some think its siezures, some think autonomic disorder

[deniseavery]

When I eat or drink about 80% of the time I pass out, and not breath, for about 30 to 60 seconds, my boy friend shakes me out of it. most of the time I can hear whats going on. coming out of it slight confusion, and needing to take a nap. It only happins when eating or drinking ,  A sip of water can set it off, or half way through a meal with a mouth full of food, neurology dept at ucsf wired me up on a  eeg for a week , watching what they are calling siezures but didnt get a reading on a siezure, Tried a siezure medication keppra no results, next step is tegratrol xr ,The doctors told me they are baffled and dont know what it is,
    What about Candida yeast cest  ,  Toxic liver  ????           Im hep C fibrosis of the liver 10 years ago but my lab results are ok
    Any  positive feed back would be welcome

[Heiferly]

In rarer cases, swallowing can be a trigger for vasovagal syncope.  (More common triggers are orthostatic intolerance, bowel movement, urination, and heat intolerance.)  Fainting directly correlated with swallowing (and not delayed after eating as in postprandial/reactive hypoglycemia or postprandial hypotension) seems much more indicative of this vasovagal reflex.  A doctor well versed in syncope should be able to help you tease this out.  

"Seizure" or convulsions during syncope are not uncommon (non-epileptic).  I'm not sure about what might cause pain/vomiting.  Conversion disorder is probably best evaluated by a mental health professional.  

[justwanttohelp09]

Your story is very interesting to me as it is the only one I could find that sounds like what my 16 yr old niece is going through. She had surgery to remove a twisted fat pad, but they didn't find it like they suspected. After that , she began to have pain and vomiting every time she ate anything. That progressed into her passing out whenever eating. Then she began to have seizure like episodes after eating. She has been tested by cardio, neuro, gastro, all negative results, including EEG during "seizure". She has been referred several times to psych., but her mother still believes there is a physical cause they have missed. She does have shingles and her mom thinks maybe this is involved. I have done alot of research on non-epileptic seizures with some possible matches to conversion disorder. This has to do with a physical manifestation of a psychological problem. Please don"t think this means I am suggesting it is "faking". Those with the disorder do not want it, fake it, like it, like the attention, or in any way enjoy it. It would be similar in theory to getting a stomach ache from being nervous or stressed. They would not find a physical reason for the pain, but you know the pain is real . My niece has had a fairly traumatic childhood, and I think this could contribute to her condition. Please let me know if you have any more info. on your case since your last post from Nov. Thanks.

[deniseavery]

good morning. thanks for your response. I will talk to my doc about this. I know my bp does drop during my episodes.

[halbashes]

Some individuals with Autonomic Dysfunction experience episodes of low blood pressure after eating.  This is called postprandial hypotension.  Some of the ideas that have helped me include: eating small meals, eliminating warm foods, and keeping mealtime (sitting still at the table) under twenty minutes.

Unfortunately, I don't have a whole lot of additional information to offer you, but perhaps other members of our community will have more insight.  I wish you luck in obtaining an appropriate diagnosis, and successful treatment.  I hope the Tegretol XR is helpful.