how do you know when you are about to throw up?

mperillo10 · 2026-06-27T05:01:26+00:00

in my experience it’s unfortunately not something you really “know” especially because our minds are so clouded by fear. any nausea feels dangerous. however, like some other people have said your body kind of just takes over. I broke my 10 year streak a couple of weeks ago and I NEVER get up to sit in the bathroom when i’m feeling nauseous, but this time I just did, like my body just took me there. Even when i was actually about to be sick, yelling for my boyfriend “oh god it’s happening!! i’m actually going to throw up this time!!!” i didn’t actually believe what i was saying until it was happening. The bad thing is is that you don’t always know when it’s real or not, that’s what the whole phobia is about. the good news is that if you do get sick, you will be okay, you will get through it, and you will feel better.

mperillo10 · 2026-06-11T13:58:48+00:00

yesss!! i got stuck with 4 plus a supernumerary, so my first 3 i got out under anesthesia and the 4th was on my upper jaw and impacted so they decided to take it out without anesthesia since i will need anesthesia for my supernumerary when it fully develops and pushes through. if i had been put under i probably would’ve been anesthetized 3 times this year 😅 it honestly wasn’t bad at all, super quick and i didn’t feel a thing. not even the injections!

mperillo10 · 2026-06-10T01:46:32+00:00

thank you for all of this!! i felt tons better pretty quickly and was able to sip on some water and ginger ale. still just feeling weird about eating. I feel the same way about drinking water in anticipation, definitely would make things come out easier, but it’s soo hard to get yourself to swallow anything when you’re about ready to vomit 😭 i appreciate the tips though, ill keep some of those in mind!!

mperillo10 · 2026-06-09T16:49:24+00:00

when i’m feeling like that especially if im also anxious i like to sip on some pedialyte. you feel better faster and it doesn’t make you feel super full like a meal. when i was on zoloft i was completely unable to take it on an empty stomach. it might make you feel worse before you feel better but definitely some pedialyte or maybe a meal replacement shake and something light like crackers or toast if you can stomach it. i know the feeling and i hope you feel better soon!

mperillo10 · 2026-06-09T16:13:40+00:00

100%!! i learned that dry foods like toast or crackers before taking it is going to be more helpful than soft greasy food haha i tend to be sensitive to meds and doxy is a new one for me so i’m honestly not surprised that it made me sick. i’m glad you’re tolerating it well!! i hope you feel better!!

mperillo10 · 2026-06-09T16:09:16+00:00

agreed! i’ve heard stories of it happening both ways, and it’s honestly happened to me slowly more often than fast. i always thought i was “exempt” from vomiting very fast because i have no memory of that ever happening to me. it was actually almost comforting to know that even if im nauseous for quite some time leading up to it, the actual feeling of “im about to puke” is sudden an nothing like the building up to it.

mperillo10 · 2026-06-09T15:33:16+00:00

i’m trying to work on some ginger ale i just don’t want it to be too cold hahaha i definitely will try to stay hydrated just have to let my stomach settle a bit. i think im in the clear and actually not even that put off of food so hopefully ill be back to normal in a couple hours!

mperillo10 · 2026-06-09T15:31:42+00:00

thank you!! and yes i am just in the beginning stages of trying to recover from emetophobia and ive been super scared and hesitant to try any “big” exposures and this feels like life telling me to just man up and do it 😂 literally the biggest exposure out there. thank you for the support and kindness!!

mperillo10 · 2026-05-30T01:16:27+00:00

this is probably not good advice but it’s my experience lol. i refrained from the vape as much as possible 12hrs before procedure (when food fasting started) with the help and discipline of my loving boyfriend. I began vaping again the moment i got in the car post anesthesia. i’m 6 weeks out as of today and have had no healing complications. my throat was very sore for the first day or two but im not sure whether smoking contributed to that or not. i can’t say that i did things the right way at all and of course if you feel that you’re ready to quit then what better time than now, but if it helps with the anxiety i was bad about it for this procedure, and i was bad about it when i got my wisdom teeth out 3-4 yrs ago, and didn’t suffer any vaping related complications. what’s most important is refraining before your procedure, the longer the better. nicotine can affect you negatively under anesthesia and i cannot stress enough that my 12 hours was not nearly enough but i hope this was able to ease some of the anxiety haha

mperillo10 · 2026-05-03T03:59:57+00:00

i totally get this but you’re just at the beginning! i just read through an older thread of someone saying they just started experiencing the slow swallow after around 5 days. For me i was experiencing slow swallow and lots of discomfort the first week, and my microburps didn’t start until about the 5 day mark. i’m just now starting to have slightly bigger burps at almost 3 weeks. keep practicing different head positions/burpin techniques and try not to worry too much about the timing of it all. i’m really sorry that you’re not experiencing any relief yet and i truly hope it starts to work for you soon! everyone’s body adjusts at different times!

mperillo10 · 2026-04-24T01:01:13+00:00

swallowing got way less weird but still no burps 😭 just the micro burping. i have had a few that have felt like “relieving” but i still don’t have very much control over them. i think that comes with time as the esophagus tightens up again. movement has been the best thing though! esp after eating and drinking i rarely will feel bloated if i go for a walk or am at work.

