Where do I start?...some three or so years ago, a peculiar short series of "fainting spells" befell me. At first, we all contributed it to a specific set of circumstances, first & foremost was each of the three incidents was almost immediately proceeded by a consumption of smoked cannabis...oh yeah! pots good for ya right? it would seem not in my instance. After the last episode, we all headed to the Hospital...MRIs, blood tests, urine tests, heart stress tests...that goofy attempt to instigate a seizure with flashing lights, nothing was discovered. The final verdict was a pathetic "we don't know"...fast forward some months...pot was eliminated, OK. Then on one occasion, my wife & son made their way off to Brazil for a scuba expedition.
A few days in there absence, some particular symptoms arose...a seeming weakness in one arm, not a full disabling of function...then the one particular symptom that was unique. Do you all know of that one particular toy we have all seen at one point, those tri-color LEDs??, cute...but this visual effect was in my vision, not in the "high resolution" point of vision, maybe off center by 45 degrees..."Look LEDs". Then, the most "disturbing", prominent, curious symptom...what I would describe as once was called, a "Guru"...an old term to describe your Amiga computer when it freezes up.
I was sitting on the end of the bed getting dressed, I was going to put my shirt on ...the simple mental processes went out the window. "shirt, it has three holes, which one?" I sat there dumbfounded, there was no brilliant lights, no magical insights, all was gone. There was no terror, no fear, just nothing...I fabricated a series, a sequence of what I wanted to do...now my mind just needed to reboot. At this point, I cannot imagine being permanently in this "limited" state of mind. The effect lasted maybe 45-60 seconds, best guess.
As a result, I found the causes as a TIA, or a "Transient Ischaomic Attack"....a temporary disruption of blood flow to the brain. As a source of context, I once tried to enlist in the Air National Guard (1980?). I was rejected as they found out my blood-pressure could vary too much...??? It was a blood pressure issue from long ago...a mini-stroke. I immediately ran down to the local pharmacy & got some "Maleato de Enalapril", 10mg, a blood pressure medication, and some common aspirin as a blood thinner...daily.
The results? no more fainting episodes...so far. The damage?, before taking the medication, and after the "nothing found" medical results, at one party I had some beautiful exotic Brandy the missus brought from Brazil...you know those "intoxicated spins", (dizziness) effects one gets?...I still have those "spins", months afterwards, & still. My guess is a permanent damage somewhere...My speech has been affected as well...I can't rattle off speech at high speed, I have adopted the "Shatner speak", particular pauses within speech....not to "remember lines", but not to f--- up speaking, this works well in this instance. Fortunately the medication only sets me back $3.00(USD) for twenty days worth.
I have seen death before, half a dozen dead pets I've mourned over, my father-in-laws demise, and...carting out my dead mother-in-law from her bed, the 300 lbs or so being too much for the two guys to handle.
The cultures worldwide have been belching out a pack-of-lies for countless centuries...there are no brilliant after-lives waiting for us...I stared into an abyss if just briefly...a "bottomless gulf"...we as a culture cannot fathom nothingness, we've only known "something".
My only fears are my wife or son discovering my dead body, somewhere, sometime. Frankly, I won't care, or know at that point...I will disappear into a vast nothingness.
"Don't pack your bags with hopes & dreams, it's all behind you now". Ship, Level 42.
I have to go plug in the soldering iron, I'm not done...
PS, Wife & son are off now to Cuba for another expedition, so you might notice my trepidation...
--------------------------------------------------------------------Rick.........
A few days in there absence, some particular symptoms arose...a seeming weakness in one arm, not a full disabling of function...then the one particular symptom that was unique. Do you all know of that one particular toy we have all seen at one point, those tri-color LEDs??, cute...but this visual effect was in my vision, not in the "high resolution" point of vision, maybe off center by 45 degrees..."Look LEDs". Then, the most "disturbing", prominent, curious symptom...what I would describe as once was called, a "Guru"...an old term to describe your Amiga computer when it freezes up.
