Please Respond

[Belinda127]

Okay so this is the second time this happened to my friend. This time it was not described as much. She just woke up to go to school and when getting ready. She felt dizzy of course, then held onto a bar to get her balance back. When she found out that she wasn't going back to normal, she went to go turn off the water to ask for help. But by the time she turned around. She blacked out i guess. Then woke up by the voice of her mother, but found herself on the ground head first..
This is the second time in a few months
Should this be looked at?
What do you think this could be?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum.
Dizziness could be due to postural hypotension (blood pressure falling with change of position), internal ear problems and cervical spondylitis. All these cause dizziness when you get up from lying down position. Cervical spondylitis and ear problems also cause dizziness on changing the position of the neck.
Other causes of dizziness are anemia, GERD, hypoglycemia or low sugar and some endocrine problems.
However these episodes could also be transient ischemic attack wherein the blood supply to brain is temporarily cut off. The episodes last for a maximum of 24 hours and then resolve or a new symptom starts. To diagnose this you need a prompt evaluation (within 60 minutes) to identify the cause and determine appropriate therapy. CAT Scans or MRIs done later or when your friend is fine will not reveal anything. Seizures often present as blackouts instead of conventional spasms.
I think you should discuss this with your friend’s doctor. Since it has happened twice it should not be ignored. The enumerated the possibilities should be ruled out one by one. Get her blood pressure checked. Also you may need to get some tests done for her. It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[lmaher87]

sounds like dizzy spells.. does your friend have any medical conditions? diabetes for instance? i know that a sudden fluctuation in blood sugar can cause dizzy spels and even blackouts... but i would definatly go to the doctor.. once is weird but twice is bad especially if she does get dizzy alot with sudden movement without blacking out...

lmaher87