You are right in saying you are an ematophobiac. I'm not a dr or anything so I cant say what you can do. However, I have read abotu people with ematophobia. They have all the symptoms of an anorexic but they don'
t think they're fat. They're just scared of throwing up all the time so they chose not to eat. Can you relate to this? This is almost like an eating disorder if you can. As you mention, you have panic attacks. I know that medication is the best way to deal with panic attacks. It really helps and i've read stories of how people who suffered from attacks b/c of all sorts of fears and took medication and are leading happy normal lives today. Myabe this is an option for you? Please choose to fight this. You have a life ahead of you. Just think- you could be free from this, you could move on and be happy. Please go to a doctor. You seem to be an adult so maybe you can get help without having anyone involved. I hope I have helped. Just keep me posted. :d
ps: i'm not sayin I have the sol'n to everything. I'm just a dumb teen I have many problems of my own and I need help with them too. I just want to let you know that you're not alone. I know I feel that way when I have problems. So iam just posting this for you as a friend. :)

That was my biggest fear too!!! I didnt eat incase I got food poison, I didnt go out incase I caught a bug! It's a very annoying thing to live with. People say to me it's only vomiting!! They just dont understand

Hi this is for "ematophobiac." how are you? I e-mailed you before remember? Well I just wanted to see how you were doing. I remember you mentioing you were going to the doctor, I hope they helped you. Take care and e-mail me when you want ok?
:d

Hello, as I write I am feeling nausea...A little anxiety too. This has ruled me for a while. I have tried to go to counseling for it and it seems as if no one can relate. I hate this feeling, it has become an everyday issue. I lost 50lbs in one year because of this issue. I do not have an eating disorder, but I do tend to eat lighter than normal. All my friends and family say the feeling is in my head, but it's not, you can actually hear my stomach make noises after I eat. Do you have a gassy feeling, bloat and nausea?

I do take an anti-nausea daily to help, but it does not help with the gas or bloat...I can not tolerate the anxiety meds, I also get real sick..
you are not alone!

Ann

I'm really sorry about that. Think about what it is that bothers you about vomitting? Tell me why it's so bad for you.

I think it is in your head. It's adrenaline thats making you bloated etc. The more you panic the more your tummy gets worked up. So if you can just control your mind to think about other stuff it should make you feel better. It's like being on a roller coaster, your tummy slushes everywhere giving you that sick feeling, it's the same when you start panicing your body releases adrenaline (which some people pay for, jumping out of a plane etc) and after a while you are bound to feel sick. You need to calm down and train your mind.

Hey I am 14 years old and I have always been sacer of geting sick when I was little. I n ever liked it ,but it didnt ruin my everyday life like this!!!! I cant stand the feeling. I wanna be able to go on rides at the fair feel g normal!!!!!! So I can actually enjoy them!!! I cant go out with freinds anymore im so sick in my stomache!!! Im so scared. It has gotten way outtta control. I thought I was physically scik like a disease.(even though it fells like it)! But I just found out I had all the dymtoms of emotohpobia. I never knew there was such a thing? I knew it was weird. I havnt gotten sick in 8 months. I just neeed to reasure myself that itll be ok ,its normal everybody soes it wont last forever. But its not that easy when ur feeling sick. I just wanna get drunk with a close freind. Maybe we'll get scik together and maybe I wont fell like caca anymore. I just cant take it im so young it should stop. I m glad I m seeing a new phcyatrist at the end of this month hopefully she can put me on something. Last time I went on meds it was some antibacterial thing because I didnt know why I was feeling this way. The doctor just said oh u need to stop smoking the medication made me feel so sick. I just need to end this feeling!
Help me

I too am nauseas almost all the time and have a horrible fear of vomiting...The other night I got myself so worked up thinking I ate bad chicken that I was shaking and chilled. I am going to my gp on tuesday to see if he can help me but I really think it is an anxiety issue. I know this is impairing my ability to be a good mother so I feel for all of you who are suffering from this. Let me know how you are all doing.

