May 30, 2019

Another Fainting Scare

Estelle and Tuck the Squirrel

I don't have any photos for this post, so here is a photo of Estelle and Tuck, the squirrel who comes to the back door for nuts every day. I'm not sure which of them is teasing the other, but I'm pretty sure Tuck knows he has the upper hand ;)

I have been wanting to write a more personal post lately, but I just haven't really had much to write about. There hasn't been anything going on lately, other than my continuing to feel like a chauffeur. I had never hated driving until this year. I spend SO much time in the car now!

A typical school day:
Drive Eli to school
Drive Noah to school
Drive home
(If I have errands or appointments, I do them here)
Pick up Noah and friend, drive his friend home
Drive Noah home
Pick up Eli from baseball practice
Bring Eli home
Take Noah to drivers training, drive home
Go pick Noah up, drive home

Overall, that adds up to about 3-1/2 hours in the car. It wouldn't be that bad if it was all at once, but because it's spread out throughout the whole day it feels like driving is my whole life.

Thankfully, Noah's last drivers training class is today, and school baseball is over (the kids start summer baseball now, but they are on the same team and they don't have practice every day like Eli did. Tomorrow, Noah's driving instructor is actually picking him up from school, and Noah will make the 30-minute drive home. I cannot believe this is happening! haha

Speaking of Noah, he fainted again. On Monday morning, Jerry, the kids, and I were watching a movie and Noah stood up to go to his bedroom. A few seconds later, I heard a loud thud and Jerry jumped up. I looked over and saw Noah on the floor, so I ran over to him. He was really confused and disoriented for a few seconds, and he said he remembers standing up and then the next thing he knew he was waking up on the floor.

When this happened a couple of months ago, I took him to our general practitioner, and his blood work was all normal. The doctor said it's not that uncommon and without other symptoms, the fainting is probably nothing to worry about. Telling a mom not to worry is like telling the grass not to grow.

On Monday, Jerry said that when he got to Noah on the floor, Noah was shaking. I couldn't see over Jerry very well, but when he said that, I wondered if Noah had had a seizure. To be safe, we took him to the emergency room. They did an EKG and ran a bunch of blood work. Everything was normal. After describing the shaking, they were confident it wasn't a seizure--it was Noah trembling when he came to (I remember this happening to me when I fainted, too).

I asked about a CT scan (my biggest worry is that it's his brain; I've mentioned that my childhood friend Spencer has stage IV brain cancer, and his tumors were discovered in the emergency room after he'd had a seizure). The doctor explained the radiation risks of the CT scan and we decided to hold off on that (I had no idea it involved so much radiation exposure and I'm so glad he told us--I've researched it a bit more since we've been home.)

If Noah has any neurological symptoms, then it would be something we'd want to consider, but the doctor explained how dehydration can cause fainting. I am sure Noah doesn't drink enough water, and that made sense to me. (And later, I remembered that my friend Spencer did have a symptom for a few weeks prior to his seizure--he had phantom smells. He would smell something that wasn't really there or that others could not.)

They gave him IV fluids and then we decided to really push him to stay hydrated from now on and hopefully this won't happen again. He's been taking it pretty seriously, too--bringing a water bottle with him to school and making sure to refill it at least a couple of times throughout the day. I never would have thought that having kids would be so worrisome!

I made a goal for June--to eliminate eating out, getting take-out, or ordering pizza. Because I feel like I am constantly in the car, cooking has felt impossible much of the time. I know that I probably just need to plan better (and utilize my slow cooker more often). The amount of money wasted on food this past month has been insane.

Yesterday, I wrote out a menu and grocery list for the first week of June. I'm going to grocery shop just once a week--no more--and cook dinner every day. If it's a busy day, I will use the slow cooker or make a super quick and easy meal; definitely no more take-out. This is what we did when we first started our budgeting plan to pay off debt. I grocery shopped on Fridays and I planned everything out really well so that nothing was wasted and we used a lot of what we already had.

Aside from the money, I just don't feel good when I eat restaurant food. I feel tired and lethargic, even when I don't overeat. I've been feeling very drained of energy and motivation lately, so I am hoping that eating better will make me feel better!

(I didn't post a Transformation Tuesday this week because I only had a couple of people submit photos--so I'll wait until I get a couple more. Please send in something! It can be something that seems ridiculously insignificant to you, but I assure you, it will be fun for others--including me--to see. The link above explains what/how to send.)


23 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear about Noah!! I heard a stat the other day that something like 75% of Americans are dehydrated/under hydrated and water alone doesn't always help. Lately I've been using powered electrolytes and loving them. My two favorites are Liquid IV and Ultima. They come in multiple flavors and I try to have several a week on top of the 100 oz of water I try to drink

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    1. My whole family is terrible about drinking enough water, so I've really started pushing it on everyone (including myself!).

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    2. Doesn't all the ice you chew count?! ;-)

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    3. Haha, I honestly do probably get in more than 64 ounces a day because of the ice! (*cringe*)

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  2. I would take Noah back to his pediatrician again and see if they want to do anything else like refer to cardiology for an ultrasound of his heart or something. Strange for him to faint twice! How scary.

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    1. Yeah, the ER doctor said that we may want to take him to a pediatric cardiologist. If the increase in fluids doesn't seem to be helping, then I will do that.

