Hi Rachel,
My daughter has recently been diagnosed with Autonomic Dysfunction (dysautonomia) and has similiar symptoms. I found a link between gluten/other food intolerances and dysautonomia which is what lead us to this diagnosis. Unfortunately I no longer have that link but am sending another that provides general info on the various forms of dysautonomias.

http://www.potsplace.com/index.html

My daughter got her diagnosis from a cardiologist via a tilt table test and a 24 hour holter and will be traveling to the Mayo Clinic next month for further diagnostics.
Hope you are feeling better today,
Lisa

Thank you everyone for all your input. I saw the dr yesterday (new doc for me, so boy was this a test for her). I still have had no more symptoms (and still no symptoms from the crouton I ate on Sunday, either).

She says that it sounds very much like a reaction to *something* but she really has no idea what and that it has left my system now which is why I'm not having any more symptoms. This is what my feeling is, too.

She ran a lot of blood tests and said I can leave off Mr Monitor on Monday if I have no more symptoms by then. Yay!

To answer a few questions:

I don't know if MSG is an issue for me. I don't completely avoid it, but I do as much as I can. I have eaten this dish from this place before without a problem and only a couple of weeks previously.

Sure it's possible there's a food additive reaction. I do avoid them as a whole but who knows what was in this. I had Miang Kum--maybe the dried shrimp was a different brand than they've used before and had some preservative on it.

I'm pretty sure it's not low blood sugar related--I used to faint a fair amount as an adolescent from low blood sugar stuff and it was not like this at all. Also, after the first episode I did eat some nuts and yet still had episodes for like 4 hours afterward.

My thyroid was tested in early August and was normal.

I take blood pressure meds and my blood pressure has been steadily normal throughout this.

I don't drink much caffeine (about 2-3 cups worth of green tea a day).

The heart racing and blackout feeling came first and was followed about 6 hours later by the diarrhea.

My potassium levels tend to be a little high (because of my kidney disease), so I doubt that low potassium is an issue.

The most intense cold med I take is Benadryl and I haven't taken any recently.

I don't think I was dehydrated (esp since the diarrhea came after the initial episodes).

I do have some orthostatic hypotension but the blackout feeling has occurred both while standing and while already seated.

No fume exposure that I know of. I'm pretty sensitive to chemicals and stuff, so I think I'd know.

Thanks so much everyone!

Hugs,

Rachel

Rachel, when I read your first post the thing that I thought of was MSG.

My second thought was canola oil, it gives me the big D.

I hope you are better now.

To the person that posted about an abnormal heart rythm (I think a DQ1 person), I have two DQ1's & I have an extra beat in my heart rythm. The docs like to bring in the newbies so they can listen to it !!!

Rachel,
I'm not sure if this might help but my mom who has celiac disease also had trouble with heart racing and this feeling of about to pass out. They ran all kinds of tests. Her blood pressure was low and then high. She had been on meds for high blood pressure for years prior to this. They finally figured out it was Addison's disease after 3 hospital and 3 emergency room visits. She would get better, be released to go home and then have another episode at a later date.

Also, I had trouble with heart racing when I began to drink green tea. I do not drink it now. I have heard that it is stronger in caffeine but I'm not sure of this. I do know that cutting out caffeine is not immediate. My doctor told me that the liver holds it for up to thirty days so you can have problems with it for a long time after stopping it. You may already know all this but it just popped in mind that maybe it could help you.

Beth

I thought I would update and say that I haven't had anymore trouble at all. I'm *so* glad about that.

I will try to get my doc to test my cortisol and other possibilities, too.

I do drink green tea daily and have for over a year so I'm pretty certain it wasn't that. And I don't use a lot of canola oil, but I do and it hasn't ever bothered me that I knew of.

I've so appreciated all the input!

Rachel

There is a reflex in the GI tract that accompanies severe cramping.

Sometimes you cannot even feel the cramp, but the reflex kicks in and:

It lowers the blood pressure temporarily, and then the heart races to make
up for the lower pressure. You may faint if it is sudden and severe. When you change position from sitting to standing..you may feel dizzy and faint too.
Here is an explanation..and while it involves post-polio patients, it can
also pertain to others:
http://www.anapsid.org/cnd/diffdx/polioparadox.html

I have a severe GI congenital defect, and can get this when things
twist up on me. Too much gas, (I don't drink carbonated drinks any more) or a virus, or a food intolerance, can do it.

I had a stomach flu in college, and stupidly went to Chem lab (so as not to miss an important day (qualitative analysis), and I passed out. And was sent to health service, where this was explained to me.

MrsD that is so interesting! That would explain why my blood pressure was plenty low even during all this when I was far from calm!

Thanks!

Rachel