Gastrointestinal Symptoms & Complex Partials?

[elizzza811]

What are the classic gastrointestinal symptoms that accompany epilepsy, especially complex partials? I ask because I had two colonoscopies 2 years apart because of ongoing gastrointestinal issues and lots of other GI tests, and nothing ever showed.

Specifically, I haven't had a normal bowel movement for probably 10 years, maybe longer. My stools are always some shade of yellow or orange (rarely brown anymore), usually either fatty and tubular or gloppy in appearance (never a 'clean wipe' anymore). And it almost feels as if my digestion stops cold and my gallbladder fails to release?

What's really interesting though is that the night before my last seizure, I actually heard my gallbladder release for the first time in weeks. And then I woke up with memory problems the next morning and suffered several seizures that day.

Anybody else with gastro symptoms?

 

[John Sturgis]

What are the classic gastrointestinal symptoms that accompany epilepsy, especially complex partials? I ask because I had two colonoscopies 2 years apart because of ongoing gastrointestinal issues and lots of other GI tests, and nothing ever showed.

Specifically, I haven't had a normal bowel movement for probably 10 years, maybe longer. My stools are always some shade of yellow or orange (rarely brown anymore), usually either fatty and tubular or gloppy in appearance (never a 'clean wipe' anymore). And it almost feels as if my digestion stops cold and my gallbladder fails to release?

What's really interesting though is that the night before my last seizure, I actually heard my gallbladder release for the first time in weeks. And then I woke up with memory problems the next morning and suffered several seizures that day.

Anybody else with gastro symptoms?

I had a lot of gastro problems like you are mentioning. I gave up 90% of cow dairy products, msg products & sweetiners. Pretty much I am still on this GARD type diet & my stmach feels much better & it's helping control my seizures.

 

[elizzza811]

I've tried everything to no avail, even a 'no-cheating' completely vegetarian diet (no meat, no dairy, no preservatives, no gluten) for a couple of years. I'd eat fresh fruit and veggies and only eat canned fruit and veggies that listed only the fruit or vegetable and water as ingredients, and occasionally salt. Nothing has helped.

 

[RobinN]

May I ask if you are in the US? Are you open to finding a doctor that is knowlegable about this? I can give you some links if you would like.

 

[John Sturgis]

How about a Bifidus Regularis product like activia when you wake up each day. You have probably tried it. Good luck sometimes it does take years to get the right combo for your brain/body cycle. Keep me posted!

 

[elizzza811]

Thanks...I'm in the US, Kutztown, PA.

Kefir sometimes helps a little, but not all the time, maybe 25% of the time. Activia did nothing. Probiotics did nothing, even bifidus. Kefir contains different probiotics than what you'd find in most probiotics though, and the brand I buy also contains Vitamin D and B12. I seem to cycle though with kefir...sometimes I crave it and go through 3 bottles a day; other times I can't even handle one glass of it.

 

[fluffance]

Ive had bowell problems for years. My colonoscopy found a small trace of Crohn's disease. Funnily enough it was my gastroenterologist who predicted I had TLE. He told me to sprinkle psyllium husk on my breakfast every morning. Ive found that it has helped me.

 

[elizzza811]

I've already tried psyllium husk...it didn't do a thing for me. In fact, I swear fiber makes it worse.

And my GI problems aren't constipation-related or hard-stool related anyway. I do 'something' most days, but my stools are wayyy too soft, never formed, and the wrong color. Some days it feels like everything didn't come out, too, even though I'm going, because I remain bloated and only do 'strings' of bowel movement. And my gallbladder rarely releases, thus the yellow or orange color.

What really confuses me is days I don't have a bowel movement (the day after a seizure, for example), I feel better not having gone.

 

[fluffance]

What about Fructose malabsorption. Symptoms are bloating, diarrhea or constipation, flatulance, stomach pain, depression.
So apples pears and raisins can be a problem. Or fructans are a problem, asparagus, artichoke, wheat, Leek and ONION. Onion powder is in so many things.
Im sure there are other things that effect it that I havent listed. My cousin has this, they find it by doing a breath test.

