It just happened to me. In public.

[jet1550]

Hey,

Apologies to anybody scared by this, I just need a little support from people who can empathise. I don't think this was caused by a stomach virus although I still feel very shaken.

I'm making a long distance move Friday so I decided to go into the city centre and do some final shopping before I leave. Walking back (around 2 miles) I had to walk up a steep street. Walking up the hill I felt extremely weak and tired and soon after I reached the top I had to stop because I felt my stomach churning. After what felt like an hour (it was probably less than a minute) I retched violently 4 times and then vomited up the only thing that had passed my lips since last night - water.

I'm about 70% sure this isn't a virus because just a few minutes before it happened I felt hungry and stopped to buy some fries that I planned on eating when I got home. Also, I had the same experience at age 9 after taking part in a race in school. I just collapsed with exhaustion and gagged violently.

It's now been around an hour since it happened and I feel slightly hungry although the muscles in my stomach are really hurting. I feel so disappointed and upset that it happened because I'd been getting a lot better this week and eating a little more, and now I don't plan on eating for a long time, even though I know that it was lack of food and therefore energy that made it happened in the first place.

Any advice? Does anybody else retch and vomit from lack of energy and overexerting themselves?

[Jabberwocky]

First I want to say that I think it's amazing that you got through it in such a good way! You should be proud of yourself!

I have never actually vomited from overexerting myself, like working out and getting sick from it, but I have gotten REALLY, REALLY nauseous. I don't know why this happens, but it's very normal.. :-) It's also very normal that your stomach muscles are hurting right now, because it is quite the strain for them to do what they just did.. I think you should eat some dry toast, or some salty crackers. Salt binds your stomach, and helps if you are feeling nauseous!

Hope you feel better soon! :-)

[JadeNight]

Yes I have. I overexerted myself on a treadmill on an empty stomach and it took a little while but I experienced the same feelings and all that came up was the water I was sipping on. It was scary and came out of no where. But good job on handling it so very well!

[jet1550]

Hey Jabberwocky, thanks for the reply!

From the info I've found online, the reason that some people retch/vomit after overexertion is down to the stomach going into spasm due the diversion of blood to the muscles, which kind of makes sense. And having no food in my stomach and little energy in my muscles obviously made that more likely to happen.

I'm actually starting to get hunger pains so a little plain food in an hour or so sounds like a good idea

[jet1550]

Hey Jade, yeah it is scary isn't it? For some reason it felt scarier than the time I had the norovirus two years ago!

Perhaps because a, I was in public and b, because I already felt so dizzy and had no energy.

[gumdropper1]

Hey, Jet, sorry it happened but glad you got through it OK. And if nobody saw you, it wasn't really in public. Doug

[sage]

Such a Catch-22 eh? Not having enough sustenance in your system would have caused the stomach to seize in the first place. But then because it happened I can see you not wanting to eat. I hope you can start with some small bit of food that's easy to digest (liquids, usually) and move on to more substantial foods before long. Then just knowing your limits will help in future.

I remember that someone told me you're less likely to feel queasy on a boat if you have food in your stomach. I used to travel the local ferry without eating and felt horrible every time. Finally, I decided to "risk it" and had breakfast on board. It was sooooo much better! I remembered that theory at other times in the future.

[lizzo]

Such a Catch-22 eh? Not having enough sustenance in your system would have caused the stomach to seize in the first place. But then because it happened I can see you not wanting to eat. I hope you can start with some small bit of food that's easy to digest (liquids, usually) and move on to more substantial foods before long. Then just knowing your limits will help in future.

I remember that someone told me you're less likely to feel queasy on a boat if you have food in your stomach. I used to travel the local ferry without eating and felt horrible every time. Finally, I decided to "risk it" and had breakfast on board. It was sooooo much better! I remembered that theory at other times in the future.

Sage, are you talking about BC Ferries? I used to be terrified of the ferries when I was younger but now that i'm older I am much less anxious. As long as you don't eat that awful ferry food! lol!

[haylz113]

Yes, vomiting from overexercising is common. I often get nauseous from too much exercise but have only vomited once. It is a yucky feeling, but at least you know you aren't sick. Best advice is to slowly increase your cardiovascular capacity so that your body doesn't get so shocked from the physical activity. The fitter I get, the less I feel sick at the end of workouts.

[5.0ben]

Could be overexertion and or dehydration. Ive been working HARD with weights and cardio for years and have never actually gotten sick from it but I know my limits. I am a personal trainer and have seen this happen to a few of my clients. They are usually newbies that hit it too hard too quick not listening to my advice!

[jet1550]

Well I've eaten today, and last night I even reheated those fries I got which didn't cause anything bad to happen.

My stomach muscles are still a little achy and all day I've had pretty intense hunger pains which turn to nausea, and the nausea then turns back into the hunger pains after an hour or two. It's confusing and irritating but I can deal with it.

Slightly ironic that I've spent years worrying about stomach viruses and creating a "safe zone" at home, and when it does happen it happens because of overexertion in a public place as a result of not eating, minutes after buying fries and a load of Indian cooking ingredients.

You have to laugh, don't you?

[emmalinda]

wow, i admire you for getting through that! welldone. was it as bad as you thought it was gonna be? im glad you know what caused it though so you can prepare yourself for the future in keeping your stomach full!

[sage]

lizzo - ya BC Ferries! I don't mind the food, and always eat a lot on the ferry because it does make you feel better. However I generally do NOT travel to the island from November - February. Sometimes I have to go for a lecture or workshop I'm putting on, but I always tell the organizers that if it's a wind storm I won't be coming! It's not that I'm even scared anymore. I just don't want to spend the morning watching people be sick and getting sick myself, do a workshop all day, then watch people be sick and be sick myself coming home!

[gumdropper1]

Sage, I'm surprised to hear you take the ferry. From your reputation around here, I figured you'd just walk over.

Doug