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Faint And Intestinal Cramp


mkoven

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I wrote recently about how I wanted to pass out during menstrual cramps. Well, I'm beginning to think any kind of abdominal cramp does the same thing. My stomach has been messed up for a couple days, with intestinal cramping. And every time I try to go to the bathroom to relieve the situaiton (sorry for the detail), I feel like I'm going to pass out.

this is of course very poorly timed as my husband has just left town. I don't really want to be alone on a day when the faintness feels so imminent. and I need to finish getting ready for work.

So maybe it is anything that affects the vagal nerve???

Ideas? I've put my stockings on, had a big glass of salty tomato juice, and I guess will sit on the pot with my head between my knees??? I really don't want to faint on the toilet!!!

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mkoven,

sorry you're dealing with this....perhaps you have that stomach bug that is going around..............sounds like it could be enhanced parasympathetic tone, yes, as you said, from the vagus nerve.......it is fairly common for people, especially the elderly, to have syncopal episodes while going to the bathroom...........they call it "micturation syncope" (basically passing out with urinating, this is most common in middle aged men) and "defecation syncope" (passing out while "bearing down" to pass stool, common in any age range and both male and female).............they call these two types of syncope "situational syncope", occuring as a result of too much parasympathetic tone, increased vagal activation, which in turn causes one to pass out, or feel as if they are going to pass out..........bearing down is the same as performing a valsalva maneuver to slow HR but it also can drop out your BP....be careful not to strain much, even though i know you're trying to "fix" the problem with your stomach/gut.........

hopefully you can avoid passing out and i hope you start feeling better.

-Angela.

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This is something I deal with on a regular basis. It can be embarrassing. I frequently have to stop for a public restroom if we go anywhere and I have my husband hanging outside the door in case I don't come out within a couple mins. NOT FUN-

I have to be careful not to try and wait to use the restroom as this brings on symptoms real quick for me and if I eat certain foods, it will also make it worse.

I am thankful that it is usually just a real bad episode of presyncope and not a total faint! ;)

Some other things that help me are cold wet cloth on my head, leaning head down and often open window for air, even in winter- it helps some-

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Thanks you guys for the feedback! It's a little better today.

I still get frustrated by the variability in my symptoms--some days I feel almost normal and some days I feel like I can't even be upright.

When I explain to my pcp that the only way I can pee (on symptomatic days), is to release a little, stop, release a little, stop, etc, in order to avert a faint from releasing it all at once, he looked pretty amazed. The strategies we come up with! At least I'm getting my kegels in this way!!!!

But it is pretty amazing how many elaborate strategies I have to come up with.

With eds, I have all kinds of strategies, that when explained to others, people can't believe I'd put up with.

My recent strategy for dealing with my bad discs and sciatica is to have a timer ring every 12 minutes at work, so that I change positions. Yes, it's annoying. Yes, it interrupts my concentration. Yes, I miss the days when I could get into the "zone" and work on the computer for large blocks of time. Two of my docs (whom I like) described that as leading me to lead a "restricted life," that isn't really tolerable. But those are my options-- if I want to keep working. Getting through the day feels like one extended obstacle course.

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