16 year old daughter continuously faints

[micahgirl]

micahgirl

11/20/07
   My 16 year old daughter has experienced 4 fainting spells this week, 2 within 20 minutes of each other and the second one resembling a small seizure(she went stiff, eyes wide and blank, laughing hysterically but eerie like and then cried and then "came to". She was admitted overnight for observation. Yesterday morning, the school called to say she had fainted again while sitting at her desk. This morning she fainted again while in her bed. A month ago, she woke up in the middle of the night with a body jolt and then fainted shortly afterwards. In Feb. she suffered her 3 rd concussion which was deemed severe. She was playing hockey and was sandwiched between 2 players which caused her to faint and collapse to the ice and receive the concussion. She no longer plays hockey because of the high risk. Drs. have run alot of tests and most show nothing(CT, MRI, EKG,blood and urine, EEG). Those tests which have come back with a little something are an ECHO which detected mild mitral valve prolapse and Holter monitor which detected a first degree AV block but Drs. rule out that this is playing a part in her fainting spells now. I'm not convinced of this though. She has now been referred to a neurologist and for the Tilt table test but this will more than likely take a lot of time since we live in a very small remote area. We are returning to see a pediatrician on Wed. who saw her in the Spring following her concussion. He said to return when her symptoms returned. We will insist to be sent down south(Ottawa, Ont.) to the Children's hospital (CHEO) for a complete work up. Before she faints, she does get a loud ringing in her ears several hours prior and sees dark spots or sometimes purple stars. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks alot, Jocelyne

[Barbmag]

I am so sorry that your daughter is going through this...please pass along our good wishes and hugs to her and let us know how things progress!
Take care of yourself too~~~

[micahgirl]

Thanks to all who have taken the time to write. Your input is very much appreciated. In Dec. my daughter was seen by the large children's hospital down south (CHEO). She was seen by the chief of pediatrics, a neurologist and a cardiologist. All three specialists said that she wasn't drinking enough fluids to help pump more blood through her system. The neurologist diagnosed confusional migraines and the cardiologist diagnosed postural hypotension and a wandering atrial pacemaker. For 7 weeks, by just increasing her fluid intake to 4L a day and adding salt to her food, she went back to feeling great. Then, 2 weeks ago, she started having spells again which the professionals are now saying are seizures. She had 14 in a 50 min. period last Monday and was admitted to the hospital where she remains. The dr. has been in contact with the children's hospital and we are waiting for a bed to become available. It could take up to 3 weeks they said. In the meantime, she remains on a heart monitor because her heart rate goes up sky high during her seizures and when she just gets up to go to the washroom. She has been put on Topomax by the neurologist last Monday. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated...she did have a normal diabetes test on Wed. Blood pressure still remains low.

[dolfnlvr]

If it is an arhythmia causing these issues then there are several positive steps that can be taken to alleviate symptoms.  

I suffer from vasovagal syndrome which is a fancy word for fainting disorder.  I have made several contacts with people who have the same disorder over the years, and while many of us have similar fainting spells, some are quite different...including the siezure/zoning/laughing and or crying jags you describe.  

While vasovagal syncope is really a neurological issue, it is most often treated from a cardiologic standpoint.  The vasal nerve, when stimulated, dilates blood vessels and slows the heartbeat, resulting in a sudden and massive drop in blood pressure.  This causes fainting, and in many cases (including mine) a short seizure which manifests as the sufferer pulling into the fetal position and staring unseeingly ahead.  

While the neurologic cause is not yet treatable, many who suffer severe symptoms are given a pacemaker (NOT BECAUSE OF HEART FAILURE OR HEART TROUBLE) to force the heart to beat at a regular pace even when the brain is sending messages for it to slow dramatically.  This keeps the patient from passing out, as the blood pressure is kept stable, and oxygen levels in the brain are kept at a safe level.

When you go for your tilt test, the results will allow doctors to know immediately whether what your daughter has is vasovagal syndrome or something else.  If it is vasovagal she will likely be given medications that will increase blood volume, and you MAY be introduced to the possibility of a pacemaker.  I want to stress that in this instance the pacemaker is NOT for heart trouble and you should not feel as though your daughter has been given a diagnosis of a terminal or seriously ill patient.  The heart muscle is completely fine, and with treatment, so will your daughter be.

Good luck.....

[Zutie]

Check Wolf Parkinson White syndrome, that's what I had.  It caused me to faint at the slightest thing because of the "p" wave of my heart beat.  I had an ablation and now have a pacemaker, (which probably was not necessary,but they didn't know back in 1990...)  It's hard to catch the affected wrong heartbeats, so a holter monitor can catch it.
Please teach her to put her head down and try to realize the feeling so she doesn't hurt herself.  Also, if she fainted lying down, that's what happened to me.
God Bless and Good luck.

[stevie_wonder]

Take your daughter to see an Electrophysiologist. It sounds like it could possibly be an arrythmia causing her to faint. Fainting during exercise is not a good thing. Like the others have mentioned, low blood pressure and hypoglycemia could be the cause but they could also precipitate the arrythmia. Our family has Long QT Syndrome which causes people to faint and appear to have seizures. EEGs are ususally normal and if the ECGs aren't read by Electrophysiologists experienced enough certain things can be overlooked.

[rnlisa]

Have you suggested a glucose test, with hypoglycemic patients you can see that several times a day.  I have a son that experienced this from not eating properly and when he did black out he looked as though he had a seizure.  Hope this helps.

[whatayear]

ask for florinef (sp?) it ups blood volume and keeps from feeling dizzy and fainting very safe drug low side effects but def. have the tilt table! now sure what it could be what is her blood pressure sitting and standing? read about POTS and see if this fits what she has also what is her heart rate. with pots and ncs ekg would be normal or can be and every test she has had could be normal. but def ask for florinef until tilt table its a very safe drug its in the prednizone family.