Passing Out and Back Injuries
 

I had a flare to my arm around easter time and ever since then I have been passing out on a regular basis
Its happening around 3pm for a few times and the stops till around 8pm when it gets more regualr and lasts right up to going to sleep
Each time I pass out I'm out between a minute and anything up to ten and when I come round I have no recollection of anything thats happened
Its ended up that I have hurt my head banginging it against the car window and then around three weeks ago I hurt my back really bad
My back has now developed a large swelling and lesion which neither my own consultant or a spinal consultant can find any reason for
They are now saying that the lump and lesion may be due to how my CRPS is reacting to the injury - great its in my back now :-(
Its not healing because I continue to hurt it when I pass out but no-one has any ideas on why thats happening either
I was due to undergo trials or a baclofen pump in the near future and nothing else seems to work pain-wise. Now thats been shelved because of my back problems so I'm in a really bad place at the moment
I was just wondering if any of you out there had experienced similar problems with your back or passing out and if you had any suggestions as to something which may help
Thanks
Alison x

Ali , That has to be awful scary ... have you changed any of your meds lately ? I know I had a similar issue sev. yrs ago and it turned out to be one of the antidepresents they had me on . Not sure which one (brain fog) , but when I weaned myself off ,that problem went away . mine came on and felt like a very sudden (within seconds) drowsiness and I would pass out/fall asleep mid sentence of talking with someone or whatever I was doing , and would awake unaware of anything I missed . I usually would have a second or two to react and I would make sure to position myself not to hurt myself . Good luck and take care !

I had that too. I would pass out and get these jerks when I woke up. My dr told me it was because my body was so exhausted it would get into a state of "relaxation" even though it doesnt feel like it, and then I subconsiously wake up with a bad shake. Its so scary not remembering what happens. I would be in the middle of a sentence and id fade away and when I came awake again I had no recollection of what happened. I was on heavy narcotics after a surgery plus neurontin, baclofen, tramadol, etc plus the others. Its scary. What meds are you taking right now??

Is the passing out due to high pain levels - or is there some other possible cause for it?

Head hitting things - can cause the c1 & c2 to get out of alignment which can start up various troubles. {called Upper cervical/ atlas/axis}

some info links-
Chiropractic care info- a good one can help with many symptoms:
http://www.upcspine.com/self.htm
http://www.uppercervical.org/subpag...b/about_faq.php
http://www.spineuniverse.com/index.html
http://www.coloradochiropractic.org/.../glossary.html

Ali, So sorry for your battle with this monster. I had the passing out problem when I was prescribed Nuerontin. I had taken it for a little while before the passing out started. I pray that your problem may be as simple as just finding out this may be caused by a drug reaction. Best wishes, Lisa

Thanks for replying everyone
I don't think the passing out is medication related
The only medication I was taking when all this started was ketamine because nothing else works for me and I have been taking ket for well over a year
I tend to think its just another problem associated to the RSD
When I was in GOSH a couple of years ago my therapist told me about a girl who used to pass out regularyl because of the pain so I guess thats what might be happening here
My consultant hasn't come accross it before and is going to look into it - he wasnt overly worried until it resulted in this back injury
Its now difficult to plan my life round it because I can't risk being out when the collapsing starts
Alison x

Hi Ali,

Just to let you know I PM'd you about passing out - it's something that's been happening to me for years. It is really annoying and frustrating, but what isn't with this disease?

Pain free hugs and understanding!!

Rosie xxxx

Well, Ali, I think this new problem is alarming!

I DO think it is the ketamine. Long term use of this drug is not common, and is relatively new.

Here is a list of side effects possible...including the clonic movements resembling seizures.

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/ketamine-side-effects.html

You can not stop this drug cold turkey, if you decide to not use it anymore. It should be tapered with medical supervision.

One should always consider any or all drugs they are taking when some alarming new symptom presents itself.

Hey Ali,
 

Welcome back.

I agree with Mrs. D. I think the passing out issue is something they need to be looking hard at.

I have passed out once in my lifetime that I know of and that was from the heat.

Stay on top of this and make sure they try to find the cause. It could be the high level of pain, I agree on that but it just seems like it could most likely be something more serious medically.

