Worried about hubby... weird spells

[lissybeth74]

My DH has had these weird spells for the past 9 years and has a hard time describing them. Best I can decipher...

He slowly senses a strange 'feeling' coming on and his world gets two-dimensional (like it's on paper). He never loses consciousness and can stand while it happens but feels the need to lay down if he can. Says it feels like he is hanging on and just riding it out. He sometimes gets tunnel vision with it. He can hear what people are saying, but the words make no sense to him. He says when it happens he has this same recurring 'dream' or a movie in his head (like deja vous) but he can't ever remember what its about later. All he knows is it's familiar to him everytime he's having one. When it passes in about 30-60 seconds he says he feels hot all over and has a terrible headache (which usually lasts the day). The nurse in me thought he might be having a vagal reaction, so I checked his pressure in the midst of one and it was 160/90... and slowly came down thereafter. The other strange thing is he can have them at night while he's sleeping(?). After having an episode he says he's pretty much wiped out the rest of the day. Says he's extrememly tired most every day lately. He doesn't feel rested in the morning after 8 hours of sleep, and he falls asleep SO fast at night. Also snores very loudly all night long. (sleep apnea?)

Five years ago he had every test in the book done--Holter, blood work, MRI, CAT, specialists-- and they weren't able to find anything.
The episodes have suddenly increased in frequency... last Friday he said he had them every couple of hours. It was the worst day yet.

The only other thing that came up was his father has narcolepsy and was wondering if this sort of thing can be genetic. Although he doesn't really present with some of the narc. symptoms so, I dunno.

Just thought I'd throw this out there-- in case anything jumped out to all you smart mommas. I'm really worried about him. Today he's going to his pcp (who wasn't able to figure this out before...*sigh) to ask for a sleep study.

Thanks for reading...

[Village Mama]

Could this be anxiety attacks?
Was he checked for siezure activity during his last workup?

[lissybeth74]

Years ago they suggested anxiety to him at one point, and he was not happy about it at all. Says it was just too weird to be anxiety.

Now that I think more about it, I notice he does tend to have the episodes following a more stressful week/month. There seems to be a lag period there, but I can definitely see a pattern. Hmmm...

They never did any seizure testing with him that I know of.

[christianmomof3]

I am not any kind of expert, but it does sound neurological. Has he been to a neurologist or had a brain scan or anything?

[pianojazzgirl]

My first thought was seizures. Not that I know anything about it - it's just what jumped in to my mind - so take it with a grain of salt.

Good luck to you and your dh getting this figured out. I'm currently in the process of trying to get a diagnosis attached to some weird symptoms that I've been having, and I know how scary and unsettling it can be to not know what's going on. I can't imagine how he (and you) must feel having had this go on for 9 years without any answers.

[Shellie]

Sounds like migraine with aura....I have non-visual aura sometimes and it's not unlike what you've described for your dh.

http://www.neurologychannel.com/migr...x.shtml#status

[lissybeth74]

I was thinking about seizures, but he doesn't space out during them... I can still talk to him a little bit. He's aware but just under this 'attack'... whatever it is and not fully functioning. Hmmm....

The migraine angle I never thought of. Going to check that one out. Thanks!

[Village Mama]

I have anxiety attacks that feel similar to what you are describing... when you said it feels like he is just holding on, it really made me think of anxiety! It feels like I am in an etirely different dimension when i get them as well. Heart racing, hard to get a breath, sometimes sweaty. It is such an adrenal overload that I feel wiped afterwards. I do not have headaches after them though, but get him to feel the muscles in and around the base of his skull where it meets the neck.... all of the way to his ears. If the muscles are super tender in there , in my experience, he may be getting stress realeted or tension related headaches. Some people get it in thier jaw and temples for the same reason. I have had an aura before a migrane, but it is normally longer lasting for me at least.

[laohaire]

I have (infrequently, fortunately) episodes that I would describe very similarly. They are due to a drop in blood pressure, in my case. Do they happen when he does certain things, like stand up (especially from laying down)?

For me, I'll stand up and suddenly the world will fade away. I get tunnel vision, things look less real (I've thought of it is "going gray" rather than "going two dimensional" but I see similarities there). Usually my hearing will fade out as well. I will need to sit or lay down.

FWIW they've never been able to "capture" the blood pressure drop with tests for me.

I don't have a surefire cause for it but looking back on my life, it's more common in period of poor general health and/or high stress for me.

