terradactyl

I was just wondering how well any of you were able to tolerate over the counter cold medicines, if they affect your symptoms in any way or anything. I have had three pretty bad colds since January, but I've noticed that during the worst of it when I am kicking back medicine I haven't felt dizzy or passed out once. Even my heartbeat seems pretty normal. When I am not sick I feel awful again, so I am thinking maybe they are helping me. I have low blood pressure/heart rate that seems to cause most of my issues, so maybe the medicine raises blood pressure a little? It's just kind of weird, I am almost tempted to try it when I am not sick and see if it helps at all. Just curious if anyone else has had any experiences with this.

Last night was pretty rough--I had a 4 hour block of college classes that are super important for my major, and about 15 minutes into the second half I felt a headache coming on. For the first hour I was okay and could pay attention, but the headache got worse and in the last half hour I felt really bad. My heart was beating funny and I felt really tremble-y, I was very anxious and my headache was almost blinding. By the end of class I kept going pale and shaky, and I started to lose consciousness even sitting down with every pale spell. I passed out onto the ground twice trying to get home, even with someone walking me, and I've got some pretty nice bruises from the pavement. The only thing that made the headache less severe was to lie down, sitting kept it throbbing and to stand up felt like I was being stabbed in the skull right before I blacked out. Usually I'm not that bad, it was kind of alarming to have it sneak up on me in a public place like that. Last week during the same long block I got a headache and felt pretty symptomatic to a milder degree, so I don't know what the trigger is. While it is usually not that severe, I have noticed a strong correlation to this specific type of headache and my symptoms, especially full-on passing out. It's a really specific pain, always on one side of my head (usually the right side), and almost always in either the front or the back. (The headache last night was centered around the front/right side of my head near my temple/above my eyebrow, but when I woke up it had migrated more to the back of the right side.) There is a combination of a dull pressure that spikes into a really sharp pain when I stand that almost always corresponds to me fainting. My head feels heavy or full, like I am off-balance. It's really weird, and usually if I get a headache like this (like if I go without caffeine) I just stay inside and lie down for a few hours. I have wondered if maybe I get the bad headaches because of the symptoms, but they are definitely connected somehow. I was just wondering if anybody else has had any sort of connection between headaches and symptoms, especially passing out? Just curious if this is something common at all or if it might be something different.

I saw a new doctor this week, but he wasn't willing to prescribe me something before running more tests. He said since my symptoms had been goin on for so long and I was still ok, that one more month to confirm a diagnosis wouldn't hurt. In the meantime all he said was that salt is my friend an to eat as much as I can. The salt advice seems pretty standard, but I was just wondering if anyone on here had seen any improvement in fainting/lightheadedness just from an upped salt/water intake, or how much you had to take in before it made any difference. I want to actually make an effort this time, but I don't wanna go all out if it won't actually help.

Hi! Sorry to hear your son's been having such a hard time. I know that *****. I'm in my third year of school right now, and college has definitely been a different experience than I expected. I haven't been able to stay in any of the club sports I wanted to, my social life is pretty hit or miss based on how I feel, and classes can be a struggle. It doesn't help that I've lost a lot of the routines that helped me stay more stable in high school -I don't sleep enough most nights, I skip meals and don't drink enough fluids, and just generally try to ignore that I can't function the same as everyone else. Definitely doesn't help things, but I think I am doing okay. I have not made any sort of formal arrangements with my school, it isn't something me or my parents ever thought of. I know that not taking too many credits helps. I do put a lot of effort into choosing classes that are at 'good' times and ones that won't have early exams. I still have a hard time with attendance, and sometimes even when I do make it to my lectures I just space out. For me the most important thing is to have a good relationship with my professors, make sure to let them know early on that you are excited about their class and that you want to get as much as you can out of it. Communication is really important so that when things get harder or there are bad days/weeks, they already know that you are serious. Seems to make them a lot more willing to make exceptions or help out when I end up struggling. It's also a really good idea to find a buddy in every class, not a 'hang out all the time' friend, but someone who you can count on to let you borrow notes or let you know what you've missed. I know that I will end up missing classes at some point, so getting someone in the class on facebook or having their number can really help. I think the only other advice I'd have for classes is to not try and 'take it easy' too much on days when you're feeling better. I like to push myself when I can, even if it makes me feel bad after--its better in my opinion to feel bad with all my work done than to feel bad anyway and have a ton of work that I put off. As far as the living situation, I think the dorms are really nice--its easier to justify going to classes when they are only a few minutes' walk, instead of a commute, traffic, and then walking once I got there. Plus it is easier to meet up with professors and classmates, both academically and socially. I know that for me, the academics-focused dorms have been a godsend. They have a lot stricter rules and 24-hour 'quiet hours,' which have been really nice. And they aren't really bad for socializing, even if you wanted to party you could visit a friend in a wilder dorm. If there is any sort of option like that at his college, I'd recommend looking into it. My only issue has been roommates keeping the temperature too high, other than that they have been really understanding of me when I'm not feeling well. If he gets a single room that wouldn't be a problem at all.

Huh, I never really thought about why that might happen, the gravity thing makes a little sense. What about on the way down though? I've always felt dizzy going both ways. I know that I wouldn't be able to crouch or sit because standing up would be even worse than the effect of the elevator, but I have found that just sort of slouching/leaning to support myself on the walls helps a little bit. It's my instinct pretty much anytime I start to feel dizzy or faint, but it seems to help keep it from getting too bad, and it's a fairly good place to regain composure so I can actually walk off the elevator.

Thanks for the replies! That's pretty reassuring... Before I got 'sick' last year, I hadn't been to a doctors office in probably ten years, so it's all still kind of new and stressful. Good to know that it isn't just me who can be uncooperative

They make me dizzy, too. I've always hated elevators because of how weird they make me feel. I used to think I just had a weird phobia before I realized that most people don't feel like that when they ride in an elevator.

Apparently ignoring health problems does not make them go away. :/ I was diagnosed with neurally mediated orthostatic hypotension about 18 months ago, but I never actually got the prescriptions filled or made any follow up visits like the cardiologist wanted me to. Now my symptoms are a lot worse than when I went in the first time, but I am feeling really nervous about trying to move forward with anything. I just feel really stupid that it is my own fault things got worse. I am going to make some calls tomorrow and see what I can do about getting an appointment or something, I'm just really nervous. I don't know why, it isn't like trying to fix things could make them any worse. I just don't wanna get yelled at for being a terrible patient or have 'em make me read old magazines or something. Bah.