passed out last night.

[ericaj]

I just really have a question... last night around 3:00 am I passed out/fainted I think only for a few seconds but can anyone tell me why this happens?

My EP drs. office called me this afternoon asking if I had any episodes around then recorded and while I didnt have one from the actual incident there where 2 I had recorded from earlier with episodes of skipped/extra beats. Will this give any incite into why I fainted? .. This hadnt ever happened to me before the fainting that is.

Last week my ep dr. had put me on flecainide and took me off of the cardizem and digoxin but then this past monday I had to stop the flecainide b/c of worsening symptoms + bad sob. he put me back on cardizem and cut teh toprol dose would or could that have anything to do with this all??

thanks,
Erica

 

[bvdr]

Erica,

I would think that an arrhythmia would be the most likely cause of you fainting. And it is possible that changing your medication around has made you more prone to have ectopic (abnormal) beats.

Your episode happened at three AM? How did you know you had it? Did you fall? Anything else unusual?

 

[Marguerite53]

Hmmm.

Hmmm.

Hm. I'm still pre-surgery, but I do know that my cardiologist was very insistent that I not get to a point of passing out. His feeling was that that was a very serious sign. Perhaps you need a new echo done to confirm that nothing has progressed suddenly??

Hopefully others with more experience will chime in soon. If it were me, I'd be concerned enough to ask a lot more questions of my doctor.

Marguerite

 

[Harpoon]

Why did they take you off the digoxin????


That seems to be one of the meds of choice for controlling arhythmias, I've been on it for years and I notice some big changes in how I feel (and how my heart acts) when I miss a dose...

 

[JimL]

A cardiologist told me a couple years ago that I didn't need to take digoxin anymore, and to just stop taking it. That was in my case bad advice, since I began having bad arrhythmias the day after I stopped taking it.

When I stopped taking the digoxin, I very gradually weaned myself off it. It is very good medicine, but I don't think it should just be stopped.

 

[Nancy]

Any fainting episode should not be taken lightly. The causes could be numerous, medication changes, slow heart rate, arrhythmias, positional things like getting up too fast from a sitting or lying position and probably some other things.

Insist on getting to the bottom of the problem. You don't want to be fainting when driving or crossing the street or going down stairs.

My husband has had several faints in the past, caused from a slow heart rate. He had a pacemaker implanted. He hasn't fainted since.

 

[Karlynn]

Did your doctor wean you off the digoxin or just have you stop it all at once? If he had you stop it all at once that may be the cause, and it also may be the cause for the flecainide seeming not to help. When someone is stopped "cold turkey" from digoxin it can have bad rebound effect sending the heart into some nasty arrhythmia. I know this first hand. It was done once to me by a doctor that didn't know his $%# from a hole in the ground (I also fainted) I had it done a second time intentionally by my cardiologist who wanted to record my arrhythmia. Big note here: he admitted me to the CICU in order to do this and kept me there for a week. (Arrhythmia was my worst symptom before my MVR)

 

[ericaj]

tests

tests

Hi,

Thanks for the advice.. I did just get off the phone from my EP drs. office with the clinical nurse and they are going ahead and scheduling a tilt table test, ep study and possibly an implantable device for long term monitoring of this rhythm stuff .. something that records longer periods of than the loop recorder..

Can anyone tell me about this last test?? Ever had it? Is ot like a [pacemaker?

thanks,
Erica

 

[tobagotwo]

Abbanabba is our resident expert on the Tilt Table Test. She's not the only member who's had one, but she seems to have fought harder to get one than anyone I've heard about...

Just some devil's advocacy...

You have testimony from two people that going suddenly off of Digoxin can cause big issues, including fainting. You were just taken off of Digoxin - in fact, you've just had several, rapid-fire, dramatic prescription swaps.

I certainly don't think fainting can be taken lightly, but have to wonder whether some of this sudden testing escalation is actually relevent (you already know you have arrhythmias), or just a waste of your good time.

Did the doctor's office even ackowledge that fainting can be resultant from the sudden removal of Digoxin? Have they considered it as a likely causation? Or are they just going to keep you busy with new tests, to avoid embarrassing questions about it, or to show that they're "doing something" about it?

