Vasovagal Syncope: A Tale Of Fainting

[duff]

I was chatting with a friend about my proclivity to faint,

(for full disclosure I will say I have managed to not -actually- faint in years. I have become an expert at dealing with the early signs and heading it off before it turns into a thing. And I have spoken to multiple doctors about it [my
medical care has been chaotic and fractured, to say the least, due to fear/anxiety], but none has seemed concerned or even that interested, lol - but I'm just saying this to say, I'm caring for myself and have sought professional advice, etc)

and she brought up that it could be a vagal response. Which led me to our good friend, Wikipedia, and eventually this article about Vasovagal Syncope, which is what seems to cause a lot of fainting in the world.

And!!! I feel like sooooo much of my experience of my body makes so much more sense reading this!! I've experienced fainting/almost fainting from just about every trigger listed in the article, and they didn't miss any of my big ones that I am currently aware of. In reading a bit more I also discovered that I'm dealing with it exactly as I probably would be encouraged to if a medical professional were advising me. I'm thrilled and relieved.

But!! I also notice in this article the trauma-related trigger item which I have never thought about / associated in my experience. (Basically, it says that trauma and associations to trauma can trigger a faint). However, it may indeed account for the times I've had to deal with the faint/almost faint situations that seemed to literally come out of nowhere. I am definitely going to start paying attention.

And then I wonder!! Do any of you have trauma/PTSD related fainting?

I am also kind of annoyed/incensed that just because I've learned how to not faint most people (and doctors?!) don't think it's a big deal. I want to have a bit of a temper tantrum and demand recognition for my resourcefulness in dealing with it, and learning how to manage it. And then I also feel like if someone had intervened when I was 19 and dropping to the floor every other week I could have a looooot less embarassing fainting stories. And then, of course, residual sadness about how if I had a "normal person" life a ) my medical care would have been a lot more continuous/appropriate to my life and b ) the possible trauma-faint would never have been a thing in the first place.

Big feelings over here!!!

 

[Meadowsweet]

A week after I was attacked I was fainting or feeling faint quite often, so I went to my GP. (I didn't tell them that I'd been attacked). They tested for things and ruled most stuff out. But my blood pressure was slightly low (something that I also experienced in pregnancy): the doctor explained that it wasn't low enough to need any medication, but because it was on the low side, it meant that when something else occurred that lowers bp, mine just dips a bit to far and I become faint.

Things like heat, not eating regularly enough, eating too much sugar, hangovers, hot baths, standing up too fast, stress, shock, etc etc can all cause me to feel faint. But like you, I feel myself going faint and will have to sit down quickly, and it prevents me actually fainting. But also, I don't go without food for long periods and go into the shade if it's very hot etc.

I will add, that I used to get panic attacks worrying about fainting in public, so the fear of fainting was worse than my occasional faints.I'm wondering if perhaps that's why you would feel annoyed and emotional at the doctors for not seeming to care that much about it?

 

[franciemarnie]

Fabulous resourcefulness award to you!!!

My experience with doctors awards them very little.

My husband had a vasalvagal syncope three years ago and we called an ambulance. He thought he was dying. He almost fainted, but didn't quite and couldn't snap out of near unconscious mode.

As you probably know now, some people are apt to get them when they wake in the morning and relieve themselves, especially when they get older and my husband is much much older than me. It was a terrifying experience. We thought he was dying. I asked the doctors how to prevent this in the future and they said if my husband felt faint, he should sit down. Thank you Northwestern.

I researched too and saw that his blood work showed that he was severely dehydrated so after that he began drinking 4 bottles of water a day and it hasn't happened since.

He doesn't have PTSD. I do, and when I got off meds and I began coming close to total faints, even though I drink a lot of water. I drink Gatorade and put my head between my legs and pretty soon I am okay.

My theory is that my blood pressure goes unpredictably up and down depending on my inner state - dissociation all the way to Emergency fight or flight mode.

Those doctors are such jerks that weren't concerned you were fainting. A person could fall and hit their head and that's the end of that.

Anyway, good going!

 

[Notsowild]

I have been having these near-fainting spells too. They took my blood pressure - it was fine. Then did blood work and found nothing wrong. So now it's got me wondering. It could be trauma related. Now I'll have to figure out the trigger. Thanks for the thread @duff

 

[Zoe1972]

I have this! I starting fainting at the age of 8. I can control it for the most part but there are times I can't. Had a tilt table test that confirmed it when I was 30. I see a cardiologist.