I was sitting on the end of the bed getting dressed, I was going to put my shirt on ...the simple mental processes went out the window. "shirt, it has three holes, which one?" I sat there dumbfounded, there was no brilliant lights, no magical insights, all was gone. There was no terror, no fear, just nothing...I fabricated a series, a sequence of what I wanted to do...now my mind just needed to reboot. At this point, I cannot imagine being permanently in this "limited" state of mind. The effect lasted maybe 45-60 seconds, best guess.
As a result, I found the causes as a TIA, or a "Transient Ischaomic Attack"....a temporary disruption of blood flow to the brain. As a source of context, I once tried to enlist in the Air National Guard (1980?). I was rejected as they found out my blood-pressure could vary too much...??? It was a blood pressure issue from long ago...a mini-stroke. I immediately ran down to the local pharmacy & got some "Maleato de Enalapril", 10mg, a blood pressure medication, and some common aspirin as a blood thinner...daily.
The results? no more fainting episodes...so far. The damage?, before taking the medication, and after the "nothing found" medical results, at one party I had some beautiful exotic Brandy the missus brought from Brazil...you know those "intoxicated spins", (dizziness) effects one gets?...I still have those "spins", months afterwards, & still. My guess is a permanent damage somewhere...My speech has been affected as well...I can't rattle off speech at high speed, I have adopted the "Shatner speak", particular pauses within speech....not to "remember lines", but not to f--- up speaking, this works well in this instance. Fortunately the medication only sets me back $3.00(USD) for twenty days worth.
I have seen death before, half a dozen dead pets I've mourned over, my father-in-laws demise, and...carting out my dead mother-in-law from her bed, the 300 lbs or so being too much for the two guys to handle.
The cultures worldwide have been belching out a pack-of-lies for countless centuries...there are no brilliant after-lives waiting for us...I stared into an abyss if just briefly...a "bottomless gulf"...we as a culture cannot fathom nothingness, we've only known "something".
My only fears are my wife or son discovering my dead body, somewhere, sometime. Frankly, I won't care, or know at that point...I will disappear into a vast nothingness.
"Don't pack your bags with hopes & dreams, it's all behind you now". Ship, Level 42.
I have to go plug in the soldering iron, I'm not done...
PS, Wife & son are off now to Cuba for another expedition, so you might notice my trepidation...
--------------------------------------------------------------------Rick.........
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Do you have any sort of alert system? Might be worth looking into. Could save your life if you are alone.
I too deal with the potential for interrupted blood flow to the brain though thankfully, it appears very limited at this point.
I have occaisional episodes similar to yours where it reminds me of walking into a room and wondering why you're there only worse. Having to find something to lean against or sit gown or...
A feeling of blank or sometimes like things are closing in from the sides and getting darker all the while immobilizes me and making my heart go all aflutter.
My wife has similar spells.
Again, thankfully there is a recovery but at this point, I know darn well at 57, I am not near what I used to be in sharpness and clarity.
Not saying we have something alike just there are so many things that can happen to you, you should know that you're not alone.
I have a feeling others might be chiming in here.
I too deal with the potential for interrupted blood flow to the brain though thankfully, it appears very limited at this point.
I have occaisional episodes similar to yours where it reminds me of walking into a room and wondering why you're there only worse. Having to find something to lean against or sit gown or...
A feeling of blank or sometimes like things are closing in from the sides and getting darker all the while immobilizes me and making my heart go all aflutter.
My wife has similar spells.
Again, thankfully there is a recovery but at this point, I know darn well at 57, I am not near what I used to be in sharpness and clarity.
Not saying we have something alike just there are so many things that can happen to you, you should know that you're not alone.
I have a feeling others might be chiming in here.
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Thanks Cal...It's really hard to describe this nothingness I experienced. I can't say it was scary, just odd. Many no doubt, will find my conclusions, my experience too personal...that's OK, just writing this down.
An alert system?, ah, no ...my adopted third-world country is lucky to have cheap medicines, a socialized coverage & that's about it...they certainly are poor on their diagnostics, I had to do that myself. Stumped?, Google is your friend.
