My husband seems to be very sick and we keep taking him to the doctors and they say theirs nothing wrong?

Question

my husband seems to not sleep well at night and he can barely stay up in the day, Every time he eats he gets sick. Its like he is pregnant in the first trimester. All the doctors say hes perfectly fine but i know my husband and hes not fine somebody help me please.

Answer 1

It seems like he has 2 problems.  

He could have sleep apnea which is when you have mini episodes of stopping breathing while asleep.  This causes day time fatigue.

As for getting sick when he eats...have him limit himself to a "soft diet" till he feels better:  Plain toast; Saltine crackers; chicken soup; noodles; rice; applesauce; Jello; flat Ginger Ale; Gatorade; suck on ice chips; skinless chicken breast; turkey breast; baked potato; hamburger; eggs; etc.

Have him keep a food diary for 2 weeks & see what foods cause what symptoms then take it to the MD.

Google:  mayo clinic>>diseases>>sleep apnea

Hope he feels better soon.

Answer 2

get a second, third, even fourth opinion???  How long has he been sick for?  Jot down all his symptoms -- keep a journal -- when he get sick and from what, etc.  Take him to a GI doc, maybe he has one of those rare enzyme disorders you see on Mystery Diagnosis.

Answer 3

Anna,

I used to race in triathlons.  Because nutrition is such a critical component of the sport, I've come to learn a lot about what makes my body tick.

Let's assume that the two symptoms you describe are related (although it's possible they are distinct issues).  His body is working hard to digest what ever it is that he is eating.  Sometimes, his body says "no" to what he eats. His problems must relate to something in his diet.

First step is to get his signoff.  Determine if he really wants help.  If he isn't willing to change in order to get better -or- if he doesn't believe he is sick, then you can't do anything.  

Second step.  Establish a time when you will both stop eating.  I recommend 8:00.  Digesting food takes a lot of energy and probably interferes with his sleep.

Third step, keep a diary of what he eats and when. It only takes a few minutes every evening.  A good time to do it is at 8:00, just after his last snack for the day.

Fourth step.  After one week, take the food diary to a licensed dietitian.  No, the Jenny Craig counselor doesn't count.  Find someone who actually has education, even a degree, in food sciences.   They can analyze the diet and make suggestions.

Fifth step.  Get him to exercise.  Go for a walk with him every night.  Send him to the gym.  Anything.  He needs to get his heart rate up in order to release endorphines.  His sleeping disfunction will almost instantly go away.  

In case you didn't notice, I used a lot of words to say "eat right and exercise".  That sounds easy to do, but its not.  If you have a plan, then it will work.  Have you ever seen a sick triathlete, or marathoner, or swimmer?  Does Micheal Phelps ever get sick?  Does he have trouble sleeping?  No way.

Try the simple solution first.  Try fixing the diet and exercise before letting a doctor prescribe drugs.