strange occurences with digestive system

[vallee]

I went to my primary doctor in April complaining of a dull pain in my right side of my abdomen.  I did have my gallbladder out in 1992.  My doctor wanted me to have a colonoscopy. I am a 54-old-female and knew it was time to get it done.  I followed the Halflytely Bowel Preparation instructions to a tee.  At 12 p.m. I took (2) bisacodyl  tablets with water.  Everything was fine. Then at 2 p.m. I took the remaining 2 bisacodyl tablets. I went to the bathroom, sat on the toilet and I started feeling very faint and I broke out in a cold sweat.  After I finished going to the bathroom I tried to stand up and felt very, very faint. It took several minutes before I started feeling better.  Later, that evening I drank a clear solution.  I went the following day and had my colonoscopy performed and I had a polyp removed and the colon look good.  In July, I had a health assessment (blood work) done through work and the report came back with a Red Alert on my monocytes reading of 2, normal range 4 to 13.  I made an appointment with my doctor.  That weekend before my doctor's appointment I had an episode that sent me to the emergency room in bad shape. I had just got a cup of coffee and felt I needed to go to the bathroom and I had a bowel movement. Then, within a few minutes my stomach started cramping just like when I had taken the second round of the bisacodyl tablets. I yelled to my husband to come in the house and I immediately went to the bathroom. The stomach cramps were intense and I started vomiting soon after. My husband came in and was assisting me and I felt weaker and weaker and I actually passed out on the toilet with my husband holding me up.  I woke up and then my husband called 911.  The EMTs couldn't find a pulse or heart rate. I was taken to the emergency room and what medicine was administered I don't know exactly.  I had broken out with a rash on my stomach and legs. The emergency personnel jokingly said looks like vaso vagal.  We see a lot of patients like this after Thanksgiving after they have ingested a big meal. I was too sick to question anything and I had never heard of such a thing. I stayed overnight for observation. I was instructed to see my primary doctor for a followup.  I saw my doctor and told him I thought it was some kind of allergy because I was broke out, etc. The doctor thought it was either a rotovirus or food poisining.  I told him I did eat some two bowls of wheat chexs the evening before and could that be the problem. He said no.  Well, I went on my merry way.  At the end of September I had a bad case of the allergies and flu.  In the first week of October I had another episode. The evening before I ate a big bag of popcorn. The following morning, I took a vitamin and fish oil on a empty stomach thinking that my granddaughter might get the pills so I went ahead and took them. I know, not smart.  That was at 6:30 a.m. and by 8:30 a.m. I was having a full blown episode and I put myself in a very dangerous situation, with no phone and a two-year-old granddaughter under my care and knew I was in bad shape. I went to the bathroom and had a bowel movement and broke in a clammy, cold sweat. I knew what was going on. I was determined not to stay on the toilet. I went in and sat on the couch with granddaughter in high chair eating breakfast.  Within a few minutes I started vomiting and made it to the kitchen sink and defacating on myself. The only thing that saved me is I heard someone mowing the lawn outside my daughter's apartment and open the door and got his attention. I fainted soon after. A call was made to 911 and ambulance took me to the emergency room. This time I looked like a red lobster dripped in hot water. I was kept overnight in the hospital for observation. This time I was prescribed an epi-pen and I was to see an allergist. The allergist wasn't too helpful. The following week I went to my primary doctor and he was lost for words and he felt that nothing should be done. This time I had some bothersome symptoms.  I have low blood pressure and it would fluctuate. My ears didn't feel right. I saw my doctor's assistant and she prescribed allergra. I am now starting to feel somewhat better. I am going back to my primary doctor and what to be directed to a doctor that will get to the bottom of what bought this on. Can any one reflect on this or heard of anyone having a problem like this?

[vallee]

Were your problems due strickly to allergies? Do your attacks come on only after you ingested an food allergen? I understand that our digestive system is a storehouse of mast cells. The mast cells will react to any foreign substance. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about what is going on. And, yes, I expect the Internist to get to the bottom of what is causing these explosive episodes. You have a lot of the same symptoms as I do. A lot of things happening in our digestive tracts.

