‘Vomits 15 Times An Hour': Woman's Rare Brain Disorder Shocks The Internet
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The symptoms began in 2021. Despite declining health and repeated hospital stays, doctors initially misdiagnosed her ailment as a migraine disease.
A Massachusetts woman has opened up about her years-long battle with a rare condition that causes her to vomit up to 15 times per hour when she encounters stress, anxiety, or premenstrual symptoms episodes. She will feel better after that, but the cycle will resume the following week for days at a time.
Sharisse Zeroonian, 29, has been diagnosed with rare cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) that affects 2% of the population and is more prevalent among women, young adults, and people with a personal or familial history of migraines.
Sharisse told Today.com that she lost weight, had emotional turmoil and lost her job as a result of the recurrent vomiting. She even experienced suicidal thoughts, which, unfortunately, would cause her to vomit more.
'I was feeling like, I don't want to live like this anymore. What kind of quality of life is this?" she told the outlet.
Sharisse's symptoms began in 2021. Despite her declining health and repeated hospital stays, doctors initially misdiagnosed her ailment as a migraine disease.
Sharisse underwent two years of testing — including numerous blood tests, endoscopy and a gastric emptying study — and multiple ER visits to get a correct diagnosis. She was eventually diagnosed with cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) in 2023.
The symptoms of CVS, a chronic gut-brain connection disorder, include frequent vomiting episodes punctuated by periods of normal health. Abdominal discomfort, diarrhoea, headache, light sensitivity and dizziness are other symptoms that may appear during a vomiting episode.
'The episodes caused me to feel anxious and even suicidal at times, but it was a Catch-22 situation because the anxious and suicidal thoughts were also causing the episode," Sharisse told Today.com.
Managing symptoms and altering lifestyle choices to avoid situations that can cause vomiting episodes are the mainstays of CVS treatment. Additional therapies include benzodiazepines, which have been demonstrated to reduce anxiety symptoms, migraine medications, and medicinal marijuana, which can reduce stress and nausea.
Sharisse still has weekly episodes of vomiting, but they are less severe and last one to two days instead of four or five. Sharisse turned her hardships into inspiration and wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical Nothing Solid, a dark comedy film that she describes as a 'vom-com."
'Making this movie and being open about it has helped because I think I suffered a lot more when I was not open," she said.
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‘Vomits 15 Times An Hour': Woman's Rare Brain Disorder Shocks The Internet
Last Updated: The symptoms began in 2021. Despite declining health and repeated hospital stays, doctors initially misdiagnosed her ailment as a migraine disease. A Massachusetts woman has opened up about her years-long battle with a rare condition that causes her to vomit up to 15 times per hour when she encounters stress, anxiety, or premenstrual symptoms episodes. She will feel better after that, but the cycle will resume the following week for days at a time. Sharisse Zeroonian, 29, has been diagnosed with rare cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) that affects 2% of the population and is more prevalent among women, young adults, and people with a personal or familial history of migraines. Sharisse told that she lost weight, had emotional turmoil and lost her job as a result of the recurrent vomiting. She even experienced suicidal thoughts, which, unfortunately, would cause her to vomit more. 'I was feeling like, I don't want to live like this anymore. What kind of quality of life is this?" she told the outlet. Sharisse's symptoms began in 2021. Despite her declining health and repeated hospital stays, doctors initially misdiagnosed her ailment as a migraine disease. Sharisse underwent two years of testing — including numerous blood tests, endoscopy and a gastric emptying study — and multiple ER visits to get a correct diagnosis. She was eventually diagnosed with cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) in 2023. The symptoms of CVS, a chronic gut-brain connection disorder, include frequent vomiting episodes punctuated by periods of normal health. Abdominal discomfort, diarrhoea, headache, light sensitivity and dizziness are other symptoms that may appear during a vomiting episode. 'The episodes caused me to feel anxious and even suicidal at times, but it was a Catch-22 situation because the anxious and suicidal thoughts were also causing the episode," Sharisse told Managing symptoms and altering lifestyle choices to avoid situations that can cause vomiting episodes are the mainstays of CVS treatment. Additional therapies include benzodiazepines, which have been demonstrated to reduce anxiety symptoms, migraine medications, and medicinal marijuana, which can reduce stress and nausea. Sharisse still has weekly episodes of vomiting, but they are less severe and last one to two days instead of four or five. Sharisse turned her hardships into inspiration and wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical Nothing Solid, a dark comedy film that she describes as a 'vom-com." 'Making this movie and being open about it has helped because I think I suffered a lot more when I was not open," she said. First Published:
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A woman from Massachusetts has spoken out about her years-long struggle with a rare illness that causes her to vomit up to 15 times per hour during episodes, according to Sharisse Zeroonian, 29, began experiencing intense bouts of vomiting triggered by stress, anxiety, or premenstrual symptoms. These episodes would last for days and then disappear, only to return the following week. Initially, doctors misdiagnosed her condition as a migraine disorder, despite her worsening health and multiple hospital visits. Sharisse told the frequent vomiting led to weight loss, emotional distress, and loss of work. She even faced suicidal thoughts, which ironically could also trigger further vomiting. After two years of medical tests and visits to emergency rooms, she was finally diagnosed in 2023 with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS), a rare disorder that affects about 2% of people, particularly women and those with a history of migraines. CVS is a chronic gut-brain interaction disorder characterised by repeated vomiting episodes, followed by periods of normal health. Common triggers include stress, menstruation, certain foods, motion sickness, and overexertion. While Sharisse still has episodes every week, treatment using anti-nausea and antipsychotic medications has made them shorter and less severe. In severe cases, she can only consume vitamin-infused water or gummies and avoids going out for fear of public vomiting. Turning her struggles into creativity, Sharisse wrote and directed a semi-autobiographical dark comedy film titled Nothing Solid, which she calls a "vom-com". The film is scheduled for release in August and has helped her cope by bringing awareness to the misunderstood condition.
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