I'm close to death everyday?

First I want to say that I'm a perfectly healthy 19 yo guy, I work out, do cardio, and try to eat healthy.

Ever since I was in the 6th or 7th grade I have had blackouts that could never really be explained, I've been to the numerous doctors who just can't explain it, they all said I was perfectly healthy and their was nothign wrong with me, and hereing that scares the hell out of me. the most they said is that it could be that I drink to much caffeine and I know that isn't it.

I usually have these 'blackouts' (as I call them) almost everyday, they happen only when I'm up and walking around. I'm going to explain exactly what happens when I have these.

Alright so the first thing to go is my vision, it starts fading to blackness in my perephials (sp) first, like im looking straight and blackness starts fading in from the outside of my vision and then slowly starts engulfing everything else. Then its like time itself is slowing down, I can still hear everything but it's like im hearing it in slow motion, and then my toungue, fingertips and toes start to go numb, and then I feel like im falling in slow motion, and that's what sticks out most about these, everytime these happen everything slows down and then I feel nothing but warmth all over my body. Usually right when I start to fall I come back to, my vision comes back and the numbness goes away, but my tongue always takes a minute to have feeling back in it.

What is so weird about this is that ever since I can remember I've had dreams of falling in slow motion but I never knew why I was falling. What scares me the most is at the beginning of these I think i can literally feel my heart stop beating, and at the end it starts back up, this happens almost everyday and it's been increasing and no one can tell me what is wrong.

So I did a little research on Near death experiences and it sounds like im on the verge of dieing and then coming back, one thing that really sticks out is most people who have an NDE say your ability to hear is the last thing to go, and that is how it is everytime I have one of these. It doesn't scare me as much as it used to, but I am scared that one day i'm just going to collapse and die from one of these.

Has anyone else ever heard or experienced anything like this, this has been going on for about 6 or 7 years, but hasn't really picked up untill about 2 years ago.

Have you ever seen the Butterfly Effect?

Keep going to the doctor, I say in seriousness, pursue this until you have a diagnosis because it does sound serious.

reply to post by asmeone2


Yes I have, But the experience for me is nothign like that, no nosebleeds or anything like that.

I've had tons of tests done on me, EKG's, xrays, cat scans. and the only thing they say is "your probably drinking to much caffeine"

I say you should start meditating.

Originally posted by Uniceft17
reply to post by asmeone2

 

Yes I have, But the experience for me is nothign like that, no nosebleeds or anything like that.

I've had tons of tests done on me, EKG's, xrays, cat scans. and the only thing they say is "your probably drinking to much caffeine"

Caffeine does not make you black out. That is strange. I hope you stay healthy and find an answer! Have you had your blood and iron levels checked?

reply to post by asmeone2


Yes, I've had urine and blood tests and they all came back normal.

I hope that you at least stopped drinking any caffeine what so ever right? This doesn't make any sense. I would keep going to the doctor until they helped me also.

I agree that it sounds serious, if it happens whlle you're already up and walking around.

If it only happens when you stand up from sitting, lying, or squatting, then it's probably postural hypotension and if your EKG checked out, nothing to worry about.

Did you see a cardiologist specifically? Or maybe even an electrophysiologist?

reply to post by sputniksteve


I was drinking alot of caffeine untill they said that was probably it, and that was about a year ago and i cut back alot on caffeine, Most of the time im drinking some kind of tea. Mostly green tea.

Originally posted by Uniceft17
reply to post by asmeone2

 

Yes, I've had urine and blood tests and they all came back normal.

I ask because I have had some incidents of passing out when I had very low iron or blood sugar levels.

They would be most severe when I had jsut stood up, or been on my feet for a long time.

Both of these can give deceptive normal tests, too.

I would be curious if if coudl be a problem with your inner ear or perhaps even a form of narcolepsy.

I would also wonder if you have somehow gotten a poison into your system. THere have been cases of people accidentely poisoning themselves without even knowing it, for example tlhey have pesticides or rat poison getting itno their food somehow.

Originally posted by Uniceft17
reply to post by sputniksteve

 

I was drinking alot of caffeine untill they said that was probably it, and that was about a year ago and i cut back alot on caffeine, Most of the time im drinking some kind of tea. Mostly green tea.

