I am so embarassed

weldrwomn

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I passed out not once, but TWICE today at work. I was feeling pretty good today, I ate a good breakfast and drank plenty of water, but I guess it just wasn't my day. I was welding and everything just faded and I went down. I found myself on the floor and I looked around and nobody had seen, so what did I do - I got back up, put a fan in my booth (I just assumed I had overheated) and got about 6 more inches of weld and went down again. Everybody saw. I am soooo embarassed. The guys were freaked out and called my hubby to come retreive me from work.

I made an appointment to see the NP because my Dr wasn't available on such short notice and I told her that the only thing I could think of was that I had an ear infection that I started antibiotics on Saturday. She went through every possible thing she could think of then finally agreed with me that it was probably my ear infection.

I just wish it hadn't happened at work. Now I feel like a total idiot. When you are a woman in the welding industry, you have to work twice as hard to be considered half as good as the guys and I really don't want to appear weak and vulnerable to any of them. ARRRRGGGGHHHH
 
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weldrwomn

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Originally Posted by Rosiemac

You should never have stayed there when you went down the first time. You could have really done some injury to yourself
Funnily enough, I am certified in First Aid and CPR and I know that I should have stayed put. Unfortunately, my stubborn pride usually trumps my common sense.


I did not have my blood sugar levels tested, but in the past, they have always been fine.
 

kara_leigh

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I have a tendency to pass out, even did it once in front of the majority of the popular kids in my class on a canoeing trip. Talk about embarrassing.

My worst fear is passing out at work. I'm sorry that happened to you, I can imagine how you felt!
I hope you are feeling better.
 

jugen

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I feel ya hon! I hope you're feeling ok now though.
I had a seizure at work once and boy I was scared stiff after I talked to the people that were there and they told me what they were going to do...Stick a METAL spoon in my mouth, so I didn't swallow my tongue??!!!!!!
SO it's OKKKK if I break off all my teeth because you shoved a metal object into my mouth?! WTH?
SO I calmly explained to ALL my coworkers what they need to do if something like that happened again. #1 do NOT stick ANYTHING in my mouth!!! ,#2 call my husband NOT 911, and #3 call another supervisor to come in and cover the shift..
 

natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by Rosiemac

You should never have stayed there when you went down the first time. You could have really done some injury to yourself
I agree totally! Especially when welding. You could have severely burned yourself or burned down the building.

I hope you find out why you are fainting.

I've been having light headed episodes for several years now. I've passed out twice and broke my foot in 3 places one of those times. I'm thankful that I get an "aura" when it's about to happen now, because in most cases it allows me to get to a chair where I can sit down. Because if I don't sit down as soon as I feel it happening, I will pass out. The doctors do not know why.

I'm suspecting that I have Dysautonomia. Based on my symptoms and the fact that I had a positive Anti Nuclear DNA Antibody test which my doctor couldn't explain but wasn't concerned about.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/d...ia.htm#What_is

http://brain-and-heart.freewebspace....ch_text_1.html

The problem with something like this is that most doctors look at each individual symptom as a separate problem. Many don't put it all together into one actual condition such as "Dysautonomia" which have a number of symptoms because it's an Autonomic Nervous System Disorder.
 

strange_wings

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^Linda, a good number of us have negative ANA and are negative for practically every other test that might be helpful. Get yourself to an autonomic testing lab. In the mean time, if you have a blood pressure cuff you could start keeping track of that and heart rate and see if that will help out your doctor any.


Things to look for when fainting. Blood sugar, when was the last time you had ate that day? Thyroid - TSH testing, free T3, free T4, and maybe antibodies. Get a CBC and electrolyte panel done, too.

You're tall - do you have a history of fainting for no reason, getting light headed when you stand in the same spot for extended periods, or getting a little lightheaded/dizzy, ears ring, and maybe vision fade out a little when you stand up? especially if you stand up quickly?
Have you had a physical? Heart been checked out? Sick lately? (I think you were?). I would wonder about MVP possibly due to your height.

What Linda was referring to comes in different forms and differing levels of disability. I get around fairly well but one thing that is very very bad for me to do is stand in place for too long. I'll near faint and even faint from it.
I was getting ready to pitch a fit at a store yesterday because I was starting to feel horrible in line and the cash registers weren't being opened - at one point they had two open...

The vagus nerve (autonomic nervous system) can be tripped in anyone, even someone who is healthy and otherwise unaffected. This is why people faint when they give blood or get a shot. When you're sick, if you have diarrhea especially, it will also affect your blood volume (and electrolytes). This can make you have the occasional or even one time faint.



kara_leigh - your "tendency to pass out". Have you had this checked out? If it's been happening for years try to see if you can find a doctor to check you for neurocardiogenic syncope - also called vasovagal syncope, neurally mediated syncope, and neurally mediated hypotension. You'll likely need to see a cardiologist, neurologist, or electrophysiologist to get this assessed - unless you have a very very smart GP.
 

tuxedokitties

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I hope you're OK!

I've had certain types of antibiotics (Levaquin, Avelox) cause me to faint before. They're both in the same family of drugs - I now know to avoid drugs in that family. You may want to check the side effects list on your medication and call your doctor if that is listed as a side effect. Many doctors are not familiar with all the potential side effects of medications they prescribe.
 

tari

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I sympathize with your embarassment. Last May I came very close to passing out while I was on a tour of the White House with some of our members. (They're all pathologists, so I had plenty of medical attention
, but I was terribly embarassed nevertheless.) It turned out to be that I was on too strong a blood pressure medication.

Sympathy aside, though, I do agree that you should have stopped after the first one!! I'd be terrified to work with welding equipment in the first place, let alone after I had passed out once with one of those things in my hand! A talk with your doctor is definitely in order.
 

kara_leigh

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I agree totally! Especially when welding. You could have severely burned yourself or burned down the building.

