Passing out from pain

Pancreatitis
#1

Heh, until Sunday night I thought that losing consciousness from pain was an urban myth. I had a relatively good week last week after the gi switched me to Viokkase and I ate just bread and pureed vegetables for the most part. This was good because I was out of pain meds. Then Sunday was pure hell. I didn’t eat a single thing and still had steatorrhea somehow, intense nausea, and extreme pain. The last thing I remember Sunday night was taking some generic Reglan and Phenergan for the nausea and lying down on the bed. I was totally out- literally passed out almost like I had taken something or drank too much. My wife thought that I had taken some sleeping pills, but even 20 mgs of Ambien doesn’t totally put me out. In fact, I have somnabulance and can carry on a conversation. lol I just thought that this was strange and wondered if anyone else has ever had this happen.

I had a referral to a pain specialist about 45 minutes away (we live in “the sticks”), but when I talked to the receptionist, it turns out that none of the pain specialists in that area will touch pancreatitis patients. I finally located a pain clinic in Seattle (about a 3 to 3.5 hour drive- oh joy!) that said they deal with those type of issues and went to my gi’s today to sign the referral and see if he will give me some Oxycodone to tide me over until I can see the pain specialist, especially as I am going to be out of town starting tomorrow (until the 22nd).

Wishing everyone a relatively pain-free day.

Warren

#2

warren,

what is going on with you? i know what you mean about passing out from the pain, i have had it so bad everything goes black and it is like i can’t remember what happened, the pain is so intense that our bodies just finally have to fined a way to cope and i think that is to shut down. so have you seen the pain specialist yet? let me know hat he says.

i will see my dr in august, i had an apt for tomorrow but canceled it as i figured we could deal with everything in august when i am do for my 3 mos check up. i did just took pain meds as it is evening and it does not matter anymore what i eat i get stabbing pain going through my back and it hurts so bad and wears me down. but life goes on, i take pain pills stop until they kick in and try to keep going !

i had quit my full time job and have been at home for 2 mos and love it, but a friend of mine is the director of our humane society and he needs stable help and he called me yesterday, so i am going to work for him part time, i do not think i could work full time, but i think this will work out okay, and i love animals, so this will give me something else to focus on other then pain ! well i truly hope you are better, let me know how you are, i feel so bad for you, i just wish i was the only one that has this crap, i would give anything so no one else would have to live with this pain.oh it is so exhausting mentally and physically.

please try to have a pain free and sweet night, go sit by your sweet wife and just relax!

Julie

#3

Hi Warren,

I used to feel very dizzy and maybe couple of times when I was very sick I passed out in the hospital and didn’t know what’s going on and where I was. Even now when I get very bad attack I feel like I’m passing out, it gets dark in front of my eyes and I just can’t bear the pain and I think the intensity of pain can cause that, sometimes. Recently I’ve been feeling like that too since I got my pain back, I feel like I’m losing touch with this world or something. My visiting nurse said, my blood pressure goes down when I take breakthrough pain medication and if I don’t hydrate myself the dehydration can also cause the passing out. So, I try to drink lot of water since the pain got little better but it’s coming back again and again this time. When I think ok today is the day I’ll feel better the early morning I had so much pain I was screaming. Then again I had to take the medication for that.

Last night I stayed up late writing mails or stitching beads on my daughter’s dress and I didn’t realize how much time it was and suddenly I started shaky and felt so thirsty and I called my husband he came and gave me some crackers, then some cold protein water to pull myself together. I finished so many bottles of water from morning to night. If I don’t feel like drinking I push through my J-tube that’s the advantage of it. I started my tube feedings at very low rate and drinking water. I think my body is not getting enough nutrition and sugar levels are falling down and causing this dizziness and passing out.

We are having too much heat some days you better hydrate yourself well with cool water and also sip some protein water which will give you some calories at the same time. You said, you are going to be away until 22nd you better take good care of yourself otherwise you’ll end up with complications. Try to drink lot of fluids depends how much you can tolerate. If your nausea is in control don’t hesitate to have good amount of liquids, like popsicles, jello, protein water, water ice, cold water the best thing to quench your thirst. Are you diabetic, yet?

We have the risk of ending up with diabetes any time. Please get your sugar levels checked out! Diabetes can also cause passing out if your sugar levels go up and down. It may not be diabetes just temporary sugar levels going down and you feel it and pass out. It happens when I get very sick with pain. That’s why at hospitals they put you on I.V but at home we can’t have I.V so we have to keep sipping the water, ice chips, anything you can tolerate dear friend.

Take good care of yourself. It’s very hot and you are going to be away so please take all the precautions so that it won’t happen again. Take all your medication, breakthrough medications in case you need them.

Try to see the doctor as soon as possible and try to find out what’s going on!

Lots of love and many hugs.
Durga

#4

Hey, Warren-- Nice to see you on, but sorry you’re going through this.

I’ve completely lost consciousness four times in the past year to year and a half-- just from uncontrollable pain. It’s like it jumped off the pain scale (0-10) to a 15 and my brain turned off and I just went unconscious. Once was for only about an hour, the longest was for a few days. It’s scary–and for me was the only thing like this since being in a coma at age 15. It’s happened both at home and in the hospital, but it’s scary to be in so much pain that you just can’t handle it and go black. I wouldn’t have even know in most cases if the person who saw me hadn’t said something the next day-- and then I was surprised I had blacked out because I didn’t remember it-- I guess our brains protect us that way from what we can’t ultimately handle-- even when we think we can.

Take care and have a better night–

Hugs,

Lisa

#5

Warren,

I was shocked when you mentioned having somnabulance and being able to carry on a conversation. I have done this many times in the past and did as recently as last Wednesday. I had been fighting a flare-up for 4-5 days and the day I went to the ER, I had made calls to both my PCP and GI. However, I was told this by my husband on the way to the hospital/ER. I have no recollection of speaking to my PCP’s office and vaguely remember talking to my GI’s office. I was in so much pain and felt so bad, it was like my mind shut down. I hate this so much! I am also not phased by Ambien. I can take one and still be up all night. Between the pain, feelings of guilt b/c of what MY illness puts on my family and trying to live a somewhat normal life, sleep is elusive at best most of the time. I can hardly count the number of times I have been up for 48-60 hours getting more and more physically exhausted but my mind will NOT shut up. I had an ERCP on Wednesday and started with pain and nausea last night. My pain meds are barely taking the hard edge off the pain and I have been up for 38 hours.

My body will finally shut down and when it happens, I am out. I have fallen asleep in my recliner in mid conversation and my husband will have report to me what we talked about. It’s like my batteries run out of juice but I am still cranking the engine. I will sometimes close my eyes and start “wake dreaming”. I am trying to stay awake to have a coherent conversation but my mind starts to wonder around in an almost dream state. Then I will incorporate what I see in my mind in to what I am saying. It can be VERY bizarre.

I believe that it has to do with the constant pain we go through. It can be very difficult to get in to a deep REM sleep when pain is waking you all night. My husband tells me that sometimes I will start to cry out, moan and sometimes cry in my sleep. He has also noticed that I will grimace like I am pain when I vocalize in my sleep. How can anyone get any real sleep if they are are manifesting these symptoms.

Thanks for sharing and I hope you got and still have some relief. Take care!!

Love and Hugs,
Angela