Psyschogenic syncope

[CathyA]

This is fainting from something you see/experience that bothers you so much your body goes into fainting mode. (vessels dilate and blood pools away from the brain).

I have struggled with this my entire life. But I've never actually fainted from this.........probably because I removed myself from the situation and got my pressure back. I have always been bothered by gruesome images. Even though I became an ER and ICU nurse, and it didn't bother me there......seeing gruesome things outside of work made me feel like I would pass out..........so I avoid gruesome movies.

But........my DS seems to have the same problem. But for him, it involves seeing bad things, getting his blood drawn.......and sometimes just thinking about those things, and it can cause him to faint. He's 26. He's a very bright, intelligent, perceptive person.

Anyhow......he puts off certain things because he's afraid he'll pass out from them (seeing doctors, having blood-draws, etc.). Yesterday he saw a specialist for an eye problem. The doc ordered labs. I went with him and sat in the waiting room, just for moral support. He went to the lab to have the blood-draw. I stayed in the waiting room there too.........but started feeling like I better just be close by, so went in to the room where the tech was drawing his blood. I tried to talk about other things to distract him, but soon saw that he was fading away. He had a horrible fainting spell. The tech thought he was having a seizure, but I've seen this in people before, and fainting can look like a seizure. I propped his legs up. (In retrospect, we should have laid him on the floor, but the room was so small). He was drenched in sweat and looked awful. They took his pressure and it was very low. He was conscious again fairly quickly. The tech gave him some O.J. This is becoming a real problem for him. His fear of passing out is almost becoming the trigger......rather than the actual thing he's having done. I can so relate to this! We must have the same funky genetics that make us a bit predisposed to this.

Anyhow.......I have been searching about what to do about it. There's info online about behavior mod., exercises to do (like while you're having a procedure or getting a blood draw), that will keep blood from pooling away from your brain.
I do want him to see an internist too....just to rule out any autonomic dysfunction.

I've told him to just always lay down to have his blood drawn, but most of these labs don't have beds.
I personally have found that taking an NSAID before something like this seems to keep my vessels from dilating.

Anyone have experience with this problem?
I know (from my own profession too), that men are much more likely to have this than women. Maybe our female hormones help to keep us from dilating so much??

Anyhow.........I would appreciate any suggestions you might have! It's really difficult and painful to see your child suffer with something.
Thanks!

[Tammy]

Two of my three kids do this with needles. My son knows it will happen most of time and prepares for it. He has no anxiety about it ... Just knows it as a fact. He drinks a caffeinated sugared soda beforehand and sometimes that prevents it. He lies down before the procedure starts. He had doneone drive him there and back.

My daughter has the anxiety beforehand. Can't sleep etc if she knows it's gonna happen. She has found that a low dose anxiolytic just before has prevented the fainting. She used to dread the dentist but now has no problem there. She doesn't have an ongoing Rx for the anxiety meds ... Just has to ask for the one pill to be prescribed before a procedure.

It's a physical reaction that seems unrelated to a persons normal level of anxiety about other things.

[Packy]

Oh, yeah. I'm a little phobic. But see--I can get used to it, and it won't bother me. Usually,if I go into a clinic for a blood draw, I'm fine until it's time to leave and I start going down the hall, too soon. Suddenly, I'm weak in the knees and the lights go out. In the hospital years ago, they did daily blood draws, and since I just stayed prone and rested, it didn't faze me. Even in the followup exams at the MD's office--no problem. But, a few years went by, and I was back to being phobic. So, the key is for me to remain calm and seated for prolly 20 minutes after a blood draw. As for gore-y stuff; well, I just need to be glad I'm not in a war zone or finding myself at the scene of a disaster, such as the recent air crashes in France or Ukraine, etc. Dealing with that would be a real challenge.

[Gardenarian]

I am prone to this, though it is better than it was when I was younger. I use to faint all the time. This was complicated by the fact that I have a seizure disorder, and it can be difficult to tell the difference between syncope and seizure (either may be brought on my fear, stress, or lack of sleep.) During a simple faint, a person will come to fairly quickly and know what is going on. During a seizure you are generally unconscious longer, lose control of your bladder, and have complete amnesia for some time after waking.

