Quote:
Originally Posted by Moose72
I was at the mall today with my youngest. We were taking a break and sitting in the food court. I needed to use the restroom, so I stood up and whoosh! I grabbed onto the chair below me because I really thought I was going to faint! At one moment, I felt I was "swooning" and the next second I said, "Oh no!" as the feeling happened again, this time stronger. This sometimes happens when I get up from bed, but this was worse and in public. I'm guessing its Seroquel or Haldol, or just plain heat mixed with the meds? Dehydration mixed in? I purposefully went to the mall because its air conditioned to avoid things like this.
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I know how unsettling of a feeling this is. I don't often get this feeling anymore, but I used to a lot and occasionally do under certain circumstances.
I do take propranolol (20 mg morn/20 mg evening, to equal 40 mg per day), but in my case, I doubt propranolol was ever the culprit. I actually believe my Seroquel XR and/or possibly my Tegretol XR may be partly to blame, when I feel I could possibly faint. In my case, I also think anxiety can sometimes play a part. In the past, dissociative feelings could make me feel a little loopy. Overheating, which I can easily experience, also seems to be a factor in me feeling potentially faint.
Beyond medications, I have actually fainted in the past because of stress, even without being on medications at the time. Extreme stress can affect the blood flow to the brain. I have fainted and been temporarily unconscious at least five times in my life...mostly in my childhood. I believe all those times had to do with extreme mental duress. Sometimes when you are so extremely mentally unwell, fainting can be a way to "check out" or "give relief". However, I do recall one time which turned out traumatizing.
I can certainly see why your psychiatrist suspects propranolol. I hope that if you've cut down or stopped it that the feelings of fainting go away. If they don't, then maybe it is another medication or situation. Do you tend to have low blood pressure? For a number of years, my blood pressure has been absolutely perfect, while on propranolol. However, before I took propranolol, I actually had bouts of low blood pressure that I found out about during psych hospitalizations. I remember the nurses telling me I could not take my medications until my blood pressure increased a bit. They used to tell me to drink some water and do some walking around the ward. That usually helped. Do you drink plenty of water?
I take propranolol for tachycardia (fast heartbeat). Since I've taken it, my heart rate normalized. It's been several years. I'm not 100% sure what the cause of my tachycardia was. I was never really told precisely. I believe it was related to maybe anxiety and/or mania, but it's possible that my mitral valve prolapse (MVP) may have played a part. A lot of people have mitral valve prolapse, which for most, is generally not dangerous.
If you still have the feeling you might faint, after your psychiatrist has tried to rectify it, you might want to just have a basic check up at your general practitioner's (GP) office. I'm not writing this to scare you, just to suggest you cover all bases, if things don't change. I'm a huge proponent of regular physical exams for people with bipolar disorder (or any mental illness). By regular, I mean at least once per year. Any age. My general practitioner knows my full medication list. GPs are important.