Ditto, here, guys. Passed out cold (without imbibing any
Chardonnay) a few times several years ago. Woke up once
with huge bump on my head. Had complete work-up and they
found-guess what?-NOTHING, except mitral valve prolapse
(which is generally benign.) BTW, Murray, thanks for
putting a positive spin on the news re: cardiac involvement
in PD.
I was indeed feeling disHEARTened...     Carole

--- Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi Jim, David, and All,
> Yep, this orthostatic hypotension stuff rings a bell...
> Sudden unexpected
> falls some 17 years ago led to my first visits to a
> neuro... At that
> time they couldn't diagnose anything out of it, but later
> other symptoms
> finally confirmed PD. I didn't completely pass out either
> David and was
> instantly OK... just embarassed!  It did lead to me
> getting the Hell off
> open steel construction and elevator shafts at the time.
> Now that I have
> been diagnosed and understand fully my limitations I just
> put on my Fall
> Arrest gear and carry on working.  I did switch initially
> to a Supervisory
> role and since to Service and Maintenance so my exposure
> to hazards is
> relatively decreased. Passing out while driving is a
> no-no David and a
> seat belt won't help much there.
>
> Cheers  ...............  murray  56 / 49 / 39?
>
> On 5 Sep 2000, at 5:41, Jim Dolan wrote:
>
> > I am 58 and was diagnosed in May of this year. Tremor
> is my most apparent
> > symptom, but after learning more about the disease it
> became apparent that
> > I have other symptoms, some for a few years.
> >
> > The kicker here is that a good 15 years ago I had a
> fainting spell. I got
> > up from the couch, went upstairs and while
> urinating...bam...I went down
> > like a ton of bricks. I was put through a whole series
> of tests, with no
> > apparent cause found. The neuro (my cousin) concluded
> it was caused by a
> > drop in blood pressure caused by suddenly standing up
> and contributed to by
> > the urination.
> >
> > Now I read this...hmmm!
> >
> > Jim Dolan
> >
> > >One key symptom is orthostatic hypotension -- a drop
> in blood pressure
> > >that comes when people stand up. Some patients have it
> all the time,
> > >complaining of dizziness and even fainting when they
> stand.
> > >
> > >The symptom has been described in association with
> Parkinson's, and has
> > >sometimes been blamed on the drugs used to treat
> Parkinson's.
> > >
> > >But Goldstein found this drop in blood pressure was
> associated with a
> > >loss of the sympathetic nerve endings. These nerve
> endings produce a
> > >neurotransmitter that is related to dopamine, called
> norepinephrine.
>
>
> [log in to unmask]


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