Hello, you can call me Storm. 🌩️ I wanted to share my health journey that I've been dealing with since 2013 and finally got diagnosed in 2015/2016. There is one main thing I struggle with as a whole but also have overlapping issues as well that I'll share. This is something I want to document. If you’ve ever felt sick and unheard, or know someone going through this — I hope my story helps.
🧠 When Your Nervous System Makes You Sick:
I’ve spent years trying to understand why I feel sick almost every day — nausea, pain, food sensitivities, and exhaustion — even though all my medical tests kept coming back “normal.” It wasn’t until I saw GI motility specialists and neurologically-informed doctors that I finally got a name: Functional Dyspepsia (FD) — a gut-brain interaction disorder. But that wasn’t the full picture…
😷 This thread is about my real-life experience with:
• FD (Functional Dyspepsia)
• CNS-Driven Nausea (central nervous system dysfunction)
• Pelvic floor dysfunction & Interstitial Cystitis
• Chronic fatigue & food intolerance
🌪️ How it all started: I wanted to share a bit of my health journey—not for sympathy, but for understanding. I’ve spent years navigating chronic nausea, food intolerance, and digestive pain. But the hardest part? Most of my tests are normal. Here's what I’ve learned about functional GI disorders and how they affect me every day. For years, I’ve dealt with daily nausea, stomach pain, and trouble eating certain foods. But every time I got tests done—scans, scopes, even motility studies—most things came back normal.
🩺 My Diagnosis Journey:
I’ve seen many specialists—GI doctors, a motility expert, and more. At one point, I was told I had gastroparesis based on a test, but later testing showed that may have been a false positive. My gastric emptying scan and SmartPill test came back normal. My scopes (endoscopy and colonoscopy) were normal too. Eventually, a motility specialist told me I have Functional Dyspepsia, which is diagnosed when symptoms are present without clear findings on tests. It took a long time to get answers, and at times I was made to feel like it was “just in my head.” But the science now shows that gut-brain disorders are real and complex. I was diagnosed around 2015/2016. It’s a disorder where your stomach doesn’t work right, but there’s no visible damage or disease. My symptoms are very real, but they come from how my brain and gut are communicating—not from something a doctor can easily “see” on a test.
🤢 CNS-Driven Nausea (Central Nervous System-Driven):
I also have something called CNS-driven nausea, which means my central nervous system (brain + spinal cord) is sending the wrong signals to my gut, causing me to feel sick even when nothing is physically wrong with my stomach. These are both considered gut-brain interaction disorders, and sometimes fall under what's called central sensitization—where your nervous system becomes overly sensitive and reacts more strongly to pain, sensations, and food. This stuff is often misunderstood or dismissed because it doesn’t show up clearly on scans, but it still affects daily life in a big way. It’s not "all in my head"—it’s just a different kind of illness that needs more awareness. Also this kind of nausea is real, chronic, and disabling. It’s often seen in people who also deal with migraines (like me), fibromyalgia, or other “invisible” illnesses.
I often feel:
•Random waves of nausea, especially when stressed
•No relief from standard stomach treatments
It’s not “in my head” — it’s neurological, similar to chronic migraines.
🌿 How It Affects My Daily Life:
Living with Functional Dyspepsia and CNS-driven nausea means I have to think about my stomach all the time. I never know when a wave of nausea will hit, and it’s not always tied to food. Some days I feel sick for no reason at all. I also deal with fatigue, pain, and food intolerance. I can’t eat things like steak, fried foods, or regular hamburgers—they make me really sick. But I’ve learned I can handle lighter meals like grilled chicken, certain veggie meats, or specific brands of food. It’s a lot of trial and error, and frustrating when others can eat freely.
