Strength & Hope

"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble."

- Psalm 41:1 (NLT)

Neurogenic Syncope. What in the world is that?

Back in February or March, I passed out randomly while at my apartment. I went to the doctor to try to figure out what in the world was going on. They ran all kinds of tests on me. They thought it was my heart so they did a CT scan, EKG, heart echo, and blood tests. They didn't find anything. My heart was perfectly healthy and there was no sign of diabetes. The doctor mentioned he thought it sounded like neurogenic syncope. After the appointment, I immediately went home to search the internet for more information. This was the most informative site I found.

Photo credit: Justin Lowery

This week, I almost passed out while at work. Around 10 am, I immediately felt shaky and like I could pass out any minute. Pretty terrifying. I took an early lunch in hopes that would help me feel better. I ate a balanced lunch complete with turkey sandwich, grapes, yogurt, and string cheese. It stopped my shakes, but not my passing out feeling. After work, I had my husband take me to a MedCheck clinic. The doctor there said she thought it was neorogenic syncope. That's the second professional to tell me that. She began to explain the treatment options for me. The first one was to do a tilt test. Basically what they do for that is move you into different positions rapidly...trying to induce it (aka make you pass out). The second option was to go see a neurologist. The second option seemed a little less terrifying to me.

They said it can take up to a week to get into the neurologist, so I'm going to try to get in ASAP. She mentioned there are medications out there that can help prevent an episode from happening (thank goodness). It is pretty terrifying, I'm not going to lie. What if I was driving? Or walking up the stairs? Luckily, I can tell when I'm about to pass out with time to spare to sit down or pull over.

Today's verse was a great reminder that God will be there to give me strength. I have hope that the doctors can help me figure out how to help solve this.