Wow your post just totally reminded me I had water on the stove, and burnt the crap out of my kettle. Whew thanks. In any case, I also pass out, but only when I am cut, bleeding bad, get a shot, or see lots of blood. I can at least relate to you in some way. I can't imagine passing out daily though. That is scary.

reply to post by asmeone2


What do you mean inner ear?

I do get ringing in one of my ears very often, but never really thought anything of it.

Originally posted by Uniceft17
reply to post by asmeone2

 

What do you mean inner ear?

I do get ringing in one of my ears very often, but never really thought anything of it.

There is a part of the inner ear that regulates the body's sense of balance. This can be affected by injury or infection. I wonder if there might be a relation since you say it only happens when you are standing up.

When you have one of these spells, what do the people around you see you doing? Can they tell that you are on the verge of one? Is there anything that they can do/say that helps bring you out of it?

Jemison

Inner ear problems can cause balance/vertigo issues, because it's the tiny little bones in there that tell our brains which way is up.

Because you have palpitations (the heart missing a beat feeling) I'm more inclined to think it's cardiac/circulatory. But I'm no doctor

Did you see my post above? If you haven't seen a specialist, I think you should request a referral to a cardiologist.

And if you've seen a cardiologist, you might want to ask him what he thinks of referring you to an electrophysiologist (specialist in the electrical pathways in the heart, and in arrhythmias).

reply to post by Jemison


My mom was aroudn once when It happend, I was in the kitchen rolling dough on the counter to make some home made bisquits and next thing I know i started having a blackout, she said I just froze and had a blank stare in my eyes and I started grasping the edge of the counter trying to hold myself up, then when I came to I had a cold sweat all over my body and was trimbling a little.

I've watched few shows that might shed some light. One was of a woman whose spinal fluid was leaking through her nasal cavity and another was some woman who had died and was on the show Dr. G. Medical examiner.

The woman on her show had died due to her brain stem protruding further than normal and putting pressure on the blood flow to the brain that eventually caused an aneurysm. (Or something like that.)

I was having narrowing of vision supposedly due to low blood pressure? The doctor advised that I took in more salt. At the time I wasn't eating much red meat either. I also found out on a website that celery lowers your blood pressure, which could than make it too low?

Your complete blood work should tell them something. Unless it's related to the spinal fluid etc. ? I also used to have problems when standing up too fast which would also effect my hearing as if my heart beat and pulse was effecting my hearing some how. Even laughing was painful and triggered a headache. Other causes might be some type of infection or sensitivity to foods spices additives like MSG.

Just to give you an idea, check this site on salicylates which is also the active ingredient in aspirin.

www.salicylatesensitivity.com...

Eratic blood sugar may also be related. You should check for all of you symptoms. Maybe you have a blockage.

You might consider a more specific test like an MRI.

Also check your familiy history....unless you were adopted.

Originally posted by Uniceft17
reply to post by Jemison

 

My mom was aroudn once when It happend, I was in the kitchen rolling dough on the counter to make some home made bisquits and next thing I know i started having a blackout, she said I just froze and had a blank stare in my eyes and I started grasping the edge of the counter trying to hold myself up, then when I came to I had a cold sweat all over my body and was trimbling a little.

That sounds like blood sugar problems like hypoglycemia

If you had trouble breating, it could also be asthma

It could have also been a seizure

[edit on 7-12-2008 by aleon1018]

some suggestions:
If the doctors have ruled out circulatory issues such as heart arrhythmia or or blood pressure too high or too low, then get checked out neurologically. Conditions such as Arnold Chiari Malformation can be frustratingly mysterious and can take a long time to reach a diagnosis as many doctors are not too aware of the condition - the sooner you inform yourself, the sooner you can help your doctors order the right tests.
Also, if you consume anything with aspartame (NutraSweet) or MSG, try cutting that out and see how you feel. Both those food enhancers can cause a host of issues. Read your food labels. Aspartame is easily indicated by a bold warning for phenylketoneurics near the ingredients list.

Google symptom lists for aspartame, MSG, and Chiari and see if anything else you experience rings a bell.
Good luck and keep plugging at an answer.

It really sounds like premature ventricular contractions, which are common and can be brought on by a number of things including sodium and potassium imbalances and stimulant use.

But I don't think most people get the faintness (presyncope) with it, which is why I think it still needs checking out.

edit: thanks aleon for letting me know about the broken link. Should be better now

[edit on 12/7/08 by americandingbat]