Passed out two nights ago! :-O

[Kirsten]

You really should check out a system for yourself - it would give you peace of mind - even if you never have to use it. And it would give all of us PT'ers peace of mind too!

Please take everyone's advice and follow through on this, and please protect your head, you won't be sorry. And the medic alerts as mentioned are for anyone here also. The hospitals don't charge very much and they are well worth it. If you don't check in every night and every morning when you wake they call you...if they get no response they send help. Please do take care of yourself, I'm also a huge fan of your photography.

I know you're all worried, but please... don't! I know the trigger now, so I know in which situations I need to be careful, and I think the rest of the time is safe. Also, I'm not all alone in the house. I'm alone in my apartment, that's true, but the family that lives downstairs will notice when something's wrong. At least I hope so!

When I had them more frequently, I was told it was sort of my body's reaction to pain. My doctor (the one who saw me pass out) had actually just done a very minor out-patient procedure on me and I was really not feeling well, and I told him, "I think I am going to pass out!" And then I was OUT. The times I've had the episodes, it's really been when I was in extreme amounts of pain, usually in combination with something else - like pain plus being sick or pain plus being very tired. Rarely is it just pain.

Yes, I think extreme pain can very well trigger such episodes. In my case, it was the combination of that pain and going to the bathroom. Like I said, I had a similar episode in the 90s. And I also experienced something similar when I was injected something at the endocrinologist for a test (can't remember what it was, but I was told that some people react to it that way; at any rate, it was a vasovagal reaction as well).

I can't imagine not being able to eat fruit. Grains are also in noodles. Starches are made from grains (and a few other things) and can also bother the gut.

I can eat fruit in small portions, but I need to be careful and not eat it every day. Same goes for most vegetables, especially raw vegetables. As for grains, it's only the whole grains I cannot eat due to diverticulitis; noodles, bread etc. are okay. But it's true, there are many things that I like that I can no longer eat, or at least not eat too often...

[phesina]

Many prayers for you, Kirsten. Be well, and take care. Do your downstairs neighbors know when they should check in on you?

Love from us ,
Pat and cats