<p>Do your kids ever throw up before a big exam? What do you do about it?</p>
<p>I have a daughter who is really smart and does very well academically, but she tends to throw up on the mornings before important tests. She says that she does not feel nervous, but obviously she is because she does not throw up on other mornings. </p>
<p>My kid is taking 3 AP exams in the next couple of days. I posted a question on the HS site, but didn't get much of a response from the kids. I am hoping that there are other parents out there who have delt with this situation, and can offer me some suggestions.</p>
<p>My daughter does exactly the same thing, and unfortunately, we haven’t found any way to alleviate it. Eating pretzel sticks is the only thing that helps a bit! Once she starts working on the test, the nausea subsides, but she’s found no way to dissipate the feeling beforehand.</p>
<p>Try pretzels for breakfast, and good luck to your daughter. Mine is taking 2 AP’s this week, so we’ll be having the same problem.</p>
<p>Be sure she has a “predictable” breakfast - test day isn’t the day to try something exotic! Cheerios are good, really whatever she generally has. I have fond memories of throwing up scrambled eggs :eek:</p>
<p>My daughter. It’s always been a problem, but the doctor gave her a low dose tranquilizer a couple of years ago. She used it once for the college placement exam, did fine, and then was able to manage her anxiety through relaxation techniques. She needed to get over the hurdle, though.</p>
<p>Yes! But it’s me, not my kids. And there’s a remedy. </p>
<p>After about half a lifetime of fighting overwhelming nausea when faced with extreme stress (the Socratic method, as practiced by my Income Taxation prof in law school, was a major trigger) I learned from a good internist that extreme nausea can be a physiological response to anxiety, caused by the body’s overproduction of adrenaline in response to the stressful situation. Many professional performers (Barbra Streisand comes to mind) suffer from it. The remedy (which I’m told Barbra uses ) is propanolol, a beta-blocker normally used to treat heart and circulatory conditions. It’s also prescribed for occasional use by those of us who suffer from adrenaline gone utterly wild. Now, if I’m in a situation that promises to be extremely stressful, I take one pill. It works. Not perfectly, but it does work. In fact, just knowing I have the pill in case I need it helps – sort of like a security blanket. Please, if this sounds like what ails your D, consult with a good internist. I wish I had known about this years ago.</p>
<p>LOL. Here I thought this was going to be along the lines of another thread, where we were talking about the “AP flu” and kids staying home the day before a tough AP cram. Obviously, you’re talking about the real deal here.</p>
<p>My D’s have had good results getting nervous nausea to subside by drinking Gatorade, believe it or not! The pediatrician recommended it. I never would have thought of it, but it works for us! </p>
<p>If that doesn’t work for your D, other suggestions: warm peppermint tea, ginger ale</p>
<p>My son has the same problem, but he usually doesn’t throw up unless he makes the mistake of eating. He often just has a big glass of milk on the morning of big tests, and that seems to help. I have gotten Instant Breakfast to add to the milk to give him a few more calories, but discovered he did better with plain milk.</p>
<p>He has the same problem before and even DURING games. His lax team calls him pukey because of the number of times he has thrown up during the games (never during tests thank goodness!). My H tells me there was a professional basketball player (don’t remember the name) who threw up before every game he played in. I guess this is not an uncommon problem.</p>
<p>My son had seperation anxiety when in first grade. He felt sick on the way to the bus. I found that gingerbread cookies were something he could tolerate. They do need to eat something.</p>
<p>I’m not a parent but I second the no-eating strategy. I can’t eat anything before a debate meet without becoming sick, even if its in the afternoon I’ll end up not eating until all is said and done. It’s always irked me because I always do well at debate meets, yet I get ill nonetheless.</p>
<p>Anyway, good luck to your daughter, I hope that it works out.</p>
Anyway, I’m glad I opened it.</p>