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  3. It sounds like Noah is experiencing orthostatic hypotension, a sudden drop in blood pressure that happens when you stand after you've been sitting for a while - this drop is what causes the fainting. I have had this since I was about 13, when I hit a growth spurt, and it's not uncommon for teenagers. Dehydration can absolutely contribute to this and you are smart to get Noah to drink more water. The good news is that OH itself isn't inherently dangerous...but as you know, the big danger of fainting is that you might fall and hit your head. The best advice I have for someone else with OH is to wait a few moments after you stand up before walking anywhere. If you feel dizzy, immediately sit back down. I haven't fainted once since I started doing this. I hope that maybe this is helpful :)

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    1. Yes, that's what I have been telling him. For YEARS, after my "big faint" I've had the same problem when standing up. I have to pause and be careful until my tunnel vision clears and I didn't feel faint (just a quick couple of seconds). I just worry so much that it will happen when he's at school and he'll hit is head! (Or break his face like his mom, haha)

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  4. You mentioned that it happened after Noah stood up...I wonder if he has low blood pressure? I have had fainting spells my whole life (even as a child), related to my normal blood pressure being so low. If I get up too quickly from lying down or even sitting, or if I am dehydrated, on pain medication, or even just too hot, that can lead to a fainting spell. It's call orthostatic hypotension, and if he is aware of it, it's easily managed by just being careful about how quickly he stands up.
    Keeping my fingers crossed for Noah that whatever it is, it's benign. :-)

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    1. I think that orthostatic hypotension makes a lot of sense; it was odd that his blood pressure wasn't at all low when we went to the ER. They measured it standing, sitting, lying; and then after fluids, doing the same thing. There wasn't much of a change. But yes, I've talked to him about standing up slowly and pausing a few moments before he walks, just to make sure. If I hadn't had such a horrible fainting spell back in 2010, when I fell and broke my jaw, I wouldn't be as worried. But now I feel like each time he faints something horrible is going to happen! I hope that drinking more water and standing up carefully will take care of it. :)

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    2. His blood pressure may have been high because of "white coat syndrome"--it's documented that our blood pressure will be higher in clinical settings than at home. I have chronically low blood pressure; at home it's usually 90/60 or something like that. In clinical settings it's usually 100/80. We had an at-home blood pressure cuff we used to monitor our BP. My oldest has low blood pressure as well, and had a fainting spell once. He drinks a lot of water on the regular, so it was probably more blood-sugar related than anything (he forgets to eat sometimes). I would see about getting an at-home blood pressure cuff, they have automated ones that do a decent job, and check his blood pressure at home.

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  5. FYI sometimes when folks faint, they can shake like a seizure. This happened to me and I was treated for seizures for years. Until I was doing my master's degree in nursing and my professor mentioned this and I immediately KNEW I didn't have seizures -- seizures don't come on from things like the sight of my own blood! Standing up too fast is also classic for fainting and not for seizures.

    I was so mad that my Harvard educated neurologist never figured this out.

    But I do agree that it might make sense to see cardiology at some point. Just to be 100% sure. But ha, yes, try not to worry.

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    1. That's so interesting that you were diagnosed with seizures! What a huge mistake. I'm so glad you figured out what was wrong, but I imagine you were taking seizure meds the whole time, which ended up being unnecessary. If his hydrating more doesn't help it, then we will definitely go see a cardiologist. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Poor Noah! How scary! I hope the water intake helps. I can't believe how big your boys are though! They were such little tots when I started reading your blog lol. Omg your kids will probably be graduated by the time I ever get my rear in gear and decide if I want kids of my own haha!

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    1. I know, it's so hard to believe how little they were when I started my blog, and now they are so big! It makes me feel old--my blog is now eight years old. When did that happen?!

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  7. Not sure how it is in your area but where I live doctors are required to report fainting spells to the DMV. Maybe something to ask your doctor about, in case they have to do the same for Noah. I hope they don't!

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    1. I hadn't thought about that, but I will ask the doctor about it when I take Noah in. He's been totally fine ever since it happened, so I hope that it's just the dehydration issue.

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  8. That is so scary about Noah! I love your comment, telling a mom not to worry is like telling the grass not to grow. I am a very anxious parent and totally get it!

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    1. Right?! I wish I could relax when it comes to my kids, but I just want them to be healthy and happy, and it's so hard not to think about it constantly.

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  9. So scary when something like this happens to our kids. I would ask your pediatrician for a referral to a cardiologist. Definitely wouldn't hurt.
    Do you have an Instant Pot? I love my slow cooker and use it often, but I love using my Instant Pot for days when I don't get dinner in the slow cooker and really don't want to cook. It's quick and not much mess at all!
    Love you blog, been a long time reader :-)

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    1. I used to have an Instant Pot, but I rarely used it--I actually forgot I had it until I was remodeling the kitchen! I think I just wasn't really sure what to do with it. I used it a few times to cook roasts, but I don't make those often. I wish I could remember to put things in the slow cooker though! ;)

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  10. One more thought related to Noah's fainting. I just read an article about electrolytes that had the below information. My son had this happen a few times when he was about Noah's age. That was about ten years ago and he drinks more water now, gets plenty of pink Himalayan salt on his food, hasn't had any more fainting spells in years, and his health is great.

    Postural Hypotension

    If you’ve ever felt dizzy and unsteady upon standing up from a seated position, you’ve experienced postural hypotension. Blood pools in the lower half of your body while sitting and the blood pressure is inadequate to adjust in time. Without enough blood in your brain, things don’t work so well. It only lasts for a second or two, but it’s no fun.

    Sodium depletion is a major risk factor for postural hypotension. Eating more salt is a quick fix. Standard medical treatment of postural hypotension is to have the patient consume up to a tablespoon and a half of extra salt per day.

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    1. This is a huge possibility for him (and the same thing happened to me for a few years--literally EVERY time I stood up from a sitting position). My cardiologist told me to get more sodium. I'm watching Noah closely ;)

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