Quick Aunt Pittypat, the smelling salts!

August 21, 2011 8:50 AM

YANMD, but I fainted last night and I'm a little worried....

Here's what happened: Yesterday I ate breakfast and lunch before meeting a friend for dinner & drinks. I had a light dinner with two drinks and then we went to another place for a few more. I did have quite a bit of liquor but I was fine when we walked from there to the hookah bar.

At the hookah bar I split two hookahs with my friend and drank some water, then a little bit of coffee. I stood up to put my shoes on and got woozy, so I paused for a minute to steady myself and crouch back down.

Here's what I remember: I remember falling to the floor on my left side with my shoulders jerking around. I had the feeling that my mouth was open and I didn't feel that I could close it. The last thing I recall was moving my right hand to try and push myself off the floor. The next thing knew I was on the other side of the cubby with ice on my neck and people fanning me. I woke up from a very clear dream of riding in a trolley down the street with my boyfriend (not that the contents of the dream matter, just that I was actually dreaming!).

Here's what my friend saw: I laid down on the floor on my left side. She started to call my name so I rolled on to my back and was looking at her right in the eyes. I said, "I'm so sleepy, I just want to go to sleep." But I took her hands when she held them out and stood up, then crumbled back over into the corner. The scariest thing is she said I was making noises like "gruuunhhhh" or something and she said she was scared I wasn't able to breathe. So she propped my head up and started to fan me and give me water to drink. Then I woke up.

The whole thing lasted about twenty seconds. I have a history of fainting that has recently accelerated: sixth grade, twelfth grade and now all of a sudden, ten years later, I've fainted three times in the last eight months. I'm not pregnant, underweight or anemic and generally healthy at all my checkups. I had been drinking but I was not drunk when this happened! (Although I was mortified anyways.)

Also, when I've fainted in the past, I'm back to normal pretty quick. This time, I felt like I had a really accelerated heartbeat until several hours later; my skin was clammy and felt like paper and I was going hot and cold while still very woozy.

Here are my questions:
1. What the hell happened?
2. Do I need to see a doctor?
3. I worry that a doctor will just lead to expensive scans that find nothing wrong, so what can I do to prevent or prepare for future episodes?

posted by motsque to health & fitness (22 answers total)

I think you should go see a doctor ASAP. Loss of consciousness is a serious thing.
posted by DMan at 8:57 AM on August 21, 2011 [9 favorites]

You lost consciousness. You should see a doctor ASAP. You may have gotten a concussion. If you are able to go to the ER or an urgent care center (with imaging), I'd recommend it. I've fainted on several occasions, but I never lost consciousness. It was merely that I got woozy due to low blood pressure and fell to the floor. I wouldn't say that you fainted.
posted by two lights above the sea at 8:58 AM on August 21, 2011

I have a history of fainting that has recently accelerated: sixth grade, twelfth grade and now all of a sudden, ten years later, I've fainted three times in the last eight months.

Yes, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. This may be no big deal, but you should rule out the potential causes that are a big deal.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 9:00 AM on August 21, 2011

Personally, I would go see a doctor. I fainted a couple times, and my doctor took it quite seriously.

When I fainted (it happened a couple times over a few months), I felt fine immediately after. I was not not clammy at all. I was only out for maybe a second or two. Still, my doctor was concerned and sent me to the cardiologist for testing. It turned out fine, but I was very glad for the peace of mind.

So, because my doctor was concerned with my less-severe fainting, I would go to the doctor with your more-severe fainting.
posted by insectosaurus at 9:00 AM on August 21, 2011

Also: If you feel like you may faint, you should sit down IMMEDIATELY no matter where you are or what you are doing. It is embarrassing to sit down in public on the sidewalk or wherever you are, but it is both embarrassing and potentially dangerous to faint in public. Stay sitting for a few minutes if possible.
posted by insectosaurus at 9:02 AM on August 21, 2011 [3 favorites]

Might "had a seizure" be a more accurate than "fainted?"
posted by jon1270 at 9:03 AM on August 21, 2011 [11 favorites]

Gonna buck the trend.

Light dinner + a bunch of drinks + smoking + standing up suddenly = fainting? I would not be too worried about this.
posted by nathancaswell at 9:06 AM on August 21, 2011 [5 favorites]

Oh, question, you are not by chance on any ADD medication are you? Adderall or Dexedrine?
posted by nathancaswell at 9:10 AM on August 21, 2011

Three times recently? See a doctor.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:11 AM on August 21, 2011

I have had exactly what you describe several times in my life, with certain triggers (blood drawn, sudden falls, extreme heat and cold being the main ones) and my doctor told me it was a higher tendency for vasovagal syncope.

They didn't say "seizure" in my case and I definitely didn't dream, but I think you should get it checked out as soon as possible. I think it would be OK to wait until tomorrow, but I am not a doctor so ask one immediately!

