Blackouts...

[Disneylover79]

So I recently have been having blackouts while DRIVING...it has happened 2 times within in 2 weeks...first one I remember stopping at the red light and I remember it turning green then I don't remember anything until I changed lanes to the left and then "woke up" to realize I needed to turn left to go to my house...

Then just tonight it happened again... I was driving home and went through a light ( I don't remember going through it but I was past it when I woke up)... and I came back to being off the road and almost running into a street sign... I have no clue why?

Have any of you had this happen? Did you seek medical attention?

What do you think this can be?

I am going to the DR on Tuesday and I am going to tell him about it but I am just scared so I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this...

 

[Tiggeroo]

My nephew had this happen. It turned out he was having seizures which now medicine controls. He had to have a sleep deprivation test as well as a sleep test. Please don't drive or panic.

 

[Disneylover79]

My nephew had this happen. It turned out he was having seizures which now medicine controls. He had to have a sleep deprivation test as well as a sleep test. Please don't drive or panic.

See I am a RN and I thought exactly that...guess I will see when I go to the DR on Tuesday...Thank you for your kind words

 

[zachnsamsmommy]

Another thought besides seizures. Do you have any blood sugar issues? (diabetes, hypo/hyperglycemia) you or family history? I know that you can black out/pass out from really low blood sugar. Or how is your blood pressure? Too low can cause you to pass out/black out as well.

Hope you get answers from your dr!

 

[WDWFAN9]

Please don't get behind the wheel of a car again until you have an answer...you are putting yourself and everyone else on the road at risk. I hope your doctor has an answer for you quickly. Lots of PD coming your way.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Blood sugar is not likely unless she is on meds. The vast majority of people who are not on meds will experience only mild lows. I have low blood sugar and have only had one where I felt like I was going to pass out, but there was a definite lead up to it. Unless you have hypoglycemia unawareness (most likely found in Type 1 diabetics who have multiple severe lows due to insulin reactions), you will not suddenly black out with no warning.

More likely it is seizures, syncope, or some sort of blood pressure disorder. No matter what, please do not drive until this is sorted out. You were very lucky twice that you or somebody else was not hurt or killed. The third time you may not be so lucky.

 

[java]

My friend had this happen several years ago and it turned out to be a thyroid issue. After a year of various combos of drugs she is finally all good!
Please be careful. And get to that doctor!

 

[minkydog]

My first two thoughts were seizures or narcolepsy. You need to see a neurologist. And no driving!! Stop while you're ahead. YOu don't want to kill somebody's child.

 

[Scurvy]

A friend of mine had that happen several times. He was having severe headaches most of the time in addition to the blackouts. It turned out to be a problem caused by pressure from too much spinal fluid. I don't know what caused it to happen. I know they removed some of the fluid and put him on medication and I believe he's been fine since.

I agree with the other posters - Don't drive until you get this figured out (and I'd suggest not going mountain climbing or scuba diving, either) but don't panic. It will probably turn out to be something easily dealt with.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Don't drive again...please.
I would go to the ER or at the very least see a neurologist tomorrow.

My gf had this a few years back & shuld have gone to the ER forst time it happened.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Good thoughts for you. I agree with others, don't drive again until you know what's going on.

 

[Disneylover79]

Thank you all for the opinions...I will not drive..I don't want to hurt anyone....Please keep the options coming....

 

[Christine]

I know someone who had this and it was a very irregular heart rate. He couldn't feel it, he would just black out. He got a pacemaker and was fine.

 

[damo]

I know someone who had this and it was a very irregular heart rate. He couldn't feel it, he would just black out. He got a pacemaker and was fine.

MIL had this too. Her heart was actually stopping for a couple of seconds causing her to black and brown out. Change of medication and a temporary pacemaker did the trick.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I've had them, but mine were triggered by heat (and possibly low blood sugar.) I'm glad you won't drive again until you figure out what's going on...that's scary.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Another thought besides seizures. Do you have any blood sugar issues? (diabetes, hypo/hyperglycemia) you or family history? I know that you can black out/pass out from really low blood sugar. Or how is your blood pressure? Too low can cause you to pass out/black out as well.