I know exactly how you feel. I'm only 17 yrs. Old and i've been feeling nausious for the past two weeks non-stop. Its terrible. And I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. Its horrifying. I don't know whats wrong with me either. I would love to know. I'm always tired and nausious and it never goes away. I was prescribed this medicine and it doesn't help that well. I'm too young to feel like this. I just wanna feel normal. I really wish there was something out there. If I find anything out, i'll let you know.. Help me please

I never knew other peopel had the same feeling. I am soooo sick of feeling like crap every single day. At first I thought I was pregnant, Nope, then I started a new birth control, less hormones, Im sicker. I went to the doctor. I told them Everything that has been going on with me(im sure she thought i was a basket case) They prescribed me an antidepressant/antianxiety/slight sedative.... Alright where does this come in and help my nausea...? I don't eat unless its very sublte. I occasionally feel alright and eat a spicy teryaki or something, But most of the time I am afraid of food. Everything makes me ill. It effects my everday life so negatively, im constantly in a terrible mood, no energy, I have severe anxiety about driving out of my hometown, because Im afraid of getting sick. I hate VOMITING or VOMIT! I freak out and have panic.... Im 22 years old...

hi all. i have an intese fear of vomit and/or getting sick too. I've experienced some nausea on and off over the past few weeks. Last week it was real bad, where I couldn't really eat anything. This week its getting better, I'm eating when I'm hungry but afterwards I just feel so nervous. I try to do things to get my mind off of it (like go out, or go for a walk, etc.) I'm going to see a specialist in a few weeks to see if it is some sort of stomach problem (like an ulcer, parasite or gastritis, etc.) I will be seeing a psychologist for this issue also. I guess the best thing is just to stay positive, and keep reminding yourself that you're not sick, or gonna get sick. Sitting around and thinking about it is gonna make it worse ... I try to go out, go for a walk they're very relaxing ... my boyfriend and I love to go hiking so we go out to his land like once a week and go in the woods. Everyday I'm getting better and I feel that eventually I'll be able to go back and eat what I want. Right now I eat small meals, like a sandwich and some crackers, applesauce, toast for breakfast ... and I nibble through the day. The most important thing is to keep your fluids up for energy. I drink alot of juice and Gatorade is really good. Seeing a therapist too will def. help, just talking about your fears can do your body some good.

Good Luck.

i've never written on here, but i've moved across the country recently and my anxiety is coming back. Mostly, i really want to let others know they are not alone, and anxiety CAN be overcome.
for as long as i can remember, i have had anxiety issues and panic attacks. anxiety would cause my stomach to hurt, and that would in turn, cause more anxiety!
i am 28 now, and i don't know when it happened, but i am now able to leave the house, travel, sit in the middle of a movie theater (i'm sure many of you understand this one), and have a job. i'm still in college, but i'm just proud i've stuck it out.
i still get anxious with new situations, but it's no longer stopping me from living my life...to a point! im not where i want to be yet, but i'm working at it.

ANYWAY! my point was to tell you that i learned that my own fear of throwing up was actually part of a bigger fear of losing control. if you think about it, when you vomit, you are completely at the mercy of your body. you are not in control.
my effort now has gone into figuring out why i NEED to be in control of everything.
and learning to let things just happen, and then learn how i can handle whatever it is.
now, this may not apply to everyone, but it really made a difference in my life. before i felt like i was trying to fight something that didn't have an identity, which is a hard thing to do. now i know what i'm fighting, and it makes it a little easier.


to end this, i'd like to add that anxiety and panic usually affects highly intelligent, perceptive people. so it's kind of a compliment:)

good luck. there are many of us here for you.

Thank you IKK.
I am in total agreement with you.
Alot of anxiety issues are mind over matter.
If you think you're gonna get sick - you will.

Whenever I feel anxious, my stomach gets queasy and then I start thinking about getting sick which in turn gets me more anxious. Basically now when I eat (and if im feeeling anxious at the same time) I just keep telling myself I'm fine, I laugh along with friends (if I'm out) or even to myself ... I'll watch TV if I'm home ... just to keep my mind occupied. The trick is mind over matter, as simple as it sounds its hard to do. I've just recently been trying this and its working for me. Even when I was having chronic stomach aches I would still force myself to go out for a walk or out to do something with a friend just to get my mind off of the situation. By the time I was home later, I felt better.

IKK I'm 25 and in the same boat, although I didn't move I still live at home but I'm in college still, part time just cuz I know if I take on full time I'll get overwhelmed. But what people need to know is not to let this ruin your life! If you are constantly thinking it and constantly worried about getting sick, it's GONNA HAPPEN. Just relax and breathe and do something else, keep reassuring yourself "im not gonna get sick, I'm not gonna get sick" and eventually it'll be so beaten into your brain that you'll just automatically know you're not gonna get sick.