If you have what I have you can learn to avoid your triggers, and it makes life better.
posted by sweetkid at 9:11 AM on August 21, 2011

Honestly, why would you not go to a doctor? If you're anything like me, you're just going to worry about this until you find out what's going on. Scans may be expensive, but they can rule out serious conditions and give you some peace of mind, at the very least. Go to the doctor.
posted by something something at 9:12 AM on August 21, 2011

Data point: something similar happened, twice within the same summer, to a 30-year old female friend of mine. It turned out to be a pair of small strokes. Each time, she recovered within an hour and had no noticeable lasting effects, but she did need to go on medication (I assume blood thinners? I didn't ask). Go see a doctor!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 9:23 AM on August 21, 2011

You've been lucky. What if this happened while you were crossing a street, driving a car, walking a flight of stairs? Sure, maybe it's nothing, or maybe it's something like transient ischemic attacks which may tell you that you are at risk for something more serious? Doctors will know these things.

I usually brush things off and take a wait-and-see approach, but unexplained loss of consciousness, slurred speech, and possible inability to move parts of my body would have me rushing to a doctor.
posted by Houstonian at 9:27 AM on August 21, 2011 [2 favorites]

I'm getting evaluated for a similar personal history right now, and was similarly... reticent, let's say, to consider something that I'd "had all my life" as a serious problem. Went to my doctor with Complaint A, mentioned the fainting just to be thorough, and spent the rest of the doctor's appointment talking just about the fainting and pre-syncope history. The upshot? It's probably just a tendency to vasovagal syncope, but it's important to rule out intermittent heart murmurs or anything else less common but more concerning. I have a thoracic echocardiogram scheduled and will probably get to wear a stress monitor for 30 days. I'm not a doctor, but having just seen how concerned a doctor gets when you mention these kind of symptoms... you should probably get it checked out.

(On the financial side, if you have health insurance, go check your deductible and expect that you'll be meeting it, but maybe you can talk to your doctor about ways to stay more budget-friendly? No harm in mentioning it. Mine didn't seem to think there was an immediate, this-week urgency to getting everything done, fwiw, but got me scheduled at a local hospital within the month.)
posted by deludingmyself at 10:02 AM on August 21, 2011 [1 favorite]

It might be nothing, yes. But because the things that may cause fainting or seizure are so serious, it's worth getting checked out by a doctor. This is a no-brainer that's all about the brain.
posted by inturnaround at 11:14 AM on August 21, 2011

Though I'd also urge you to see a doctor to be on the safe side, you probably pulled some variety of whitey.
posted by tempythethird at 1:59 PM on August 21, 2011

If you hadn't been fainting more often lately, I'd say no big. You have been fainting more often. Go to the doctor.
posted by tel3path at 2:39 PM on August 21, 2011

Another variable that may need to be taken into consideration is whether or not you usually/often smoke whatever you were smoking, idk, that's something for a doctor I suppose.

For what it's worth, whenever I've fainted/passed out/ lost consciousness (due to vasovagal syncope), I've had really vivid dreams, despite being told afterwards that I wasn't unconscious for long. On one occasion I passed out in a doctor's surgery, and my friend who was in the waiting room told me that she heard my incoherent shouting as I came round (I was swearing at the nurse, apparently; I was totally sober, not on anything, and don't really remember). I've also appeared to have a fit, but really (according to the doctor who asked me lots of questons about whether I had a family history of epilepsy) it was probably just because I was unconscious and the flailing was my body's way of trying to get me to lie down.

Oh noes, are you pregnant? I realise that this may not be possible for all people with boyfriends, but as I can't be bothered to check whether or not you provide any information either way, it's probably worth throwing out there just in case. If you are, I hope it works out in whatever is the best way for you.
posted by Lebannen at 3:48 PM on August 21, 2011

I stood up to put my shoes on and got woozy

You had a GLOC - G-induced loss of consciousness. In this case you accelerated your head by standing up, reducing blood flow and causing a blackout. Your flailing around for about 20 seconds is consistent with GLOC recovery.

It is indeed possible to GLOC at 1 G by standing up too fast, especially if your body is being stressed in other ways - I imagine the alcohol, light dinner and hookah all conspired to make you more susceptible to it. I would still see a doctor to get yourself tested - you may have low blood pressure or some other thing going on if it's a recurring event.
posted by squorch at 6:32 PM on August 21, 2011

I passed out in a theatre queue once, after having a few minutes earlier toked heavily on a joint containing way, way more tobacco that I was accustomed to. Nicotine can do that to people who are not used to it. Yes to all of falling to floor, twitching, intense short-lived dreaming.

My friends took me off to ER, which was exactly the right thing to do. I didn't think so at the time (I was cross with myself for screwing up everybody's evening) but I would have done exactly the same for any of them.
posted by flabdablet at 6:33 PM on August 21, 2011

orthostatic hypotension. it's happened to me, usaully when I've been drinking or smoking more than usual. it's probably nothing serious--usually just a matter of making sure you stay hydrated and not smoking--but if you make those changes and still have problems, see a doctor.
posted by thinkingwoman at 7:53 PM on August 21, 2011 [1 favorite]

Thanks guys. I just needed a kick in the butt to get to a doctor. I'm making an appointment this week; also after talking to my family it turns out my sister's been diagnosed with vasovagal so it's looking like I'll be able to figure this out for the long term.
posted by motsque at 7:30 AM on August 23, 2011