atacks, and it usually helps , sometimes my anxiety is still gets the best of me. I wish I didnt need meds but the alternative is worse for me.
A good Dr will put you on a regimine. I take Paroxatine 20 mg (Paxil), the downside to it , is that its hard to get off of, Lexapro is another option. Those meds take about a month or so to kick in.
Did the ENT scope you? Maybe you have something going on with your vocal cords?

I panic a lot over my health, and it really takes a toll on my life...my kids see me always sick and it really sucks!

I hope you find help soon, dont give up!

[JB68711]

Hey, sorry to hear about your problem... I don't really have much to tell you, but have you tried the chloraseptic spray? It numbs your throat, and I've heard of women using it to prevent their gag reflexes from acting up in sexual situations. You may want to look into using it for the time being, at least until you find the help you're looking for. Good luck

[LauraDaydreams]

Hi!

I've never posted in here before, but I've been a lurker for a while. When I saw your post, I HAD to join and reply to you.

I've had a nervous stomach ALL of my life...ever since I was a kid. It was bad in high school...it was bearable in college...and after I graduated and got a job, my anxiety went CRAZY.

When I get nervous...(before I leave the house...before I travel...while I travel...when I think I'm going to get sick - I have a GIANT fear of vomit)...I start to dry heave. I can pretty much control it lately with xanax, except when I have my period (which obviously doesn't apply to you, since I see you are a male!). But it's gotten to a point...when I brush my teeth, I gag. When I smell something I don't like, I gag. When I THINK about certain things, I gag. I've gotten to a point where I obsessively think about dry heaving and my fear of vomit that I had to see a psychiatrist, who put me on Prozac for my "OCD" thoughts about it.

And once it starts (around my menstrual period), it doesn't stop for DAYS. I have to go to the doctor to get a shot of Visterol, because by then I'm dehydrated. And in about 4-5 days, I'm "back to normal" but usually obsessing over when it'll happen again! Like you, it happens very violently so that I can't walk or anything.

Is your stomach nauseous? You could always try ginger and peppermint (I suck on altoids like it's my job) and I eat a lot of crackers.

Also...you said the cookies made you feel better. Maybe you are dry heaving/gagging because you have no food in your stomach at the time. I know that when I wait too long to eat, I start to dry heave. Maybe you should be eating small amounts of food every once in a while.

I think you should look into a condition called "cyclic vomiting syndrome." [url]{REMOVED}[/url]. Even though you don't actually vomit, you dry heave. It's a real condition and it's still being researched. There are meds for it.

TRUST ME - I have SUCH a hard time leaving my house with this. I have to gather up the courage, but it's literally been ruining my social life, my career and more. I'm going on a CRUISE next week and I could just start dry heaving thinking about it. In fact, on my last plane flight, I dry heaved the entire way from NY to Miami! Gaaaah!

I feel your pain! Please leave me a message if you'd like to talk about this further - I haven't met too many people with almost the same problem as me!


Laura