Vaso-Vagal Discussion

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Re: Vagas Nerve Stimulator

From: amy
Date: 1/28/00
Time: 6:15:04 PM
Remote Name: 203.14.175.4

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hi, well good luck with ur research i've had v-v for three yrs and two cardiac arrests and i still don;t know what it mean...........maybe sum day some one will tell me....

Frustrated with VV Syncope

From: Megan

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I am so darn frustrated with this disorder. Can anybody give me some advice on what to do? I've been plagued with fainting spells since I was a litle girl. I clearly remember fainting everytime my mother changed my earrings or after standing in line. My high school years were a blurr of doctors appointments, tests, bloodwork, etc. with no dianosis. My parents would not let me drive until I was 23, fearing I'd pass out at the wheel.

Last summer, at 32, I tripped over the curb at my post office. Other than a scraped knee I was fine and went back into the office to ask for a bandaid. While waiting to speak to someone my syncope kicked in and I knew I was going down, but the clerk insisted on propping me up which made it worse. I was trucked off to the hospital by ambulance where I spent about 8 hours being tested. Several technicians attempted getting blood from me but could not draw from my veins. Both hands and both elbows yielded no blood. They had to call in a specialist who was going to try to draw from my foot. She tried a hand first and that worked, finally. This is common as well, it is very difficult to get blood from my veins, which is stressfull and only makes the syncope worse. Is this part of it or not related?

The ER doctor diagnosed me with Vaso Vagal Syncope, the first time I had heard that term. I was so relieved and thought I could finally do something about it.

No suck luck. My syncope has been worse than I ever remember it, or just as bad as it was when I was in high school. I have a dizzy spell atleast once a week, usually more. I can still manage the faint but they are coming on much more sudden now and without the warning signs I used to have. Rather than tunell vision, like before, I get a very distinct picture of everything swinging, vertically, very rapidly. Like a pendulum. Nausea after eating, during eating and at the thought of eating has set in the last year or so. My time limit for a standing position is as short as 15 minutes sometimes but never more than 30. Food shopping is done twice a week in short trips. Mall shopping is avoided at all costs. Call me crazy but I'm starting to think certain stores make my snycope kick in very quickly. I get dizzy every time I've been in Walmart and Sam's club. I don't know if its the lighting, the size of the store, or the crowds. Does that sound nuts? I even decline going to bars and clubs with my friends because both dancing and gathering requires standing up. My social life has practically ended. Sometimes I even feel a spell coming on when I'm sitting home watching TV.

I went to my own doctor again and he did more bloodwork which came back normal. My syncope does not appear to be cardiac. I've done all the preventative things I can. I drink more water, I avoid certain situations, salty foods seem to help, sometimes sweet foods seem to help. I don't want to take drugs and I certainly don't want a pacemaker. Am I missing something here? Should I try something else? It just seems to be getting worse. My doctor seems uninterested. I considered going to a specialist but don't want to be an alarmist. I know I'm not going to drop dead but I'd like feel confident I'm not going to fall on my face. Is there anything else I can do to keep the spells from being so frequent?

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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