![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Deneb on July 14, 2010, at 16:56:32
I was sleeping and I woke up with tachycardia. I confirmed the tachycardia with my blood pressure monitor 98/58 with 108 bpm. I may have been having a nightmare.
Then I got out of bed and walked a bit before I blacked out. I'm not entirely sure whether or not I actually lost consciousness because I felt my face hitting the carpet. I was alone with this happened and I'm fine.
Should I be concerned? Should I take a propranolol?
Posted by emilyp on July 14, 2010, at 17:34:56
In reply to Tachycardia then fainting, posted by Deneb on July 14, 2010, at 16:56:32
Not to sound like a broken record but you need to talk to your doctor. Asking this group is not really going to solve the problem. Why won't you call the doctor? Learning to talk to a doctor is an important skill. It does not help to avoid it.
One of two things could happen if you don't talk to your doctor:
1. There is something wrong and it is not discovered until it is too late.
2. There is nothing wrong but you ask the same question over and over and people ignore you (like the boy who cried wolf).
And while I don't know for sure, I don't think you should take propanolol.
Posted by Deneb on July 14, 2010, at 17:41:22
In reply to Re: Tachycardia then fainting, posted by emilyp on July 14, 2010, at 17:34:56
:-(
I'm sorry. I won't ask again. It's just my doctor doesn't seem worried and meanwhile I have no where to go with my fears.
My doctor didn't explain anything to me.
Maybe I'll call a nurse.
Sorry.
Posted by Deneb on July 14, 2010, at 18:15:04
In reply to Re: Tachycardia then fainting, posted by Deneb on July 14, 2010, at 17:41:22
I don't think that is necessary.
I'm kind of scared, but more scared to go to the hospital.
Anyways, I'm not going to the hospital.
I'll be OK, I know it.
Posted by emilyp on July 14, 2010, at 19:16:22
In reply to The nurse told me to go to the hospital now, posted by Deneb on July 14, 2010, at 18:15:04
You don't need to apologize. It is just that this seems to be an on-going issue for you - both the physical issue and the issue of talking to doctors. You may want to find a doctor that you can relate to better and one that will take the time to explain to you what is going on. That should help with your fears when something physical does happen. Just my two cents
Posted by Deneb on July 14, 2010, at 19:31:08
In reply to Re: The nurse told me to go to the hospital now, posted by emilyp on July 14, 2010, at 19:16:22
Thanks emily.
I regret calling the nurse this time because usually they just tell me to see a doctor in 2 weeks so it is not a big deal.
Maybe I'll go to the walk in clinic tomorrow to alleviate my fears.
Posted by Phillipa on July 15, 2010, at 0:42:58
In reply to Re: The nurse told me to go to the hospital now » emilyp, posted by Deneb on July 14, 2010, at 19:31:08
Maybe you need blood work could your electrolytes be off? Phillipa
Posted by Deneb on July 15, 2010, at 14:40:24
In reply to Re: The nurse told me to go to the hospital now » Deneb, posted by Phillipa on July 15, 2010, at 0:42:58
Anyways, this is the 3rd doctor who is not anxious about my fainting. GP, pdoc and walk in clinic doctor are all not concerned. I think I can trust that I am not going to drop dead.
Walk in clinic doc was pretty thorough though. He listened to my heart, did something with my back, took my blood pressure sitting and standing, and ordered CBC and ECG. I didn't know about the ECG until the person who took my blood told me that was next. Anyways, so I had a redundant test done. I was taken by surprise, I hope it doesn't cost a lot of money. I don't pay for it, but still, I don't want unnecessary tests. Well, at least this is all cheaper than a trip to the ER.
Anyways, I just have to drink more water and eat more salt.
Posted by obafgkm on July 19, 2010, at 21:27:40
In reply to I went to the walk in clinic, posted by Deneb on July 15, 2010, at 14:40:24
Hi Deneb,
I may be oversensitive about the condition I'm about to mention, because I have a large family history of it. I don't mean to alarm or scare you, especially if you feel you've already resolved the issue, or if it's a non-repeating issue. However, if you have a family history of cardiac issues or sudden and unexplained death, or if this repeats itself, you may want to mention Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome to your doctor and see how s/he responds. It probably is just a hydration issue like they are saying, or has some other completely innocent explanation. But I feel like I ought to mention/explain this (rather unlikely) possibility.
Wolff-Parkinson-White is a cardiac arrhythmia caused by an extra electrical pathway in the heart. People are born with the condition. The typical symptoms are repeated incidents of tachycardia and dizziness, sometimes with increased anxiety, often leading to fainting spells. The condition is usually diagnosed in the teen years or early twenties, but sufferers often have an increase of symptoms in middle age as well. It can lie dormant for years before going noticed. Many sites will tell you that the arrhythmia is provoked by exercise, but from my experience, this isn't so. My mother could simply be getting out of bed in the morning or be out shopping, and she'd suddenly faint - especially as she got older. She visited many doctors who dismissed her as simply needing to drink more water or eat more salty foods in spite of the fact that she was already diagnosed with this condition before one took her seriously and decided to investigate it further.
Unfortunately, doctors can't diagnose this from a single EKG, unless they get pretty lucky. It's more typical that the diagnosis comes after a long-term monitoring, with a Holter monitor or other portable EKG device that is worn for a few days. I've gone through the testing once before, simply because of the family history and the fact that I was having dizzy spells (which, thank god, turned out to be unrelated) - it's not too bad. If necessary, the condition can be corrected surgically by "shorting out" the pathway - it's pretty painless, as I understand, though it can be scary.
If your dizzy spells persist and you want more information, the Wikipedia and Mayo Clinic websites give a pretty good overview:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Wolff-Parkinson-White_syndrome
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/wolff-parkinson-white-syndrome/DS00923
It is, of course, somewhat unlikely that I've hit on your problem - especially if this hasn't happened before and doesn't happen again. Hopefully, you won't have any more difficulties with tachycardia and fainting. It really is difficult sometimes to have to deal with medical issues. But, if you continue to have the problem, you may want to bring it to your doctor's attention - and may want to ask about this possibility. It's usually not terribly dangerous - but, for the sake of honesty, I should confess that there are fatal variants. They are much rarer than the condition itself, though. No matter what the source of your medical problems, I wish you a safe and speedy conclusion to them.
Best of luck!
Posted by Deneb on July 20, 2010, at 21:28:27
In reply to Re: I went to the walk in clinic, posted by obafgkm on July 19, 2010, at 21:27:40
Hi obafgkm!
Welcome to Psycho-Babble!
Thanks for your concern. I'd read about Wolff-Parkinson White Syndrome before. I'm pretty sure I don't have it because my tachycardia is normal sinus tachycardia and I do not have that extra delta wave on my EKG.
I'm thinking I may have a mild form of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome or POTS, it's probably from being inactive for a long time. I think I also have vasodepressor syncope. I think I have both.
I'm just going to trust my doctors and go on with my life. Unless I start fainting several times a week or something, I think I'll be fine.
I've had Holter testing as a teen and it was normal so I'm sure that would have caught something if I really did have Wolff-Parkinson White Syndrome.
Did anyone in your family die from it? How were they treated?
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.