Falling/collapsing Without Losing Consciousness

[yogini]

I was wondering whether POTS/low BP has caused any of you to drop to the ground but stay conscious/awake the whole time? Thanks

[SnowDrifter]

I've had to sot down/crouch at times because I can feel something coming on. But I've never consciously collapsed.

What do you mean? Like you are collapsing but cannot move to stop yourself?

[Kay107]

I usually lose consciousness, however there are times where I don't quite lose full consciousness but still lose muscle tone and fall. I assume that is what you mean. My vision usually narrows when that happens but I don't go out completely.

[Angela]

I've never fainted but it causes me to collapse

[looneymom]

This happens to my son when his blood pressure gets too low or when he has been outside too long in the warmer weather. He has not fainted but he looks pretty pale before it happens. Last summer, he could feel it coming on and was able to give me some type of warning before it happened.

[Tobiano]

I faint, although much less often now that I am more familiar with the warning signs. Other times I am very tachycardic and my legs just give out. I must fall in a similar way each time because I end up with bruises in the same spot. Sometimes I will fall completely to the ground and other times I make it to my knees and get stuck in sitting. During tachy episodes my muscles tend to go rigid so it’s very hard to move out of whatever position I land in. Sometimes I am aware of the entire episode and other times I have patchy awareness. It just depends on how severe the episode is.

[yogini]

Thanks, happened to one of my family members this week. Foud out today from Dr it was due to low BP. It happened to me once but my body went into convulsions so I wasn't sure.

[dianne.fraser]

Yogini

This used to happen to me way back when I still exercised - I would slump over about 90 minutes afterwards, but remain completely conscious. Eventually, it was found that my blood pressure was collapsing during my 'slumps', then recovering after 4-5 minutes. More recently, a geneticist has suggested that it is caused by a rare neuromuscular disease that sees sudden changes in my potassium levels - something called periodic hyperkalemic or hypokalemic paralysis. The sudden changes in potassium levels are brought on by a few different things, including resting after exercise.

Dianne

[Mytwogirlsrox]

Have you guys heard of cataplexy?

[Mytwogirlsrox]

It happens in narcolepsy but has to do with the same neurotransmitters were dealing with & treatment is similar

[Charlotte1]

@Mytwogirlsrox - I believe I have cataplexy.I didn't know that was the name for it until recently when it started happening again while walking and I found it on google. Its happend now 3x in one week. Its very frightening as I don't have any other symptoms occurring at the time (ie the tachycardia of Pots is under control now and my brain fog issues are intermittent, but hypotension is chronic issue).

I've had full out collapses to the ground , but always conscious and the 'feeling' differs for the presyncope I'd experience with POTS. Other times I don't collapse but instead my walking turns into an extremely slow, almost Parkinsonian type of walk and I must shuffle to get back to the house from a short walk. But then yesterday, I just STOPPED suddenly, dead in my tracks, and stood still for a few minutes very conscious of what was happening but couldn't get my legs to step forward. I fear MS but have told I have no brain lesions to support that. Have also wondered about myasthenia gravis but don't seem to have enough symptoms for it to be that either.

do you or anybody here know much about what might be going on with symptoms such as what I've described? Could hypoxia from low blood pressure cause symptoms that severe?

dx POTS 18 months ago; waiting for my app't re : dx of EDS and MCAS. I am not sleepy during day so doubtful of narclepsy although I do have other sleeping issues.

any insight would be appreciated.

[E Soskis]

Oh yeah - down I go - fully awake and aware that my blood pressure is quite low. During my tilt table test, my BP dropped to 40 systolic and my heart rate was 20 and I was still conscious - barely but, I remember everything! I know I can still walk around with a systolic BP of 60 - I think we develop a tolerance to the low BP more so than people who never have low BP then drop with it suddenly: they wilt and we just get fuzzy-brained!

[Charlotte1]

what about if the blood pressure isn't registering low at the time of the cataplexy? Anyone know what that could be about? Do we just chalk it up to good ol' dysautonomia, again?

[Katybug]

I have my knees buckle every once in a while with an attack of presyncope but I stay conscious. Separately, I am concerned I have cataplexy. I have already been diagnosed with daytime hypersomnia. I go to the new sleep doc next week for my second appt and am going to describe to her what happens to me and see if that fits cataplexy. I suddenly become so tired I feel like my body is going to collapse if I don't lay down....like I will lose control over my body if I don't heed the warning and lie down and sleep. But it's different than presyncope.

[Charlotte1]

@Katybug- I don't have the hypersomnia but its strange that I did many years ago when i didn't have the cataplexy! So it seems I've had both disorders but not in the same time frame. Early in my marriage there were times I was sitting at the table and my head would literally drop onto my plate! I would just wake up within a few minutes and carry on with dinner although my husband was finished his by then!

It was so bizarre to us at that time b/c back then there weren't personal computers and no way to do a quick google searches (I'm dating myself). It never caused a problem for me so I didn't go to the doctor but I'm guessing I had narcolepsy.

But what I have going on now resembles the cataplexy without any known triggers (emotion/foods) and without the narcolepsy.

Definitely, for me anyway, it is very much a sudden, intense 'physical weakness' of my legs which is very different than the presyncope which involves intense brain fog and a 'drunk' feeling. I must sit on the ground or shuffle to safety as quick as possible. Not sure what treatment is out there for this, especially when not dx ??

Ha, most of the general public will never experience any of the above but its pretty normal for us with dysautonomia to get so many different and odd symptoms.

[DrDiana]

Hi Yogini,

That sounds exactly like cataplexy -- not uncommon with us. It is sort of similar to "fainting goats" (have you ever heard of those?).

Some people have narcolepsy with it, but not all. Do you have any signs of high intracranial pressure (the feeling of fullness in your head, nausea, dizziness, vertigo, sensitivity to sound, light, motion and/or stress, tremors -- worsening with Valsalva (straining), do you get motion-sick easily? All can be signs of slightly increased intracranial pressure. I just wonder if that is the cause of your cataplexy....

[Melek90]

@yogini I get this every time, at first it were terrifying not being able to see,move or do anything, only hear everything round me, and not understand why this were happening. A lot of times I’d hear ppl talk negative about me during a collapse, it were funny cause theyd not know I could hear , their faces were a picture when I tell them after lol..suppose it had it’s upsides. But I’ve had CFS and POTs now since 2014, took years to diagnose, my consultant is still baffled by my stroke like symptoms of my face pre episode though, which is worrying. I’m glad I’m not the only person to collapse and still be conscious though! I always thought it were me just being weird 😖

[CallieAndToby]

This is very complex disorders. I will say that when there isn't enough blood circulation going to the brain, I've stood up and gotten very weak and collapsed on the tile floor. 

Edited January 27, 2021 by CallieAndToby22
mentioning doctor

[Poppop]

I do and have many times. Mine usually happens when I get out of bed or if I stand in one position too long. My entire body collapses to the ground within 1 minute of the weird feeling and cold sweats that come over my body. I can only function my eyes and can see and hear everything.  The episodes last from 10 minutes to over an hour.  I have had several of these that have caused severe injuries.  I have been having these for over 20 years. I have POTS and Autonomic Neuropathy and both are still considered Idiopathic and took 10 years to properly diagnose. 
These episodes are very scary because they imitate the exact same symptoms of Locked In Syndrome.