Good luck and please if anyone wants to talk, I am willing to listen.

Hi there,
I've had that same fear of vomiting for as long as I can remember. It started in my early teens for seemingly no reason. I had avoided getting sick for 13 years because of it, but caught a stomach bug in 2006 and, although I realized after I vomited that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, I became overly paranoid every time I felt slightly nauseous that I was getting the flu. I am now terrified of flu season, and if ever someone comes in to the office after having vomited for whatever reason, I wash my hands constantly and always have antibacterial gel nearby. I hate having that fear of getting sick. It's gotten better than it was, however, so I can be thankful of that. A woman in the office had food poisoning not long ago (she told everyone it was the flu, but it wasn't. We ate at the same place and I didn't feel too good afterwards myself) and even though I knew I couldn't catch it, I was terrified of touching anything she touched, and it gave me severe anxiety. Now, I get mildly to severely nauseous around the same time every day and feel queasy otherwise (no, I'm not pregnant).

It's nice to know one is not alone in this.

I feel sick to my stomach everyday too. I know it is because I am so scared to vomit. My fear may be more of not wanting to vomit in front of people. It started when I was around 8 years old. I threw up and then I didn't want to eat for months..my parents forced me to eat. I was like that for probably 6 months and then it got better. I am now 25 and it just started back up again and is worse than it was. I am getting married soon, so it probably has to do with the stress of that...the nerves make my stomach hurt and then I freak out bc I am afraid I'm going to vomit. The dr put me on meds for anxiety...it has helped, but not eliminated my problem. I am so glad that I'm not alone, but I just want to know how to overcome this. Any advice would be great!

I am the exact same way!!! I got really sick one night and puked like no other and ever since then I am so terrified. When I am sick everyone says " just throw up you'll feel better" but that freaks me out even more. Its not so much the vomiting that scares me its the fact that I don't have control of my body and I can't breath. I found out yesterday I am 5 weeks pregnant and I am so scared that I second guess going through with the pregnancy as totally sad that is. I just am so scared. I am going to go through with it but I am having my Dr put me on Nausea medicine and taking everything anybody tells me not to throw up. i'd do anything to get through this pregnancy without throwing up. I have never been drunk my whole life because of this and I have never been on a roller coaster because I am scared either one will make me sick. I wont eat foods that I can imagine myself throwing up. Sometimes I will wake up in the middle of the night and remember that is how I woke up the last time I threw up and I will stay up all night terrified if I go back to bed I will throw up. Sometimes I tell myself that I should just stick my finger down my throat and show myself its not that big of a deal But i am terrified. I wont tell ppl the last time I did throw up because I am scared i will jinx it. I read that some ppl have never thrown up their whole lives....grr I am jealous.

i'm soo sick of this crap... im only 23 yrs old now and for the past 2 weeks ive been feeling like crap, nausea at its worst, i cant eat anything without feeling like im gonna barf, not to mention everytime i feel that way i freak out... i dunno what it is, does anyone know whats happening to me? i wanna live my life again...

Me too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't get sick often but a few years ago I caught a bad bug...you know the one that makes you get sick about every hour on the hour and around the 10th hour of this happening I began to see a bright light and hear harp music...no seriously I did almost pass out and ever since then my phobia has gotten worse. Just like you, I have to watch what I eat, scared of under cooked meat, going to sleep at night....

I have 2 small kids (7 and 4) and they handle it better than I do. I can handle everything else fine but just the idea that there is a chance that I could come across someone with a "bug" in any public area horrifies me. I loose sleep. I make my family live on "Airborne" to keep the germs away. Chronic hand washing and cans of lysol in every room of the house has become the norm for me. Sorry to be graphic but vomitting is the bodies natural way for getting rid of "unwanted visitors". It is by no means anything that anybody enjoys (I don't think) but there must be a way to not let this control our lives! If anyone has any sugestions besides "don't be such a baby" or "just get over it" please let me know by private message. thanks!

