fainted outside

[gertie]

Have any of you passed out while outside?  After working outside in yard for a few min  I decided to water plants & come inside.  I didn't feel overheated but when I started for inside my house my vision turned gray & I knew I was going down.  I made it inside the garage but did not make it inside house before I collapsed & when I came to my hair was drenched & it took me awhile before I could get inside house where it was cool.  I've passed out a lot in my life but always inside where I could get to a chair or bed. For some reason this was the most disturbing.  I live in rural area so there's a lot to do outside in the summer. Now I'm not comfortable going outside at all. I've had dysautonomia many years & never had this problem with the heat.   How would you handle this?  Thanks.

[RecipeForDisaster]

Many times… my most dreaded places are the rare times I’m somewhere without my nurse husband, and in public. On pavement at a class or exposition… more than once! It doesn’t even have to be hot, although it makes this more likely.

 

I also passed out in the car not too long ago, and I was upset because I couldn’t put my feet up or lay as flat as I wanted. My husband was driving and I felt like I just couldn’t get the care I needed because we were in the car.

[p8d]

I am sorry this happened, it sounds truly frightening. I tolerate hot weather worse as I get older and have come closest to fainting in this environment but so far have avoided it. I have found an abdominal binder helps and just avoiding being outside if it’s really hot and humid. I know that’s not always an option. 

[CallieAndToby]

Yes I have passed out outside. I was on the couch and a family member called me out to help him with something, I was just standing there and my hearing left first and then everything went black. I woke up on the grass with my dog and him him over me asking if I was okay. I guess if you're feeling weird I would just lay down on the grass, that's what I do now or the ground, or try sitting down first. I have a chair now on my back porch that is totally flat and I lay down on it supine. Sorry it happened can't really explain why. 

[Pistol]

@gertie - I have passed out inside, outside, half way in, half way out ... the time that reminds me the most of your experience is when I was in my garden tearing out dead tomato plants ( this was before I learned my limits, lol ) and remember feeling it coming on but thinking "just one more plant then I'm done .." and then I woke up to my dog licking my face. My husband says the dog came running to the door barking, alerting him that something was wrong, and when he came out I was already sitting up, with the dog running wildly around me. --- I have also passed out while hanging clothes on the line, just walking and also watering the garden ( this is only the times I did it when it was summer, and it was outside. ) I now barely ever pass out anymore, partly due to being better controlled on meds and partly because I will get to the floor before I loose consciousness. 

[MikeO]

@gertieI have passed outside as well. IMO was due to high heat. went full syncope with no recollection as to what happened prior to the event. as @Pistolhas mentioned has done better with the med changes as well.  Knowing when to get to the floor works.

[gertie]

Thanks for your replies.  I'm sorry you're going through this.  I don't feel alone.  The med I was given I couldn't take because of its interferrence with my other health problems.  

[Rexie]

Sorry this happened to you, must have been scary! I haven't fainted since starting ashwagandha in 2017 - it keeps me sort of functioning and upright (with a few near misses with white outs) even at low blood pressures (60/40). I do use hydrocortisone as a low blood pressure remedy. Once down, my blood pressure will not come up by itself. I remember my first faint - so rude! Took hours to get it together to go for stitches in a deep gash over my eye. The ER did do a nice job with full work up (all I wanted was stitches) which gave me my first clues to autonomic dysfunction. 

I am glad you posted.  The mind is a funny thing. I always assumed I'd be able to get inside if feeling faint outside, probably because my few faintings have been inside and I have become so acclimated to being "off" it doesn't occur to me that bp is low and I might be in danger. Last year I did look into smart watches with fall alert but gave that up not knowing who I'd want to be alerted to rescue me, and because I hate wearing watches. I have been working this summer to modify my habits and be more cautious in the heat (always a bp downer for me). But sometimes you do just want to do one more thing or get yard and garden stuff done right yourself.  Thanks for the reminder to be careful. Life is full of compromises, some more agreeable than others. Take care yourself! 

[gertie]

Thanks Rexie,  Do you take hydrocortisone as needed when BP falls or do you take it daily?  I have been given fludrocortisone to dake daily but I had too many side effects from it.  I'll check out   the ashwagandha.  

[toomanyproblems]

I'm not saying don't do what works for you Rexie because you obviously got this from a doc but as someone who's pretty well versed in the use of steroids both through experience and education hydrocortisone is not a typical med to take for low BP. So please others be aware it's not a go to med for low BP. It will raise your BP but there are a lot of problems with using steroid in this manner. Some of them long lasting. As in it can suppress your adrenal function and cause secondary adrenal insufficiency, which may cause you to have to take replacement steroid for the rest of your life. Not a good thing, speaking as someone with primary adrenal insufficiency (Addison's) who's been on it 30 plus years. It also causes immunosuppression. And more. It's not to be taken lightly.

[Rexie]

Hi @gertie! Thanks for your concern @toomanyproblems I was first diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency in 1973 (after I came back to the US from music school in Austria) and up until last year required either hydrocortisone or prednisone daily under doctor supervision. With improvements in this area, verified carefully by my very good endocrinologist and testing every 6 months (bone density, for example, has actually improved to the point of normal), my hydrocortisone use is now on an 'as needed' basis (2.5-15 mg once in awhile, sometimes more if I'm sick with something standard, will probably not cause me much, if any, immunosuppression). I have some serious autonomic and neuro issues now that I never had before and summer heat is an issue for me as is my continuous self-challenging that I often overdo. Apparently I have adequate endocrine function for normal light activity days in the cool but need extra help in times of physical or emotional stress. I have also worked hard to overcome PTSD, shown to augment sympathetic reactivity to daily stressors, especially in women. My endocrinologist is as frustrated as I am with lack of further support from my neuro "care team" members and had a bit of rant our last visit about this "off-label" use of hydrocortisone for low blood pressure (I mention it here not as an advocate of its casual use but in passing in this group, as in letting you all know how I am staying alive and functioning). My new PCP is supportive in general and is quite a bright gal, and I think finally past trying to fix me totally, and I do enjoy her encouragement to better life choices for managing symptoms, eating healthy, exercising more, and her help with pain management (low-dose tramadol - my request). I am currently experimenting with some essential oils that increase blood pressure without undue side effects, such as rosemary oil (topical delivery), and others. Whatever is going on with me is getting worse but I am happier with less pain and have been more physically and mentally active and more engaged with others in spite of it all and continue to run my own business, take care of my house, pets, yard & gardens, etc. alone. I came out of Lyme disease after 16 1/2 years, survived and came pretty much out of HSV-1 encephalitis that occurred in 2012, and hope to keep on living awhile longer with my current health challenges. A sense of humor and a 'go with what you've got' attitude help immensely. I have a BS in chemistry, a high IQ, and love researching things that might be of use to myself or others. One of my first questions and point of departure about products, substances, prescriptions, etc., is always "Is it safe? What is the risk/benefit ratio"?

 I'm as right as I'm going to be tonight after a long, busy day outside the home (without need for hydrocortisone). Hope everyone else is good, too!