Mumsnet Talk

I'd never fainted before in my life until recently when I keeled over after getting out of bed.

The Bloke thought it was hilarious, after making sure I was OK, because I managed to catch the bedside lamp I'd knocked over on the way down despite not being consciously aware of doing so (ninja reactions!)

Then it happened again about a week later when I stood up too quickly after getting up from dinner.

A trip to the docs just confirmed I've just got hilariously low blood pressure. This was not news to me as I've been told that I've got low bp on several occasions. He told me to add more salt to my diet (and said he generally has to give the opposite advice to people these days) and to get up slowly when I've been sitting for a while.

It's probably just a reaction to the stress of being in the hospital, OP... I wouldn't worry to much.

On a related note, a friend of mine faints regularly on hearing gory stories, or even on hearing stories about people in danger. I found this out the hard way when I first met her by relating a grim anecdote a doctor friend of mine had told me and turning round to see her spark out on the floor...

i nearly fainted when my ds had a blood test recently
It feels like a shock, I think the blood vessels constrict. All I can say is that he is very empathic, you know, it's a bit like when you see someone falling over and you feel like you hurt. I know this is how it feels to me.

Bizarrely, both times he has fainted from sitting.....

When he's fainted has he been standing up for a short while (am imagining him standing by hospital beds for 5 mins or more in both cases?). If so then it could be that he's locking his knees and this can trigger a vasovagal response. Combined with the stress, heat of a hospital etc that might be causing it.

Should add the 'I am not a doctor' disclaimer here along with getting it checked out etc, but it may be worth considering if the standing up is a factor and mentioning it to the doc etc.

I knew a young girl who had really low blood pressure and family were worried as she fainted a few times outside in the street. Dr just said there was nothing to increase BP other than lots of exercise and perhaps salt.

Shock can also can also cause a sudden drop in BP resulting in fainting.

Oh me too, I faint in hospitals, dentists, doctors and even sometimes opticians (when they do the eye-pokey thing). It's just a completely uncontrollable squeamish reaction. Embarrassing but not that uncommon.

I faint when I give blood sometimes, get too hot or anxious or am in a lot of pain. I think it's just one of those things that you can be prone to.

It's not just men

I hate anything medical and have been known to faint on many occasions where a needle or blood is involved!!!!

My husband is similar, although he faints more often! He once fainted whilst driving on a motorway, thankfully I was in thè car with him and reacted quickly it was also late at night so little traffic or he wouldnt be here today.
He faints if he's unwell, ie as soon as he has vomited, he fainted during a tattoo so that has never been finished off, during his vasectomy he fainted twice and was unconscious for so long they admitted him to hospital and demanded he had more tests (he had already had some after the motorway incident)
Still no real diagnosis, they've said it's just "one of those things" and to try and avoid the triggers when they did tilt testing on him he fainted and they said most people who faint either their blood pressure OR heart rate drops but he is one of few where both drops to dangerously low levels, as does his blood sugar.

My DH did the exact same thing last week. I was having a miscarriage, lots of heavy bleeding, rushed to A & E. Being examined in the gynae dept, holding on to DH for support when he faints and sinks gracefully into chair like some Victorian heroine!!

He too said the room was stuffy and combined with the stress, he didnt feel too good. But funny thing is he did feel dizzy at home a few times in the week leading up to it which scared me a bit. So hijacked the ward nurse and made her check his BP, which was fine. Nurse also suggested he check his blood levels, coz he might be anaemic. But DH being "macho man" is not listening to me about booking appt with Dr. Grrrr....

Hopefully, your DH will listen to you and actually get himself checked out. But if he faints only during hospital visits, I wouldnt be too concerned. He just might be finding it claustrophobic or he is a wuss

Sorry

My father was the same. He was OK visiting me and baby in Hospital, but when visiting SIL after an operation, he fainted and said it was the smells in her room. He never visited anyone again in hospital. I had quite a few ops after that, but he did not visit. We stayed in hospital 8 days then.

My DH is exactly the same. He just doesn't cope well with hospitals. DD has been in A&E many times as she epilepsy. DH feels faint in there. It is often stuffy, he admits he can't cope with all the machines beeping and I think that added to the stress of concern for DDs well being just causes him to feel faint. They always have to get him a chair and a drink of water! We avoid him going with DD now if possible - I seem to deal much better with the whole thing.
He has also given blood .......once. They told him not to come back again as he fainted afterwards.
SO I would say that your husband is probably perfectly healthy! He just can't cope with the environment and all it entails. I assume they will have checked his blood pressure etc in 'Recovery' so unless he shows signs of feeling faint elsewhere, then I don't think I would be too concerned!

(Sorry - didn't finish that off well!)

Has anyone else experienced this...? Should we expect this to happen every time DH enters a hospital?! Should we see someone about it?

A year ago - whole I was laid out on the table having a c-section - my DH fainted. Totally spark out and had to be brought round 2 or three times. For a moment his condition was more of a concern than mine(!) as he was struggling to stay conscious. He can't recall whether anything made him feel ill and wasn't aware of feeling anxious or anything. He had eaten and drunk but he just fainted clean out. We put it down to a random one of those things. DD who was being born is our third baby and he had coped well with on 8 hour vaginal birth and another c-section before that. So it just seemed an odd thing.

Today he went with our eldest DD to hospital as she has had five teeth removed under GA. had a text an hour ago to say she was in recovery and then another one 15 mins later to say HE had fainted in recovery....!! He is now in a trolley next to DD and though he hasn't fainted again he has struggled with feeling unwell again if he sits up for too long. He didn't eat much this morning but did eat whole DD was under GA - baked potato etc do something substantial.

What could be calling this?? He has only ever fainted once before DDs birth and that was after he gave blood once. Never done it since.