 

[elizzza811]

Thing is these symptoms persisted even when I went on my vegetarian diet. Onion was one food I did not eat. I also ate NO bread whatsoever during this time period, for like 2 years. NO sweets.

Very little fruit, too...only bananas on occasion, and they made me sick, and pears. I think pears were the only fruit I could tolerate, but my bowel movements did not change. Thanks though...

I know my blood sugar was low at one point when tested though?...hmmm?...would this cause low blood sugar?

 

[Jfpinell]

It could be that you need more digestive enzymes. My herbalist recomended them to me when I had otherwise unexplained (aka "standard" medical diognostic tests) done when I was having GI issues. A few DAYS later, everything was fine.
(You may need more than just ordinary yogurt. Many of the bacteria that are claimed to be in that -especially the store bought kinds- are killed off through "needed" pasteruization.)

 

[mel239]

Not that there is any connection,but Ive battled an ulcer and hiatal hernia most of my life.I drink bottles of maalox and always blamed my heartburn on pregnancy-but i have never "gone" more than twice a week for 30 years no matter what diet or state of health Ive been in-thats just me I guess-mine are not formed-just like a single diarrhea episode without the excess gas or liquid-who knows?I guess if we think about it anything might be related to a chronic condition like E--or maybe not

 

[Toronto Mom]

I am very intrigued by this discussion. My son was diagnosed with a complex partial seizure disorder last year and often complains of stomach pain as an aura. His neurologist has stated that the stomach pain and seizures are totally unrelated. Have any of our neurologists acknowledged a connection?

 

[Endless]

Listen to your son (and your instincts) Torontomom. Mothers are usually right.

Check out these links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdominal_epilepsy

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15833692

 

[elizzza811]

Thanks, but I've tried digestive enzymes, too...nothing helps. Kefir helps a little sometimes. Yogurt does nothing.

I actually think that maybe because these seizures have gone untreated, my gallbladder doesn't release, and then, as a result, toxins and yeast overgrow?...because my tongue often has a white coating on it when my symptoms are most severe?

Last seizure I had...the night before, I actually heard my gallbladder release. It makes a gurgling sound high in the abdomen for probably 10 minutes, I think on the right side. The gurgling sound didn't help improve my bowel movements, but I felt less toxic for sure after it released.

I wonder though if I have abdominal epilepsy? I'll be curious to see if any of this resolves when I go on anticonvulsants down the road.

I have a question though...with one of my seizures, I actually threw up. Is that normal???

mel239, if you have an ulcer, you should be tested for h-pylori. There's some sort of 'breath test' for it now. My mom had duodenal ulcers.

 

[mel239]

Ive so had it with doctors,but you make a good point-my mom tells me that excessive acid indigestion can lead to esophageal erosion and cancer,with all the blood they take from meI would think cancer would show up somewhere

 

[Jfpinell]

mel239....that malox may in fact be PART OF your problem. I've learned a bit of a secret that, obviously, the makers of antacids rather you not know: When someone has heartburn, it's not because you have too much acid, but in all reality, not enough! When you eat too much or something that "doesn't agree with you" it's because your tummy doesn't have sufficient amount of acid to totally digest what's there. Partially digested food can't continue on its way, so after your tummy gets tired of it sitting there, if you will, there's only 1 way for it to go -bringing with it some of the acid that's still mixed in with it. Make sense? It's like filling your radiator up only part way, driving around until the engine overheats and then asking yourself "is it better if I drain this "excessive" hot fluid out and put cold in to cool my engine down so I can drive again, or should I add more so it's got enough to do its job right next time?" The best thing to try is about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (I know..ick until you're use to it) but I mix it in a cup of yogurt and it doesn't taste as bad. That takes care of heartburn in about 30 seconds for me.
Another problem very well might be your diet. If you eat a lot of sugar or processed foods, that'll do it too! The best quality of digestive enzymes I know is at Natures sunshine website. The shhhhhugar *AHEM!* in the store isn't worth wasting your $ on! You definitely sound as though your system is clogged (and by that I don't mean colon-wise!) With all the processed, chemical filled, preservative filled, and nutrient depleted (despite what food companies tell you!) food we eat today, combined with all the drugs out there, causes your liver, galbladder and everything else to get SO sluggish, you start having problems that you don't even realize may be related. I've been digging into this stuff for YEARS. If you wanna' know more, or want me to explain what I've summed up here, lemme' know.
By the way, yes, it IS "normal" to throw up after a seizure. It's happened to me twice.

