I just retired from teaching after 23 years and expected to travel and enjoy life. Well that all changed about a month and a half ago. I have a country home in the Catskills and I was walking along the dirt road near my house enjoying the beautiful surroundings when I heard some animals and got scared. I turn around to walk back to my home when I see a big black bear about a block away from me. I waited a few minutes not knowing what to do-no houses , no cell, no husband(he's still sleeping). I decide to walk home as the bear walked into the woods. I didn't make it as I started to see a circular light in front of my eyes and tingling in my feet. I knew I was going to pass out so I walked to the side of the road and collapsed.
About 15 minutes later a neighbor driving along the road spotted me. She couldn't wake me and went home to call an ambulance. Then came the rural mailman in his car. He stopped, said he was an EMT, and took my pulse and said it was very low. The ambulance came took my blood pressure which was also low and my glucose was about 68, which I hear is also on the low side.
I went to the hospital where they checked my heart,chest x-ray, did a CAT scan of my brain and kept me overnight for blood tests and hooked me up to a heart monitor. They discovered I had a low thyroid and put me on 50mcg of levothyroxine, but didn't believe that caused my symptoms.What I didn't mention is that a few days previously I had a near fainting experience while working at the house removing old linoleum tiles.
When I returned home to New Jersy I saw a cardiologist, had a stress test , a cartoid doppler test of my neck, sonograms of my heart and everthing looked normal.. He sent me home with a heart monitor that I could place on my chest to see if the heartbeat was abnormal. You record your heartbeat, call a special number and they tell your doctor if something is wrong. Nothing ever was.
Well , I love going to the gym and the doctor said there was no reason not to go. However the next time I worked out I again felt ill and almost lost consciousness. Tingling in my feet and lips, white as a ghost, bright light like a circular saw in front of my eyes. Again the ambulance is called-low glucose 62, low blood pressure and pulse. I am now at another hospital, same tests but am released with directions to go back and see my cardiologist.
I go to the cardiologist who says I need to have a Tilt table test to see if my automatic nervous system is to blame for my symptoms. I also visit an endocrinologist who schedules an adrenal test to rule out Addison's disease.
In the midst of this I am supposed to go to Disney in Florida with my daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren.. I reschedule the tilt table test for when I return from vacation. The vacation was rough on me humid, hot weather and as much as 12 hours of walking the parks.
The day I am scheduled to return home we get to the airport after returning the minivan to Hertz, hop on a shuttle. When I get to the airport I feel ill once again, feet tingling, stomach ache,bright lights. My daughter tries to put me in a wheelchair but I don't remember any of it. Someone calls the airport EMT and an ambulance. I am sent to yet another hospital where they keep me overnight repeat the same tests, plus the adrenal testand an MRI of my brain (I don't yet know that result). Again nothing. The doctor thinks I have something called Vasso Vega -I might be spelling that wrong. He says to take the Tilt table test and if I lose consciousness it will confirm it. He tells me that Beta Blockers help prevent the episodes in about 90% of patients with this disorder. I'll keep you posted.
I would love to hear from you if you have had a mystery illness too and how you were diagnosed or if you are still searching . Keep well.
Beth
Thursday, November 1, 2007
My Mysterious Illness
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3 comments:
Hello! :)
Ah yes, I have a vaso-vegal reaction too.. although, I believe I was born with it, and if not, I think I got it when I was about 3 or 4? I was told that I would grow out of it, and it's gotten better as I get older.. however, just a couple hours ago I fainted, actually, (because of the vaso-vegal), and I thought I'd search it on google to learn more about it.. that's how I found your entries.
I get it usually when I feel a lot of pain or fear- and once when the air was too stuffy, but in another scenario my mother was telling me and my brothers about this story which included blood as I was eating.. hah.. she won't do that again. :P
I still don't know very much about it.. but it's always the same thing. I will feel the pain or fear, my vision will start to dim, I will start to get tingly, and I'll realize I'm about to faint. Doctors have told me to lie down, or atleast sit down so I don't fall and hurt myself when I collapse; it also once stopped me from fainting I believe? .. If I have time, I'll shout out to anyone who might hear me, so that they can help.. then I will usually get this strange little dream, and wake up a couple of minutes later if I'm not awaken by someone else. After I've fainted, I always feel sick to my stomach for a couple of hours, and I'll be all sweaty and cold.