My father and two of my siblings are fainters as well, so I think there is a genetic component. My daughter sometimes feels faint, but has not actually passed out. We all have low blood pressure to start with, and blood pressure naturally drops when people witness blood, wounds - or even hear people talking about their experiences. That used to bother me a LOT - really, I don't want to hear about your appendectomy! Yuck! TMI!

Once you faint (and it's not a pleasant experience) you can develop phobic reactions to places and things. What helped me get over this was becoming pregnant and having to have blood tests all the time - and also realizing that I was going to have to be the strong one for my baby during medical stuff.

It really bothers me that most labs don't have places to lie down for drawing blood and having injections. It's a small thing that can make a huge difference to many people.

[ToomuchStuff]

I don't know if I am prone to this or not, because the time I felt woozy about some gory situation, my emergency instincts kicked in. Later I passed out from exhaustion/coming down from adreniline (crushed limb end result amputation). There is a medical term for this and I don't know what it is, but he should be making the offices aware of it upon visiting. Then they have the needed knowledge to make preparations. If he passed out, without forwarning them, then any liabillity from (for example) falling down and hitting his head when having blood drawn, would be on him.
When I was a kid, I think I became more desensitized after having a mom who became a nurse (you learn as well) and relatives in the funeral business. But my father went to her work OR on a family tour as well as the rest of the family, minus me (couldn't get out of work) and passed out, while in the OR viewing area. My understanding is some will never get over it, or only get offset by adreniline in an emergency situation (for example, something happens to their kid).

[Mrs. Hermit]

I pass out for blood draws. I warn the tech before we start, and most times accommodations to have me lay down are made without any fuss. I guess from living in a litigious society, no one wants the blame if I were to fall! After the draw is over, I lay still for a few minutes, then slowly sit up, then get up. Taking it slowly seems to work pretty well for me. I feel more empowered over the experience since I started telling the techs that I faint, and I don't dread blood draws as much. Now laying down is just part of the normal deal for me,so I don't dread the procedure, and I haven't fainted since I started doing it this way. Now if I could just find a way to stop people talking about Great Aunt Susie chopping off her toe and other gory stories....

[CathyA]

Boy, I'm really amazed at how common this is! I really appreciate everyone sharing this info with me. I think DS just has to come to terms with it, and always tell people that he needs to be flat. They only had 2 chairs where he had blood drawn this last time. But I think if he lets them know ahead of time, they will make some other arrangements. This lab was just down the hall from the doctor's office.........so they could have come there, where he could have laid down. I think it's embarrassing for DS to tell people this problem.............but it will be much less embarrassing than passing out. Thanks for your suggestions!

I'm going to let him read this thread. I think it will encourage him a lot.
Thanks!

[ctg492]

This is so interesting, I did not know, ok I was one that thought Oh it's all in his head. Now I understand.

My 27 year old has a huge problem with this. Visiting yesterday he told me about having blood drawn last month. He told me how he prepped the nurse, she got help in the room and it went as he said it would, very bad and he passed out. I just looked at him with an unable to understand look. I joked with him at 15 when he got vaccinations I knew he would react and I left the room before hand. He walked out of the office afterwards and walked home he was so upset. It got worse it appears. He is well aware of the situation.

On a side note, the man is heavy tattooed. I ask him HOW if he has this terrible issue. He said it is totally different and he is calm and non stressed during that process.

[CathyA]

Right or wrong.........I'm always thinking about our reactions as a result of our primitive wiring. I'm thinking tattooing doesn't penetrate the skin and take blood like a blood draw does. Maybe some of us are harder wired to view a puncture/blood taking as a very dangerous thing?
Or maybe some people just have a more sensitive/over-reactive autonomic system? It's all very interesting!
Just curious ctg.........did they let your son lay down during the blood-draw?
Too bad there is such a "stigma" towards people who pass out at this. It makes it much harder to deal with it. I sure would like to figure out how to help DS get over this. It really affects him.

[CathyA]

DS was not feeling well, so DH went down to where he lives and gave him a once-over and drew labs. DH had him lay down for the blood draw, and he did fine! He was so happy! So I told him "See.....it's all a matter of laying down for any blood draw. If a lab says they don't have a bed, then tell them you'll go elsewhere." I told him there's no reason for him to be embarrassed by something he can't help. Some people just have wiring that makes their veins dilate too much. I think he's starting to get it.........he just has to lay down for blood draws, and not be afraid to insist on it. It was a real boost to his confidence to finally get through a blood draw without passing out. YAY!!