Posted by medlib on October 24, 2000, at 20:53:16
In reply to Fainting, posted by noa on October 24, 2000, at 7:22:58
Noa--
Ouch! Fainting is no fun at all! Glad you're going to get it checked out--IMO, no episode of syncope is minor.
Reading your description triggered another of my left-field "what if" musings. I wondered if your "black-out" could be cerebral anoxia or vasovagal syncope from a combination of yawning, sitting and meds.
I remember how dizzy I felt starting (and increasing) Effexor. Changing positions and walking made it worse; I assumed that it was orthostatic hypotension due to Effexor's tendency (in some) to cause peripheral vasodilatation. This effect always wore off in a couple of weeks, but my toes and lower feet are still red. Your "greying out" under similar circumstances makes me wonder if you are still having some circulatory effects from Effexor.
I remember also that you may have a narrowed upper airway passage (difficulty swallowing large pills and cpap for sleep); it struck me that a giant yawn might completely obstruct your airway briefly. I envisioned that, during such a yawn, you might tilt your head up or down (most of us do), possibly compressing arteries in your neck. If enough blood is shunted away from the heart and head to the periphery, it might not take much compression of the cerebral arteries or carotid sinuses to cause unconsciousness.
BTW, I believe that Adderall can stimulate yawning (because of its effect on dopamine transmitters).
In any case, I would be sure to apprise the doctor of your past "greying out" experiences; and I think I'd try to avoid yawning while driving--at least until this is IDed! Please ignore this wild guess if it seems as unlikely as it sounds, or is otherwise inapplicable.
Hope your internist is a good diagnostician and is able to pinpoint what's wrong quickly. If she orders blood work, having it done fasting (yeah, I know it's a pain) and including a CBC would rule out anemia or blood sugar problems as possible causes. Please keep us posted.
Well wishes---medlib
P.S. I noticed in the Effexor lit that it is compounded with iron oxides. If that type of iron is bioavailable, it's less likely that you have iron-deficiency anemia. Wonder *why* they formulated it with iron?
> I fainted this morning. I was sitting at my computer, and yawned, and felt myself begin to black out. Now, I have "greyed" out in the past, not much recently, but when that happens, I haven't actually blacked out--until today.
>
> But today, I felt myself black out, and the next thing I was aware of was dreaming, and waking up with a bad pain on the side of my head. Then it took a few seconds to realize I was on the floor. After that, a few seconds more to figure out where on the floor, and still more seconds to figure out what happened.
>
> There is a a tender spot on the right side of my head but the all-around headache I felt for about 30 minutes after getting up, is gone.
>
> I am so glad this happened from sitting in a chair and not in the shower!
>
> The thing is, if I had been in the shower, I like to think I would have braced myself but because I was in a chair I didn't think anything could happen. Ok, that is naive. I was basing it on the experience of having nearly blacked out lots of times in my life but not actually blacking out.
>
> The "greying out" used to happen a lot when I was taking higher doses of regular effexor several years back. It would happen when I yawned a big yawn, laughed really hard, or stood up fast.
>
> I hope this is not due to the Adderall, which is the latest med added to my cocktail. Any thoughts?
>
> Another possibility is that it could be related to having missed a few of my cytomel and serzone doses a few days back.
>
> Also, once about 17-18 years ago, I fainted due to low iron. I guess I should check that out.
>
> If any of you thinkit might be med related, please comment.
poster:medlib
thread:47237
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001022/msgs/47289.html