Well guys, I went to a diff doctor yesterday. He told me that it was vaso vagal syncope and that it is pretty much untreatable. Said that I would just have to learn to live with it. I did some research on it and alot of people have this disorder. I found a forum on it and seems that it is a very common thing. I guess I am lucky because most people with this disorder do pass out during an attack as I am able to catch it before I do and lie down.
It is a disorder of the heart of some kind. Here is what I found....
Vasovagal syncope is not a serious or life threatening condition, but in effect an abnormal reflex. This results in a drop in blood pressure leading to decreased blood flow to the brain resulting in dizziness or fainting. The mechanism of vasovagal syncope is the subject of a great deal of research. It may best be described as the following:
• when we sit or stand, blood settles in the legs and abdomen
• as a result, less blood returns to the heart
• the blood vessels leaving the heart have detectors in them called baroreceptors that detect a decrease in blood pressure
• the baroreceptors send a message to the brain, which in turn sends a signal to the heart to increase the heart rate, and tighten up the blood vessels
• this process occurs constantly in all of us as we adapt to changes in posture
• in vasovagal syncope, an abnormal reflex occurs that results in withdrawal of the message that speeds up the heart and tightens up the vessels, often because of an overshoot in the reflex that compensates for the fall in blood pressure
• the resultant decrease in blood flow to the brain will result in dizziness or lightheadedness if mild, and progress to fainting or loss of consciousness if more severe
• there are several variants of vasovagal syncope that can trigger the same reflex, including situations such as the sight of blood, injury, blood testing (needles), going to the washroom and several others that are quite uncommon.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms in vasovagal syncope are slightly different for each person, but often include many of the following characteristics:
• most episodes occur while standing, occasionally sitting and almost never lying down
• patients often describe feeling very warm and sweaty before blacking out
• nausea and rarely vomiting can precede episodes
• observers often describe the patients as pale (“white as a sheet”)
• patients are usually unresponsive (“out”) for less than a minute
• patients may have some twitching while unresponsive, but seldom shake violently, bite their tongue or lose control of bowel and bladder function. The latter are more suggestive of a primary seizure.
• after regaining consciousness, patients are usually immediately aware of their surroundings, who and where they are
• after an episode, patients often feel somewhat dizzy and report feeling tired for as much as 24 hours
• patients that learn to recognize the warning signs can avert losing consciousness by sitting or lying down promptly.
