I was sick this past Saturday, but only a minor cold. I spent most of the day sleeping on the couch and didn't have a lot to eat or drink. Sunday morning I felt much better, had a shower and breakfast and started going about doing things at home. I sat down for a few minutes to talk to my fiancé, stood up, felt everything drain from me, and the next thing I knew I was on the floor with him kneeling down beside me. I sometimes get dizzy when standing too suddenly or in too hot of a shower. I suspect that not eating much or staying hydrated all day Saturday, combined with my menstrual cycle (which started the day before I got sick and often wreaks some havoc on my body hormonally, especially with blood sugar) caused me to faint upon standing. It was my first experience with fainting. (I have passed out before from blood sugar issues, but this felt completely different and my glucose checked fine.)

I fainted just today, the second time in six months. The first time, my head felt buzzy and I was down for a bit longer. This time, I just felt dizzy and found myself on the floor. Both episodes occurred after getting up quickly from a reclined position on the couch. I make it from the living room to the kitchen before falling. I am a bulimic and have been purging frequently as of late. Dehydration is most likely the cause of my episodes.

My experience occurred when I was admitted to the hospital ER with chest pain. I had been having chest pain off an on all day accompanied by shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The ER staff administered oxygen, 3 nitroglycerin tablets about 5 minutes apart for the chest pain in addition to 5 baby aspirin. I remember starting to feel very nauseated again and like I was going to have diarrhea along with being very short of breath. That was all I remember. I didn't know what had happened to me. When I woke up, I was sweating profusely, lying with the whole gurney tilted practically standing on my head and thought that I had fallen asleep as I had been so tired and worn out from feeling like this all day. The doctor said that my blood pressure had bottomed out because of the loss of fluid (vomiting/diarrhea) and the nitroglycerin had dilated my blood vessels quite a lot. They had Iv's in both arms running them wide open to bring my pressure back up. Needless to say, this writer was kept in the hospital 3 days to determine the cause of the chest pain symptoms. The syncope came from the treatment they gave to relieve the chest pain that compounded the affects of the fluid loss.

I've had A-Fib for almost 15 yrs and the pre-syncope is getting more frequent. Today I had my first actual fainting spell. I get a fuzzy feeling that feels like a pressure is expanding inside me. I start to get overwhelmed by the sensation that a wave of lightheadedness is taking over. A very unpleasant feeling it doesn't hurt, but I try to fight it all the way. I try to breathe deeply, hold my breath, bend over, head between the knees, but to no avail it prevails against me. It usually just takes me to a point of near fainting and then I quickly recover. I fainted in front of several people today and they freaked. I am looking for some answers as I am certain all here are as well.

I'm 45 and fainted for the first time last night while having dinner at an event with coworkers, sitting at a large crowded table. I guess I had about 15 seconds of warning, where I felt myself sinking uncontrollably into unconsciousness, like I was falling into myself. I guess I fought it, and I remember saying to my wife next to me that I felt I was passing out. The last thing I remember was her telling me to look up at the lights. The next I was looking wild-eyed at a circle of people around me, who'd apparently caught me as I slumped forward. Several people helped me away from the table to some lounge chairs, but I passed out again as they were sitting me down, with less warning. An ambulance was called, and several friends held up my legs as we waited for its arrival. But by the time it got there 20 or so minutes later, I felt pretty much fine. In the ER, docs took all the vitals and everything was fine. So what happened? I'd had a stressful day. I had long meeting where I gave an hour-long presentation - but this was not unusual for me. I'm an endurance cyclist, and had recently lost a bit of weight due to physical activity (not dieting). That day I'd eaten a very late lunch due to the meeting, and a very late dinner due to the event. Had a bit of wine with dinner, but I do that often. Nothing unusual. Scared my wife to death (she was thinking heart attack at first), and my coworkers were pretty freaked too. I'm a fit, active, healthy person who has never had any health problems. Wish I knew what caused it, if it's likely to happen again, what I can do to avoid it, or if this was just some isolated, singular episode due to the perfect storm of small events that culminated in my body deciding to shut down. Either way I'm worried to go cycling, drive, or even be by myself at the moment. Guess I'll just take it easy for a few days and see what happens. Don't want to be afraid, but hard not to be.