Infrequent but scary (side effect?)
I've been on Zep for about 6 months. My side effects are very minimal - just constipation, which I'm managing well with prunes. But I've had a couple of scary incidents now and am not sure how best to address (until I get a chance to discuss with my doctor).
About 3 months ago I was on a cruise, at dinner, and after the appetizer I suddenly started feeling very tired, like I needed to head to bed right after dinner. Then I started feeling nauseated, so I left dinner to go back to my cabin. I'd not gotten 10 feet from the table when I realized I was going down - I was able to lean on a wall and slide to the floor. I don't think I lost consciousness, but I was incredibly faint and out of it. After some time lying on the floor of the restaurant (so embarrassing), I started to feel an urgent bathroom need (diarrhea - sorry, TMI). My husband was able to get me there and after doing my business I felt back to normal. Got my BP checked at the med center - it was normal. So, what could have caused this? Dehydration was very possible. I'd been drinking earlier in the day (though not at dinner) and spent time in a hot tub. My eating was pretty normal that day - barely more than I eat on average these days. And I hadn't even gotten to the main course at dinner.
After that I kept a close eye out for similar symptoms. On several occasions I get that same exhausted feeling towards the end of dinner - always dinner. No alcohol. It's only after I've cooked and eaten a full meal (smaller portion than the old days though), vs nights that I just snacked lightly for dinner. But it never progressed beyond the sudden exhaustion phase.
The other night we went out to dinner. I had eaten lightly/regular during the day. I had one cocktail. About halfway through dinner I got the exhausted feeling, which quickly progressed to nausea. After vomiting. I immediately felt fine again. The exhaustion and faintness were gone.
I do have a doctor appointment scheduled, but I'm looking for feedback from y'all to see if you've had similar experiences and if you identified the likely cause. Is it over eating? Dehydration? I've been out to dinner many other times, often having one cocktail, and this doesn't happen the vast majority of the time. Two bigger incidents in 6 months isn't that bad vs the side effects I read about here.