 

[Endless]

Elizzza,

This may not be the problem, but....

Have you see your doc lately? I assume they ruled out IBD the first time around. Did they do a CAT scan of your gall bladder?

How you feel is exactly how I felt when I had gallstones, right after I passed a stone through a bile duct. A CT scan can show if there are stones in there.

If a stone gets stuck in the duct and doesn't pass into the digestive tract it REALLY hurts. As in, "put a blade in me and get me out of my misery now" hurts. Mind blowing pain. If that happens go the ER quick. Bile can back up into the liver and can result in death.

This site has a good description of the symptoms of gallstones
http://ehealthmd.com/library/gallstones/gs_symptoms.html

I am now minus one gall bladder and feel MUCH better.

It also sounds like what my friend was feeling when she got Pancreatitis.


Okay, everybody. Hope you've already eaten your dinner. I'm not a doctor, but here's a flaming crazy guess. Here's a site on Steatorrhea, which sounds like your problem.

Steatorrhea (or steatorrhoea) is the presence of excess fat in feces. Stools may also float due to excess lipid, have an oily appearance and be especially foul-smelling.[citation needed] An oily anal leakage or some level of fecal incontinence may occur. There is increased fat excretion, which can be measured by determining the fecal fat level.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steatorrhea


It lists a number of possible causes:

malabsorption, e.g. in inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, and abetalipoproteinemia
exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
pancreatitis
choledocholithiasis (obstruction of the bile duct by a gallstone)
pancreatic cancer (if it obstructs biliary outflow)
primary sclerosing cholangitis
bacterial overgrowth
short bowel syndrome
cystic fibrosis
Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
Giardiasis (a protozoan parasite infection)
Graves' disease / Hyperthyroidism
Abuse or misuse of certain prescribed slimming pills (such as Orlistat)
Coeliac disease

Weight-loss drugs or 'functional foods'Steatorrhea can also be due to eating non-digestible oils or fats such as Olestra, and a side effect of medicines that prevent the absorption of dietary fats such as Orlistat.

Artificial fats...The fat substitute Olestra, used in some reduced-fat foods, was reported to cause leakage in some consumers during the test-marketing phase. As a result, the product was reformulated before general release to a hydrogenated form that is not liquid at physiologic temperature. The United States Food and Drug Administration warning indicated that excessive consumption of Olestra could result in "loose stools"; however, this warning has not been required since 2003.[2][4]

Medications... Orlistat (also known by trade names Xenical and Alli) is a diet pill that works by blocking the enzymes that digest fat. As a result fat cannot be absorbed from the gut and some fat is excreted in the feces instead of being metabolically digested, sometimes causing oily anal leakage.

...Natural fats... Consuming jojoba oil has been documented to cause steatorrhea and anal leakage because it is indigestible.

Consuming escolar and oilfish (sometimes called butterfish) will often cause steatorrhea. The fish is commonly used in party catering due to its delicate flavor and the fact that it is cheap and readily available.

IMHO, you need to see your doc. Sooner rather than later.

 

[mel239]

Very interested in knowing more-I have a huge bottle of vinegar for canning-will try it

 

[Endless]

P.S. I have acid reflux and it's NOT because of a lack of acid. Or too much acid, for that matter. It's because the valve at the base of the esophagus doesn't work right, and the acid goes right up.

Acidic food puts me into a world of pain - terrible heartburn. I take acid blocking medications. Without them I am hosed. And it is correct - untreated reflux can result in a scarred esophagus or esophageal cancer.

You can try guzzling some vinegar and see what it does. You never know. But if it doesn't work try some over the counter meds or go see your doctor. You may need a prescription that supresses acid to help out. Tums or mylanta never really helped me. It took a pill to make a difference.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003114.htm