Vasovagal Attack

Here's a recipe for a killer headache: low blood sugar and a pronounced vasovagal reaction.

Huh? Wuzzat? That's what I said.

I went to the doctor to have a blotch on my shoulder looked at. He said it looked benign but we'd biopsy it just to make sure. So he does his thing and gives me one stitch to make it all nice and neat. No biggie.

Only problem is he gave me lidocaine with epinephrine as a local anesthetic. It's kinda like taking a downer with a chaser of adrenaline. (Adrenaline supplements make the numbing agent last longer.) I hadn't had anything to eat that morning and I tend to be on the low end of both blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and blood pressure (110/65).

All of a sudden I felt dizzy and nauseous. The doc lays me down, but I go 1-2 seconds with my eyes rolled up in the back of my head. I bolt upright with my heart pounding, feeling flushed, and break out in a fine sweat all over. "Ugh. (pant pant) What happened?"

[WebMD] Fainting, also called syncope (pronounced SIN-ko-pe), is a sudden, brief loss of consciousness and posture caused by decreased blood flow to the brain. Many different conditions can cause fainting. These include heart problems such as irregular heart beat, seizures, panic or anxiety attacks, low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), anemia (a deficiency in healthy oxygen carrying cells), and problems with how the nervous system (the body's system of nerves) regulates blood pressure.

A simple faint, also called a vasovagal attack or neurally-mediated syncope, is the most common type of fainting. It is most common in children and young adults. A vasovagal attack happens because blood pressure drops, reducing circulation to the brain and causing loss of consciousness. Typically an attack occurs while standing and is frequently preceded by a sensation of warmth, nausea, lightheadedness and visual "grayout."

Warmth, nausea, lightheadedness -- yep that's me. That little episode made me feel off all day, even after eating and taking a little nap after work.

A little unnecessary excitement if you ask me. I know what you're thinking: Dude, you fainted.