I sort of have a diagnosis....

[MollieRose]

So, I have quite a long history of medical "complaints". I already have asthma, hypothyroid, GERD, and Supraventricular Tachycardia (treated with cardiac ablation 8-24-10 which we think was successful) diagnosed. My cardio told me that the episodes I've been having (after the ablation, because the heart rhythms aren't SVT) are Vasovagal attacks/syncope. They hadn't ended in syncope until today. Last Monday I went to the ER via ambulance due to thinking the Bystolic I got prescribed was making me hypogylcemic, and 5 minutes into the ride my blood pressure dropped to 60/30 while just sitting upright (no reason). They (apparently, I was out) had to elevate my feet above my head and push a bolus of fluids and then it bounced back up by the time we got to the hospital. This happened again on Tuesday night (minus the ambulance ride, and no blood pressure drop got recorded since I was in the car), and I spent more hours with the doc (same one as Monday) thinking I was nuts. They ruled out blood clots, did EKG (normal, not even Tachy by the time I got to hospital), chest CT...etc. etc. They said my blood levels were all good and that it was GERD (right *eye roll*). The symptoms I've been having are bouts of shakiness (like hypoglycemia, but for hours- so it doesn't relate to anxiety or anything I can figure out), dizziness, diplopia (intermittant binocular double vision), nausea, occasional random vomiting, tachycardia (not *anywhere* near the kind I had with SVT that would be up to 200bpm), cold hands/feet even in heat, intolerance to heat, chronic low potassium levels, vertigo, excessive thirst, paleness/turning "gray", "random" orthostatic hypotension and other stuff that makes no sense. I had a tilt table test done when I was on the cardiac unit to diagnose my SVT and I failed that, 2 normal EEGs and one abnormal EEG, normal EKGs, a normal echo (having another one in 9 hours from now..), been on cardiac monitoring units twice... It goes on and on. I'm only 24 years old (female) :/ I just want to be "normal". My cardio told me that my case is "an enigma" as my EP study/ablation. My BP is high when resting when it never used to be (and I've lost a lot of weight). I'm sorry, this is really long..I'm just feeling lost. I've been written off as having a somatoform disorder or being anxious, or "stressed". Any help/advice/support would be great..

[jenjen2020]

HI,

What is a vasovagal episode and what happens when you have one?  Or, how would you know you have one?

Thx,
Jen

[mtgardner]

First of all I am sorry you are going through so much right now.  I hope you are able to get some answers soon.

Most people with autonomic dysfunction have a variety of medical problems and dx. My guess is they all interact to a certain degree.  If you fix one it can decrease the impact of others.  

You mentioned you are hypothyroid.  Is this because of surgery or are you deficient in free T3 and or free T4?  Do you have the autoimmune type of thyroditis and do you take medication for your hypothyroid condition?  Sometimes the thyroid and or adrenals can be off and cause a lot of symptoms that can be mistaken for anxiety or stress.  In the beginning of thyroid disease you can alternate hypo and hyper.  The hyper mode can cause weight loss, anxiety, and a rise in BP and heart rate, shakiness and double vision.   Sometimes a thyroid growth can dump hormones into your system as well causing hyper symptoms.   Have you had your antibodies, free T3 and free T4 and TSH checked recently and if so do you have the results with lab normals?  If your thyroid is off this would not explain all your symptoms but it might explain some.  Marie

[MollieRose]

P.S.- I have a Reveal Insertable Cardiac Device implanted that's been in for 1-2 years that records automatically (or if I active it myself) if my pulse goes below 60 or above 176. My cardio/EP doc has been downloading a lot of information from this over time (has been quite helpful). The vasovagal episodes are getting dangerous as I passed out after vomiting in the shower today and was home alone...it really worries me.