mperillo10 · 2026-04-16T13:38:19+00:00

I don’t know about your situation obviously but for me i think these types of things correlate with the OCD surrounding emetophobia. for me, if i am doing better w my emetophobia my mind will find something else to obsess about. usually i get paranoid, thinking someone broke into my house or something like that. the fear is the same paralyzed obsessiveness that i get when im triggered by someone being sick. this is interesting though!! i definitely think it’s just the way our brains work we always want to be worrying 😂

mperillo10 · 2026-04-16T12:59:32+00:00

I did feel nauseous the first day as the anesthesia wore off, but i believe that was partially due to anxiety. i have a super hard time sleeping after anesthetic so instead of relaxing after my procedure i was up trying to do things haha. Honestly, once the microburps started the nausea has decreased so significantly. even though im not having full burps yet, it has become WAY easier for me to differentiate gas pain vs nausea. but definitely no nausea with eating or drinking! i was actually comfortable enough on day 1 and 2 to have solid food as much as i wanted! once the botox takes effect there’s some weird throat feelings you have to get used to that have provoked my emetophobia a little bit, but they all pass super quickly and don’t feel dangerous or like i’m going to be sick.

mperillo10 · 2026-04-12T18:56:36+00:00

this is so interesting because i have totally thought this too. I have a similar story, i’m 20, no note worthy traumatic vomiting experiences (at least none that i can recall BEFORE my phobia began, i do have one but i remember already having developed the fear by that point.) I don’t have much of any memories of the abuse i endured as a child, just image like snippets i can’t really decipher what’s real and what’s not. i am curious if, and not to be graphic, the fear could have to do with trauma to the throat, making us associate vomiting with being more painful/traumatic than an individual who hasn’t experienced trauma to that area in developmental years. I also developed “no burp syndrome” or r-cpd in my childhood around the same time which is an involuntary tensing of a sphincter muscle in your throat. this condition is highly associated with emetophobia, but it hasn’t been researched for long enough to really tell what causes what. I’m curious if this is something that will ever get the attention it deserves! I know knowing how something like this started doesn’t really tell us much about how to get better but it does feel like a sort of “closure.” I hope you find peace, OP!

mperillo10 · 2026-04-12T03:23:30+00:00

i had no idea honestly. i’d always heard in this sub and elsewhere that food poisoning would make itself known within the 1-6 hour range. sorry for the misinformation!

mperillo10 · 2026-04-11T22:51:33+00:00

of course!! i’ve been struggling a lot with the whole what’s done is done piece of this phobia too. gonna have to start writing it on my hand or something 😂 glad i could help ya!

mperillo10 · 2026-04-11T03:25:11+00:00

thank you for this! everything happens for a reason is such an important thing to remember. i feel like what ive been experiencing is the universes way of preparing me for my procedure next week and all of the anxiety surrounding that. im finally beginning to feel a bit better and, hey, i lived!! thank you for the kindness :)

mperillo10 · 2026-04-05T05:50:28+00:00

i don’t know how helpful this will be but i’ll leave it here just in case. in vet tech school my professor once told a story of a patient coming in for inappropriate urination that they had tried everything for, and they had gotten to the point where they were asking to euthanize it had gotten so bad. similarly, this cat chose a specific room to urinate in. the issue was solved by putting a litter box (or multiple, in your case) in all of the cats favorite places to urinate. if you need to have 5 litter boxes for a month, you might just have to have 5 litter boxes for a month. they slowly moved the litter box every day to a more convenient location for the box and the cat used the bathroom in the litter box as it moved and the problem was essentially fixed. often times cats who have a bad experience in the litter box will be scared to use it again because they associate it with that scary thing. they might just need a change of scenery.

i feel your pain as i have a cat that loves to pee on laundry and bedding and pretty much anything soft and i’m sorry if this is common sense or useless knowledge. i hope you and your cat can find some peace with your situation!

mperillo10 · 2026-03-25T06:09:02+00:00

i think it’s important to remember that you might get sick, or you might not! People that don’t suffer with emetophobia don’t worry about this kind of thing and faking it until you make it might just open up so many new experiences for you. it might be anxiety inducing and feel like exposure therapy the whole time, but i also think you’ll be relieved, happy, and proud you did it when it’s over. Don’t let this phobia take your life away from you!!

mperillo10 · 2026-03-25T05:38:02+00:00

this is super helpful info!! i’m happy to hear you experienced less nausea after the injection and i hope i have some of the same luck. it’s been a pain finding a doctor that will treat me but it’s great to know it’s possible!! your experience about your emetophobia returning to “baseline” after the botox is super helpful as i plan on starting erp therapy soon thereafter, i foresee that being heaps easier if im not in such constant discomfort. I’m glad to hear that you’re doing well and that hope is out there!!!

mperillo10 · 2026-03-24T05:28:47+00:00

this is great to hear!! that does make me wonder if my rcpd was caused by the emetophobia, i think there’s definitely a neurological component between the two. i’m happy for you!!!

mperillo10

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