[vallee]

Yes, this all started after I took the bisacodyl tablets. I did call the gastroenterologist's office and the nurse said that she will note it in my records that I had a problem with the tablets. She also said it was stool softener tablets (ducolan) that you can buy over the counter. The tablets did contain some red dye but very miniscule amounts. I had been under a lot of stress over the past year and thought maybe the tablets caused my vagal nerve to respond causing my body to react in a negative way.  I don't know if my digestive system has been compromise.  I went to my primary doctor and he will be making an appointment with an internist. The communications from each one of you have helped me immensely!

[Mozartcowgirl]

i have had the same things happen. but not as severe as what you are going through.  i feel really bad .. i get hot.. cold.. clammy... i feel horrible.. sometimes.. i dont make it to the bathroom. and i feel faint at times.. after i use the bathroom.... i feel better.. but not totally.. sometimes it takes longer.. i had the whole work up done.. including allergy testing.. i do have severe allergies.... i now stay away from preservatives... and everything i can that is processed.. i noticed that when i did stop doing these things... that things got a bit better.  i still get it.. adn its very scary.. it scares the **** out of me.. i never know when its going to happen. and the only indication that the roller coaster is starting.. and i know this sounds strange.. is my lower back/top of rear starts to tingle.. then.. wham... full blown attack of i have no clue what the helllll is going on.  i had blood owrk done by two separate places.. an urgent care.. and .. a hospital.. and o this sounds strange.. but my lymphs were high... and my monocytes were low.. theni had them chekced again.. and all was normal.. i have no idea whats going on . i just got done with a rheumatoid doc.. and she was no help at all.. wasted a co pay there.  
you would be AMAZED at things that are put into food htat you dont know about.. msg for instance.. can cause real problems for people..the thing is though. is that the companies that put msg into the foods . are becoming wise to this.. they now call msg things like.. Autolyzed yeast extract.. or.. soy protein isolate..( which is like the first ingredient in those health  bars) wheat protein.. soy protein. etc etc.. sodium guaylanate... you get the idea.. its all msg.. just different  names..  you could be allergic to something and not know it.. make a journal.. like the above poster stated.. and.. i would also see about the increased seratonin ...i also have low blood pressure..
you know.. let us know how are you doing!!  

















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[katseye]

My question to you is; did you ever have any of this before you took the meds for the colonoscopy? Could there be I link? Could the meds for that, have messed up your system? These could be question to ask a gastrointerologist............hope this helps..........:-)

[vallee]

I will be seeing my primary doctor tomorrow and I will DISCUSS my symptoms with him and he will send me to someone who will get to the bottom of this.  I appreciate the information and it gives me a different take on my situation.  You had mentioned release of histamine. I find it odd that my monocytes level was at a red alert level and than two weeks later I had my first episode.

[CalGal]

I could be way off base on this, but when you see your doc please thoroughly discuss the fact that you are intensely flushing and this is followed or accompanied by episodes of intense cramping and recurrent diarrhea. In some conditions, there is the presence of an uncomfortable flushing although it is typically found on the head and neck.The skin color changes can be very striking. It can be precipitated by stress, but it can also be related to the intake of food, hot beverages or alcohol.

In some cases it can be due to problems with an unwarranted increase in serotonin secretion. If it is, it can be confirmed by looking for an increased urinary excretion of the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA). In other cases it may be due to problems with increased release of histamine, or (I believe) bradykinin, and these can also be checked.

Please push you doc a bit if necessary because the presence of intense flushing and diarrhea is a bit worrisome.

[vallee]

I am keeping a food diary now and will pay closer attention to what I eat. I will be seeing my primary doctor next week and I will insist that he direct me to a specialist that could shed some light on what's going on.  I know my doctor didn't want to do anything due to the fact that he didn't know what was causing the onset of the anaphylaxis. After the second episode, I haven't felt 100 percent. I'll be glad when my life gets back to normal. Thanks for the info.

[Donnie86]

That is horrible and I hope you find out what it is. I don't know what it is but I pray it never happens again.

Just some suggestions: Keep a food journal, it won't hurt one bit on any level. I keep it for IBS, you should keep it JUST in case there's a food relation. You can develop food allergies at any age spontaneously. My uncle suddenly became allergic to eggs, but had eaten them for years. Start the journal now and try to keep on it, write specifically what you ate. It doesn't take more than 60 seconds to open a file on your computer, type a sentence of the food you ate, and save it. It might be worth it.