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From: K Brown
Date: 1/6/00
Time: 11:11:41 AM
Remote Name: 192.216.196.187
Sounds like you have the same type of problem I do. I find it interesting that others on this board seem to pass out for no reason. I always know when its going to happen. Anything that involves foreign objects in my body will cause me to faint. I can't have blood drawn for tests, donate blood for the Red Cross or get a shot without losing consciousness. I also have trouble with pap smears and tampons. Lately I have used valium to help with the pap smears and I also was able to get through laser eye surgery using valium and by doing a lot of visualization. I have found that if I mentally walk myself through the process a number of times, I am less upset by it. Before my eye surgery I visualized the whole process about 15 times. The first few times I felt a little dizzy and anxious (sweaty palms) but after a few more "run throughs" it was less bothersome. When I finally got into the office for the procedure, I was able to make it through it with only a little anxiety (I also had a pretty good dose of valium). I don't know if that will help anyone else or not. Interestingly, pain has nothing to do with it and neither does blood. kbrown@cnnw.net
From: Pacemaker after 19 Sec. Asystole
Pacemaker after 19 Sec. Asystole From: Janice
Comments I am home recovering from having a pacemaker implanted one week ago. Five days before that I had woken up from my sleep, at about 3:30 am, and had a large amount of watery diarrhea, not having felt sick before I went to bed. I then went back to sleep for about 2 1/2 hours and woke again with the urge to move my bowels. Again I had 2 bursts of diarrhea and then I experienced an awful feeling all over my body for 5-10 seconds and the next thing I knew I was laying flat out, wedged between the toilet and corner of the bathroom and was breathing in a very gutteral fashion. Then comes the unique part, I was on a 30 day cardiac "event" monitor at the time and when I had my wits about me enough, I pressed the record button, and the monitor goes backward for 1 minute and forward for 30 seconds. I pressed it twice. I was as weak as a kitten and after my son heard me fall, my husband rushed to me and I had him call 911. This was a first time faint for me, although I have come close at other times. By the time the EMTS got there, they got lost several times, my vitals were fairly normal and my BS was 110. They said it was up to me whether I wanted to go in. Because I was being monitored for some heart symptoms, PVC's and occasional chest pain, and my left arm was sore and numb through my thumb, I decided I better get checked out. In the ER they were talking about vaso-vagal syndrome, but kept me in for observation overnight. Nobody seemed to want to call in my monitor recordings in ER, so finally when I was in my room I called it in, and the operator got very excited and said she would call my doctor right away. In the meantime they had arranged to do a cardiac cath on me the next day due to my symptoms, high Cholesterol and strong family history of coronary artery disease. Then they got my results from the 30 day monitor and started talking about a tilt table test too, and possibly a pace maker. The cath was perfectly fine, and then they decided that the tilt table wasn't necessary as almost 19 secs. of no heartbeat, just a slight p wave, was reason enough for a pacemaker. To add to my concerns, a year and a half ago, my very athletic 18 yr. old son, was swimming in a lake late at night with friends, diving off a raft, when he climbed up on the raft, said I feel dizzy, and collapsed. He breathed two breaths, had immediate CPR, but had a flat line when paramedics arrived in five minutes. I believed he died immediately, though they continued CPR for almost an hour at the hospital. The doctors tell me my episode is not the same as Matthew's. But I think they are just guessing, and I have three more children close to Matt's age. Is this hereditary??? Might I have more passing out even with the pacemaker? It is set to go off, if my pulse goes below 50 or if I have more than a 3 second pause?
Thanks for any help. My e-mail is slaters@chartermi.net, if anyone would like to respond.
From: Terri
My daughter which is now 18 years old, for years we thought just had problems with vertigo. We have now found that it is not vertigo, it is vaso-vegal and she is scheduled for the tilt table test. The episodes seem to happen around her cycle also.
However, she is sick for about a week -- sick at her stomach off and on, followed by extreme fatigue, sweating, hot flashes, the whole bit -- her blood pressure runs during that time around 90/45. Will they be able to tell us by the tilt table test what is causing these episodes. It happens almost every month and as I said we used to think it was vertigo until we discovered the low blood pressure, etc.