Fainting after a poo. Wtf is wrong with me AIBU?

[PassTheSmellingSalts]

Aibu to be pissed off that no doctor seems to take this seriously?

I've been having trouble with fainting from period pain for about two years. The good news is now I'm wise to what's going on - as soon as I feel shaky and weird, I lie down and manage to not totally black out. It feels like I'm on the very edge and is fucking horrendous, but I can stave it off if lying down.

This all has progressed to feeling faint on lots of random days not on my period. The fucking best one is that having a totally normal poo (as in, not being weak from a stomach bug or whatever) can set off a major faint episode about five mins after getting off the loo.

I feel like complete shit (no pun intended) after any of these faint spells. I'm so frustrated. I'm worried it will happen when trying to cross a road, or waiting on a train platform.

Gp was nice but just said to get on with it, basically. I'm diabetic (type 1) so mentioned it to my consultant and again they were nice but just said eat more salt.

I'm wondering if I have POTS, or some other blood pressures problem.

I am also getting increasingly worried that diabetes has affected my vagus nerve, that can be responsible for bringing on fainting. Autonomic neuropathy in diabetics damages things like the vagus nerve and nerves in the heart.

But nobody seems to take this seriously. What can I do? AIBU to want to know what's happening to me so I can try to get a solution?

Have they done a blood test to rule out anaemia? I suffer from bouts of anaemia and it can make me feel really faint and generally unwell. They should be taking you seriously either way, especially as you have other health problems.

There was a thread about this over the weekend. It is a thing. Someone's DH had fainted.

I know EXACTLY what this is as I sometimes get the same thing. Tbh I got it much more in my twenties than I do now.
Sometimes straining, or cramping, can cause blood pressure to drop rapidly and make you faint. I'd be fine one minute, go for a poo, and then emerge later shaking and white as a sheet.

It's called a vasovagal reaction

Yes, I have blood tests done quite regularly including anaemia and show nothing out of the ordinary.

I didn't see another thread about it! How weird! Although it sort of makes sense as when I googled this, it seemed to think this was a guy thing. But I'm not a man!

Jamon, yes the vasovagal reflex. Ahh what joy. I'm glad yours is not happening so much these days! What changed?!

Also (TMI) I never strain when I go, so it's not that. My actual digestive tract itself seems to be working pretty much perfectly.

It's this bizarre side effect.

It's not always from straining. V hit and miss. Horrid though. I don't really know why it started happening less.

I always feel faint after a poo (normal consistency, not straining). Luckily I always go first thing so I go back to bed straight afterwards for 15 mins. My doc said it's absolutely nothing to worry about.

I have lower than average BP, not anaemic (but take regular iron) and often get dizzy if I do an exercise class before 10am. A good breakfast helps this.

I had this and it baffled my doctors. 2 said it was normal periods but I finally got 1 to listen. We did hospital tests and internal investigations and it's ended up being a type if food intolerance. Basically I was eating bad foods the day before my period. I would come on my period and go for a poo and then I would do as you do Id get all clammy/hot/dizzy and would faint. My periods are so irregular so it took a while to notice but basically the intolerance/ibs/period/low blood sugar first thing all caused mass pain (sometimes 2 cocodmaol wouldn't shift the pain)

I ended up on the FODMAP diet for a while and it's definitely helped me see it was ibs/food intolerance and it doesn't happen very often now.

DIdnt JD have that problem in Scrubs years back? Don't have time to google now.

I get this and have serious endometriosis on my bowel.

Hmm, placemarking. I’ve found myself on the bathroom floor twice, having no idea how I got there.

2 girls at school used to keel over daily. One had POTS, the other a cyst on her brain. Both had an anti-depressant medication which stopped them fainting for their GCSEs. Not sure if the OP wants to investigate this.

Google Vasovagal IBS. It's horrible. My attacks last for about an hour. Some people actually faint and hurt themselves hitting washbasin or bath. I think my attacks are caused by an intolerance to sulphites (eg in dried apricots). I have hives, chills, go pale and blood pressure drops dramatically.

Same as me Ingurr, mine's def linked to IBS. Once I started eliminating certain foods and treating the IBS it definitely got easier. Does still happen occasionally though.

Are you in pain when you go for a poo? If so, combined with the period pain, I’d consider endometriosis

Mary Roach explains it in her book - Guts I think it is called. Its a vagus response - a huge drop in blood pressure. I get it when anyone goes near my cervix to the utter horror of the last nurse to do a smear.

It also explains why Elvis et al die on the toilet - suffering severe constipation. Go back to the Dr and demand they take it seriously.

More salt is a recommended treatment for low blood pressure, my friend has diagnosed POTS and carries sachets of salt in her bag everywhere, she has to eat a ridiculous amount of it.

No, no pain at all when going to the loo! That's why it's surprising me - I understand my vasovagal syncope in response to the severe period pain, but on the loo there is usually zero pain.

Sometimes, I do get a stabby pain in the arse though. But that's not necessarily linked to going to the loo, it can be virtually at any time especially around ovulation. A gynae doc told me that as I experience the stabbing arse pain when ovulating, that means it's not endo, as that's only linked to it happening on your period. I've since lost faith in that gynae department and am trying to chase up my bad periods as well.

That butt pain has never produced the fainting though - it takes my breath away as it's so unpleasant but is not severe enough to make me pass out.

Not constipated, I poo in a textbook fashion Things speed up and I go multiple times on my period and sometimes around ovulation but that's pretty normal I think.

It’s vasovagal syncope. I have the exact same thing with the exact same triggers as you!

Well, I feel weirdly relieved that I now know other women suffer with this. It's horrible!

Javelin arse.

Sounds vasovagal.

Check your blood pressure sitting and standing, and go from there. Maybe postural hypotension. Worth discussing that specifically with GP.

Do you have low resting blood pressure? It's probably a vasovagal reflex syncope, but if your blood pressure is low anyway you don't need much of a further reduction to make you faint.

There are treatment options but nobody can really make recommendations without taking a full medical history and discussing the details with you.

Yes, I'm pretty sure it's my blood pressure dropping dramatically and so is the GP. He says because it's always on the low side, then anything that triggers it to drop lower will have this result.

What I'm not clear on, is when simple low blood pressure is ok, and when it becomes POTS. No doctors seem to think it's POTS. Which I mean is good, but something definitely is not right.

Fed up. I still feel awful. i

Gp did say if I was not diabetic he'd recommend trying medication to raise my blood pressure.

Unfortunately, the medication also raises blood sugar, so I can't take it.