I had the Tilt Table Test today. I hardly slept last night as I kept thinking about the last time I had fainted and had been taken to the hospital by ambulance because I wasn’t coming to. My first thought when I woke up this morning was I am going to faint today and I may never come out of it. A little dramatic, but hey I was scared.

I checked into the hospital and was sent to observations where I met three very kind nurses. Almost too kind, when I’m tired and scared I cry when people are nice, so I cried before they even got started as we discussed what was going to happen. I changed into a gown and then they went to work starting an IV, putting electrodes on my chest, placing a blood pressure cuff on my arm, and putting the oxygen tubing on me so they could just turn it on if needed. After everything was hooked up I just relaxed on the table or at least tried for about ten minutes. They then tilted the table up to standing. I stood there for forty minutes while every two minutes they recorded my vitals and how I was feeling. Every once and a while I would think I’m starting to feel a little sick maybe it is coming, but then the feeling would fade away.

After the forty minutes they lowered the table and injected Isuprel through the IV into the vein. This was weird. My heart started beating as if I was exercising and my breathing become a little labored, but I wasn’t moving. After ten minutes of laying they tilted the table up. I’m not sure how long it was up. It seems to me that pretty quickly I started to feel weird. I was nauseous and hot. I could feel it coming on and I started to cry. I didn’t want to faint. It became clear to me at this moment how scared I really was. They calmly told me it was okay and one of the nurses wiped the tears running down my face and held a throw up bag in front of me just in case. They said it was okay to give in to the feeling and then I remember my head falling to the side and a nurse saying “she is out”. The bed started to tilt back and I felt the oxygen come on. It didn’t take long for me to be able to respond to their questions. They said my heart rate reached 168, so it was like I was sprinting and my blood pressure dropped and I fainted. One nurse took all the documentation to the doctor to look over and the other two helped me move into a more comfortable bed to recover. I hadn’t realized how uncomfortable that table was until I sunk into the bed and could of drifted off to dream land.

I had to wait a little while for the doctor, but I really didn’t mind I was so tired. He came back and announced the test was positive and I have Vasovagal Syncope. My instructions will sound crazy, but I need to increase my blood volume. The main components of blood are salt and water. I must drink so much water that I am peeing clear and add salt to everything. I need to eat items that are high in sodium. Not the normal advice you hear from a doctor. I also was given a medication called Midorine. I will take this as needed up to three times a day. If I’m just not feeling right I can take it or if I faint I can take it to avoid another episode. I can also drive again. They don’t worry I will faint when I’m sitting down. One last thing I have to do is get some compression socks to help with blood circulation. Not very stylish for the summer, but if they will help I’m willing to wear them.

I’m glad this test is over! What a relief! I’m excited to feel better and to just know what is going on. It has been a very long 6 months.