Fainting- Jan can you help?

When J-pouchers faint it's frequently just simple dehydration. Sometimes another illness leads to the dehydration, and sometimes it's just not paying enough attention to your fluid needs. Since the ER noted that you were dehydrated, I'd guess that's more likely than a neuro cause. If you can pay attention to how your urine looks, a light color is good and a dark color is bad.

Yes.
Dehydration.
I face planted once.
That was as enough.  Since then I drink water even though I don't feel that I need it.
Drink.
Drink.
Drink.
It is very important.

I haven't fainted in years but used to get what I called 'my angels' when I was little...I would litterally see stars...usually when forcing or if I had had IBS problems...I would get dizzy spells that rarely ended up as a full out faint but would have me sliding down the wall and sitting like a rag-doll on the floor for a few  moments  or longer (water and something sweet or salty usually helped) When it got severe and more frequent they did a full out nuro work-up....turns out that I am epileptic...left temporal...something in there has been atrophied; probably since birth (kind of explains those angels when I was a kid).

I don't have grand-mal sezieurs but petit mal...dizzies, feeling faint, feeling like I have a hangover...

They put me on meds and after figuring out that I can't take LP (coated time released) meds, they got me on Tegretol and I am fine...

Hope that whatever it is its an easy fix.

I have no problem with my pouch and the meds.

Sharon

That happened to me one night also, but I think it might have been stomach flu. I woke up in the night to go to the bathroom and very watery stool just gushed out of me, then I felt like I was going to throw up so stood up so I could at least get it in the sink and then passed out, hitting my head on the counter and coming to on the floor.  Went to the ER and they did a CT and didn't find anything.  Nothing like that had ever happened to me before so I think it was a combination of being sick with a j pouch.

Thanks for all the responses. I do drink constantly. I have a glass of water by my side at all times. I don't drink sodas at all. It's either water or Crystal light. I haven't had any other episodes but I do get a little dizzy when sitting to standing. I have a dr appointment on Monday. Not sure what she will be able to do since it's been several days since it happened, but my sister is a nurse & she says it's doesn't matter when it happened, it happened. So, hopefully someone will be able to figure it out.

I just have a fear that I'll be walking alone or driving a car & pass out. I will be flying the end of the month (alone) & fear that I may faint in the airport in between getting from one terminal to the other. So, I'm really hoping I can get an answer.  Again, thanks for all your responses!! ;o)

No matter what the response from your doctor you can always ask for handicapped assistance at the airport...that way you are not alone, they can give you a wheelchair (I know, I feel stupid in one but they are very useful when you need them)

Good luck, I hope that you get an answer.

Sharon

I'll try this again: drinking constantly doesn't guarantee adequate hydration for all of us. If you haven't verified that your urine is light colored then you just don't know. You know you've tried but you can't know if you succeeded. Some (not all) people need more aggressive hydration methods, but from what you've written I can't tell if you need them.

 

It sounds like your blood pressure is dropping when you stand up, and you are right to be concerned about the risk of fainting again at a terrible time. Dehydration is just one of the possible causes, though it's especially common in J-pouchers. The doctor can measure "orthostatic" blood pressure, which tests what changes when you stand. Good luck!

You need salt and sugar in your fluids so an oral rehydration solution could work well for you.  Drink, drink, drink, drink, drink.  Keep track of your intake and output to tell your doctor when you see that person.  I think you could also benefit from a 24 hour Holter monitor which monitors your heart rate and rhythm for a 24 hour period.  Even though your tests at the hospital turned out well, they would not have captured a "faint" or syncopal episode to see exactly what your body was doing at that time.

When you go from sitting or lying to standing spend at least 2 minutes in that standing position before you move your feet to start walking.  Take some deep breaths.  Clench and release your thigh muscles a few times.   Once you have been standing for 2 minutes then you can begin to move.

I hope you get to the bottom of this so you can have happy, worry free travels.

The fact that you sometimes feel dizzy changing from sitting to standing is an important clue. You may well have orthostatic hypotension, which is a dramatic drop in BP with position changes. Chronic dehydration can be a factor too. Also, if you have infectious processes going on (like the chronic fistula issues), you may have some systemic effects from that.

 

So be sure to mention the dizziness to your doctor and ask about testing for orthostactic hypotension. It is pretty common.

http://www.merckmanuals.com/ho...ess-when-standing-up

 

Jan

 

Thanks all! I will definitely mention all this to the dr. Appreciate all your help!

Once a year  I would ask for an IV because since my J pouch I am constantly dehydrated. Sometimes I knew when I was at my "close to fainting often"  time and try to beat it head on. Many MD's are reluctant to give you, or not paid by insurance.

For myself, it was worth around $200 to get (only if I was at the end point of water not helping). ND's are more apt to assist on this matter and can add extra nutrients

that you dont always get from food. Use to use Gator aid in the beginning until I found out all the bad ingredients....now I drink 1-2 large glasses of Emergen-C,

many yummy flavors and has kept me from getting the IV's.

Was just thinking....sometimes if I had a blockage, (must be that everything clogs for your body to work correctly). I would feel faint, so at that time would go right to liquids only..have learned to practice deep breathing which really helps too. Breathing from one nostril, then another also helps. I found sometimes I held my breath and did not realize I was doing so until I started yoga.

Gosh, here is another P.S.

I also found during my worst fainting periods (either dehydrated, j pouch blocked, AZ heat, exercise -sometimes not even very much)....found that my lymph nodes were

blocked!  Not everyone knows to   or how to manipulate the lymph areas...look up

The Lymphatic Man online..He was a loss why his wife kept getting dizzy - in a shower, or just getting up, many simple things....finally he found it was blocked lymph glands. He is trying to get the word out there. Someone trained in massage of this area is key.  I also found therapeutic massage has been fantastic for my whole system - wish I would have started this years ago. (not just a spa one, a

true therapeutic massage by a trained professional will open up all areas blocked)