Vomiting 15 Times an Hour: How I Battled a Misdiagnosed Mystery
Hold onto your travel mugs, because puking 15 times every single hour and being brushed off as “just another migraine patient” is a medical drama worthy of daytime TV—and yes, it actually happened. Our coffee-fueled heroine, let’s call her Sarah, endured screaming stomach cramps and non-stop vomiting that peaked at 15 episodes an hour. Doctors from two different practices shrugged and prescribed yet another migraine pill, despite zero relief. According to the Mayo Clinic, cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) can mimic migraines—yet it took Sarah nearly a year of ER trips, ER-IV fluids, and frantic Google searches before anyone connected the dots.
In one shocking ER visit, Sarah clocked eight consecutive hours of retching before a tired resident scribbled “migraine” on her chart. She was sent home with ibuprofen and a stern reminder to “manage stress.” Cue facepalm moment. Side note: What stress? Balancing work, Zoom calls and life when you can’t keep down a sip of water? Not exactly zen territory. WebMD notes that misdiagnosis is alarmingly common with CVS because it shares headache, nausea and neurological red flags with migraine disorders. No wonder Sarah was stuck in a loop.
Finally, armed with a pile of medical records and Aftershock energy drinks, she sought out a gastroenterologist who specializes in functional GI disorders. Enter Dr. Emily Chen, quoted in the American Migraine Foundation’s latest white paper, who zeroed in on gut-brain axis dysfunction. After a simple gastric emptying test confirmed gastroparesis-like delay, the specialist swapped migraine meds for antiemetics, low-dose tricyclics and a strict “low-FODMAP” diet. Within weeks, the vomit-o-meter dropped from 15 blasts per hour to a manageable two or three. Victory never tasted so sweet—nor, ironically, so non-vomit-y.
Sarah’s rollercoaster didn’t stop there. She shared her labs, CT scans and journal entries in an online support group, citing peer-reviewed findings from the Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility. Fellow sufferers tipped her off to meditation apps and acupuncture, which she now swears by—alongside daily ginger shots, of course. The twist? All this could’ve been flagged months earlier if doctors had run one simple test and listened to her gut—literally.
So what’s next for our courageous coffee-aunt alter ego? Sarah’s now campaigning for better CVS awareness in primary care, teaming up with the American Migraine Foundation for an upcoming livestream Q&A. If you or someone you know is stuck in a “migraine” vortex that smells more like motion sickness on steroids, take a page from Sarah’s book: push for those GI referrals, keep a puke log, and never let anyone talk you out of seeking a second opinion. Whew—that was a whirlwind. I swear, I could chat about this all day, but my next coffee’s getting cold!
Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post, Mayo Clinic, American Migraine Foundation, Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
