Sudden Illness?

Updated on January 18, 2011
M.L. asks from Spokane, WA
14 answers

The other night I missed dinner to go to work, though did grab a healthy snack as I was running out the door. I was there for 4 hours, feeling fine the first 2, then very weak and sick the last two hours. On my hour long drive home, I got extremely nauseous, cold sweats, and barely made the drive. I was very weak and ill and my husband had to come out to the car to bring me inside. I immediately went and threw up tons and went to sleep. About 2 hours later, I woke up perfectly healthy.

What the heck was that? Has anyone gotten extremely ill for about 4 hours like that, then felt fine? It couldn't of been food poisoning, since I didn't eat anything? I am borderline hypoglycemic, but when I get weak, I don't usually get ill like that.

It seems like this happens every few months or so to either me or my husband, just a weird, sudden, fleeting nasty illness.

******Julie, I KNEW someone would see that... one reason I'm paranoid about the roast ;) No, I didn't take any meds.

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So What Happened?

oh, I tossed the roast, didn't want to take any chances ;)

next time I go to the Dr. I'm going to ask about this. Thanks all for the advice, and I hope everyone here well with their mystery sicknesses also.

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J.G.

answers from Madison on

Was it from a roast that had been in the ref for 6 days? LOL - just giving you a hard time! Just a thought...taking any med's on an empty stomach?

3 moms found this helpful

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S.O.

answers from Chicago on

I use to throw up so often no one paid attention. Come to find out I have Celiac. It was not every time I ate gluten though. It would just come and go like you said. I use to think it was food poisoning. Since I was diagnosed and no longer eat gluten I have not felt that way.

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A.C.

answers from Boston on

The first thought that came to mind after I finished reading your post was carbon monoxide poisoning. What type of facility do you work in? Any chance that there was something in the air. Was anyone else there? Did they get sick too?

2 moms found this helpful

K.M.

answers from Chicago on

yeah, it happens to me sometimes but more often my hunny not sure what the cause is but typically sleeping it off helps.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

1 mom found this helpful

L.B.

answers from Biloxi on

Momma,

I agree with Julie - its the roast!!!! So did you cook it or toss it???

Okay, seriously, I am also borderline hypoglycemic (fun family tree of diabetes and HG) and have to be very careful about maintaining protein levels. If I skip a meal, even with a snack, for too long, I get light headed and nauseous. Keep some hard boiled eggs in your fridge and grab one to take with when you skip a meal as a snack is not going to hold you through work.

Also, since this happens to both your hubby and you, you both may want to keep a food/activity journal for a while and see if there are any similarities when you two get ill. Are you eating the same thing, using the same vehicle (carbon monoxide comment made me think of this one), skipping the same meals, etc.

It could also be as simple as you two are susceptible to stomach bugs but are able to "purge" them out of your system more quickly than most people.

Keep exploring, talk to your doctors some more, you'll find an answer.

Stay well.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.C.

answers from Detroit on

If it's hypoglycemia, be careful. Have it checked by a doc. My sister passed out driving one time from hypo and ended up crashing her car into a tree. Thank God she wasn't killed or killed anyone.

1 mom found this helpful

E.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

My sis works in restaurant mgmt and says that according to dept of health studies, soooo many incidents of people saying, "Oh, I had a touch of the stomach flu." are not actually an intestinal virus and are instead RELATED to food poisoning. And she is always careful to say that that critical, full-blown food poisoning cases are rare and what most of us experience is more manage-able "food tainting" and that this can happen due to YOU touching your own food/mouth as it would be someone preparing your food. And tainted food is of course not just found in restaurant. It is found on produce and packaged foods.

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P.M.

answers from Portland on

Those symptoms could be from low blood sugar, but the fact that you threw up a lot of material suggests it was more likely a gastroenteric problem, which could be a so-called "flu" or food poisoning. Also because you felt better after hours of no additional food intake, it is less likely to be a blood sugar crash (although your liver could have been stepping up its release of glycogen to boost your blood sugar to a safe maintenance level).

I got a case of an apparently highly-contagious intestinal bug three years ago, and your symptoms sound like an exact match for mine. And after I threw up copiously, I felt pretty much back to normal. Only happened once, though.

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K.M.

answers from Odessa on

hi there,
this sounds like what have been dealing with or about 9 years now. The only difference is I get super hot, then get the chills. After I throw up and sleep for a couple hours, all better.

I have been to 6 doctors about this and have no answer. I had brain scans, tests at an ENT dr, etc. I gave up, don't know what to do. Also, since I started getting this, my balance isn't as good as it was. I had to stop barrel racing because I fell off my perfectly good barrel horse because couldn't find the middle after turning a barrel anymore :( if you are able to find out what's going on, please let me know. Good luck

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V.C.

answers from Houston on

If it's cyclical you may want to check w/ your OB. I had similar problems for years and it was endometriosis (sp?). I would get terribly sweaty, extreme abdomen/back pain and then gone, just like that. Sometimes I would vomit, sometimes not, it varied. At first it happened occasionally but as time passed it would always happen around my monthly cycle. Since then I've had a laparoscopy (sp?), 2 babies, and I don't have the problem any more. Don't know if this is what is happening to you but may be worth looking into. Best wishes!

1 mom found this helpful
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S.H.

answers from San Antonio on

I had that happen to me last week. I have none of these problems everyone is mentioning. After I ate, the nausea got worse and worse till I threw up. Only one time but it was horrible. Felt better after that and time healed all. My husband ate the same thing I did and was fine. I have not thrown up in about 10 years so it threw me for a loop. Glad it only lasted a few hours though. Hope you find out what yours is ....

1 mom found this helpful
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B.B.

answers from Detroit on

Any time near your cycle? For years a day or two before my cycle I would get the nauseous, cold sweats, shakes, need to sleep feeling out of the blue, feel bad for a few hours, then right back to normal... But usually I did not throw up, but my body emptied out the other way, and I would pass out for a few seconds... I chaulk it up to a hormone thing... Hasn't happened in several years...

1 mom found this helpful
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L.R.

answers from Houston on

My daughter experienced symptoms like that when she was 3. She'd usually spike a fever at the same time as she was vomiting, then sleep it off and be fine when she woke up. Then a month or two would pass and it would happen again. Doctor thought it was a virus at first and was hoping it would pass. She ended up having a longer bout of it one time and was hospitalized due to dehydration...while there, they diagnosd her with rota virus, got her better and it hasn't returned since (4 years later). There are all sorts of viruses and illnesses out there but since yours keeps returning and your hubby experiences it too, I'd probably go get checked out. You wouldn't want to spread it to your kids or experience that again with your kids in the car with you...it could be dangerous for all.

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