My wife, 60, often has diarrhea but sometimes with cramps and once in a while cold sweats and passing out during the cramping. Could this be IBS? Has anyone else here had this?Her sister has as well as her daughter (but without the fainting).
http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/arrhythmi.../Syncope2_2.htm K.quote:Anyone can have vasovagal syncope given an adequate triggering event, but many people are particularly prone to these episodes, and often with relatively mild triggers. These individuals tend to relate histories of syncope dating back to adolescence, and frequently will describe several different of triggering events. While, as noted, there are scores of possible triggering events for vasovagal syncope, some are quite characteristic and almost always point to vasovagal syncope. Syncope occurring after urinating, defecating, coughing or swallowing, or syncope associated with pain, fright, the sight of blood, or other noxious stimuli, is almost always vasovagal.In these and other ways, vasovagal syncope tends to be highly situational. It is more likely to occur after a viral illness, after exercise, after a warm shower, or early in the morning � any time that relative dehydration is present, and dilation of the blood vessels in the legs would be more likely to produce a significant drop in blood pressure. Furthermore, vasovagal syncope is often preceded by a few seconds or a few minutes of warning symptoms. Often, these symptoms include lightheadedness, ringing in the ears, visual disturbances, sweating and/or nausea. Because of such �warning symptoms,� people who have had one or two episodes of syncope are frequently able to tell when an event is about to occur. And importantly, if they recognize the warning symptoms, they are able to abort the blackout simply by lying down and elevating the legs. (�Aborting� syncope is not possible with most other forms of syncope.)
http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/arrhythmi.../Syncope2_2.htm K.quote:Anyone can have vasovagal syncope given an adequate triggering event, but many people are particularly prone to these episodes, and often with relatively mild triggers. These individuals tend to relate histories of syncope dating back to adolescence, and frequently will describe several different of triggering events. While, as noted, there are scores of possible triggering events for vasovagal syncope, some are quite characteristic and almost always point to vasovagal syncope. Syncope occurring after urinating, defecating, coughing or swallowing, or syncope associated with pain, fright, the sight of blood, or other noxious stimuli, is almost always vasovagal.In these and other ways, vasovagal syncope tends to be highly situational. It is more likely to occur after a viral illness, after exercise, after a warm shower, or early in the morning � any time that relative dehydration is present, and dilation of the blood vessels in the legs would be more likely to produce a significant drop in blood pressure. Furthermore, vasovagal syncope is often preceded by a few seconds or a few minutes of warning symptoms. Often, these symptoms include lightheadedness, ringing in the ears, visual disturbances, sweating and/or nausea. Because of such �warning symptoms,� people who have had one or two episodes of syncope are frequently able to tell when an event is about to occur. And importantly, if they recognize the warning symptoms, they are able to abort the blackout simply by lying down and elevating the legs. (�Aborting� syncope is not possible with most other forms of syncope.)