The saying, high blood pressure is the silent killer, that's a fact...perhaps you might look into that??
In my case the medical staff at the airbase uttered a Latin medical term for my "condition" long ago...and long forgotten.
Modern medical care is the very reason we live longer lives in general, we should all take advantage of this.
As one lover of the Model 19 to another, thanks again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------Rick........
An alert system?, ah, no ...my adopted third-world country is lucky to have cheap medicines, a socialized coverage & that's about it...they certainly are poor on their diagnostics, I had to do that myself. Stumped?, Google is your friend.
The saying, high blood pressure is the silent killer, that's a fact...perhaps you might look into that??
In my case the medical staff at the airbase uttered a Latin medical term for my "condition" long ago...and long forgotten.
Modern medical care is the very reason we live longer lives in general, we should all take advantage of this.
As one lover of the Model 19 to another, thanks again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------Rick........
In general people believe they are not living their lives to the fullest unless they are consuming all kinds of poisons, food and who knows what in large quantities and when the time comes for the consequences to emerge, then you have a problem, not counting inherited issues you can not do very much about.
I won't talk about the mystery of life and the laws that govern it because I have gotten to know the people moderating fora and their insisting on obeying the rules of conduct are most logical, considering everything.
I won't talk about the mystery of life and the laws that govern it because I have gotten to know the people moderating fora and their insisting on obeying the rules of conduct are most logical, considering everything.
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Rick, My dad has had a couple of TIA's and a mini stoke. he is also now on asprin, and some other drug that I don't know.
The most important thing is when you feel the symptoms you get medical attention as quickly as possible. If it ends up a stroke, time is of the essence. Perhaps prepare some sheets that you can have with you which explain in the native language what you have, you can show to any doctor when seeking treatment.
I've had the fainting (from low blood pressure) experience that cal Mentions, where the light just seems to close in down to nothing. I woke up with a sore shoulder lying on the ground, not quite knowing where I was, I was very lucky I didn't hit my temple on my 70L speaker box, that I fell right beside. That was about 33 years ago. I know now if I ever get that sensation to sit down as quickly as possible, dropping my head.
Maybe an emergency function on your phone where it dials a pre set nunber or sends a text is worth setting up, provided you are in a state to be able to activate it.
Tony.
The most important thing is when you feel the symptoms you get medical attention as quickly as possible. If it ends up a stroke, time is of the essence. Perhaps prepare some sheets that you can have with you which explain in the native language what you have, you can show to any doctor when seeking treatment.
I've had the fainting (from low blood pressure) experience that cal Mentions, where the light just seems to close in down to nothing. I woke up with a sore shoulder lying on the ground, not quite knowing where I was, I was very lucky I didn't hit my temple on my 70L speaker box, that I fell right beside. That was about 33 years ago. I know now if I ever get that sensation to sit down as quickly as possible, dropping my head.
Maybe an emergency function on your phone where it dials a pre set nunber or sends a text is worth setting up, provided you are in a state to be able to activate it.
Tony.
1) ouch!!! I hope you recover soon and fully
2) self medicated Enalapril seems to be helping you but is a "light" medicine and probably not enough.
And you have not really been diagnosed yet.
Spanish text follows to better allow direct medical/administrative questions to be asked in Argentina without losing in the double translation:
cuál es tu edad?
tenés residencia Permanente?
tenés algún tipo de cobertura Médica?
si vas a un Hospital público, te van a atender pero sos uno en miles; si sos (o te hacés) Monotributista podés optar por una Obra Social "gratis" (les paga el Monotributo) y buena.
En MDP te conviene optar por OSECAC , tiene muy buena atención
Podés anotarte en Monotributo Social, pagás menos de 1000$, nada.
Si sos mayor de 50 y aún peor, 60, la Prepaga evitará atenderte enfermedades preexistentes o te van a poner una cuota carísima, las Obras Sociales de Sindicatos y las de Monotributistas no te pueden poner ni condiciones ni tiempos de espera, por Ley ... te conviene.
