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From: Sharon
I had my first vasovagal incident just befor the onset of puberty at the age of 12. I completely blacked out, hit my head. It was so frightening. Once i got my first period, also at age 12, I experienced severe cramping , nausea, vomiting and diarrea every month. Along with this would come a blackout. Usually while I was in the bathroom. I would be in a cold sweat when i came to. Once i was able to get medication for pain relief, motrin, I usually would not have a blackout. I was probably a senior in high school by the time I discovered motrin. Once i started taking birth control pills in my early 20's, the vasovagal symptoms returned. usually for no apparent reason and once or twice while sleeping. I was told simply to not take the pill anymore. Also, my gynecologist and every other DR i went to made me feel like i was crazy. I was told that they had never heard of someone loosing conciousness during the menstral cycle. No wonder more people don't tell their DR. As a young mother, these episodes seemed to occur out of the blue, but maybe stress related. i would also experience periods of confusion just befor the blackout. Mild shaking during the episode and fatigue after. Sometimes while sleeping. My husband witnessed the attacks or the DRs would not have believed me for sure. I have had EKG's and CT scans performed just after the episodes and had even had the episodes recur whils in the ER. No seizure or irregular activity was ever found. The only physical condition noted is, i have extremely low blood pressure, and sometimes experienced migraines for days before. A neurologist finally attributed it to lack of blood flow to the brain from migraines and low blood pressure. I have never heard the term vasovagal until President Bush had the choking on the pretzel incident. Once that was explained, i heard of other causes including low blood pressure, diarrea and stress. I am so disappointed that i had to feel like a freak for so many years. I even had DRs who wanted to put me on seizure medication and send me away. i t is nice to know that you are not alone. I hope this will help other young women who are scared and i know they are out there.