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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Fainted in work

43 replies

user1498912461 · 12/11/2017 21:27

So I embarrassingly fainted in work the other day. Felt dreadful and blacked out. Threw up twice and luckily DH came to my rescue! is it a good idea to see a doctor after fainting?

OP posts:

Scruffette · 12/11/2017 21:58

I would get checked out. A friend felt awful and out of breath recently and went to the doc. I thought she was a bit hysterical but it turns out something is wrong With her heart and needs an operation . Better be assured for the price of a GP visit.

notacooldad · 12/11/2017 22:02

Otherwise healthy people don’t just faint. Get it checked out.
I did for many years. From the age of about 11 to about 6 years ago. ( I'm 52 now)

Everything is perfectly ok, I had tests, scans and the like. I am ok just used to faint now and again.I could go 8 years between a faint and then it would happen again. I would have warning signs before hand _ metal taste in my mouth, feel sweaty and then Bang, out cold.
The consultants said it definitely wasn't epilepsy.

Paleninteresting · 12/11/2017 22:06

The stomach cramps sound related to a grastro problem. Did you have an upset tummy?
I have IBS and faint when I have a bad attacke.

StrangeLookingParasite · 12/11/2017 22:14

It was out of the blue. I started to sweat, felt very hot (it wasn't hot), I was actually sitting down at the time. Started to black out, stood up to go somewhere more private and fainted. Had bad stomach cramps (not period pains) and couldn't stand without feeling like I might faint for several hours after. Completely out of the blue and felt OKish the day after.

Well that's odd. I had a very similar episode on Friday night (in an M & S, oddly enough). I didn't faint, but certainly felt like I was going to for a while.

Hassled · 12/11/2017 22:14

I used to be a regular fainter in my 20s and early 30s - once standing on a train, and into the lap of an elderly man. But I always had low blood pressure - and as I say, it was so frequent that it became sort of normal. This isn't normal for you - I agree you should probably get it checked out.

ThisTimeItsTrue · 12/11/2017 22:14

Otherwise healthy people don’t just faint. Get it checked out

I used to faint but was healthy. I just have low blood pressure and if I stood up quickly and was sick, tired or menstruating I would regularly faint. I almost used to enjoy it as I'd have really trippy dreams. 😆

OP If this happened 'the other day' then I wouldn't bother seeing the doctor. I'd wait and see what happens in the future. Up to you though as only you know how you feel.

MuncheysMummy · 12/11/2017 22:18

I had this recently when I had a D&V bug! Only vomited once but felt dizzy and faint for over 24 hours and did pass out properly too on the first day!

SD1978 · 12/11/2017 22:19

Pain can cause a vagal response and cause fainting- if the abdo pain came before the faint- I would imagine the doctor will put it down to that. They may do some basic bloods though to confirm no metabolic imbalances. Personally if it was a one off I wouldn’t, but if it’s worrying you, better to allay your worries and see a GP.

S1monPegg · 12/11/2017 22:22

Healthy people do faint, I do.

SheGotBetteDavisEyes · 12/11/2017 22:24

I started to sweat, felt very hot (it wasn't hot), I was actually sitting down at the time. Started to black out, stood up to go somewhere more private and fainted

I've had this. It is related to blood sugar in my case, but with a complicating panic attack-type reaction.

It’s a faint. What would you be expecting the GP to,say?

Something along the lines of, 'okay lets investigate this?' Ask questions? Diagnose possible issues? Check BP? Listen to heartbeat?

Hope you're feeling okay now OP.

sadiemm2 · 12/11/2017 23:09

I'm a serial fainter too, but have dysautonomic type stuff going on. If you feel grot again, see a GP for reassurance.

LeMesmer · 12/11/2017 23:48

With the vomiting, do you have a stomach bug or food poisoning? If I have either of those I almost always faint when I feel I am going to be sick. Sometimes I am then sick, sometimes not. Once the stomach problem has passed it doesn't happen again. Looked it up (Dr Google) and it is an unusual but not unheard of problem for some people. But if you are worried about it see your Doctor. I sympathise OP, it is a horrible feeling, and quite frightening if it has never happened before.

Thymeout · 13/11/2017 00:05

I was told I had a hypersensitive autonomic system. Pain, standing or kneeling for long periods, too hot, too cold. I also always fainted when having an IUD inserted. I'd be lying flat, not nervous, and as soon as they dilated my cervix, my blood pressure would drop like a stone and I'd be gone. Something to do with the vagus nerve.

Otherwise, I'm perfectly healthy. No heart or b.p. problems.

If you google fainting, there's a video giving advice on what to do if you feel faint.

ClumsyFool · 13/11/2017 00:39

This happened to a friend of mine, threw up twice then fainted. Turned out she had extremely low iron. Not sure if it was through an internal bleed or had just dropped over a period of time, cannot remember for the life of me, but she had to be given iron intravenously to boost it and then take tablets for a few months. It never happened again and she was much better after her iron levels had been increased.
Obviously I have no idea whether that’s a possibility for you but it’s just the shortness of breath thing can be a sign of anaemia so it might be worth a quick blood test.

Wigeon · 13/11/2017 10:04

The problem with faints is that some have pretty simple causes and cures (eg being too hot standing up on a crowded train - cure is sitting down / getting some fresh air) and others have more serious causes and treatments (eg underlying cardiac problem which could potentially be serious). So the reason to go to the GP would be to try to establish if what happened what due to one of the fairly straightforward causes (and can be easily prevented or treated) or possibly a more serious cause.

Mumto2two · 13/11/2017 10:50

Does sound very much like a vagal faint..but it is always best to ask your doctor.
I have had two episodes of fainting that turned out to be more than I thought. The first was due to my blood pressure suddenly dropping from a serious infection...I thought I just had flu. And the second time, turned out to be cardiac related, and an ECG quickly spotted what was wrong! If in doubt...just check it out

Nettletheelf · 13/11/2017 11:48

My money is also on a vagal response.

I’d set your expectations before visiting the GP though, OP. I’m a fainter of many years’ experience and the first four times I went to (various) GPs about it, their response was a variant on, “what do you expect me to do about it?”

It was finally diagnosed in A&E after I broke my nose and got concussion, fainting in a bathroom (as have others on this thread!).

If you are a vagal fainter, and your symptoms sound exactly like mine from the metallic taste, sweating etc., your biggest risk is head injury, especially from falling off the loo face forwards! So like others on this thread I sit/lie on the floor when I feel the faintness coming on and I’ve got time to respond.

Another good tip is, if you feel the symptoms of Norovirus coming on, get home immediately. Nothing worse than a Norovirus induced vagal faint on public transport!

Original poster

user1498912461 · 13/11/2017 12:42

Thanks all! Rung the doctors this morning and they wouldn't see me but have sent me for a blood test. Will see what the results say! She didn't seem that bothered as it happened a few days ago now. Could be anemic as I was severely anemic during pregnancy and was never re-tested.

OP posts:

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