Syncope?

[jenhum]

I have had several episodes in the last 5 years where I'm coughing hard and all of the sudden my legs go numb, I get tunnel vision for about an hour, and I am dizzy, nauseous and have a bad headache.

The day after Thanksgiving, I was coughing, and I felt my legs go numb, but then that's the last thing I remember. I passed out and fell backwards out of my chair. My mom came downstairs about a minute later and found me, and she said I was rigid and struggling to breathe. Right after she came down, my nose started gushing blood (although I fell backwards and did not hit my nose) and I was still unconscious and choking on it. They rolled me to my side and I came to a couple of minutes later, but it was very scary. It really freaks me out to think of what might have happened if I had been alone.

I'm in the hospital now for IV's, and they are trying to figure out why I fainted (most likely low blood pressure that got way too low when I coughed). But I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this and what your doctors told you. It makes me very afraid to cough, since I am alone with my daughter the majority of the time.

 

[jenhum]

I have had several episodes in the last 5 years where I'm coughing hard and all of the sudden my legs go numb, I get tunnel vision for about an hour, and I am dizzy, nauseous and have a bad headache.

The day after Thanksgiving, I was coughing, and I felt my legs go numb, but then that's the last thing I remember. I passed out and fell backwards out of my chair. My mom came downstairs about a minute later and found me, and she said I was rigid and struggling to breathe. Right after she came down, my nose started gushing blood (although I fell backwards and did not hit my nose) and I was still unconscious and choking on it. They rolled me to my side and I came to a couple of minutes later, but it was very scary. It really freaks me out to think of what might have happened if I had been alone.

I'm in the hospital now for IV's, and they are trying to figure out why I fainted (most likely low blood pressure that got way too low when I coughed). But I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this and what your doctors told you. It makes me very afraid to cough, since I am alone with my daughter the majority of the time.

 

[jenhum]

I have had several episodes in the last 5 years where I'm coughing hard and all of the sudden my legs go numb, I get tunnel vision for about an hour, and I am dizzy, nauseous and have a bad headache.
<br />
<br />The day after Thanksgiving, I was coughing, and I felt my legs go numb, but then that's the last thing I remember. I passed out and fell backwards out of my chair. My mom came downstairs about a minute later and found me, and she said I was rigid and struggling to breathe. Right after she came down, my nose started gushing blood (although I fell backwards and did not hit my nose) and I was still unconscious and choking on it. They rolled me to my side and I came to a couple of minutes later, but it was very scary. It really freaks me out to think of what might have happened if I had been alone.
<br />
<br />I'm in the hospital now for IV's, and they are trying to figure out why I fainted (most likely low blood pressure that got way too low when I coughed). But I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this and what your doctors told you. It makes me very afraid to cough, since I am alone with my daughter the majority of the time.

 

[LouLou]

How frightening! Have they talked about ways you could increase your blood pressure...staying well hydrated and eating red meat I believe are two things I have been told to do for this problem. How's your iron level? Red meat will help this too.

 

[LouLou]

How frightening! Have they talked about ways you could increase your blood pressure...staying well hydrated and eating red meat I believe are two things I have been told to do for this problem. How's your iron level? Red meat will help this too.

 

[LouLou]

How frightening! Have they talked about ways you could increase your blood pressure...staying well hydrated and eating red meat I believe are two things I have been told to do for this problem. How's your iron level? Red meat will help this too.

 

[jenhum]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>LouLou</b></i>

How frightening! Have they talked about ways you could increase your blood pressure...staying well hydrated and eating red meat I believe are two things I have been told to do for this problem. How's your iron level? Red meat will help this too.</end quote></div>

Thanks LouLou. My iron actually was a tiny bit low when I checked in, so I've started iron pills. I do eat a decent amount of red meat, but I am not so good at staying well hydrated, so I am definitely going to change that. A friend of mine with low blood pressure is on salt tablets, so I think I'm going to ask about that as well (even though I already salt the crap out of everything b/c of cf!).

 

[jenhum]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>LouLou</b></i>

How frightening! Have they talked about ways you could increase your blood pressure...staying well hydrated and eating red meat I believe are two things I have been told to do for this problem. How's your iron level? Red meat will help this too.</end quote>

Thanks LouLou. My iron actually was a tiny bit low when I checked in, so I've started iron pills. I do eat a decent amount of red meat, but I am not so good at staying well hydrated, so I am definitely going to change that. A friend of mine with low blood pressure is on salt tablets, so I think I'm going to ask about that as well (even though I already salt the crap out of everything b/c of cf!).

