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From: Dwayne and Angie Callahan
I have been scouring the web looking for information about Vaso-Vagel syndrome. My husband was officially diagnosed with it two years ago, after having 3 episodes over the years. The episodes are usually brought on by internal pain, usually stomach cramps while trying to defecate. He will feel it coming and and call for me, and sometimes if I got a cold rag to him quick enough, he could brush it off. He expereinces tunnel vision, the room goes dark and he loses all color. His last episode, which has been the worst of all ocurred two weeks ago. His aunt had passed away and we were getting ready to go to the funeral. He was really stressed and had a nervous stomach. He went to the bathroom, and was cramping pretty bad. He called for me and by the time I got to him, He said that it was going to happen, and his eyes roled back in his head, and he turned snow white. He then stiffened his body like a person does when they are having a sizure and was gritting his teeth and banging his head on the wall. All I could do was lay across him, and put my hand on his head hoping that he would not bust it open. He busted the light cover switch on tha wall. I was talking to him, and he said that he could hear me, but he did not know what I was saying. He finally come to and opened his eyes and was dioriented for awhile. He lay down for awhile and then we left for the funeral. At the funeral home he was weak as water and I had someone take his blood pressure, which was 130/100. I take him to the doctor, the same one that diagnosed him, and had him check his blood pressure and do an EKG. It came back fine as well as the blood pressure. But he recommended that we take him to see a neurologist for a EEG. He is scheduled to go in a few weeks. His episodes are usuall caused by extreme pain. Mashing his finger, breaking his foot, etc. never brought on an episode. He did almost have one after receiving a shot in the hip for an infection. The doctor says that this is very common, but I had never heard of it before. It worried me this time because this episode had some characteristics of a seizure. He did not lose control of his bladder or bowels. The gnashing of the teeth and the sound he was making was oddly familair to me though. As a child, I was around an epileptic who had seizures often. This is a scary condition, and he tries to make jokes about it, telling me that I cannot beat him up because he will "go out", but the more time that passes the more I worry. The doctor explained that the blood pressure drops at a very rapid rate and that causes these folks to black out. It's still scary to a wife though.