Take care,
Ada

This is Alisons Mum - thought I'd take time out to thank you all for replying
I'm not really sure what is happening here - I tend to think that the underlying cause is the recent flare and increase in pain as although Alison takes ketamine this is something we have tried to limit only to an "as and when required" medication as we both felt she was far too young to be taking large quantities of this drug on a regular basis
Over the past two months the passing out has been getting worse and predicatably happens around mid afternoon and then early evening onwards.
Following on from the back injury Alison was prescribed codeine and dicolfenac
She started taking this on Friday and ever since then we have noticed that when she passes out now she seems to have violent convulsions and shaking which seem to be getting worse
I've looked at the side effects of these new medications and it looks like codeine could be causing this - although it could be coincidental and be that this would have happened anyway
I've started reducing the codeine to see if things improve just to be sure that it isn't this new medication causing the problem
I'll keep you all informed
Thanks
Andrea x

I would for sure check up on all possible causes, like those from meds and such, but I did want to throw out there also that I have a relatively benign condition (had it long before the CRPS) called neurocardiogenic syncope Of course, they did a total workup (brain, heart, etc.) before coming to that conclusion. There is a relatively simple test called a tilt test that can confirm the diagnosis, although not reacting on the test doesn't mean that you don't have it.

For me, it's a reaction to pain. I have a pretty decent pain tolerance luckily, but when something hurts too badly, I have a tendency to pass out. The neuro said that the only danger really is that I'd hurt myself (like you did) during one of the faints.

I've gotten pretty good at reading the signs. If I feel it coming down, I can't always communicate it to others, but I can sit quickly. While I can't always ward it off entirely, I can at least prevent myself from injuring myself.

Again, no clue if this is what you have, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case.

Firstly a hug to Ali.

From what Alison has said she has a diagnosis of dystonia.

The severe shaking whilst passed out suggests that it might be a dystonic storm. The codeine and diclofenac may be causing a dystonic storm from tardive dystonia. The problem is that pain doctors don't tend to know what a dystonic storm is (as, as ever, it is pretty rare) and neurologists tend to not have that much knowledge of storms. Mine were diagnosed by a movement disorder neurologist after several weeks hospitalisation after going into status dystonicus.

I'm only suggesting it may be a dystonic storm as I have had these for the last three years or so and I also pass out from pain. Like Ali mine (90% of the time) occur in the evening. I can only draw on my personal experience by for me it is very important that, especially in the evening, I am in a safe place as I tend to get injured during storms but this is probably due to the mix of generalised dystonia, HMS and RSD.

I do wonder if the ketamine has anything to do with it as I am also on ketamine and another girl I know who takes ketamine also has evening "issues"..

It might just be worth checking out about the dystonic storms as there are some meds that can be used to deal with them.

Love, hugs, and understanding of how scary this feels (and James sends his love as he knows how scary it is to be a responsible bystander!)

Rosie xxx

PS WILL CATCH UP EVERYONE... PROMISE!

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for the support - I really appreciate it :)!

I've had an appointment today with my Neurologist and he has diagnosed me with a severe cause of Reflex Syncope. It is caused by the autonomic nerves and a severe drop in blood pressure and heart rate which causes me to faint and have seizures similar to Epilepsy. It is believed to be caused in my cause by the pain so we need to try and get that under control for it to get at least somewhat better. The problem is because of my back injury, I can't have the Baclofen pump which could help reduce the pain!

It's really scary and I have been told that most people have it from puberty until their 20s however because of my RSD, I could have it forever until the pain goes away.

I've collapsed about 20 times today - the worst my Neurologist has seen on average is 15 times daily.

I'm having a back MRI soon so i'm hoping that once we know the results of that we will be able to tell what is wrong and decide whether we can go ahead with the pump.

Thanks again for all your support and i'll keep you updated.

Alison

My first 2 years with arachnoiditis/crps2 i passed out hundred of times because my nervous system was so confused. its sorta like an old computer that locks up. computers lock up and humans pass out due to pain. i was told that when you pass out from pain a lot that your pain is in the high 20's,yikes:eek:. i hated the fact that when you get that 'sensation', i didnt know if i was going to puke or faint so i had to get ready for both and fast. i also wore rollerblade wrist guards to protect from fracturing the wrists from falling because sometimes you dont have enough time to get down to your knees.

i know you are trying to be as active as possible(and this is great) but remember when stuff like this happens you have to listen to the body and take it easy. i know what your thinking, DUH!!!!, i am just reminded you.:wink:

take care and if this persists, even though you wont like the looks of it, you might consider at least wearing a bike helmet. you dont want your life to get any worse than it is and if you are fainting 20 times a day, the odds of you falling and hitting hard are going up...

take care Ali,

mike