Can't eat most things or I'll get sick. I have no idea why.

SuperstarDJ

When I was in ED treatment, there was a girl who had a very similar problem. She had spent years being dragged to doctors, gastroenterologists and a variety of medical specialists. It turned out to be psychological in the end, and thankfully she recovered.

I have anorexia, and I am currently going through something similar. Whenever I eat something 'unsafe', or if there's any fighting at home when I eat, I start to choke. I ate out with my family two months ago (it was a last-minute thing so I wasn't prepared for it) and they ordered a small chicken dish for me. I choked 5 times during the meal. Each choking incident is followed by about 2 minutes of violent coughing, tears flowing down my cheeks, the works, so it was very embarrassing I can lessen the chances of it happening by making sure I eat in a calm environment (not always possible though) and sticking to safe / relatively safe foods. I've tried introducing really, really small pieces of 'unsafe' foods but, without fail, I'll start to choke. It's very frustrating at this point.

gringuitica

I would also recommend having your gp check your hormone levels. Also, could one of your prescription meds have some related side effect?

The reason I say this, as have others, is that this is definitely one of the hormonal effects of pregnancy. For example, even after the horrible nausea passed I couldn't eat meat until I was 8+ months pregnant; the smell of beef, chicken, fish – even thinking about it – would make me vomit. This happened for many foods, including foods that I normally love. Then the aversion would pass, I'd be able to eat it, and then a week or a month later, the food would make me sick again.

So while it's probably not hormonal, I'd have your hormone levels checked just in case, because your symptoms sound so similar to pregnant lady symptoms. Just a suggestion. Good luck tomorrow!

SanteMulberry

Thank you for all of the responses. I get grossed out by the foods, which makes me vomit. I think it's probably psychological because it's not after I eat the foods, it's that I'm so sickened by the look and smell and IDEA of eating the foods.

Also not pregnant, just wanted to throw that out there.

This has to be a brain thing I'm thinking.

The problem is that it could be SO many things that it is difficult for your doc to know where to look. I assume he did a general panel of tests to pick up the biggies (liver, kidney, pancreatic enzymes, etc. etc.) Severe appetite problems (medical term is anorexia) are common in a number of illnesses--and usually are not psychological in the cases where people actually WANT to eat. Could easily be a gut motility problem, as has been mentioned before. There are certain conditions, such as celiac disease that can mimic anorexia but one key that a gastroenterologist would look for is whether or not the person actually wants to eat.

Here's a case study of one young athlete: "...At a college in Florida, the coaches were faced with just this problem--[of determining the cause of a young female athletes "anorexia"]. During a preseason conditioning program, one of their elite athletes, a National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I female volleyball player, began to lose a lot weight. She lost her appetite and was having diarrhea and vomiting. She became very tired. She fell asleep at meals, in the team van or bus, and before and during practices in which she was not participating. Her athletic performance suffered. She also struggled with fatigue during her classes and began to beg off from social engagements.

Because this athlete was under a lot of pressure from her coach, her teammates, and herself to improve her skills, the training staff believed that she might be trying to increase her fitness and performance beyond normal expectations, and that she had developed an eating disorder as an escape from the pressure and an attempt to meet these expectations. In fact, athletes have a higher rate of eating disorders than the general public.

But guess what? She didn’t have anorexia nervosa or bulimia – she had celiac disease. Luckily for her, the coaches sent her to a gastroenterologist, who quickly recognized her celiac disease. After she began following a gluten-free diet, her appetite improved, she gained weight, and she rejoined the volleyball team. According to her coaches and teammates, her athletic performance improved and even exceeded that of her [previous] status..." You can read the rest of the article here: http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/medicalguidelines/a/EatingDisorders.htm

Both celiac and wheat intolerance are at near epidemic proportions these days--probably because of the very high levels of gluten in today's hybrid wheats and also the fact that wheat is now sprayed with glyphosate (Roundup) before harvesting in order to kill the wheat plant in preparation for no-till planting of the next crop. There is at least one American scientist (and European scientists have been raising the alarm over glyphosate for some time) who has theorized that there might be some cross-reactivity between the glyphosate and the gluten (large amounts of gluten already pose a problem in the human gut--which was never designed to handle massive amounts of gluten--let alone glyphosate). When you consider the ubiquitous nature of wheat in many, many processed foods, it is not surprising that problems are occurring.

Quieau

Even though you have several other good ideas, I highly recommend getting a CA-125 blood test. The kind of issue you're describing is very nebulous and is similar to how I felt when I had ovarian cancer (not trying to scare you, but it is the silent killer because it so often goes undetected until too late).

They will try to talk you out of it. Don't let them. GET the CA-125 blood test, even if it's just to establish a normal baseline for you.

I was told that it was crazy by everyone online, my doc, my friends ... but guess what? Demanded it anyway, caught the cancer, lived to tell about it.

Don't delay! Then you'll get good news and know it's NOT that ...