I hope you find out why you are fainting.

I've been having light headed episodes for several years now. I've passed out twice and broke my foot in 3 places one of those times. I'm thankful that I get an "aura" when it's about to happen now, because in most cases it allows me to get to a chair where I can sit down. Because if I don't sit down as soon as I feel it happening, I will pass out. The doctors do not know why.

I'm suspecting that I have Dysautonomia. Based on my symptoms and the fact that I had a positive Anti Nuclear DNA Antibody test which my doctor couldn't explain but wasn't concerned about.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/d...ia.htm#What_is

http://brain-and-heart.freewebspace....ch_text_1.html

The problem with something like this is that most doctors look at each individual symptom as a separate problem. Many don't put it all together into one actual condition such as "Dysautonomia" which have a number of symptoms because it's an Autonomic Nervous System Disorder.
I have a positive ANA also, have had it for years. No doctor has ever been able to find out why, so they just assume it is idiopathic. They suggest that maybe it is a marker for something yet to come, like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, both of which my grandmother had so it runs in our family. My eye problems (epislceritis) can be a starting point for rheumatoid arthritis or some other connective tissue disorder, but nothing has developed yet (or at least what shows up on blood tests).
 

kara_leigh

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

kara_leigh - your "tendency to pass out". Have you had this checked out? If it's been happening for years try to see if you can find a doctor to check you for neurocardiogenic syncope - also called vasovagal syncope, neurally mediated syncope, and neurally mediated hypotension. You'll likely need to see a cardiologist, neurologist, or electrophysiologist to get this assessed - unless you have a very very smart GP.
I've been checked up the wazoo but no one has found out why I faint. At one point they thought I had some certain thing wrong with my heart beat pattern (I can't remember the name of the syndrome that causes it) but it ended up not being the case. My cardiologist is really good, I used to be his receptionist and his sons go my my son's school.

Most of the time when I pass out it is due to pain. Not huge pain, just pain. LOL Or when I'm scared suddenly. My husband calls me the fainting human, instead of the fainting goat. LOL Most likely it is all due to my Addison's Disease.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by kara_leigh

Most of the time when I pass out it is due to pain. Not huge pain, just pain. LOL Or when I'm scared suddenly. My husband calls me the fainting human, instead of the fainting goat. LOL Most likely it is all due to my Addison's Disease.
That's definitely a vasovagal reaction. Though it's the most common cause of fainting, it's surprising how ignorant many doctors are. What is happening, and if they would induce this fainting reaction in you they would find it, is that you're autonomic nervous system gets tripped by pain or strong emotion and sends out the wrong signal. It tells your heart and blood vessels that you're blood pressure is too high - so the blood vessels dilate and your heart rate suddenly drops. This results in sudden low blood pressure and low blood flow to the brain - and you're out. Mine is caused by my body not responding properly to gravity - astronauts come back to earth with a similar problem.
The only reason my cardiologist does know anything about this is because he wrote a paper over it in med school. I even found an very brief abstract from it - I wonder if it would surprise him if I found the full one and read it?

I have weird EKGs, too. Inverted T waves, I also typically have sinus tachycardia, probably more episodes of bradycardia then I know about, and PVCs. All of these are normal to some degree in every person and actually very common with what I have. Really bugs my GP to see it, though.


You're already taking florinef, right? That along with salt and fluid loading should help any sort of blood volume issues, but you'll probably always have a bit of problems. Also, it isn't uncommon for autonomic issues to happen along with adrenal issues - it's actually fairly common (more so than a definite autoimmune cause). One of the standard treatments for the dysautonomics with low BP is florinef in fact.

I wouldn't worry about the ANA (for both of you). Unless there are definite symptoms pointing at something or you're positive for a certain pattern type, it can simply be high and mean nothing. These blood tests are just tools. They help point the direction, but rarely provide a diagnosis in any definite way. Often tests will all be negative yet the person does have something more serious going on - they get labeled seronegative and treated or are blown off by doctors..
 

binkyhoo

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I once fainted in a grocery store check out isle. I felt myself going and asked the clerk to get the mangager, then went out. The dude comes and they try to get me up and down I went again. I woke up with a crowd of shoppers, candy rack to the left and magazines to the right. That was a strange sight.

I Had the flu for the passed 4 days, and just needed some food. Take care of your self.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by binkyhoo

I Had the flu for the passed 4 days, and just needed some food.
Just a bit of info (for all). What you're sort of suggesting, hypoglycemia, more commonly happens after a person eats. The type that happens from not eating, fasting hypoglycemia, is more rare and not strictly a blood sugar problem. You'd have symptoms quite often with either of these.

Again, vasovagal syncope/NCS/NMH, or whatever name you choose to use for it is the most common cause of fainting. More people should be aware of this, especially since it can look like a seizure and lifting the person up too soon results in them losing consciousness again. It is typically not life threatening unless you lose consciousness somewhere dangerous, such as while driving. For some it can actually cause a type a seizure and supposedly being stuck upright during a faint for too long could kill a person. Most have it occasionally, others get bouts of it after their bodies are stressed by a virus, and in some it's more hereditary.
Eating won't help, drinking fluids will as it can help raise blood pressure (caffeine if it doesn't affect your heart rate too much) - as does increasing salt in the diet if low blood pressure is a frequent problem.

Common triggers; emotion, pain, standing in place too long (such as at a store), and heat.

If you see a person faint, do not move them. Just make sure they're not going to be hurt. Check for a medical ID bracelet - though most tend to wake up after a couple minutes and should be fine. Also, don't be surprised if the person refuses to have EMTs check them out or go to the hospital. If we're used to it, it's just another (albeit embarrassing) day for us.
 
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