I find that some doctors proffer tests as a way of keeping you at arm's reach, when they don't know an answer, or when they want to take your attention off of their errors. The Tilt Table test is harmless. But will the new recorder tests honestly be able to tell them anything they don't already know? I'd want to know that, if someone suggested that I have something implanted.

This isn't actually intended to be any accusation regarding your doctors. Just some questions and a mention that there are warning flags on the road...

Best wishes,

 

[Harpoon]

What tobago said...

I don't hear anything suggesting the docs are considering going off the "didge" cold turkey as a possible explaination for the fainting...


I've never been off mine for more than a day and even then I don't feel all that great and I can tell when I've missed a dose.

It's great stuff, but it's fussy and you have to monitor some of your blood chemistry, specifically potassium levels, while you're on it.


Suddenly going off the stuff can throw that chemistry out of whack and that can lead to some rather hairy consequences for your heart.


Most people that I know that have gone off it have done so gradually, reducing the dose that they take over a period of weeks or months but never really stopping their daily dosage outright. Most people that I know that are on it are on it for life, as I am, and that's perfgectly fine as long as you're getting regular bloodwork to make sure the levels are OK and not mucking up your system.


And I ask again:

Why did they take you off of it in the first place??????

 

[Abbanabba]

Abbanabba is our resident expert on the Tilt Table Test. She's not the only member who's had one, but she seems to have fought harder to get one than anyone I've heard about...

Actually, the clown who was SUPPOSED to do the test never did it - he just drew some conclusions from what his intern related back to him because he never bothered to actually talk to me himself

However, I managed to acquire a relatively inexpensive BP monitor and have been keeping an eye on things with that. I can pretty much guarantee that whenever I start getting bad dizzy spells again that my BP has dropped, so I've taken to increasing my salt a little to help (..I don't tend to have much salt in my diet so perhaps that's half my problem..).

Anyway, I guess I really can't tell anyone anything about either a tilt-table test OR the implantable recorder.

Erica -
I hope they're able to find something with the tilt test. My stepmother had some nasty fainting episodes (..she broke her nose one night in the bathroom when she fell face-first onto the tiles!..) and after FINALLY finding someone to do the tilt test they found out she her heart was stopping for up to 25 seconds when she stood up too fast, etc. Apparently there's a receptor which increases your heart-rate when it's required and her's was faulty. They ended up putting in a pacemaker and she's never looked back. She says she feels 40 years younger!!

Incidentally, her 40y/o daughter has also had a pacemaker installed, but I think she stuffed her heart up with a combination of an eating disorder and an intense training schedule (..she used to train with the SAS guys..). I'm sure we've all heard of elite athletes who end up with heart-block from pushing themselves too hard...... but then it could also be hereditary..!

Anyway, good luck with your tests. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that it's something "simple".

All the best
Anna : )

 

[Carol]

A few years ago I was in a department store when I started to feel really dizzy. I was wearing a monitor at the time, so I pushed the button. After I pushed the button everything went black, and just a second later I was fine. Alittle shaken up. I must of not went out completely, as everything was going black I grab on to my husband. Come to find out I had some v-tach and ended up in the hospital for an angiogram and an ep study. They thought that they were going to have to implant a defibrilator, but I fell short of the criteria to have one implanted for my insurance to pay. They have told me if it ever happens again, v-tach, they will automatically implant the defibrilator. I was told by my cardiologist that having v-tach with fainting or irregular heart rate is common for MVP.

 

[ericaj]

about all this

about all this

You know -- the only thing that has been said as far as it goes with the Dig. and meds changes is that it must have been a reaction to the Flecainide. So i'll certainly ask them that when I talk to them on monday. I am not really mad w/the doctors just more frustrated. And honestly my cardiologist, boy friend, and family dr. all wanted the ep study and/or something done so as to try and come down to the bottom of this all since it has been going on for awhile. Just the passing out is new. I was just curious about these tests I think they are scheduling them all but they also will only do the ep/inplantable device if the tilt doesnt show anything..

thanks everyone for all the advice.
will keep you posted, over the weekend and as for a test date.

Erica