[lissybeth74]

Originally Posted by laohaire

I have (infrequently, fortunately) episodes that I would describe very similarly. They are due to a drop in blood pressure, in my case. Do they happen when he does certain things, like stand up (especially from laying down)?

For me, I'll stand up and suddenly the world will fade away. I get tunnel vision, things look less real (I've thought of it is "going gray" rather than "going two dimensional" but I see similarities there). Usually my hearing will fade out as well. I will need to sit or lay down.

FWIW they've never been able to "capture" the blood pressure drop with tests for me.

I don't have a surefire cause for it but looking back on my life, it's more common in period of poor general health and/or high stress for me.

See that's what I thought initially too. I witnessed him having two of them and both times it was when he got up from his chair and walked. I immediately thought orthostatic hypotension. Then I took his pressure and it was high... so I dunno. Maybe I missed it.

Have you ever had them while lying down? He says he gets them in his sleep at night too... which is bizarre to me.

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by lissybeth74

See that's what I thought initially too. I witnessed him having two of them and both times it was when he got up from his chair and walked. I immediately thought orthostatic hypotension. Then I took his pressure and it was high... so I dunno. Maybe I missed it.

Have you ever had them while lying down? He says he gets them in his sleep at night too... which is bizarre to me.

I don't think taking his BP after an episode will show low BP - are you taking it right when he is still feeling all woozy? Otherwise, maybe it does indeed get high as his pressure "corrects." You could try to have him lay down, take his BP, then have him get up and take his BP right away. But for me, I never "happened" to have a spell when they did that.

No, I don't get these kind of episodes in my sleep, though, that sounds odd to me as well. Does he wake up and feel the same kind of sensation like he's about to pass out? Does he toss and turn very abruptly/violently? Odd...

[Pepper44]

Not sure if this will help, but thought I'd mention just in case...

I recently read somewhere that sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure spells. Could it all be tied into the narcolepsy genes, the apnea, and the high blood pressure after the episodes?

On another note, I sometimes feel like you (he) described when my blood sugar suddenly drops, like if I've gone to long with out eating or not had enough protein. It's like tunnel vision, barely hanging on, sweaty/dizzy, everything sounds far away. I can walk around but it's much better if I lay down.

[CarrieMF]

low blood sugar can do this too.

[Pepper44]

I forgot to add--I can get low blood sugar episodes in my sleep! It only happens while pregnant, like my body can't keep up and I feel to sickly to eat enough, but half wake up feeling like described.

[HappyMommy2]

Meniere's Disease ? Check out the symptoms on this site, and see if they sound familiar to your hubby. (If so, eliminating salt and caffeine makes a HUGE difference)

http://www.menieresinfo.com/symptoms.html

Episodic, fluctuating hearing loss, rotational vertigo, tinnitus, aural fullness

[WuWei]

What is his blood pressure normally, throughout the day, when busy, hectic, stressed? Sounds like it might be a TIA. Any clotting history issues?

I'd also consider saliva testing of hormones, thyroid, cortisol, etc.


Pat

[zeph11]

I'm not convinced that this isn't epilepsy.

There's a form of epilepsy where an individual doesn't lose consciousness or control of his body, but does have strange sensations and seems "out of it" to others. I've forgotten what it's called, but I read about it a while ago, and it was the first thing I thought of when I read your description of your husband's symptoms. Maybe doing some in-depth research on epilepsy would be helpful?

[Attila the Honey]

i think it sounds like anxiety as well. There is no such thing as "too weird" to be anxiety - anxiety can be very, very weird. I have a panic disorder and his symptoms sound familiar to me. google depersonalization or derealization. even the headaches etc - it could be caused by tensing up during a panic attack. panic attacks/anxiety always feel like something is REALLY wrong, which makes them so insidious - you start to convince yourself (and others) that you are having a stroke, heart attack, seizure... you name it.

[goldfinches]

I also wonder about migraines. They can have some strange symptoms. DH has them and they manifest as strokes. Can he make an appointment with a neurologist to see if it could be this?

[sbgrace]

I'd see a neurologist who also is a sleep medicine doctor if at all possible. He needs a sleep study for sure and I'd think a daytime nap study for narcolepsy to boot. A neuro will also be able to look into possibilities such as seizure activity or migraines. But you're describing someone who certainly needs a very good sleep study/workup.