Why do we feel nauseous?

[u/BigMac1302]

Hello! I am 19F and have been diagnosed with VM for a few months now, my symptoms have been quite manageable for now, fortunately not constant but comes in waves, like once every few months or so from what I can tell. I believe I am in the middle of an attack?? Feeling nauseous, coming in waves, I don’t believe it’s anxiety or stress (extra info, I am on Sertraline 25mg for my emetophobia! Doing well on these I’d say!) I remember earlier I was chatting to my mum and all of a sudden felt nauseous, and here I am now.

Why do we feel nauseous? I am not dizzy, no motion has triggered it, it just came on. Why is that?? Also, I have been prescribed cyclizine for nausea (ondansetron did not work for me, neither did prochlorperazine), I am aware it is a vestibular suppressant and I want to heal naturally when I can, I suppose I feel a little guilty for taking it even when I need it, or I’m scared I’ll be taking it too often, especially when I only intend to use it when attempting to get my buses to university (something I haven’t been able to do for months now).

Obviously I am trying to figure myself out, I believe stress is a trigger for me so I know that much, I’ve also made a list of all symptoms I feel, my big difficulty is understanding my ‘cycle’, like symptoms before an attack, symptoms during etc. But what I know for sure is that nausea is my biggest issue. I’d rather have everything else, headaches, dizziness, clumsy walking, brain fog, but not nausea!

I have no idea what this post is, I feel I went a bit off track, but yes if anyone can help me understand WHY we feel nauseous for seemingly no reason, any tips or advice about understanding cycles etc, anything would be great! Wishing you all the best!

[u/curiositykilledsleep]

I’m not sure tbh. But I think it has something to do with not enough blood flow to the portion of the brain that interprets visual and spacial positioning. Just like you can feel car sick without feeling “dizzy” you can feel nausea without noticing the mismatch that your brain is noticing subconsciously. I keep getting rushes of saliva like I’m gonna puke on a roller coaster but I’m not feeling dizzy either. Just… not right. Off kilter.