Vaso-Vagal Discussion

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Vaso Vagal

From: Mimiinga

Comments

My experience with this disease has been lifelong. I am now 39. I do have diabetes and it is considered "brittle". As a young child and into my teenage years I have low blood sugar. My first syncope episode occures when I was 12 and I have had them infrequently since then. They are usually brought on by severe physical stress or sudden severe agitation. The worst episode that I have had was during a time that I was suffering from food poisoning and had been very ill for more than a week. I was sleeping and got up hurriedly to answer the telephone. After just a few words on the phone I told the person on the phone that I was going to pass out and proceeded to do so. I wokke up on the floor with an urgent need for the restroom. I fought not to faint again in the bathroomand remember thinking. I am not going to die on the toilet! I was finally able to make my way back to the phone knowing that I was about to go out again, and called my friend back. Wehn i heard her voice I said, i need help and she replied that they were on the way. I don't remember anymore until I woke up with a deputy sheriff holding me up and saying into his radio, you guys please hurry I think this lady is dead.

When they arrived, i had no pulse at all, they could not preceive a blood pressure and although I could hear them I was unable to respond. My blood sugar was 178. They took me to the emergency room. During the ambulance ride I regained ehough composure to be able to talk with the EMT and explain my situation to her. I was given IV antibiotics and treated for minor abrasions and acrapes from my hard landing.

The other really severe time was during a laproscopic female surgery. I was tilted backwards on the OR table to get to my uterus for a biopsy and suddenly lost all life signs. I was bagged and I don't know what else. The surgery was cut short and when I woke up the nurse was yelling at me to BREATHE!

I was released the same afternoon at my request or maybe I ahould say insistence.

I have had several other episodes. Some severe, some not as severe. no one has ever suggested any treatment or expressed any concern. this terrifies me. It takes days to recover and it is happening more and more often. Now they are occuring when I get overly tired which is fairly often. My doctor tells me that it is "just nerves", but I have a hard time believing that it is perfectly normal for your body to just reboot itself every few days. Seems to me that it just can't be that great for your heart and other organs to be jump started like that. These episodes last long enough for my feet and hands to become icy cold. it is scary.

I have coronary aterial disease and a stent implant in my heart. I also have diabetes and hypertension, arthritis and asthma. Is there any kind of treatment for this? Does anyone know of anyway to control it?

Melanie


This web site is not a substitute for a thorough medical evaluation and diagnosis of your vaso-vagal type symptoms.  Medical treatment and diagnosis is the only acceptable initial response to these serious symptoms since they might present from any number of life threatening and treatable illnesses. It is for you and your physician to rule out more serious illnesses; Please don't use this online forum as an alternative to getting responsible medical attention and being under the care of a physician for the duration of any unknown, suspected or dangerous vaso-vagal syndrome symptoms.
Last changed: June 22, 2007