Nausea and vomiting can occur not only during a stroke, but additionally often occur after a stroke. Some strokes damage specific areas of the brain, which can cause increased nausea and vomiting. It’s important to know the post-stroke symptoms you might be experiencing. Persistent vomiting after a stroke must be treated as a medical emergency (1). Regular lack of nutrients and fluids can quickly deteriorate your health and cause dehydration. Dehydration could cause serious problems recovering from a stroke. Some may include increased fatigue, dry mouth, muscle tension, “Charlie horses” within the legs, headaches and dizziness.
Nausea and vomiting after a stroke could also be a side effect of medicines, indicating one other stroke, dizziness as a consequence of changes within the brain, and/or suggest dehydration. It’s important to discuss with your doctor for those who experience increasing nausea or vomiting. Your doctor can change your medications and offer you resources and data to enable you relieve nausea and vomiting.
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Causes of nausea and vomiting after a stroke:
There are numerous causes of nausea and vomiting after a stroke. Some reasons include (1, 3):
Brain damage
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Some strokes, corresponding to cerebellar strokes, could cause vestibular dysfunction, which causes nausea, vomiting, balance problems, dizziness, and gait disturbances.
Changes in brain chemistry and hormones
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After a stroke, chemicals and hormones within the brain grow to be disrupted as a consequence of abnormal communication between the brain and the gut. Moreover, hormonal fluctuations could cause nausea to worsen.
Medicines used to treat stroke
Cyclic vomiting syndrome:
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Cyclic vomiting syndrome is characterised by recurrent episodes of vomiting separated by regular symptom-free periods. This phenomenon could also be attributable to a dysfunction of the gut-brain connection. For more information, watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILgCFw9cW8E (4)
Vestibular disorders:
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A stroke affects the vestibular system, which could cause balance problems, gait disturbances, nausea and vomiting.
Visual or oculomotor dysfunction:
Starting next stroke:
Symptoms of nausea and vomiting after a stroke
The list of common symptoms of nausea and vomiting after a stroke includes:
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Nausea
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Vomiting
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Headaches
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Stomach pain
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Lack of appetite
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Dizziness
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Dizziness
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Tiredness
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Dehydration
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Weight reduction
Diagnosing post-stroke nausea and vomiting:
Your doctor will perform various tests to diagnose post-stroke nausea and vomiting. Some assessments may include:
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Physical examination to examine the likelihood of dehydration and other symptoms requiring urgent treatment
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Review of medical history to evaluate medications and lifestyle
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Labs and blood tests, which can include measuring blood sugar levels, serum glucose, and hemoglobin evaluation
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Imaging tests, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Stroke categories with post-stroke vomiting (6)
Forms of strokesPercentage of cases with vomiting:
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Brain attacks – 8.7%
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Cerebral hemorrhages – 23.7%
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Subarachnoid hemorrhages – 36.8%
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Treating nausea and vomiting after a stroke
There are medications your doctor may prescribe to alleviate nausea and vomiting. In the event you experience excessive vomiting and nausea day-after-day, discuss with your doctor. The drugs may include antiemetics, that are medicines intended to forestall and treat nausea and vomiting. Other medications may include Zofran, Metoclopramide, and Prochlorperazine (5).
Moreover, changes to your weight-reduction plan may help resolve or eliminate symptoms. Eating less acidic foods may help. It is rather essential to concentrate on a healthy weight-reduction plan of whole foods and nutrients, quite than foods high in saturated fat or fast food. Intravenous fluids and electrolyte alternative might also help with dehydration and excessive vomiting. Some electrolyte alternative options include Pedialyte, coconut water, and electrolyte tablets.
Depending on the form of stroke and brain damage, vestibular rehabilitation could also be helpful. Nausea and vomiting are accompanied by balance problems, which could also be related to vestibular dysfunction. Vestibular rehabilitation exercises are designed to assist reprogram your brain and body to control your sense of balance. This may occasionally help reduce feelings of nausea and vomiting after a stroke.
Finally, research suggests that tricyclic antidepressants may help with post-stroke vomiting as a consequence of their effects on the gut-brain connection. These medications may help with cyclic vomiting syndrome, which can occur after a stroke. The gut and brain are continuously communicating with one another, so antidepressants may also help alleviate disruptions to this connection (1). Talk over with your doctor to find out if that is an choice to alleviate your symptoms.
Stopping nausea and vomiting after a stroke
Although nausea and vomiting after a stroke can’t be completely prevented, there are lots of precautions you’ll be able to take to scale back the sensation of nausea and vomiting. Medication management may also help prevent nausea and vomiting. Seek advice from your doctor the negative effects you experience while taking medications. Your doctor may prescribe other medicines to alleviate your symptoms.
It’s important to make sure proper hydration. Specific foods to maintain you hydrated include watermelon, cucumbers, celery, strawberries, zucchini, and other vegatables and fruits. Adding electrolytes to your weight-reduction plan also can increase hydration. Specializing in foods and fluids to assist with dehydration may also help prevent nausea and vomiting.
Most significantly, controlling underlying health conditions will help alleviate post-stroke nausea and vomiting. Discuss the signs and symptoms you might be experiencing together with your doctor. If an underlying condition is present, your doctor can adjust your treatment plan and offer you the very best stroke recovery plan.
Application
In the event you experience nausea and vomiting after a stroke, there’s hope for recovery. Coping with nausea and vomiting will be frustrating and you could have more questions than answers. Nonetheless, discussing your concerns together with your healthcare team and partners while advocating for yourself will enable you in your path to recovery and regaining function after a stroke. Vision therapy or vestibular therapy provided by a trained occupational therapist or physical therapist might also be very helpful
Know your symptoms. If nausea and vomiting are getting worse, discuss it and tell someone who can enable you take steps to get help. It is important to know the early symptoms to forestall more serious medical problems. There are numerous treatments for nausea and vomiting after a stroke.
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