 

[jenhum]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>LouLou</b></i>
<br />
<br />How frightening! Have they talked about ways you could increase your blood pressure...staying well hydrated and eating red meat I believe are two things I have been told to do for this problem. How's your iron level? Red meat will help this too.</end quote>
<br />
<br />Thanks LouLou. My iron actually was a tiny bit low when I checked in, so I've started iron pills. I do eat a decent amount of red meat, but I am not so good at staying well hydrated, so I am definitely going to change that. A friend of mine with low blood pressure is on salt tablets, so I think I'm going to ask about that as well (even though I already salt the crap out of everything b/c of cf!).

 

[rubyroselee]

Hey Jen,

How scary! Well, when I am coughing hard, I definitely feel strange sometimes. I even think I've experienced the leg numbness thing too. But there are times when I cough so hard that I give myself a horrible headache. It happened the other day and I think I saw stars.

Could it have been your blood sugar? Do you ever have problems with that? Hopefully they can figure it out and I surely hope it doesn't happen again!

 

[rubyroselee]

Hey Jen,

How scary! Well, when I am coughing hard, I definitely feel strange sometimes. I even think I've experienced the leg numbness thing too. But there are times when I cough so hard that I give myself a horrible headache. It happened the other day and I think I saw stars.

Could it have been your blood sugar? Do you ever have problems with that? Hopefully they can figure it out and I surely hope it doesn't happen again!

 

[rubyroselee]

Hey Jen,
<br />
<br />How scary! Well, when I am coughing hard, I definitely feel strange sometimes. I even think I've experienced the leg numbness thing too. But there are times when I cough so hard that I give myself a horrible headache. It happened the other day and I think I saw stars.
<br />
<br />Could it have been your blood sugar? Do you ever have problems with that? Hopefully they can figure it out and I surely hope it doesn't happen again!

 

[just1more]

Check out <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.stars.org.uk/">http://www.stars.org.uk/</a> chances are you might find something that will give you a direction.

2 of my kids have what is call RAS (reflex anoxic syncope); what happens is something triggers your vegus nerve and you pass out. There is then often a recovery phase that sounds just like what you describe. Both of mine are triggered by hitting the back of their head (like falling out of a chair); my oldest dau was dx'd by a neurologist years ago or we would have no idea.

It is possible your coughing is triggering an episode as from that point it sounds eerily similar, down to the 'seizure-like symptoms' and the period afterward.

 

[just1more]

Check out <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.stars.org.uk/">http://www.stars.org.uk/</a> chances are you might find something that will give you a direction.

2 of my kids have what is call RAS (reflex anoxic syncope); what happens is something triggers your vegus nerve and you pass out. There is then often a recovery phase that sounds just like what you describe. Both of mine are triggered by hitting the back of their head (like falling out of a chair); my oldest dau was dx'd by a neurologist years ago or we would have no idea.

It is possible your coughing is triggering an episode as from that point it sounds eerily similar, down to the 'seizure-like symptoms' and the period afterward.

 

[just1more]

Check out <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.stars.org.uk/">http://www.stars.org.uk/</a> chances are you might find something that will give you a direction.
<br />
<br />2 of my kids have what is call RAS (reflex anoxic syncope); what happens is something triggers your vegus nerve and you pass out. There is then often a recovery phase that sounds just like what you describe. Both of mine are triggered by hitting the back of their head (like falling out of a chair); my oldest dau was dx'd by a neurologist years ago or we would have no idea.
<br />
<br />It is possible your coughing is triggering an episode as from that point it sounds eerily similar, down to the 'seizure-like symptoms' and the period afterward.

 

[scanboyd]

This has happened to me, the almsot passing out(black out for a second or two) and seizure like activity on side of body after hard coughing. But went away as fast as it came on. This has happed before when I do pfts and blow out hard and long.

 

[scanboyd]

This has happened to me, the almsot passing out(black out for a second or two) and seizure like activity on side of body after hard coughing. But went away as fast as it came on. This has happed before when I do pfts and blow out hard and long.

 

[scanboyd]

This has happened to me, the almsot passing out(black out for a second or two) and seizure like activity on side of body after hard coughing. But went away as fast as it came on. This has happed before when I do pfts and blow out hard and long.

 

[jenhum]

Thanks everyone. They have run all kinds of tests on me and of course everything is coming back normal (which is good I guess, just doesn't help me figure out how to prevent this in the future).

just1more- thank you for that link, that is very interesting. I'm going to look into that a bit more. It just seemed like a little more than a normal fainting episode, so I want to make sure I look into every possibility.

 

[jenhum]

Thanks everyone. They have run all kinds of tests on me and of course everything is coming back normal (which is good I guess, just doesn't help me figure out how to prevent this in the future).

just1more- thank you for that link, that is very interesting. I'm going to look into that a bit more. It just seemed like a little more than a normal fainting episode, so I want to make sure I look into every possibility.