A Frightening Episode.

A couple of days ago, I passed out at my desk. Now, I have a lot of experience passing out from alcohol. This was not like that. I felt hot and tingly. It came on very suddenly. I felt very disoriented, and then I lost consciousness. I awoke a moment or two later, drenched in sweat and feeling very weak.

It took me a moment to gather myself. I took off my jacket, and found my shirt soaked through and I was still dripping. After a few minutes, I felt strong enough to stand and head to the bathroom, where I locked myself in a stall and called a friend of mine who is a physician, and he ran me through a long series of questions.

Short version is, I think it was something called Vasovagal Syncope. I’ve passed out like that once before that I recall (about 7-8 years ago), right after a very hot bath. In both cases, I was very dehydrated. Tuesday, I was down almost 4.5 pounds of water weight. I drank a Gatorade, and then had lunch. I felt better and yesterday I felt fine all day.

Yesterday evening I wanted to skip my meeting and work out. I found myself thinking: “I don’t need a meeting, I’m doing fine.” Yeah. That’s how desperate my disease gets sometimes. I’m not fine. My anxiety levels are so high I’m passing out, apparently. I needed to get to my meeting, so I got to my meeting. And shared about the episode and these other feelings.

So, we move forward and on. And I hope I stay upright. I’m seeing my doctor Monday, to talk about the “hernia” and the fainting episode. We’ll get me straightened out.