Can Passing Out from Low Blood Pressure Leave You Kneeling Upright?

[Ivan Seeking]

Due to blood sugar problems and naturally low blood pressure, I have long been prone to passing out under certain conditions. Last night I got myself into trouble, apparently due to some dental surgery, and perhaps due to a problem with novacaine. I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but after cleaning the area where the incision was made [as instructed], I realized that I was going to pass out. Being in the bathroom at the time I could only kneel down with the hope of making it all the way down before falling and hitting my head. I didn't make it. Some unknown time later, I assume a few seconds, I came to while still on my knees, upright, with absolutely no idea what had happened. Since it took a good five seconds to begin to get my bearings, I know that I was out cold for at least a moment. How I managed to stay up on my knees is a complete mystery. [edit: maybe all those years spent as a Catholic?] I must have looked pretty funny kneeling there while completely unconscious!

It really knocked me for a loop. Twenty four hours later and I'm still kind of out of it. This is rare but I've been through it eight or nine times [or so] in my life. So its really nothing to worry about but it sure as hell ain't fun!

 

[Gokul43201]

Maybe you have a real springy forehead ?


Seriously though, this sounds pretty scary. Hope you're feeling better.

 

[Polly]

You be careful Ivan, it can be dangerous if you are alone and certainly sounds very scary to me. I know some people (older folks living alone) wear an alarm that is permanently linked to the police station, so that they could just press it whenever necessary. Perhaps there could be a watered down version of such an alarm system? No?

Please please be careful Ivan.

 

[the number 42]

I know they do a lot for high bp, but what are the treatments for low blood pressure?

 

[tribdog]

yeah, you are comfortable on your knees because of catholosism. right

 

[Moonbear]

yeah, you are comfortable on your knees because of catholosism. right

Nope, just makes you skilled at remaining in a kneeling position whether awake, asleep, or apparently unconscious! You can get a nice nap while kneeling for prayers as long as you don't snore so the nuns catch you...nuns are really mean people, no wonder Evo decided to become one. My guess is you just wound up in some well-balanced position so you just nodded forward rather than falling over. Of course, when fainting, an upright position really isn't the best.

If you're still feeling weird a day later, that sounds like something still isn't right, though if it was a reaction to the lidocaine, that could linger longer. Some forms of lidocaine also contain epinephrine (it wouldn't make sense to use it in a dental setting where the volume injected is so small, but should be checked on anyway), so you should find out from the dentist which kind was used...you may need to rule out more than one drug to know which one you should stay away from in the future. If you got too much or it wound up in a blood vessel, I'd expect the reaction to be pretty immediate, not delayed, but I don't really know if it could have had a different effect due to blood sugar problems.

I hope I don't have to tell you, but if you're still feeling out of it, you shouldn't be alone, just in case it happens again. Since I know you're fond of your cell phone, if Tsu has to go out, at least plan on regular phone calls from someone to make sure you're okay.

If it helps, I'm really good at catching fainting students so they don't hit their heads when falling. You get practice in bio dissection labs. My class was amazed one day when I got all the way from the front of the room to the furthest lab bench from me in time to help break the fall of one of the students (I saw her face turning white before she actually passed out; I was also younger and faster then).

 

[matthyaouw]

Perhaps you have a canary type reflex. Have you ever tried to sleep standing up?

 

[Bystander]

You might want to run the idea of "trans ischemic accident" past your pet duck (quack, family doctor, whatever) --- fairly common, not life threatening.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Yes, this is somewhat typical of a TIA. One thing that worries me is that I will mistake a new problem for an old one. Heck, if I hadn't been through this so many times, I might have even thought that I had a small but genuine stroke.

Due to the fact that my last dentist really screwed things up, I have crammed a lot of dental work with my new dentist into a very short period of time - the last two weeks. I have received a lot of anesthesia [thanks for clarifying this point Moonbear. I forgot that novacaine is out]. I have also noticed for many years that when I leave the dentist I look like hell. This finally clicked as potentially a problem and maybe related to what happened here. Normally it is clear what caused the event. This one eludes me a bit. Notably, for the first time ever, the day before this happened and after another dental visit, the dentist office called to see if I was alright. I was really surprised by this. Maybe they know something that I don't?

Tribdog, you're on to me. When you live with Tsu you spend a lot of time on your knees.

 

[Moonbear]

Notably, for the first time ever, the day before this happened and after another dental visit, the dentist office called to see if I was alright. I was really surprised by this. Maybe they know something that I don't?

Nah, I think that's typical if you get a lot of anesthesia and extensive dental work. When I had my wisdom teeth out, they called that night to check up on me too. They seemed a bit surprised when I told them I hadn't needed any of the painkillers they prescribed and was enjoying a bowl of chili for dinner, especially since they took out all 4 at once (they prefer to do one side at a time, but I insisted I only wanted to do it once, especially since I had it done while visiting NJ because I didn't trust any of the dentists in the midwest and had gotten a really good reference for an oral surgeon in NJ).

Tribdog, you're on to me. When you live with Tsu you spend a lot of time on your knees.

You know, I was thinking the story would be even funnier if it was Tsu this happened to. Then I'd really be splitting my sides about spending a lot of time on one's knees.

 

[Bystander]

One further thought --- dental implies ears --- no big deal most of the time, but, "lots of dental" plus whatever problems are being addressed --- inner ear can (not always, and don't ask me for mechanisms) do weird things such as you've described.

Toscanini's Fumble is a collection of neurological anecdotes, hardly a medical reference, but might be worth browsing for reminders to anything odd that might be associated with the incident and useful for diagnostics.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Nah, I think that's typical if you get a lot of anesthesia and extensive dental work. When I had my wisdom teeth out, they called that night to check up on me too.

Is this just because of pain or does dental work pose a signficant risk? I had never heard of this happening before.

 

[Moonbear]

Is this just because of pain or does dental work pose a signficant risk? I had never heard of this happening before.

I figured it was to make sure I didn't have any reaction to the anesthesia. I don't know; the reason puzzled me too because if I had any reaction, I'd be calling them (or having the friend I was staying with call them). Of course, with wisdom teeth out, you're still bleeding when they send you home, so maybe it's to make sure you have the sense to know the bleeding should have stopped by then so they can take care of any problems before they go home at night rather than waiting for an emergency call as they sit down to dinner? Some patients aren't so bright about these things and then wait until the middle of the night to finally decide something is wrong and needs to be fixed.

 

[KingNothing]

Sounds like a real party trick:

"So what if nick can breakdance. Pshh...somebody get me some novacaine."

 

[franznietzsche]

Tribdog, you're on to me. When you live with Tsu you spend a lot of time on your knees.

I don't even want to toush that one.