Morning anxiety and Gag reflex

When I am extremely anxious in the morning time, it results in a lot of flem in the back of my throat. Maybe this is because the anxiety causes that nausea feeling and triggers the gag reflex.

Brushing my teeth is a real task and for the longest time this happened every morning...brushing teeth triggers it and then the gagging starts and if that is not gotten under control then the vomiting of bile begins.

Now the brushing teeth thing has connections to pregnancy for me as brushing teeth while preggo would induce the gagging and morning sickness nausea. Then after having kids this became something that happend while brushing teeth and i realized it is anxiety.

When I realized this was part of my anxiety ...I tried to find ways to alleviate...from the type of toothpaste I use....to drinking freezing cold water slowly.

My son recently has began to struggle with this same issue. Morning time brings lots of anxiety. This produces flem in the throat. This is the body's reaction to the anxiety and stress. Maybe because we have sinus issues and this is just a way it manifests for us.

Either way I do not know how to help him when he can't get out of that gagging phase and then starts to throw up....i feel awful. It hurts my heart and mind when I cant find a solution to this thing affecting my kid. I watch helplessley and run hi back and talk calml...but that doesnt srop the phusical reaction to thw anxiety his bkdy os going through.

Does anyone else experience things like this and what do you do to help yourself or alleviate that gag reflex.....or prevent it in the first place.

We try antihistamines to reduce flem and congestion. I can try pill form of decongestant medicine but i dont know if its a splution to take every night or morning. That i have to ask the doctor...next appointment. Just looking for some thoughts and ideas.

Any thoughts welcome!

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Harmonium1923 · 51-55, M

My kid had EXACTLY that same issue for a while. Usually before going to school in the morning but sometimes before other events that caused stress for him. One interesting thing was that he liked school and was not having problems with friends, or bullying, or being behind in class, etc. It was a sort of generalized and non-specific anxiety, which made it hard to talk through. He eventually grew out of it--the truth is it disappeared after we went through a difficult death in the family. He just said to me, "Now that the worst possible thing has happened, there's no reason I should worry that other stuff any more." It's like he grew up in one day.

Here are two things that would help sometimes. (1) I'd remind him that it's normal to feel anxious. Hey, you're just a kid whose gonna get nervous about things, even when you know you're gonna enjoy them. That's OK. So just recognize it's happening, and it's normal, and that you'll get through it, and that you'll be OK really soon. (2) Specifically related to the gagging thing, he found it helpful to drink Yogi "Throat Comfort" herbal tea. I think it was 50% the tea itself and 50% placebo effect, but it definitely seemed to help. He'd leave for school each day with a hot cup full of tea.

JaggedLittlePill · 46-50, F

@Harmonium1923 He is stubborn and doesn't accept anything I say. He might later decide to try something I suggested and then say "that did help" but initially he refuses to accept I might know what I am talking about. This is a big issue and makes helping him that much harder because i have to push through that bullshit first.

This morning he refuses to believe this is anxiety induced. "I don't feel anxious. There is nothing to be anxious about in the morning"

Forget that i have the same problem and do every so often.

So i have a list of thing i have found that might help. He wont hear me out. He gets mad at the smallest stuff and that derails opportunities to solve a problem until he can calm down and have a conversation.

Im at my wits end.

He thinks it isnt anxiety. There is no other reason for this to happen every morning. It isnt happening at night or middle of the day...only morning after waking up. He is still figuring out how to learn about the ways his body reacts and I can't tell him nothing.

Thank you for the suggestions.

Harmonium1923 · 51-55, M

@JaggedLittlePill give him the magic tea. Or buy it, leave it out and use some weird reverse psych on how you tried it but it didn’t work for you because your issue was anxiety related and it only helps people who don’t have anxiety. Then maybe he’ll try it.

Bexsy

I had that issue for longest time and so did my son. Would start the moment I got up. I would immediately have to sip liquid and wait a bit before brushing my teeth. My son would have to take his toothbrush to school and brush around mid morning.

It stopped actually for both of us after we were both put on blood pressure med. Maybe you're right and is anxiety induced

twiigss · M

@Bexsy So then did you both have high blood pressure? I'm curious because I too have this gag reflex thing when it comes to anxiety. It's horrible, and it's even been happening at work, even though I try to hide it so no one sees me. But the last few BP tests I had done the one lady says, are you on meds for this? And I said, uhhh I didn't know it was that high. Apparently in one of my early, early posts, I talked about having pre-hypertension.

Bexsy

@twiigss yes, both my son and I have high blood pressure and on medication. And my son had a very high heart rate. He was put on a combination med can't remember what it was for the blood pressure and heart rate. But he had also later had an emergency situation with his adrenal gland and had to have one removed. So honestly not sure if those were related to eachother or not. Havent asked if he's still on blood pressure med or not ( he's an adult now)

in10RjFox · M

Check for post nasal drip due to sinus block which is also linked to tooth. I suffered the same problem but got okay after I extracted a tooth.

Antihistamines have become normal these days.. and is best taken in the night.. I prefer the cetrizine which is cheap and gives a good sleep rather than the monteleukast / flexofenidine Allegra which is taken during day.

Scribbles · 36-40, F

Oh no, that sounds terribly uncomfortable and alarming for him and you to go through every day.

I have a friend who has gone through a similar issue with her 8 year old son. The worst times for him are in the morning after waking up and the hour after lunch. They only thing they have been able to do is try to reduce anything that can trigger that gag reflex that sets off the vomiting. He has a humidifier in his room during the night. He drinks something warm in the morning right away, and he doesn't eat breakfast until later on the morning when he's at school. He brushes his teeth while watching videos on a tablet to help distract him. They try to reduce anything that causes anxiety, or work with him on problem solving and being supportive. He avoids some sticky textures in his foods that can set it off, and he tries not to eat too much or too fast as that sets it off sometimes, and he drinks lots of water through out the day. If he gets congested when he has a cold, they sometimes use a throat numbing spray to help.

I'm very sorry the two of you have to deal with this.

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