A lot of what everyone wrote here makes sense to me. Especially what Ikk wrote. I've had a fear of vomiting ever since I was 13-14. I'm 30 now. When I was 12, I had to throw up a few times. Ever since, I've felt sick a lot, always fearing that I need to throw up. Which was a big problem in school or on the bus because you couldn't go out for a second. After a few different doctors, one sent me to a psychiatrist. I was very embarrassed about that, I was sure I had something physical wrong with me and they said it was mental. I've always seen myself as a sane down to earth person and I couldn't believe my mind was messing with me. I hated hypochondriacs and didn't want to be one.
I didn't realize that eating nothing would make me feel less nauseated, never occurred to me then. After a while it got better, I learned dealing with it myself by forcing me to do stuff I hated and I stopped seeing the psychiatrist. Years passed and thankfully I almost forgot about this. I've always kept the fear of vomiting though, I couldn't understand when someone would stick a finger down his/her throat when feeling sick. But next to that, I could do the normal stuff a teenager does like go to parties, drink alcohol (mind you, I'm not from the US, here underage drinking is tolerated), have fun with friends, whatever.
Then when I was about 24, I was at a time in my life when I partied pretty hard. I would work during the week and party Friday - Saturday and even Sunday. And those were the parties that started at 00:00 and ended at 10-11 am. I didn't drink any alcohol at those parties but I did smoke a lot, regular and joints. After a week of partying hard (5 parties in 8 days), I crashed. I felt very sick at the party and secluded myself from my friends. I ended up at a deserted buss stop feeling like I would puke my guts out. I didn't though, I've always been pretty good at stopping myself from puking. Not that that stops me from thinking I need to puke a lot of the time.
But anyway, after that very unfortunate night, I felt sick again. All the time. I stopped going out, stopped doing anything. I felt sick at home but when I went outside, it got worse. This constant feeling of nausea, of having to throw up. This was six years ago. Since then it has really crippled my life. It's gotten better after the first harsh period but it always stayed. I would also suffer a lot from acid reflux. Daily. I would wake up in the morning, drink some water and feel the acid coming up. After a few years of this and several visits to the clinic, someone prescribed me a proton inhibitor (Omeprazole) which did miracles for my acid reflux. I take two 20mg a day and I'm acid free. What a relief!
But still, the nausea and the anxiety are still here.

It's hard to wrap up years living with this in a few sentences. I could write a full book on my nausea, the other symptoms and the impact it has on my life. But something I said once to my then girlfriend is pretty accurate : If there would be the possibility of getting one wish granted, I wouldn't choose love, money, world peace, power or whatever normal someone would wish. I would choose to never EVER feel nauseated again. Pretty selfish I know but people here who have lived with this for years understand what I mean I think.

But what Ikk said is pretty accurate, I have a fear of losing control and an intense fear of vomiting in front of other people. Or even lose face in front of other people I guess.

Things I do or don't because of my "situation" :

- eat at someones else 's place : I force myself to do it, otherwise I would have no life. I don't tell 'm I feel sick but take some medicine to soothe my stomach. Even when going somewhere where I know I'm not expected to eat/drink, I don't eat beforehand so that the chance is smaller that I would feel sick.

- sit in the middle of a movie theater (yeah Ikk, I know exactly what you mean ) or anything else where I can't get away fast and unnoticed if I feel sick. Can you imagine the horror of vomiting in the middle of a movie theater? I guess most of you can...

- carry a folded up plastic bag with me in my back pocket. No one knows it's there but it's kind of my safety blanket. I don't think about it when I feel ok. But when I start to feel sick, it feels better to know that if I would have to throw up, I can do it "discretely" in the bag. I've never told anyone and it's very embarrassing but it helps me. It started when I was 14 and carried with me a paper puke bag that I took on an airplane. I didn't carry the bag with me for a lot of years but after my relapse when I was 24, I started to carry it with me again.

- don't eat before meetings at work

- avoid going to restaurants and if I have to, I try to get away as soon as I've finished eating. Sometimes I force myself to go to a restaurant because I can't have it control my life fully.

- carry some Maalox with me wherever I go. This soothes my stomach for some reason.

- don't go out and drink alcohol. If I drink about 3 beers, I can get very nauseated. I don't smoke joints anymore either. I get very very sick when I do it ever since that unfortunate night when I was 24.

- envy people who can drink and eat whatever they want without getting the nausea. Regular people never think about that, they can just do whatever they want, have fun and don't think about it. I think about it with everything I do. "What will I do if I get sick?" I just desperately want to be normal and don't feel sick.

- and lots more but this post is getting way too long as it is .

I still believe however that there is something wrong with my stomach. Not a regular illness but just a very weak stomach. And together with my fear of vomiting, this is a very bad combination.

Anyway, sorry for the extremely long post. Just wanted to share a part of my story.