epileptic fit? or panic or menopausal nonsense?

[badgirl888]

Odd problem. Anytime I have a full bladder or bowel the pressure in the abdominal cavity triggers a weird neuro reaction (sense of doom, spacey moment with "voices" in my head and the ability to "sense" what others will say prior to their saying it, etc.) Fortunately this extremely frightening sensation only lasts 10-15 sec. It does take another 10-15 seconds after for my brain to re-orient and get back to business. This typically occurs 2-4 times daily and has been driving me nuts for well nigh 2 years. I do have fibroids (2) and just recently ceased menses. I'd love for this to be purely psychological but the "full abdomen" trigger is making me think there's more to this than me losing my mind. I'm fit (5'4" 120 lbs) and 48 with no health concerns. Previously had thyroid "goiters" that came and went but my TSH levels were fine, hence no treatment. Am not on meds of any kind and basically stay away from M.D.s. I'd go to a doc with this problem but they'd likely just say I'm nuts and send me away with no insight or help. Is it possible that pressure in the abdomen could trigger a seizure or am I just having some weird hormonal imbalance?

[ggreg]

Well, that feeling you're describing is sometimes known as deja vu.  It happens because either you aren't getting restful sleep or you're feeling faint.  Your age 48 is a little young for menopause (51 is average), altho not unheard of, but still, I think you should also visit a gynecologist and make sure those...I'm assuming...ovarian fibroids aren't getting too big.  See, could be when your bladder fills up, it pushes on those things, and bleeding may be going on, which would give you that feeling of passing out or deja vu.  You might also visit an endocrinologist and have all your hormone levels checked again.

I know you don't like doctors, but in this case, with your history of glands goofing up, you don't want them to get all out of hand and make you feel really awful.  In the meantime, whenever you get that feeling again, try to breathe in very deeply, then breathe regular a couple breaths, then breathe deeply again.  I know how scary it is...I have panic disorder, and talk about doom!  But since you now have some ideas what it might be, it shouldn't seem quite as wierd as before.

[badgirl888]

Thanks for your considerate reply. It's not anemia (my H&H is fine). Am going to check the thyroid (TSH, free T4 etc.) since I've got a history of "goiters" coming and going. I should get the fibroids checked out but... we'll see. My menopause is not entirely bleed-free at the moment but actually while age 48 isn't the average it's close enough. I might still qualify as "pre"-menopausal but I've not had my FSH/LH levels done so who knows. Thanks again. I'm leaning unfortunately toward a neuro cause. Had a small intracranial bleed 2 yrs. back (hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasis) and there might be some damage that's triggering this in conjunction with the abdominal pressure.

[ILADVOCATE]

I still would consider having a consultation with a neurologist if they haven't diagnosed this as an endocrinological disorder. If you have some form of change in consciousness when something physical occurs such as you described it is autonomonic and certainly not mental but it could potentially be neurological. However, because you described a thyroid disorder obviously they would rule that out first but they probably would do an EEG or other standard tests to make sure it wasn't epilepsy or something related.

[badgirl888]

Thanks for the comments/suggestions. Will likely go for a neuro consult in the near future.

[ggreg]

I hear you, but PLEZ have the fibroids checked, they can do a noninvasive ultrasound, which also that will allow them to look at the bladder, and it's less expensive than a scan.  And since you've added the info about the intracranial bleed, of course see the neuro ASAP too.