Question about passing out...

[mtlieb]

Hi all,

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Quick question: For those of you who have passed out on occasion... do you find that you recover fairly quickly afterwards or does this take you a fairly long time? I dropped in my kitchen last night, and even once i picked myself up and got back to the couch it was many hours before i could stand up without feeling like i was going to go down again. Even this afternoon i still feel dizzy enough not to want to drive anywhere. But hey, at least it gives me an excuse to order pizza delivery!

Is this fairly normal? Any thoughts on this would be great.

Jim

[shirleymahoney]

Well Jim

it could be the Beta blocker they have you on is this a new Med for you and how much are you taking, it is not good to pass out like that that would worry me is sounds like your BP is bottoming out on you when you stand that is why i mentioned the beta blocker i hope you get this under control but i would definetly go back to the doctor you take care ok

Shirley

[Reenie]

I don't have any idea. You please take care!

Reenie

[Largehearted]

Jim.
I have had near passing out episodes for years. While those before diagnosis I have come to believe were related to HCM more specifically, those since heavy beta-blocker dosage I attribute more to a slow BP response. I experience this most often when I stand up quickly, need to bend down and the straighten up etc. When I do experience these episodes they pass fairly quickly and within a minute or two I am ready to go again.

The only time now when the effects linger is when I am in a-fib or dehydrated.

Please be careful. Have you checked with a Dr.?

Peace,

Leon

[mtlieb]

Thanks everyone,

Leon, your post made me think once again that this may very well be an episode of a-fib i've been experiencing. My heart was in a bit of a flutter when i passed out and it took me quite a while to get over the effects. I'm still a bit unsteady as i sit here and write this.

I did get in touch with my cardio who answered my page just a few minutes after i made it. He is understandably concerned, and would like to see me first thing monday morning. He actually would have preferred i go to the hospital and get checked out right away, but i'm going to wait and see how it goes on the lower dose of atenolol.

Take care,

Jim

[Eileen2345]

I have only blacked out once. It was a SCD episode (before my ICD implant).

I felt my heart stop, then everything went white, then everything went black. After I came back, I was able to get up and walk. I think maybe it was because of some adrenaline. (My husband found me on the bedroom floor and shook me really, really hard until I came back.)

My brother passed out 2 times in a span of a few years before he actually died. And both times he was able to get back up and walk around.

Now and then I have a few incidences where I get dizzy and everything starts to turn white and I'll fall against something, and that's when I need to sit for a while and have some water.

I hope all is well with you and this does not happen again.

Hugs,
Eileen

[purple_ness1]

re

heya

well i know nothing about hcm realy, but the time i blacked out it maked me feel realy tried and washed out i was tried for like a month later ,and the other time i blacked out i felt like crap for the rest of the day , (it wasents my meds cos im on none) , but cos i know nothing about hcm they could be 2 do with sumthink else

well take care
*margie*

[mtlieb]

Eileen and Margie,

Thank you for your replies.

Marge, don't worry... you'll be an HCM expert in no time! Just having HCM and understanding what it is makes you a bit smarter than your average Joe on the street. Hope you are feeling well and taking good care of yourself.

Jim

[mtlieb]

Just thought i'd post an update:

I went back to my lower dose of atenolol yesterday (100 mg) after speaking with my cardio, and it seems to have done the trick for now. This likely explains why i didn't recover too quickly from the episode as well... since if it was drug-induced, the effects wouldn't wear off until it was out of my bloodstream. Fortunately atenolol doesn't hang around all that long.

I'm not sure exactly how long i was out cold, but it couldn't have been very long. I was preparing to get something out of the microwave when it happened, and when i woke up it was still beeping at me and it only does that for a few minutes after the food is done.

I'm trying not to sound like an alarmist... i'm sure it's nothing. It just caught me off-guard is all and frazzled me a bit. All i could think about afterwards was... my father suffered a sudden cardiac death... my blood pressure still drops with exercise... my heart's doing flip-flops in my chest... and now i've just passed out... here i go! LoL. It was a long night, and it's times like these that i really wish i didn't live alone.

This was actually the first time since being diagnosed that i honestly considered calling 911, and i did keep the phone beside me all night just in case. Oddly enough, at the same time i was thinking: 'Does my insurance cover that? Can i afford an ambulance-ride if it doesn't? I really wish i'd pushed harder for an ICD!'

I am very eager to have this echocardiogram tomorrow to find out what in the heck is going on here. I look forward to reporting that it's nothing more than a case of the flu or something, and all is well! Gotta keep a positive mental attitude, right Tigger?

Hope you're all enjoying the superbowl. I don't get cable tv so i have the afternoon free to catch up on homework and the HCMA. Woo hoo!

Jim

[Reenie]

Please keep us posted. You've got too much going on right now!

Reenie

[shirleymahoney]

That is great news Jim, now send some my way i have a cold again i just shook one a few weeks ago, sometimes i feel it may be CHF bothering me, all i know is that i never get sick like this thank goodness i had my flu shot this year, but i hope you have a great week buddy

Shirley

[angall]

Hi Jim
I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. Now, keep it that way! lol

Please let us know how your echo turns out.

Take care

[Eileen2345]

Hi Jim,

I wished you pushed harder for that ICD too. Can you still get one implanted? Please talk about this with your cardiologist. I want you to have one just in case.

After I blacked out, I was shook up for quite a while. I'll never forget the look on my husband's face. He was terrified. It's a scary thing to have happen, no matter who you are.

And please call 911 if you need to. I did that once, not call 911 when I really needed to and I almost died. (It was from a different problem but it still affected my heart in a very bad way.) I did not want to call 911 because of what the neighbors would think, now I say.. who cares, let them talk.

Please let us know what the echo says.

Hugs,
Eileen

[Toogoofy317]

Hey Jim!

I've had several black out episodes and they totally wipe me out for days after I have one. My last trip in the hospital had me so weak from mulitple episodes that they wanted physical therapy out to make sure I was ok. They blame most of mine on BP since I have an ICD and it has never fired.

And as far as ambulances go if you need it do it. That is what they are there for. Hey at least you've never been hauled out of your Doctor's office and taken to the hospital

Mary S.

[Tigger1]

Jim,

PMA is the right way. Glad to hear your doing better. I follow your condition closely Jim, we had our myectomys around the same time last year. If I ever blacked out and hit the floor, I think it would kill my wife before it killed me.

Jim are you going to have a 0ne year check-up at Cleveland or our you going to trust your local Dr. I've already scheduled mine for May 10 in Cleveland. I'm still feeling pretty good. No problems except I need to lose about 20 lbs.

Be good and stay Positive...


Tigger1