Had Another Episode Today - Are Anyone Else's The Same?

[shan1212]

This morning I woke up feeling OK, but I quickly felt dizzy and cold and had diarrhea. When they get really bad, I'll also throw up and feel so dizzy I ask to go to the ER because I can just tell I won't be able to drink enough to make it stop. Thankfully that didn't happen. I had to nurse my daughter lying in bed and flip over half way through, and that made things worse, but I managed to drink from a big 28 oz. cup with a straw (from the hospital with my first birth - love that cup!) filled with water and EFS solution. Has anyone else tried that? Supposedly it had 3x the electrolytes of Gatorade, and I like that it doesn't have artificial coloring or weird ingredients (I first got it at our local bike shop where my DH goes a lot).

So anyway, I've recovered now (somewhat), but I wondered if anyone else's episodes are like having food poisoning or something? It was so weird when they started a few years ago because I've always had an iron stomach and never got sick to my stomach. But now if I have a really bad POTS day my GI tract goes to pieces.

[Dizzysillyak]

Can you relate this reaction to something you ate ? I do this if I eat too much watermelon. And yet I do it every year ... lol ...

This is a normal response to a dietary intolerance. From my experiences with food poisoning, if it were a toxin, you'd be going to the bathroom non stop until your body had rid itself of the toxin. I did this 3 times last year ... duh ..

Try keeping a diet diary and look for a pattern.

tc.. x

Ps. I can't imagine this is good for your dd either. I'm not awake today so I can't remember exactly how it works but either gluten antibodies or gluten go straight to babies when nursing. I think it's on theglutenfile tho .. if not i remember someone discussing this on glutenfreeandbeyond ...

[Katybug]

I was having episodes like this for 4 1/2 yrs. Last fall my neuro put me on Depakote for my migraines...it made the GI symptoms go away too. It turns out I hae abdominal migraines w/headache (rare in adults but possible). It is the only thing that has actually given me any relief from the GI symptoms. Mine were so violent and I would have acid burns from both the vomiting and diarrhea. I spent many nights sleeping for 20 mins. at a time on the bathroom floor because I could make it back to my bed between the dizziness and the weakness from the GI bouts.

I got some relief from phenergan and belladonna but they weren't a cure just temporary relief (and I don't think either one is ok for a nursing mother although I can't swear to that.)

I hope you feel better soon. In the meantime you could make yourself some papaya puree which is used as a natural treatment for GI issues.

[Anoj]

So anyway, I've recovered now (somewhat), but I wondered if anyone else's episodes are like having food poisoning or something? It was so weird when they started a few years ago because I've always had an iron stomach and never got sick to my stomach. But now if I have a really bad POTS day my GI tract goes to pieces.

when i have fainting episodes, i usually get diarrhea. i thought it was very weird before i got diagnosed, but my doc explained to me that it is part of the adrenaline reaction. so is vomiting and sweating.

[Lemons2lemonade]

man i can feel you on the diarrhea--anti-diarrheals work really well though. Its how i know i am going to have a bad day

[CharmedLinz]

My really bad episodes usually feel like food poisoning or stomach flue, but then they don't follow that pattern. Plus I'm usually not the only one that ate the food, so not Poisoning and usually nobody else gets sick either, so not the stomach flue.

I went to the ER about 10 days ago for the first time with one it was the worst ever. I will try to write the whole thing up tomorrow and post when I have a bit more energy.

I will say for now though that when mine start if my Mother is here or I have my wits about me and check my blood sugar it's usually low as is my temperature.

Katybug-- Can you explain about the Abdominal Migraines??? How did they figure that?? And were you told why the Depakote might help the GI stuff???

[Dizzysillyak]

Food poisoning can affect only those with a weak immune system. That's why they post the warning sign

about this in the fresh seafood section of grocery stores. I had it 3 times last year. Once from cooked

oysters, once from cooked (maybe not enough) pork and I forgot the other culprit.

I took drugs for years for my gi symptoms but eventually the drugs didn't work. The probable damage caused by

eating these foods and taking drugs with side effects can add up over the years. One only has

to look at how drugs block nutrients to see this.

Migraines have been linked to certain foods for at least 4 decades now. I have a relative who went thru

extensive testing in the 70's and was found to react to hot dogs. The drug companies don't want you

to know this tho. Neither do their reps aka our doctors. Tc .. D

[Katybug]

CharmedLinz-

I asked exactly the same question of my neuro..."Why is the Depakote helping my GI issues because I haven't had a bout of GI issues since starting the Depakote?" That was actually the key to the diagnosis. He said the only real way to dx abdominal migraines is to treat for it and see if they go away. We (being several docs and I) had tried all of the standard testing and treatments and had minimal control over my GI issues. I was either vomiting or diarrhea (or both) 4-6 days a week, losing weight, uncontrolled GERD, severe abdominal pain. It didn't matter what I ate. Often all I did was drink liquids for days at a time. Within a week of starting the Depakote as a profilactic for my migraines, the GI issues stopped...completely! As further proof, when the weather changed here in MD a few weeks ago and became hot, humid, and thunderstormy, my migraines flared and so did my GI issues (although the GI issues were much less severe than before). There was a direct correlation. We have increased my Depakote and the nausea and diarrhea are gone. And so far no headaches.

