Seeing Double: An Unusual Case of Chronic Recurrent Nausea, Vomiting and Epigastric Pain

Excerpt

A 42-year-old male was initially evaluated in the emergency department with a 2-month history of intermittent, non-radiating, dull epigastric pain exacerbated by food intake. He also complained of postprandial fullness, nausea, and multiple episodes of vomiting. These symptoms had recurred episodically for many years. He denied any unintentional weight loss, change in bowel habits, melena, hematochezia, or hematemesis. He was a chronic heavy alcohol consumer, starting drinking at age 15, currently consuming 1 pint of whiskey/day before admission. He had a history of multiple admissions due to alcohol withdrawal, epigastric pain, and hematemesis. He had had multiple esophagogastroduodenoscopies (EGDs) in the past that had shown hiatus hernia, esophagitis, and Mallory–Weiss tears, though no cause of his recurrent epigastric pain, nausea, and vomiting had been identified. …