Si sos mayor de 65 y tenés al menos 10 años de aporte o Monotributo, (lo que falte se puede cubrir con una Moratoria) te podés jubilar y tener PAMI, que es bastante razonable, en todo caso mejor que un Hospital Público.
Any doubt PM me
2) self medicated Enalapril seems to be helping you but is a "light" medicine and probably not enough.
And you have not really been diagnosed yet.
Spanish text follows to better allow direct medical/administrative questions to be asked in Argentina without losing in the double translation:
cuál es tu edad?
tenés residencia Permanente?
tenés algún tipo de cobertura Médica?
si vas a un Hospital público, te van a atender pero sos uno en miles; si sos (o te hacés) Monotributista podés optar por una Obra Social "gratis" (les paga el Monotributo) y buena.
En MDP te conviene optar por OSECAC , tiene muy buena atención
Podés anotarte en Monotributo Social, pagás menos de 1000$, nada.
Si sos mayor de 50 y aún peor, 60, la Prepaga evitará atenderte enfermedades preexistentes o te van a poner una cuota carísima, las Obras Sociales de Sindicatos y las de Monotributistas no te pueden poner ni condiciones ni tiempos de espera, por Ley ... te conviene.
Si sos mayor de 65 y tenés al menos 10 años de aporte o Monotributo, (lo que falte se puede cubrir con una Moratoria) te podés jubilar y tener PAMI, que es bastante razonable, en todo caso mejor que un Hospital Público.
Any doubt PM me
I have this issue and it alone can cause the same symptoms that you describe. I have seen BP readings from as low as 90/45 to a high of 200/105. The fainting, dizziness, blurred vision, and hallucinations all coincide with BP numbers well below normal.
I have had these issues since child hood, and there is also some cardiopulmonary limitation in my body that imposes an upper limit on what I can do. For instance, I can walk for 10 miles in the Florida heat without a problem, but running any distance over a few hundred yards will trigger a "system shutdown" resulting in a face-plant if I try to "push through it." I will start feeling slightly out of breath, but before that gets serious the signals from my brain to operate my right leg will fail to get through, and crash happens. I have learned to slow down when my foot starts dragging.
Multiple attempts to diagnose the root cause have failed to find anything concrete. I fail cardiac stress tests, all three of them, grossly. This resulted in a trip to the cardiac cath lab where no problem was found. The doctors have tried "pill roulette" but their pills often cause more problems (I now have permanent nerve damage from beta blockers), and didn't fix anything.
I have learned to stay within my limitations and use caution when standing up especially from lying down.
My wife just spent 3 days in the hospital. We were sitting here at the computer when she said that she didn't feel good and was going upstairs. She didn't make it to the stairs before passing out. She didn't know where she was, or who I was when she first came to. The problem turned out to be a serious electrolyte imbalance, caused by dehydration followed by excessive water intake over a few days....again same symptoms, different cause. She is still not fully normal.
It might be wise to at least get a complete blood count, and some other diagnostic tests done to rule out some of the possibilities. Get the test results in hand and look up everything on a reliable medical web site. Sometime the doctors are too quick to throw pills at the symptoms without fixing the problem.
Hi Rick,
I am on multiple heart medications due to a defect. Hypertension is the low on the list of my problems. My biggest concern is the atrial fibrillation that has been with me for as long as I can remember. Basically, the upper chamber(s) of my heart aren't emptying completely all the time allowing for potential clotting. We all know what happens when you send a clot northward into the gray matter. Not sure if these are related to the symptoms we are discussing or if it's related to the days of self medicating 'Recreational Cal' but either way, I don't mind saying again that you're not alone and it takes a strong character to lead the pack into discussions like this, so I applaud you.
There are some nootropic drugs that can help during recovery from TIA and stroke: meclofenoxate, meclosulfonate, piracetam and their derivates. Yoga can help against high blood pressure (especially sarvangasana).
My grandma took low dosis aspirine for about the half of her adult life (she got a thrombosis when she has had a broken leg) and she never got a stroke. Not even a sign of TIA.