I have never met anyone else who has had anything like this.. You said it yourself, it IS a mysterious illness, and I know what you're going through.
ah.. I remember my first time fainting.
I was walking down some stairs from our front porch at my house, as I drank from a sippy cup. ^-^
But then I slipped on some ice and fell to the bottom of the stairs.. (yeah, you all go ahead and laugh :P)
My mom was so terrified, and after it had happened once again not too much later, she took me to the doctors' to find out what was wrong with me.
Now that I think about it.. I must have really been a pain. =P I had so much wrong with me as a little kid. One thing after another..
Oh wow, and at school! School was just terrible! One time I had fell and skinned my knee in elementary.. i woke up with 20 kids peering down at me, haha. Another time I just collapsed in a stuffy room and apparently started shaking; they all thought I was having a seizure, until I explained what vaso-vagal was.
Well, I wish the best for you, and I hope things will get better. Hang in there. =)
Terribly sorry for such a long comment, by the way. =)
I'm usually a quiet kid, but when I have something to say, I'm gonna say a lot, haha.
Like both of you, I suffer from VVS. I have been a fainter all my life. I do not know this for sure, but I think it might be hereditary. My father, my sister, an aunt, and a few of my cousins on my father's side of the family suffer from these episodes.
I, fortunately, know my trigger. My family members who share the VVS suffer from the same triggers. Mine is blood or anything medical/gory. For me, it is not so much the sight of blood, but just hearing someone talk about it or reading about it. I even have to do research on the condition in small sections because I can trigger a reaction. It is the one thing I wish I could change about myself.
I am surprised to learn that many people suffer from this. However, it seems most people have different triggers. It also seems that the frequency of the occurrences depend on the person. It is definitely mysterious and also an inconvenience. I have always hoped to grow out of this, but mine seems to have become worse and I have grown older. As a 22 year old, I find it very embarrassing that I faint at the thought of blood. I can have a dream at night that will cause my to have a reaction. I have also passed out filling out paper work at the doctor's office. I have also suffered 2 concussions from hitting my head during an episode.
Like Andrea, I know exactly when the faint is about to happen. I get a tight feeling in my stomach that is almost painful. I get all tingly in my limbs and my vision begins to "tunnel." I also get a ringing in my ears that seems to get louder the closer I come to passing out. I find the process almost painful because I try to fight it. I also get a strange little dream as if I am in my own happy universe. The dream will begin to fade as I come out of the spell. Mine have been as short as 30 seconds to as long as 5+ minutes of unconsciousness. If someone wakes me before I wake myself, I have a much harder time recovering after the episode.
My first episode, that I remember, was when I was 2. I was playing outside and I fell down and did a number to my leg. My mom picked me up and told me not to look down. Of course, I looked down. I don't remember much after that, but I woke up lying on the kitchen table. My mom said, or so she tells me, "Oh great, she is just like her dad." I also have experienced the joy of passing out at school with the entire class staring at me like I was insane and my third grade teacher calling 911. I often faint at medical check ups, anytime I have to have blood work, and I do not think I ever sat through an entire biology class once plants were no longer the main topic.
Hi,
I also have vaso vagal. The first time I fainted I was 12 years old and had hit my 3 year old brother in the face with a golf club. After he was sewn up and everything was o.k. I passed out. The next time was about two or three years later and I had an absessed tooth.
After several times, my doctor said I was a free fainter.I didn't think much about it . Over the years it seem to happen less and less.
Last year I had a bad episode. I was using the bathroom and I felt myself becoming dizzy, and sick at the same time. I fell off the commode apparently hit my head on the tub, woke up and could not stand up. Had to crawl to my kitchen and knock my purse off the table to get my cell phone.I called my husband to come home, when he arrived I was out. He called 911, they took me to the hospital and ran the same test......and all was okay,except for the concussion.
It happened about six months ago but I never went completely out.
This past Thursday, I used the bathroom, took off my clothes and got in the shower.I started to feel bloated and was getting dizzy. Used the bathroom again, started to faint, got to my bed, lay down and put my feet up on the wall. Called my husband, and said its happening again. He rushed home and found me in the bathroom floor. I wasn't totally out, but close. He called the ambulance and I went through the same test again. They always have to give me I.V.s of saline too.
I too have never me anyone else who does this. My doctor that I have now just says I am a Scarlet O'Hara.
My episodes seem to be quicker and more nausea with them than they used to be. I am a very young 61 year old.
Good Luck to you all,
Suzi
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