Posted by Racer on October 24, 2000, at 18:53:42
In reply to Re: Fainting » noa, posted by Racer on October 24, 2000, at 18:44:15
Duh, forgot to mention this part:
I have fainted in dangerous situations, and it's terrible. I've fainted in public places, on busses, on horseback (!!), and in the shower. The scariest part about fainting in public is that my fight or flight reflex kicked in, and I was basically trying to run away to be alone when it happened. Think about the danger in that! One of the fainting on the bus incidents happened when I could feel it coming on, and tried to get off the crowded bus. Fortunately, the bus had just gone past UCSF and a resident saw me and recognised the symptoms -- she stopped me getting off the bus, and shook me back to conciousness. Still, if she hadn't, I could have been lying on the street for a long time.
Another time, I got hit by vertigo in downtown San Francisco on my way home from work. I was just over a cold, and my ears had gotten infected, and this was the first attack of vertigo I'd ever had. Suddenly I lurched across the sidewalk, grabbed onto a brick in a wall, and tried to get help. You know what? No one would help me. I used all the techniques I've been told to use in an emergency: "Miss, in the red sweater, will you call an ambulance", etc. You know, specify a person, speak directly to one person rather than a group, but it seemed that everyone assumed I was drunk, or high, or nuts, and no one would even look at me. Thankfully, that was vertigo and not fainting, but it was still terrifying. The point is, if it happens outside, don't expect help. So, find out what the problem is, fix it, and don't go out alone until you do.
The times I've fainted in the showers, it's ALWAYS been hypoglycemia. The trouble stopped when I changed my habits and started eating breakfast BEFORE my shower, with no fruit juice. The fainting started because of a variation on Dawn Phenomena. I would get up, my blood sugar would be high, and in the shower my sugar would drop rapidly, and I'd faint. Scary as hell, especially when you come to and realize what MIGHT have happened...
poster:Racer
thread:47237
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001022/msgs/47275.html