I was a little stuck on what I should write about today, but I didn’t want to not write so I decided to make a post about my health.
This is not going to be one of those “oh look at my life and don’t you feel so bad for me” things. Not to offend anyone who sometimes feels that way, I mean there are times where I feel down and wish people could just understand what I am going through.
I guess I’ll outline events to try to keep this as short as possible:
- In high school, I fainted one morning and went to a doctor but got no answers and life went back to normal.
- A few years after high school I got a very worrying dizzy spell and went to a doctor again and got some answers.
- I was sent to a cardiologist because I had told them that along with my dizzy spell, my heartbeat was going crazy.
- The cardiologist had me sent to a hospital to do a “tilt table” test where I again fainted.
- The results of the test showed that when I stand, my blood pressure continues to drop until it is so low that I lose consciousness. (blood pools downward into my legs and not enough gets to my brain)
The name of my condition is Neurocardiogenic Syncope.
Here is a little explanation.
“Why Does an Upright Posture Trigger Neurocardiogenic Syncope?
When a normal individual stands up, gravity causes blood to pool in the legs, and return of blood to the heart is decreased. In order to compensate for this reduction, the body releases a surge of adrenaline (epinephrine). The heart beats faster and more forcefully, thereby pumping blood more efficiently to vital organs (especially the brain).
In an individual with neurocardiogenic syncope, the reduction of blood return triggers a miscommunication between the heart and the brain. Just when the heart needs to beat faster, the brain sends out a message that the heart rate should be slowed down, and that the blood vessels in the arms and legs should dilate. These actions take even more blood away from the central part of the circulation where it is needed. As a result, the individual feels lightheaded or may faint because not enough blood is getting to the brain. Fainting is helpful, in that it restores a person to the flat position, removing the pooling effect of gravity on the blood, and allowing more blood to return to the heart. Following the lightheadedness or syncope, most individuals feel tired and their mental abilities are somewhat foggy. ” Source: http://www.cccgroup.info/neurosyn.asp
This condition has changed my life completely. I have no energy and can do little to no physical activities like I used to. Just standing for more than a few minutes is tiring. There are days where I get a “flare” where my symptoms are worse and I end up in bed all day.
I never know how I am going to feel until I wake up and no amount of sleep helps. I am always tired and fatigued and I feel as if I have invisible weights connected to me all over making me feel heavy and slow moving. I also have developed chronic pain and joint stiffness which I have yet to get an answer as to why this has occurred.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have a wonderful life with my husband. I’m not in a hospital bed with tubes sticking out of me. I have a full time job (for now) where I work with my husband. We play video games together; watch shows together; go to the movies and the beach; walk our dog (when I’m up to it). I try to do what I can when I can because I never know when I will have a bad day again where I can’t get out of bed.
So I’ll stop here because really, who wants to read this much about someone else’s troubles. 😉 If you have by some miracle made it this far, Thank You for reading! ❤
jekabeth 