Hope you get answers from your dr!

I found out recently that this happened to my step-grandmother in the 60s or 70s. She drove all over LA and her two step-sons (about middle to high school age) were in the backseat completely oblivious to what was happening.

IT all ended well, but she had absolutely no idea that she was in danger or where she was and how she got where she was going.

 

[themarquis]

so you are blacking out, not passing out?

a lot of the ideas other people had would only make sense if you were passing out.

sounds like you felt totally fine, not sick or woozy or anything, and then suddenly time passed that you had no memory of and then afterwords also felt totally fine, not sick or woozy?

Blood sugar, narcolepsy, and some of the other ideas don't really fit, given that you were blacking out, not passing out (in narcolepsy, you'd usually actually fall asleep briefly, lose control of your muscles, etc.)

I'd definitely vote for a seizure disorder ... there are a certain type of seizures called "absence seizures" where a person is just "absent" for a minute or two. They don't lose control of their body or fall down or anything... if you were to see someone when they were having one, they'd just sort of have a blank look on their face.

OP, have you ever had anything like this happen when not driving? ever completely zone out for a bit & have no memory of that time or have others say that you do so? (sometimes poeple don't even know that they are doing this!!)

Tell your doc about this and get a referral to a neurologist and get a full evaluation!

 

[MIGrandma]

I hope you will not drive again until you speak with your doctor and get checked out. My DS's ex-wife's brother was driving himself to work, a half mile down the road from where he lived (cattle farm - he helped to milk cows, he was 17 or 18 or so at the time). His friend, in another vehicle was coming towards him. He saw the boy's truck weaving, thought he was just "playing around" but he ended up in the ditch. He was transported to the hospital but never regained consciousness. They figured he had a black-out spell. He was only going about 30 mph but still, it killed him.

My Mother had black-out spells several years ago, it was determined she needed a pacemaker. She's been fine since she got it.

I do hope your problem is nothing too serious. But do get checked quickly.

 

[Scurvy]

so you are blacking out, not passing out?

a lot of the ideas other people had would only make sense if you were passing out.

sounds like you felt totally fine, not sick or woozy or anything, and then suddenly time passed that you had no memory of and then afterwords also felt totally fine, not sick or woozy?

Blood sugar, narcolepsy, and some of the other ideas don't really fit, given that you were blacking out, not passing out (in narcolepsy, you'd usually actually fall asleep briefly, lose control of your muscles, etc.)

I'd definitely vote for a seizure disorder ... there are a certain type of seizures called "absence seizures" where a person is just "absent" for a minute or two. They don't lose control of their body or fall down or anything... if you were to see someone when they were having one, they'd just sort of have a blank look on their face.

OP, have you ever had anything like this happen when not driving? ever completely zone out for a bit & have no memory of that time or have others say that you do so? (sometimes poeple don't even know that they are doing this!!)

Tell your doc about this and get a referral to a neurologist and get a full evaluation!

My friend with the spinal fluid problem discovered it was something more than just migraines when he blacked out on the way home one afternoon and woke up on the side of the road all the way across town near where he had previously lived, so he was definitely doing stuff during his blackouts. Still, he did have severe headaches. If the OP isn't having other symptoms besides the "lost time" then I also agree it sounds much more like a seizure disorder. I'm assuming from previous posts that the OP is conscious and functioning during the blackouts - just not aware of what's going on. If that isn't the case then disregard all this!

When I was in school and not sleeping much I would occasionally set out in the morning to go to class and then realize I was there, with no memory of the drive at all. But it was different than the OP because I never felt like I was suddenly waking up. I think I was so used to driving the same route every day that I was sort of on autopilot and my mind was wandering while I was driving.

OP, how have you been sleeping? Are you unusually tired lately? Have you been having headaches or other weird symptoms? Does this only happen when you drive? Those things might help your doctor narrow down the possibilities tomorrow.

 

[arminnie]

Could be lots of things including TIA (stroke) or brain cancer. You should have gone to ER IMMEDIATELY. While some of the things that cause blackouts do not necessarily have longterm consequences others need attention ASAP!