Nausea
Functional medicine support tailored to uncover the root cause of complex symptoms.
Consult with our care team to understand next steps and build a personalized plan.
Serving Denver Metro, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs.
About This Condition
Nausea is the unpleasant subjective sensation of the urge to vomit, often described as queasiness, stomach upset, or a sick feeling in the upper abdomen or throat. It may occur alone or with other symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dizziness, headache, or autonomic changes (sweating, salivation, pallor, tachycardia).
Nausea is a non-specific symptom with a wide differential, including primary gastrointestinal disorders, medication effects, pregnancy, vestibular and neurologic conditions, metabolic and endocrine abnormalities, infections, and functional or psychophysiologic states. It can be acute and self-limited, recurrent with specific triggers (for example motion or certain foods), or more chronic and disabling, especially when associated with weight loss, dehydration, or nutritional compromise.
Clinical evaluation aims to identify red flags for serious pathology (such as gastrointestinal obstruction, intracranial disease, acute abdomen, or significant metabolic derangement), clarify temporal patterns and triggers, and distinguish between structural, metabolic, medication-related, and functional causes. Management is guided by the underlying diagnosis and may include dietary modification, trigger avoidance, treatment of primary disease, and symptomatic therapies, with attention to hydration and nutritional status.
Common Symptoms
- •Subjective feeling of queasiness, stomach upset, or urge to vomit
- •Associated vomiting or retching in some episodes but not always present
- •Reduced appetite, early satiety, or aversion to certain foods or smells
- •Abdominal discomfort, bloating, or upper abdominal fullness
- •Autonomic symptoms such as sweating, salivation, pallor, or lightheadedness during nausea episodes
- •Worsening with specific triggers such as motion, certain foods, medications, strong odors, or anxiety
- •Fatigue and reduced ability to eat or drink normally during more prolonged or intense episodes
Conventional Treatment Options
Diet timing/texture
Gut support
Medication review
Our Functional Medicine Approach
Chronic nausea has a cause — "sensitive stomach" isn't one
Episodic or chronic nausea outside obvious causes (pregnancy, medication, infection) is rarely just a sensitive stomach. The pattern usually maps to delayed gastric emptying, gut dysbiosis or SIBO, food sensitivities, bile flow issues, vagal tone, autonomic dysregulation, migraine-equivalent presentations, or hormonal shifts. We see all of these regularly.
How Spire works the root cause
Patients typically start with our Viome Gut Intelligence pathway plus targeted gastric motility evaluation, SIBO testing, and food sensitivity panels where indicated. From there we treat the underlying mechanism instead of layering more antiemetics on top of a daily symptom.
Who this is for
Adults with chronic or episodic nausea that hasn't been explained, patients with gastroparesis or post-infectious gut changes, and people whose nausea spikes around hormonal cycles or specific meals.