Fainting

[chicken66]

Morning Guys

I've had a problem for about the past 2-3 years that if i stand up (doing nothing/very little) for an extended length of time i faint. It's nothing to do what what i see/hear/think/smell etc etc but is more than frustrating!

Now, i'm refusing to believe that i'm the only one with this problem; so looking to see if anyone has any suggestions that work! I've tried eating loads before, eating nothing, eating normally; pumping my leg muscles as hard as i can, walking on the spot; pinching my skin (!) and at the minute i still get to the point where it's sit down or fall down!

Hope someone can help!

x

BTW i'm not asking for medical help here (just in case someone misconstrudes my post); i'd been there and there's nothing medically wrong with me - if that makes sense?!

[onandup]

Not trying to diagnose, but if its only started happening, what has changed, lost, gained weight....or maybe your just prone to fainting...

i guess blood is settling in lower parts of the body reducing the amount of blood flowing to your brain...maybe its low blood sugar too? Eat something salty now and again while your standing up to raise blood pressure..and keep hydrated!!! or the good ole lie down or legs between head...since you say theres nothing medically wrong with you u, i guess the only thing you can do is try to alleviate the problem....but I'd get a second opinion just to be sure...we arn't built to pass out upon standing up!

I don't think extreme exercising will help, that will just divert more blood to the muscles...but then again moving legs will help prevent the pooling there....don't they have special socks or something to prevent pooling of blood in the legs...could try that?

eating better at the very start of the day stopped it for someone i knew who got faint v.often...and drinking lots of water....and getting up very slowly/slow movement...

[onandup]

also remember a trial i read where they suggested squeezing something like a stres ball in the dominant hand,

or crossing legs, tensing of the muscles or

gripping one hand with the other and raising the elbows slightly..

but still i don't think it should be a chronic problem if there is nothing medically underlying....gd luk

[chicken66]

Thanks for your reply onandup. Since it's been a problem for about 2.5 years it's not a new problem, just causing more of a problem as when scrubbed in for surgery i can't stuff sweets in my mouth/keep a bottle of water to hand! To be honest it's the embarrassment factor and frustration at not being able to do what i want to do which is causing the problem more than the actual fainting issue - if that makes sense!

the last time i saw a doctor for it they said borderline postural hypotension, which would just about fit - other than the fainting i'm healthy, no changes in weight or anything else. Think the change was having to stand up for a long time without doing anything rather than something changing in me! (in regards to the other bit, standing up suddenly doesn't cause problems)

I'll try the squeezing with the dominant hand thing next time - seems worth a shot, and i can squeeze my thumb or something whilst i'm in theatre without causing problems.

Thank you for your advice!

[onandup]

No worries...also found this from the new york times!

Researchers from the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam decided to see whether fainters would benefit from a technique developed for people with a condition that causes their blood pressure to drop when they stand up.

The technique is simple: when the patients felt lightheadedness approaching, they crossed their legs, putting one ankle over another in what the researchers called the "cocktail party stance." They then tensed the muscles in their legs, buttocks and abdomen, forcing blood out of the legs and toward the brain.

[Nurse_to_doctor]

Hi Chicken66,

I’m talking from my previous role as an Autonomic Liaison Nurse. Vasovagal syncope can occur because of a number of reasons – I can’t diagnose of course, so I can only suggest. For example, a tilt test (on a tilt table) could be used to examine triggers and to check your BP/HR response and determine if there is any compensation (Valsalva maneuver etc). An autonomic disorder could then be ruled in or out...

There are certain types of disorders you could consider, which are less well known; I’m refereeing here to the ‘super-specialities’. If there is pooling around the ankles etc AND you have hyper mobility (thumb to wrist, for example) then there is something called Ehlers-Danlos to think about. Have you also considered PoTS (Postural Tachycardia Syndrome)? Does your heart rate increase, for example? There are too many possibilities, including post-prandial hypotension. So, what I’m suggesting is, get some tests done at a Nero testing centre. There is the Pickering Unit, here at St. Marys and UCL at the Centre for Neurology and Neuroscience near Kings Cross.

The technique onandup refers to, I used to call ‘calf pump manoeuvres’ – they work, too. You can also cross your legs while standing up, which works too.

N2D

[rjm]

Will all people who do not have a medical qualification stop suggesting techniques and weird and wonderful diagnoses. Chicken needs appropriate advice following a detailed history and proper examination. I suggest you see your GP and if necessary ask for referral to a fits faints and funny turns clinic.
In the interim chicken, please do not take suggestions from people who you have no idea who they are or where their knowledge is from. I suggest that one of the moderators closes this thread.

Thanks.

[chicken66]

Lol RJM: i've been to the GP more than once and been told that i'm prone to fainting and to just deal with it (ie sit down when necessary); so i certainly was not asking for medical advice - just asking what works for other people.

[Singh.Simran]

Hmm try a different gp, or ask them to look harder.. if it is a repeated problem that occurs whenever (or fairly often) when you stand up for x hours, it sounds like something that needs investigation at least.

Don't listen to theories off the net though.. other than rjm's "do it properly" theory.

[Gizmo says -]

eres a wierd one.

today i was busy sunbathin in the back garden, whilst sipping ice cool water from me bottle and rubbin me flub-tum.

i dribble some of me ice cool water onto me 'ead, and then went to me left ear, doozing it wif drips of cool water for five minutes. then i did the other ear * i dont know whhy i was trying to supercool me ears, btw).

and immediately the world started spinning!! and didnt stop for about two minutes, after which i wobbled indoors.

most alarming, though it stopped after 3-4 minutes!

wat it was, i dont know, but i suspect it was me cochlear going loopy.