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From: Lorraine
Steve: It's nice to see a husband so concerned for his wife. What you descrbied sounds alot like vaso-vagal attacks to me. I can relate to having cramps and waking up feeling like you need to get to the bathroom. Nauseau is usually involved for a lot of us, too. She could have IBS, but if the IBS symptoms only occur during an "episode", it's more likely to be V-V. I've had attacks where I haven't eaten in hours and have no stomach distress before or after the attack. I think all the symptoms of the attack are completely caused by the vagus nerve freaking out for a few minutes. I feel fine before an attack and only weak and shaken afterwards.
Sorry to hear about your wife's broken nose. How scary! Thank goodness I've never broken anything in a faint, but I did look like George W. Bush after my last fall. I didn't feel that faint coming on in time. The good news is that for most of us this doesn't happen too often. I'm 35 and have only had about a dozen or so attacks....most of which included fainting.
It may help your wife to drink lots of water and gatorade. Best of luck to both of you.
Lorraine