Alzheimer's & Nausea

[EMJ57]

My sister was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about 4 years ago, when she was 64, so we assume she'd had it for some time before that. She's coping really well but she has almost constant low level nausea. She's alright first thing in the morning but it kicks in after she's been moving around for a while. It varies from barely noticeable to really quite debilitating (though she is never actually sick) and really gets her down. It's not a side effect of Donepezil as it pre-dates her diagnosis by a couple of years. We have an excellent GP who has tried everything, checked everything and admit she's stuck for an answer.

Has anyone else come across this?

 

[Grannie G]

Welcome @EMJ57

I haven`t heard of this, nor have I read about it on the forum.

All I want to say is we naturally put everything down to dementia once it is diagnosed. This might not necessarily be the case.

There may be something physical or psychological which is causing this symptom but I suppose the dementia is preventing your sister from telling it as it really is.

Could you suggest this to your sister`s doctor?

 

[EMJ57]

Welcome @EMJ57

I haven`t heard of this, nor have I read about it on the forum.

All I want to say is we naturally put everything down to dementia once it is diagnosed. This might not necessarily be the case.

There may be something physical or psychological which is causing this symptom but I suppose the dementia is preventing your sister from telling it as it really is.

Could you suggest this to your sister`s doctor?

We've been through it all with the GP, as I said in my original post. My sister has had various tests and investigations of the gut area which have shown nothing.

 

[nitram]

@EMJ57

Have you researched stress/anxiety nausea?

 

[Sorrel]

My husband suffers like this as well, from nausea and faintness. Luckily it is not every day, but maybe two days a week on average. It does mean that we never know whether tomorrow is going to be a good day or a bad day when we will have to cancel something that we might have planned. They seem to be random - I have looked for a pattern but not been able to find one. We eventually saw a neurologist who diagnosed migraine; apparently it is possible to have the 'aura' of migraine without the actual headache. He now has Naratriptan and prochlorperazine tablets to take when he needs them.

 

[EMJ57]

@EMJ57

Have you researched stress/anxiety nausea?

well, nausea can be related to anxiety I know but my sister has been much less anxious for the last year or so, since she was prescribed some anti-depressants. But even if it was anxiety-related, I'd still like to find something to address / deal with the nausea - on the assumption that any anxiety is caused by the dementia which isn't going to go away.

 

[EMJ57]

My husband suffers like this as well, from nausea and faintness. Luckily it is not every day, but maybe two days a week on average. It does mean that we never know whether tomorrow is going to be a good day or a bad day when we will have to cancel something that we might have planned. They seem to be random - I have looked for a pattern but not been able to find one. We eventually saw a neurologist who diagnosed migraine; apparently it is possible to have the 'aura' of migraine without the actual headache. He now has Naratriptan and prochlorperazine tablets to take when he needs them.

That's interesting. She's tried prochlorperazne which did nothing but I've not heard of Naratriptan - I'll research that. Thank you.

 

[Sorrel]

That's interesting. She's tried prochlorperazne which did nothing but I've not heard of Naratriptan - I'll research that. Thank you.

Triptans are a medication specifically for migraine. I still wonder how much these symptoms are migraine and how much could be side effects of the Alzheimer's medications such as memantine, but it is definitely not regular which I suppose it would be if it were those.

 

[EMJ57]

Triptans are a medication specifically for migraine. I still wonder how much these symptoms are migraine and how much could be side effects of the Alzheimer's medications such as memantine, but it is definitely not regular which I suppose it would be if it were those.

It's definitely not a side effect of the Alzheimer's medication because the nausea pre-dates the diagnosis - though she probably had Alz for a few years prior to diagnosis which is why we think it is probably related. But the migraine thing is interesting - I'll follow that up with the GP - thank you.

 

[TessB]

My mum would often say she felt sick. It often seemed to precede her asking where dad was (he'd died several years before) so I wondered whether it was stress/anxiety. This was before any medication so definitely not related to that. I've read that dehydration can cause nausea so I'd wondered whether that was a factor. Mum didn't drink much, just a few cups of tea.

 

[Violet Jane]

Does your sister get constipated? Constipation can cause nausea as well as fatigue and a general feeling of not feeling well.

 

[Redtide]

My sister was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about 4 years ago, when she was 64, so we assume she'd had it for some time before that. She's coping really well but she has almost constant low level nausea. She's alright first thing in the morning but it kicks in after she's been moving around for a while. It varies from barely noticeable to really quite debilitating (though she is never actually sick) and really gets her down. It's not a side effect of Donepezil as it pre-dates her diagnosis by a couple of years. We have an excellent GP who has tried everything, checked everything and admit she's stuck for an answer.

Has anyone else come across this?

Yes! Finally! My wife has stage 5 Alzheimer’s and now has constant nausea. It has gotten worse as her Alzheimer’s has gotten worse. In stage three, she would get sick every couple of weeks for a couple of days, and now is sick just about every day, it is nausea, with no vomiting. She has had every test and procedure, no one can help. Ondansetron did not work. It is very frustrating to try and research online and the only thing that pops up is nausea, related to medication. Obviously I won’t find an answer here, what I can do to help her, but it is helpful to know I’m not alone. My last option is CBD and will look into that. For now, her quality of life is just awful.

 

[Redtide]

She is 72, by the way and has had signs of Alzheimer’s for the last 8-10 years. She also was on Donepizil, which has been discontinued, and she was nauseous before she even used Donepizil

 

[TessB]

Interesting thread. Now wondering if mum's nausea was related to the dementia. She doesn't complain of being sick now but is asleep most of the day. And once each month, starting last December, something like vomit just pours out of her mouth. At first I thought it was reflux as it was a small amount after a cup of tea and a biscuit but last time especially there was a lot of it, and it was four hours after lunch, though still after a cup of tea and a biscuit. There is nothing really that precedes it. Mum may give a small cough and then it just pours out. Mum says she feels fine. I told the GP who said to monitor for now.

 

[EMJ57]

She is 72, by the way and has had signs of Alzheimer’s for the last 8-10 years. She also was on Donepizil, which has been discontinued, and she was nauseous before she even used Donepizil

I am so sorry to hear this - like you, I wish there were answers but it is interesting to hear of someone else with the same problem. My sister is still, I think, at a relatively early stage - she's had Alzheimer's for quite a few years but is still able to lead a fairly normal life with my support but this nausea has such a negative impact on her life - and mine, too, I suppose - if we're on holiday we can rarely do anything before midday. we saw the neurologist a few weeks ago and he's prescribed Candesartan (I think I have spelled that right) which is used for migraine (some people get 'silent migraine' - i.e. all the other symptoms without a headache) though it seems not very likely to be answer, given that she gets it every day and migraine rarely affects people that way. However, we're going to try a few 'lifestyle changes' first (cutting out wine!) just to check it's not that but if that makes no difference, the GP is going to prescribe Candesartan and we'll try that. Good luck!