Depakote is used off-label as a migraine profilactic. The neuro said that the only explanation is abdominal migraine as there is no known GI benefits of Depakote as a treatment. Here are a couple of liks that explain some about abdominal migraine:

http://www.headaches...ominal_Migraine

http://www.webmd.com...children-adults

[jrlehnardt]

wow, i find this post very interesting because most of my "episodes" are gi related. i have different types of episodes, but the doctors have yet to figure out my gi ones. i actually just had one last night. i get abdominal pain, flushing, sweating, and than nausea and vomitting. sometimes i get another episode wher my tummy hurts, get flushing, sweating, extremely drenched hot sweat, and explosive greasy floating diarrhea,and i pass out during these ones. i have had endoscopy and colonoscopy and had a hida scan as during this i either get really bad pain where my kidneys are or my gallbladder. i have definitely realized that spinach gives me this reaction. which is high histamine, so i dont know if i have a mast cell thing or not, as we have not had it confirmed yet. but i also started having troule with dairy andwonder if it is gluten or maybe just histamine. who knows, i need to keep a food journal and try to figure it out.

[delphicdragon]

jrlehnardt; I get GI episodes very similar to yours. I had them 2-3 times a week for years. They were triggered by cold foods/ cold drinks, activity too soon after a meal, big meals, carb rich meals, greasy foods, etc etc etc. What I found out was that my BP was bottoming out after I ate. This was due to the blood in my body being diverted to my stomach to digest and then my body thinking it was going into shock because my BP was so low. I started the midodrine and after about 3 months, the episodes reduced from 2-3 times a week to 1-2 times a month. I'm happy with that. I was told it was gastroparesis b/c (TMI) what was coming out sometimes was stuff I had eaten 2-4 hours earlier and that transit time was too fast. Shrug. I hope you find something that helps you. All my GI tests were "normal."

Sara (PS- Sorry if this is bold, I'm not sure what I did or how to fix it)

[jrlehnardt]

thanks, yes i just went to the az mayo and unfortunately because we didnt have enough time i was unable to get some gastro testing done they wanted me to do. so i have to get them scheduled here in ga. but the gastro did think i probabnly had gastroparesis and overgrowth of bacteria in intestines, due to my symptoms and having pots and eds. but i will know for sure when i get my testing done.

[RichGotsPots]

Zinc is a great supplement that has helped with diarrhea. The WHO actual recommends its worldwide for the issue...

[micheller]

That is interesting with the stomach migraines. I've suffered from intestinal issues all my life, ended up with a colostomy in 2006. I've also had stomach/reflux problems since I was pregnant in 2009. I've tried all the meds and had 3 nissens with no relief. I should bring this up to my dr.

[Katybug]

micheller,

Me too. I was 4 when I started with severe GERD and nausea/vomiting on a regular basis. First endoscopy at 6. Dx'ed with chronic GERD, gastritis, motility issues from that point on but no one was ever able to get rid of it or really control it. It came and went over the yrs on its own, but, when it would re-appear, there was never any good control. It was because we were treating the wrong disease really.

[blueskies]

i get the episodes of pain in the gut, the sweating, tachy, nausea feeling, pain can extend to my upper back too, but no diarrhea. I have chronic constipation which is a bugger to treat. Not sure which would be worse but I definately have gi issues, slow transit time for upper intestines. No transit time for lower ones unless I treat it it's absolutely a nothing happening area. I probably have gastroparesis (it's my gastroentorologists' view that I do) but I just refused to have the test because there wasn't much they could do about it anyway.

[shan1212]

Thanks for all the replied . . . I'm glad to know I'm not alone!

I'm sure the episodes are POTS and not food poisoning because I usually just vomit or have diarrhea once or twice. Enough to be a nuisance but not such a violent reaction that I suspect food poisoning. Plus, my stomach has always been so strong that bad foods don't affect me that way. One time my dad and I were both food poisoned, and I didn't even throw up on my own . . . I had to stick my toothbrush down my throat because my stomach just didn't react that way.

Dizzysillyak ~ no, I haven't yet figured out if a certain food triggers a bad POTS day. I think it's more to do with my hydration, but I've been following my gut (no pun intended) which has been telling me to avoid super carbs like pasta. But I still eat toast and other whole grain foods on a lesser basis. I may try eliminating that entirely if things continue this way.

I've taken Immodium AD if it's been really bad, and I take Zantac sometimes for heartburn, but otherwise I haven't tried any medications since I'm breastfeeding.

Oh, and both times I went to the ER for POTS episodes, the ER doc told me all I had was some diarrhea that was going around. I was like, um, I don't think a single bout of diarrhea would cause dehydration severe enough to warrant an ER visit! But thanks for the "diagnosis" and the IV fluids!