What is abdominal epilepsy?

Abdominal epilepsy is a rare type of temporal lobe epilepsy that causes abdominal symptoms like pain, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms happen with seizures. Seizures can have a wide variety of symptoms, including unexplained loss of consciousness or uncontrollable muscle movements.

Seizures may occur with varying frequency and can happen as often as multiple times per day. Symptoms can also vary. Your stomach pain may jump from mild to severe unexpectedly from one seizure to the next, for example.

Treatment options are available to help you manage this type of epilepsy.

Symptoms of abdominal epilepsy

Symptoms of abdominal epilepsy may include:

• Abdominal pain (upper left and/or lower right) that ranges in severity
• Nausea and vomiting
• Uncontrollable convulsions and a loss of consciousness (generalized tonic-clonic seizures)
• Diarrhea
• Pins and needles feeling in your skin (paresthesia)
• Vision changes
• Confusion
• Anxiety
• Headache

When the seizure ends, you may feel drowsy, tired or lethargic. This is known as the postictal state of a seizure.

Abdominal epilepsy causes

Abnormal bursts of electrical activity in your temporal lobe (the part of your brain behind your ears) cause abdominal epilepsy. Your brain is constantly sending signals or messages to different parts of your body to tell it to do its job as expected. When a burst of abnormal electrical activity happens, these signals don’t get to where they need to go, like your abdomen, in this case. This causes symptoms of abdominal epilepsy.

The exact reason why this happens isn’t well known, as this is a rare condition.

Risk factors of abdominal epilepsy

Most cases of abdominal epilepsy affect children, but adults may experience this condition, too. You may be more at risk if you have:

• A brain tumor
• Traumatic brain injury
• Brain atrophy
• Underdeveloped brain regions

Complications of abdominal epilepsy

Abdominal epilepsy may lead to malnutrition, as it can disturb your digestive system and cause frequent nausea and vomiting.

As with any type of seizure, you may be at risk of falls and physical injury when you lose consciousness and can’t control your muscle movements.

Epilepsy may have a significant effect on your mental health. It may lead to social isolation, as the symptoms can happen unpredictably. Or it may lead to anxiety or depression because of the way the symptoms affect you. A mental health professional can help you manage your emotional well-being. That’s just as important as treating your physical symptoms.

How doctors diagnose abdominal epilepsy

A healthcare provider will diagnose abdominal epilepsy after a physical exam and testing.

They’ll learn more about your medical history and symptoms. Then, they may perform an electroencephalogram (EEG). This is a test to help your provider learn more about how your brain functions. Abdominal epilepsy shows up on an EEG when there’s abnormal electrical activity in your temporal lobes.

Additional testing may be necessary to rule out other conditions with similar symptoms, like blood and imaging tests of your brain and abdomen.

How is abdominal epilepsy treated?

Your healthcare provider may treat abdominal epilepsy with:

• Antiseizure medications. Your provider may offer one or a combination of medications to reduce the number and/or severity of seizures.
• Surgery. If medications aren’t successful, your provider may recommend a referral to a center that specializes in epilepsy surgery to determine if you are a candidate for this type of treatment.

When should I see my healthcare provider?

Visit a healthcare provider if you experience:

• New or worsening symptoms
• Side effects of treatment
• Mental health challenges

You know your body best. Let your provider know if you notice anything out of the ordinary or if something doesn’t seem right.

What can I expect if I have abdominal epilepsy?

It may take some time to receive an accurate diagnosis for abdominal epilepsy, as symptoms may look very similar to many other conditions. Your care team will help you manage these symptoms until they’re able to figure out what’s going on. For example, it’s common to start taking antiseizure medications before you receive an official abdominal epilepsy diagnosis.

Many people find success with antiseizure medications to ease the frequency of seizures. But sometimes, medications aren’t the right fit for what your body needs. Your provider may have other recommendations, like surgery, if medications aren’t effective.

What is the difference between abdominal migraine and abdominal epilepsy?

An abdominal migraine and abdominal epilepsy have similar symptoms, and they may be mistaken for each other, but there are differences between both conditions.

The main difference is the duration, or how long your symptoms last. Abdominal migraine symptoms usually last longer than they do for abdominal epilepsy. An abdominal migraine may last from one to 72 hours. You may only have abdominal epilepsy symptoms for a few seconds to minutes, but often less than an hour.

Also, an electroencephalogram (EEG) will show abnormal electrical activity in your brain with epilepsy and not with a migraine.