Fainting Spells

Hi B.,
I'm N., a stay at home mother of 5(actually i spend a lot of time in the car!), whose 2nd child, a daughter had been diagnosed with cardiogenic syncope when she was in 1st grade. I'd love to tell you about her but i feel like it would be too much to try to type it all. could i just give you my cell phone number and we could chat about it? it would be easier for me! thanks....by the way, my daughter, molly, who is the one we have this issue with is now 15...i wouldn't mind sharing her story if it would help. my cell is ###-###-####. maybe i'll talk to you soon....

this is a new one for me. I don't have any suggestions. you mentioned having a cardiologist look at her, have they ruled out any neurological stuff like a mini siezure??? It's pretty obvious when a person has a grand mal seizure but little seizures where the kids just blank out for a moment was one of my biggest fears. Not quiet what you are describing but as a mom i would want to check EVERYthing out.
wow, please let us know how it goes.

make sure when you take her to the doctor especially if shots are involved that she can lay down to get them and then lay there for a while after. Talk to her and keep her distracted for that time after or she may get up from the table and faint away. I don't htink there is anything you can do to fix this my brother was the same way as a child and he stills has some issues when he sees blood. he is in his 40s now and otherwise there is nothing wrong with him. I know how hard this can be to experience. Good luck
L.

I am sure you have looked this up on the internet:

Common triggers of vasovagal syncope include standing for long periods, dehydration, the sight of blood, coughing, urination, having a bowel movement and emotional distress. But in some cases, the cause of vasovagal syncope can't be determined.

I read further and it can be nuerological because the "exaggerated" action causes blood flow to the brain to slow down.

I would ask her peditrican to recommend a therapist to maybe help her over her fear and anxiety. Of course, I would still go to the cardiologist and maybe a neurologist to rule out any medical problems that could be causing this.

I wish you all the best.

I am vaso-vagal. When I was first diagnosed, i would pass out everywhere because I had so much anxiety and everyone was worried and making a big deal about it. As the years have gone by, the fainting spells have dramatically decreased. I will sometimes faint when I have the flu, and I fainted 6 times when I was in labor! You need to learn what triggers her to faint and then do your best to prevent her from being around those triggers. My triggers are low blood sugar and extreme heat. When she faints, just lay her down and comfort her when she comes to. The best thing you can do is to not make a big deal about this. That will lower her anxiety and help the fainting spells decrease in numbers.

The cardiologist will probably do a tilt-table test. It is a very simple test to see if she is vaso-vagal. She will probably have an IV, but other than that, it is not invasive. As you get used to this it won't be such a big deal if she passes out and you will recognize when she is about to.

what does pediatrician say? blood work to rule out anything

I'd say neurologist is much better idea.

My daughter used to hold her Breath. I asked the dr and he said that they would not die. that there autoimmune system would take over and they would be able to breath. She was born in 1983 and she did this when the smurfs were popular. I was babysititng a neighbor and she said Dad chrisiins turned into a smurf. when she did it I would not draw attention to it and she stopped doing it. I would blow in here face and she would come out of it. If there is no underlying medical condition, you may be best to just ignore it and if she does it do not draw attention to it.
Good Luck
B. S

Hi B.,

My now grown son was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome when he was 13. He takes Atenolol and has regular check ups at Ruby Hospital. Dr. William Neil and his associates are very familiar with this and have monitored him closely. He has never had any fainting spells but it is one of the symptomes. I would recommend having her checked by a pediatric cardiologist to rule this out. The website for information on it is: http://www.sads.org/. Please don't let this scare you. As I said, my son has had no serious episodes. I wanted to make you aware of the condition though.

On the other hand, my daughter used to stop breathing, turn blue, and scare us to death whenever she'd fall or get hurt. This started when she was about a year old and I believe the last time she did this she was 4 or 5. We had her tested---they did EEGs and EKGs, etc. and nothing serious was ever found.

I'd love to know what the doctors find on this. Please email me if you get time.

Blessings,
K.

anxiety can cause insulin dumps.

passing out, fainting and vomiting are all signs of a hypoglycemic attack and can be cause for alarm.

May want to run by the Ped. having her sugar checked.

HI B.,
The poor little thing! My middle brother used to pass out in church every week when it was hot & crowded. He still avoids crowds. My boss' daughter used to hold her breath until she would pass out. Sorry I have no real info or experience to share other than that but I wish you all well :)

My son does this when he has a temper tantrum. When I was telling his sitters about it last summer, their mom was nearby listening. Turns out all 3 of her kids did this to different degrees. The oldest went through a bunch of tests and even saw a neurosurgeon about the problem. Her daughter did it a little, but her younger son was constantly faining, especially after a bump on the head.

We couldn't stop him from fainting, and let me tell you, we tried everything. Blowing in his face, slapping, throwing water at him, everything. Finally all we could do was comfort him. Hold him nice and tight until he came out of it.

It is one of the scariest things we've ever experienced, but it usually goes away. Most kids grow out of it by 5 yrs old (the babysitter was 6 and our son is almost done with it at 3). We've learned to recognize the signs to keep him from falling and banging his head. We also let everyone know about this so that they aren't taken completely by surprise.

Good luck and I hope this is a quickly passing phase (our's is going on 2 yrs or so)
T.