Anyone else had a teenager that faints a lot?

[Bigkingdom]

In the last 6 weeks my 14 year old has fainted twice. The first time i found her on the kitchen floor and she was taking a while to come round so an ambulance took her to hospital. They couldn’t find a cause.

A few days ago it happened again. This time she came round quicker. I called the doctor and she is having a blood test tomorrow. The fainting always happens soon after waking up.

Has anyone experienced this before?

Low blood pressure?

I used to work with someone like this. It turned out she wasn't eating breakfast.

I fainted once or twice as a teen straight after getting out of bed and experienced other situations like standing up too quickly and becoming dizzy.

For me it was down to anemia and having low blood pressure.
Try and get her to take it slow and sit for a bit after waking up, just in case.

Hope you get some answers soon

That was me as a teenager. Often on waking up too. I had quite low blood pressure for most of my adult life. It is still a bit below normal even now. I rarely even get dizzy any more though. It is good that the Dr is on it. Hopefully it will turn out to be nothing.

This was me! Low blood sugar AND low blood pressure and probably dehydration too. I always have a whole glad of water brie I get up and I never jump straight out of bed. Teach her to lie on the floor anywhere straight away until the light headed feeling has passed. Better than fracturing your skull from fainting which was also me.

This website is from the specialist fainting clinic at the Hammersmith Hospital in London and covers the commons reasons for faints: stopfainting.com/. I have been having severe faints so have become somewhat of an expert! Do the faints happen when she stands up from sitting or lying? Eg when she gets out of bed? Does she come round quickly after lying flat with legs elevated ideally? Could well be low blood pressure with lack of food and dehydration over night. Faints in girls during puberty are not that uncommon.

What have the doctors said? The problem with losses of consciousness is that they can be benign, or there can be all sorts of more serious causes.

There is a whole Facebook group of 1000s of fainters called “Living with vasovagal syncope” (posh term for a faint) if you’re interested.

Yup my pal used to get up, go to the toilet and would wake up having fainted at the top of the stairs and fallen right down them.
It was anaemia and I think thyroid and low bp issues.
Sorted now. She put on some weight and that helped too. Don’t know why.

Is it when she goes from sitting to standing? There is a condition called Postural Tachycardia syndrome which can cause frequent faints. You can test very easily at home, by downloading a heart rate app on your phone ( they are pretty reliable) and measuring heart rate while sitting and then 1, 5 and 10 mins after standing up. If it raises more than 30bpm, she may have POTS. There are several similar conditions - look at the STARS website.

I fainted a lot as a teen but was anorexic. I hope obviously this isn't the case.

Anaemia is the first choice, dehydration is second, then look at hypotension and POTS.

I was always fainting as a teen and well in to my 20s. Think it was low b/p.
Haven’t fainted in years th am fully, it’s not very nice.
Scary for you all but they should be able to get to the bottom of it.

Thanks for all your replies.

She usually wakes up and gets straight up and comes downstairs for breakfast and that is when it happens.

I have now been taking her some juice in the morning and she gets up slowly. I read anaemia could be the reason so have upped her green leafy veg etc. Also bought liquid iron but the doctor said wait until after the blood test to start those. Its just quite scary watching her faint.

I was that as a teen and stil have issues.

I had quite low blood pressure as a child, requiering medication and I still have issues when something else is going on. So, my period, any kind of illness or pain or being too hot and DH knows that I need sugar and getting down on the floor/bed/couch fast with legs up in the air.

It is difficult to diagnose as as soon as the fainting spell is over you are virtually back to normal. My parents had a blood pressure monitor at home and I was measured three times a day. My sister and a friend had to wear monitors 24 hours and also being fully awake (my sister didn't last, she fell asleep and my mum stopped it).

Your teen needs to learn to lie down as soon as she feels funny, legs up on a higher surface, a chair, bed, sofa, bathtub. Don't lock doors and I had a glass of juice or chocolate milk first thing before getting up. Ask her to keep a diary to see if there is a pattern like getting her period or during ovulation or any other issues. Stress is also a big one or having any other kind of pain/being ill.

I am actually not from the UK and found my GP was quite unknown about it when I had issues as an adult when on my period, now sure if that is still the case. In my home country the GPs recognise it as an issue and have several avenues to diagnose and treat it.

I'm a fainter. I have low blood pressure. But basically I faint when I'm thirsty or hungry or when going from crouching to standing too quickly.

I was a teenager who fainted a lot. Pain, hunger, the sight of blood, heat... I last fainted about 7 years ago (aged 30). Before that it was a few times a year. I think I got better at looking after myself. Looking back, I was probably dehydrated a lot.

My DS used to do this. The first time i also called an ambulance.

It seemed to happen if he didn't eat straight away in the morning. If he went for a shower first he would faint minutes after getting out. This was from about ages 14-16 then it just stopped.

Some Good suggestions made already. Look at Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (Potsuk.org) if persistent. It's not a heart condition, often materialises for females during puberty & can often be managed with dietary changes or if needed medication. Easy test is check HR after complete lying down rest for 20 mins+, then get her to stand & check HR immediately & regularly up to 5 mins. A 30 bpm increase is indicative.

If she’s ever pregnant tell her to watch out for a recurrence!

Hopefully this will be well in the future of course. But I was prone to fainting as a teen and had pretty much forgotten about it by the time I got pregnant in my late 20s. Then I was passing out all over the place in the early stages!

I had one but different circumstances. She's 23 now but very often fainted during biology. In the end they gave her a seat by the door and she could go out if they were showing/doing anything dodgy. She still got an A in GCSE but didn't take it in A level, unlike the other two sciences. She's a secondary school maths teacher now. Lets hope she never has to cover a biology class!

Our eldest fainted a bit.

No idea why, but he grew out of it.

Yes, we have one who often faints. A combination of low blood pressure, dehydration and not eating enough (eating disorder).

Hope the doctor and blood tests will be reassuring.

Yes, I have slightly low blood pressure, there is a family history. I found the usual response from the Drs was how healthy it was to have low blood pressure, and zero help/advise.

I still feel faint often but now very rarely collapse as I manage it better - only time in last 9 years was when I broke and dislocated a bone.

@FromTheAllotment

If she’s ever pregnant tell her to watch out for a recurrence!

Hopefully this will be well in the future of course. But I was prone to fainting as a teen and had pretty much forgotten about it by the time I got pregnant in my late 20s. Then I was passing out all over the place in the early stages!

This was the reason my boss knew about it when I was only 6 weeks along. I couldn’t cope with cramped commuting so was on the office at least an hour early. I think that was one of the last times I fainted, doing it during 8.30am London commute can be embarrassing.

In the end ir was so bad, I work 2 out of 5 days from home, luckily I had such a great employer they didn’t say anything apart from “what else do you need?”

I was one. If I got up slowly and ate a large breakfast and ate a dozen biscuits at breaktime, it was usually OK. By 17-18 it got better, but I still have to eat regularly.

Dd used to but it was due to excessively heavy periods.

I was a big fainter for about 10 years.
Didn't have enough iron (crappy veggie diet) and grew out of it. Spent large parts of my teens with my head between my knees and people flapping unhelpfully around me.
I hope your DD is well again soon @Bigkingdom
As time goes on she might learn to feel it coming on and know to sit down and lower her head, then it will hopefully pass without her actually keeling over so much.