My grandma took low dosis aspirine for about the half of her adult life (she got a thrombosis when she has had a broken leg) and she never got a stroke. Not even a sign of TIA.
A $35 blood pressure monitor at home and a few experiments might tell you more about YOUR situation than a lot of the docs tell. For me I've learned coffee really is a boost in BP, the right amount of hot tub chilling is a drop. Breathing is big which is where the meditation (rhymes with medication) probably ties in as a positive.
As a side note I've always liked bundling up under warm blankets. Overheating causes blood pressure grief which may be tied in to activity causing problems. Heat also helps get rid of shingles pain and sore body so it's a double edged sword to be used carefully.
Grant.
I'd be surprised if there wasn't a few doctors on this forum but of course handing out medical advice is fraught with issues.
Nootropics are an interesting one, do you use them yourself?
Nootropics are an interesting one, do you use them yourself?
I have a very good one. I am careful about my heart, I have no choice.
I am a walking furnace. I wear clothing because it's a necessary evil, I keep my home cool when possible and sleep without bed covers. When I wear a shirt, my neighbours act surprised and say they didn't recognize me. It's a standing joke around here.
If you mean medical doctors, I'm not sure about that. They often do not require the advantages offered by diy'ing.
You mean they're wealthy and can buy their way out of trouble? I've lost count of the people I've met with money who spend it on trash.
I think there is more to this hobby than saving a buck?
No. Just tried long time ago while beeing at school. These drugs were popular among students. Although very effective (I took only 1/2 of the dosis recommended for a newborn child), it was a rather unpleasant experience (I became very fidgety). Later I learned from a doctor that this hyperactivity would have disappeared soon.
And I thought that I was the only weird one. My body's internal temp sensors have been this way since childhood, but have grown considerably worse in the past 10 years. Shoveling snow in a T shirt, tank top, or no shirt and flip flops is normal to me. Any more clothing and I sweat too much.
A good idea. I have been having more than the usual dizziness today and my BP has been quite low all day as well. I just measured a 111 / 57.
Low oxygen to the brain can have many varied causes with a TIA being only one of them A-fib is another common cause. We can only point out our experiences, and guess. A proper diagnosis would make the most sense, but as I, and others here know, isn't always so easy to get. I chased after answers for over 30 years and lots of $$$$ and know several things it's NOT.....I gave up looking. At least I don't turn blue very often any more.
Several of my customers are MD's, and a few are members of this forum. As stated it's probably not something they talk about, since it could possibly lead to anything from OT posts to legal action.
NO, usually jeans and a t-shirt, tank top, or no shirt. Shorts often allow for a cold wind to reach certain body parts that don't like it.
I have found that if there is a light snow falling, with a light wind (common here) that the snow will stick on the shirt and melt due to the heat from my back. A wet t-shirt in a 20 degree F wind can get cold. Snow that hits my bare skin will evaporate quickly and I stay dry and comfortable. The neighbors to the right of my house are in their 80's, so I usually do their driveway as well as mine. Both are 110 feet long.
Heavy snow, and high winds, or that wet slushy stuff that falls when the temp is right at freezing does require some clothing, usually a light rain jacket, but my "proper" winter leather jacket and boots have been out of the closet maybe 3 or 4 times in 5 years. I do keep a spare set in my car during winter in case stuff happens, and they were needed once when I got stuck in ice and had to salt my way up the hill. Flip flops on ice can lead to butt prints in the snow.
Last year I began experimenting with time lapse photography. I was setting my cameras up for almost anything that incorporated motion like lawn mowing and snow shoveling. Those videos mostly sucked. Water sports, extreme weather, sunsets and sunrises were the best, so that's where I experiment now. Here are a couple of single frames grabbed from those early videos from last January.
Operating the snow blower requires a light jacket especially when the wind shifts and you get blasted. Flip Flops are still OK until the depth reaches 4 or 5 inches. At that point my feet start melting snow and the resulting puddles can be cold enough to suck the heat out of my feet. We just got this thing and Sherri took these pictures.
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