Passing out spells

[Mamamoorman]

For the past year and a half or so my husband has been having these episodes where he gets light headed then starts to lose the use of his right side of his body, his speech starts to slur and then he just passes out.  When he comes to he has very mInimal use of his whole right side, and speech becomes so bad you can't understand him but after several hours he seems back to normal.  What could this be?  Dr's have had no success figuring out what is going on and I need help.

[jane1138152]

Mamamoorman,

Read the recent post by ValekVL and I do agree that blood sugar issues such as hypoglycemia can cause some of the symptoms you mentioned..but not all. Generally hypoglycemia doesn't resolve over a period of hours, it worsens, and as such, your husbands neurologic status would decline, instead of improving. I would assume that the doctor has checked your husband, Mamamoorman, for things like Diabetes. Lupus CAN manifest itself in a number of ways, from what I understand, and it may be worth asking the doctor if tests have been sent to rule it out...can't hurt to ask, but I wonder if the picture you've painted of what your husband has been going through really matches up with Lupus.

Have the words "transient ischemic attack" ever been mentioned? Seems like a better fit to me, but that's me guessing based on the information you've given. It can also be related to heart rate issues (can you remember what heart rhythm your husband was diagnosed with?)  I would think, if you've been to a neurologist, that this would have been a consideration though, so that's me stumped. I wish I could be more help to you...have you checked the Ask the Expert Forums to see if you could talk back and forth with a doctor?? Try it and see what they say?

I understand what you mean about the cost of all these tests, it's awful isn't it?! Please let me know what comes of all of this. I wish you and your husband all the best....

[Mamamoorman]

He has had every test that my primary dr can think of, been to a neurologist, she put him on siezier meds but that did no good.  He also has seen a heart specialist and they did find a small rapid heart beat and put him on meds for that but no change in his episodes.  He has these episodes 2 to 3 times a week on average.  They do have a sort of trigger they almost Always happen when he is overheated and overly upset .  I think that one of our biggest struggles is that we have no insurance and most of these test are so expensive.  

[ValekVL]

Could be his sugar levels as well. Hypoglycemia is hard to catch and very hard to diagnose. Does he get coldsweats, sweat while he is sleeping in a cold room, headaches? Hypoglycemia can also mix with Diabetes, make sure he gets tested for both. If that is the case, Essentially, he will have to eat every 2-3 hours small meals mainly consisting of complex carbs and simple sugars to keep his levels steady throughout the day. Its not epilepcy. Also have his protein levels checked. I suspect he is not eating enough red meat. Low protein diets can cuse similar symptoms to appear. Sometimes the simplest solution is looking at what is being consumed or the lack of what is being consumed to find the solution. Let me know if this helps.

[jane1138152]

Hi, Mamamoorman,
How frightening this must be for you and your husband!!  What tests has your hubby had done already?? Has he only been seen by a primary care physician or has he been evaluated by a neurologist or a cardiologist?? I think that the primary things that have to be looked at are the heart and the brain (once other things like medications, and blood results, and heart rhythm/blood pressure have been examined). How often is this happening? Have you ever gone to the Emergency Department when this happens? That's where I would be having him taken if that happened again. It sounds like something that needs to be followed really closely.

[cheshchesh819]

have they checked him for epilepcy?also i have just learnt a bit about a illness that is called lumpus,it carries similar symptoms to the ones you are describing,it is not very well recognised,unless approached to the doctor.