🍔 Why I Can’t Eat Certain Foods:
•Hamburger patties and steak are too dense and greasy — they trigger nausea
•Fried foods and heavier cuts of meat are harder to digest
•I do better with crumbled meats like in hamburger helper or sloppy joes
•I can tolerate things like Impossible burgers, baked chicken, and specific brands of hot dogs
It’s a constant balancing act, and every flare-up feels like starting over. But strangely, I can eat things like Impossible meat, hamburger helper, or grilled chicken. It’s all about the texture, fat content, and how hard something is to break down. My body just processes food differently now.
🔎 What’s Really Going On:
Even though the tests don’t show damage, my body feels like something is wrong. That’s because of central sensitization—my nervous system is overreacting and misinterpreting normal signals as pain, nausea, or discomfort. I also have CNS-driven nausea, meaning the problem starts in the brain’s processing centers, not just the gut. This can happen in people with migraine history (which I have), and it often overlaps with things like anxiety, IBS, or chronic pain conditions.
📑 Overlapping Diagnoses:
In addition to FD and CNS-driven nausea, I also live with:
•Chronic Migraines – linked to central sensitization
•Interstitial Cystitis (IC) – chronic bladder pain and urgency
•Pelvic Floor Dysfunction – causing pelvic pressure and discomfort
•Chronic Fatigue – not just tiredness, but deep, body-wide exhaustion
🚽 Interstitial Cystitis (IC):
Another major condition I live with is Interstitial Cystitis (IC), which is a chronic bladder condition that causes pain, pressure, and the constant feeling of needing to pee—even if my bladder isn’t full. It’s not an infection, but it can feel like one. Flare-ups can be triggered by stress, certain foods, or even hormones. IC can make daily life hard—from needing to know where every bathroom is to struggling with sleep from bladder discomfort. Like my other conditions, IC is invisible and often dismissed or misunderstood, but it’s very real and has to be managed just like the rest of my health.
💥 Pelvic Pressure & Pelvic Floor Dysfunction:
I also deal with pelvic floor dysfunction, which shows up as constant pelvic pressure and discomfort, especially when my IC flares. This can make internal exams (like pap smears) painful and worsen my overall pain levels.
Because my nervous system is hypersensitive, my pelvic muscles stay tense, adding another layer of discomfort to everyday life.
😫 Fatigue & Daily Impact:
My fatigue isn’t just feeling sleepy — it’s a deep, constant exhaustion that rest doesn’t fully fix. It comes from my body being in a near-constant state of stress and from the energy spent managing pain, nausea, and other symptoms. This fatigue affects everything: work, social life, and even simple tasks at home.
💊 What Helps Me Cope With These Illnesses:
• Scopolamine patches – These help my nausea and are prescribed by my doctor.
• Medical marijuana – This helps with both nausea and appetite.
• Flexeril (cyclobenzaprine) – Helps relax my muscles and body (for IC and pelvic floor dysfunction)
• Careful diet – I avoid heavy, greasy, or dense foods and eat smaller meals.
• Mental health tools – Since stress and the nervous system are so tied into these disorders, tools like therapy, mindfulness, or certain meds can help. I can’t take amitriptyline due to side effects, but everyone’s body reacts differently.
❓ What I Wish People Understood:
This condition isn’t fake or "just anxiety." It’s real and disabling, even though it doesn’t show up on scans. Just because someone looks “fine” doesn’t mean they’re not struggling internally. I didn’t choose this life—it chose me. I’m doing my best to manage it, stay positive, and keep advocating for myself. Sharing my story is one way to feel less alone and maybe help someone else who’s going through the same thing or something similar.
🌟 In Conclusion:
Living with Functional Dyspepsia, CNS-Driven Nausea, Interstitial Cystitis, Chronic Fatigue, and a Sensitized Nervous System has changed my life in ways I never expected. It’s invisible, unpredictable, and exhausting—but it’s real. I’ve learned to become my own advocate, to trust what my body tells me, and to keep searching for what helps me feel better.
🫂 If you’re going through something similar, you’re not alone. These conditions are hard to explain, but that doesn’t make them any less valid. I hope my story helps someone else feel seen or gives them words for what they’ve been struggling with. 🫶🏼
Thanks for reading. ❤️
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