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From: Ana M. Camacho
Date: 4/7/00
Time: 2:07:37 PM
Remote Name: 207.36.252.1
Oh Boy! Thank God I found this web-site filled with so many of you who also share this terrible vaso-vagal syndrome. AND I THOUGHT I WAS ALONE!! I am a 32 year old female attorney living in Miami, Florida. My first fainting episode took place when I was about 5 years old. Mom and Dad took me into Childrens Hospital to have my tonsils removed. While on the scale (was being weighed at the time), I passed out and the staff just let me hit the floor. My parents were furious and so they took me out of the hospital and straight home. (HaHa - I got to keep my tonsils!) Anyways, I have fainted about 20 times since then. It has happened after having blood drawn, but it has also happened just while waiting in line at the Cheesecake Factory (I showed them!) or upon having a bowel movement. Most of the times I will lose any urine in my system (VERY EMBARASSING). I can usually tell when I am going to faint - I then just drop to the floor a second later. I have had some injuries to my chin, head and lips from the times that I have fallen. Only recently did they diagnose me with a heart condition - A-Fib. I am scheduled for a tilt test, as they say this will determine whether or not I have vaso-vagal as well (but I can tell already from all your letters that I share this syndrome with you). I went into the hospital - after a fainting episode in 11/98 which left my heart in A-Fib. In E.R. they finally got me back to Normal Sinus Rythem after about 8 hours. A few hours later, the vampire came into the room to obtain a BLOOD GAS SAMPLE from my right arm/artery near the wrist. I was on a heart monitor at the time, and wouldn't you know it - I not only fainted, but when I woke up (was coming out of "it") I was dreaming of a roller coaster ride and oh boy - I threw up quite a bit, lost my urine, was drenched in a cold sweat, felt real sick and thought I WAS GOING TO DIE. It took me a minute to realize where I was. While I was "out", my heart had stopped and the hospital staff came running into the room with their equipment. My heart started up again and then stopped again. All this was being picked up on the monitor. I was then shuffled off to ICU/CCU and stayed for about 5 days being monitored and they did all sorts of tests to find out the cause of this problem. I scared the nurses / doctors / staff soooo much that they still remember me. (I just went back 2 weeks ago - as a result of another fainting episode / A-Fib). I really left an impression on them. Needless to say that I was HAPPY to have found this site and would ask that you please KEEP IN TOUCH....You may Email me at Acamacho@lorcapcam.com (work) or Airamone@aol.com (home). If anybody in Miami has this vago-vasal please write to me and let me know who your doctors have been! Thank You!
From: pam
i have had alot of these symptoms: uncontrolable shakes ,chattering of teeth, very cold, heart races, feel like you are going to loose control of bowels. i have had this happen at night while coming out of a dream, while going to the bathroom after drinking too much at a party when i was a teenager( i'm 45 now) during an LSD trip in the 70's (maybe that's what started this) but i have , thank god, never passed out..as soon as i really feel i am my heart suddenly goes back to normal and i begin to recover, afterwards, i feel out of whack for a while and scared that it will happen again, perpetuating it. i have felt this come on after surgery as well. i never knew what it is that was happening which was really scarey, but then i was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse and this cured alot of the anxiety. i read a good book about mvp and it's connection to dysautonomia which my drs did'nt seem to know about. as far as i knew i was'nt going to die , everthing was o.k.. now i'm on this site and i feel this could be serious. pace makers ?? jeeze..i was on atenanol(sp?) then got myself off it. i just took lorazapam which calmed me down at night and stopped my "nocturnal panic attacks" (according to the mvp book.) i found that if i drink icy cold water (sips)while having these encounters it jolts my heart back to normal.i also found that if i keep myself supplied with minerals i really sleep well and episodes stop. i am actually off the lorazepam now . when i jogged yesterday in this heat my face got beet red and stayed that way for about an hour, last night my heart started to beat funny and i was afraid to go to sleep. i could have taken the lorazepam but tried to overcome. drank some sea salt water and a glass of milk and calcium/magnesium. i made it through the night but still am on edge, i try to breath right..it helps too ..hope this helps someone. pam