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From: John D.
Date: 3/16/00
Time: 6:29:52 PM
Remote Name: 216.41.50.114
I had sort of a similar problem that was caused by esophageal reflux (heartburn). I would develop heartburn while sleeping, and then swallow air reflexively, leading to a buildup of gas in the stomach and discomfort. This would then trigger vaso-vagal symptoms and I would wake up suddenly feeling awful. I reduced the problem by blocking up the head of my bed by about 4 inches to keep my head above my stomach and taking a Pepcid an hour before bed each night. If you have trouble breathing through your nose you might try those Breathe-right strips too. They help some people a lot.
From: witchkel@hotmail.com
In case anyone is still interested, thought I too would reply to this question. I have had a nurse frighten me by telling me I was having a seizure during a blood test. Witnesses describe my fainting episodes as this - my eyes roll back in my head, my body goes stiff, then limp, some body jerking which resembles a seizure often occurs when I am unconscious. I have had all this happen whilst lying down for a blood test. Not to mention, my heart stopped for a few seconds. I feel the faint coming on, I break out in a cold sweat and am told I go completely white. I can feel a buzzing sensation which is the feeling of my blood pressure dropping. I hope this helps, I don't take any medication for VV and I've had it for 30 years. I've never known it to kill anyone, so why medicate it? Good luck, hope you learn to live with it too.
From:
In 1998 at a visit to the eye doctor, I had what they called a vaso-vagal reaction. I had never heard of it before but it was very scary. The doctor put drops in my eyes to dilate my pupils and then they shined some sort of bright blue light in my eyes. I felt a little odd as I walked from the examination room back to the waiting room but didn't think much of it. I sat down next to my mother and the next thing I knew I heard people calling my name and I woke up surrounded by nurses and the doctor. They said my head went down and then I flailed backwards with my arms behind my head and went back down. The doctor called it a vaso-vagal reaction and said it could have occurred because of the drops and the light. He didn't really tell me much about it though. Then today the same thing happened again after a visit to the doctor for blood work. I was nervous to begin with because I hate needles and blood and I know I get faint when I even think about it. I went in and turned my head while the nurse was drawing my blood and when it was done I remember thinking, that wasn't so bad. Then once again, the next thing I remember is waking up to a nasty smell from the smelling salts and being surrounded by people. And the way they described what happened was exactly what happened to me in 1998. I was clammy when I came out of it but my blood pressure was normal. My doctor today also called it a vaso-vagal reaction. He said that my blood pressure dropped really quick which is why I passed out. They gave me candy and soda and made me sit for a half an hour before I could go. I felt fine by then. Does this sound like I was correctly diagosed, or did I just faint or what? Whatever happened, it was very scary.