 

[The Albatross]

I began fainting at 9 and kept doing so though like the initial poster, I became really good at the cues before events...the last time I fainted I was 37. (53 now and consider that part of my life over now officially). Doctors scratched their heads a lot and never found a physical cause. I suspected hypo glycemia for a while because my mom had diabetes, but there seemed to be more to it than that.

 

[shimmerz]

@duff I appreciate this posting. Yes, I faint - drop dead faint. My blood pressure goes down when triggered - dangerously low. This has happened to me for seven years and it is a PTSD related thing with me. I will read the information that you recommended as I could really use help with this. It is dangerous as it happens so quickly that I must be accompanied everywhere. Annoying and scary. The doctors, as mentioned above have literally kicked me out of their offices when I am in the middle of a faint or screamed at me to 'get up'. I am completely aware of my surroundings and what people are saying and am just wondering if any are aware or conscious in any way?

 

[ghotiff]

Thank you for this thread. This is yet another moment where I have something that I forget is not typical of everyone. I remember the first time I fainted in front of my husband. We were out and I was sitting down but he wanted to leave, I said I couldn't get up or I would faint, he didn't believe me and pushed me to get up (he thought it was just something women say), I got up and promptly fainted, he now always believes me.

I think since my trauma was from childhood and I have always had this problem ... I never thought to link it to my trauma issues. A number of time during my soon-to-be-ex T sessions I had to really control it....and I still didn't connect the possible dots together until this thread. I will need to give this more thought.

 

[Zoe1972]

@shimmerz- if I faint - I am out cold and don't know my surroundings. I tend to scare the people around me including doctors. If am dizzy and feel "off" I am aware of my surroundings.

I am sorry you have been treated that way. They should be understanding and show concern and compassion for you!

 

[ghotiff]

@shimmerz when I faint there is typically a very clear progression from visual disturbances, eg my vision getting darker then the vision closes out (its like a when an old style TV goes off and the black comes from outside edge of my vision until there is only a pin point of light in the centre, but it happens slower than a TV). I feel myself being pulled to the ground and if I don't follow that feeling by lying down and calming down I will at some point involuntarily collapse to the ground. I really try to avoid collapsing but if I do collapse I don't really remember it, but I come to on the ground with what I call the fridge effect (a kind of body humming/buzzing) feeling weak and if I stand or sit up too quickly, it will all start over again. So maybe it depends on what someone calls 'fainting', for me I've always called it when I collapse, so if I faint I am unaware. But if I go through all the tunnel visions, get pulled to the ground, lie down and recover I am aware of my surroundings during that type of 'episode'. Hope that helps.

 

[shimmerz]

Yes, it does help @ghotiff thank you. Your description is very well put across. I had to play dead as a child in order to survive. I am guessing what I am experiencing is a bit different from what you are describing about your experience but after looking at the link that @duff mentioned, there is no question that this is what is happening to me. I just happen to be conscious but completely unable to move. I have noticed I get very cold right before it happens so I try to get up and move my body to see if that can ward it off. Your description of your experience is very helpful. I will look for more physical clues as well.

@Zoe1972 I appreciate your sharing your experience as well. I tend to be hyper aware of my surroundings originally and then I go into a coma like state where nobody can get me to respond and I am not aware of anything. This can take up to 24 hours. So there may be a mixture going on here. I can relate to your state of scaring other people. I used to be quite social but now keep to a small circle of people who can deal with my reactions. I am so sorry this is happening to you and thank you so much for your .

@duff I am so with you on wanting to vent about the treatment that goes on in the medical profession regarding this. I would be so interested in hearing about your progression through to recovery in this area. There is not a doctor here that I can go to about this who has not humiliated me. I am better after breaking many of my triggers but that is a time consuming thing as I have been working day and night on what seems an endless list of things that send me fainting. It would be great to hear how you got a grip on this.

 

[greenleaf]

Have folks read about "hypoarousal" and the theories about that? It's in various articles; people have connected it to a survival reflex where the limbic system shuts down the body somewhat. Other mammals do this under threat, if they "play dead" for instance. It sounds like it's been understood to be associated with trauma and ptsd for quite a while; some of the articles are older. (Not that that helps it to be understood by various doctors, unfortunately...)