Toes get no respect

That's what the orthopedist said to me when he came into the exam room with x-rays of my broken big toe. By then it had been 12 days since I broke it and I had my sense of humor back. The foot itself is still a little swollen so I'm wearing a special 'ortho' shoe my son bought online for me when I go out but around the house I'm just in fuzzy socks.

I did NOT break it because I kicked my husband as the ER doctor asked. I don't even know how it happened because I passed out after getting out of bed early one morning. I had woken up with a charley horse and I figured I'd stand up and walk it off and the next thing I remember is waking up on the floor next to the bed. Long story short, later in the ER they did three tests to see if I'd had a heart attack (I didn't.) and it was only after that was ruled out that they x-rayed my foot and said my big toe was broken. So, I am seeing a cardio on Friday and we'll see what he says/does. In the meantime, after feeling dizzy and off and finding my BP low, I stopped my BP medication last week and have been monitoring it every day - with two different BP monitors we have. Very odd. However, I do have white coat syndrome so I'm going to take one of my monitors in with me to see how it compares to the one in their office. Needless to say this is really annoying and puzzling.

The ER doctor mentioned in passing it 'could' have been low BP and he mentioned something about the vagus nerve. (If anyone knows anything about the vagus nerve, please tell me? I'm finding too much to read about this online.)

This is why I've hardly been on in awhile. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Thanks, Turtle. The more I read about that nerve, the more confused I am. I guess I'll see what the doc thinks on Friday. Stay well!

Oh Lanie, you poor Dear!! That must have hurt like the dickens. Hopefully, it and you are feeling much better now.

Well, that's an interesting greeting that the Doc gave you. Plus the reason why you may have broken your toe.
(Always blame the Hubby). I respect my toes and wear sneakers in the house to protect them from furniture legs.

The vagus nerve and Diabetes ring a bell. Gastroparesis. Many Diabetics complain of this painful complication which delays digestion. You wouldn't have that though since you have been doing low carb for many years. I'm
certainly glad that you did not have a heart attack. Hopefully, your Thanksgiving was enjoyable and yummy. :D


Vasovagal syncope?

"A Drop in Heart Rate. Vasovagal syncope refers to passing out when the vagus nerve (also known as the 10th cranial nerve) is stimulated. One important function of the vagus is to slow your heart down. Any activity that increases the pressure inside your abdomen can stimulate the vagus. So vasovagal syncope often happens when one is bearing down to try to urinate, as in elderly men.

Lanie, did you bend down when you had the muscle cramp? I think that is what the Dr. may be suggesting. That something stimulated the vagus nerve which caused you to faint. Scary!

Good Luck at your appointment on Friday. Hoping that you get all your questions answered.

Sorry to hear about your toe. Guess you may never know exactly what happened, certainly sounds strange! All I know for sure about toes is that I've heard it's incredibly difficult to balance without them. When you think about the foot and how it works the bones of the foot are really incredible - especially when it comes to overweight humans. Let's all hope it heals quickly and you don't have any similar episodes in the future!

So, the cardiologist looked at all my BP readings that I'd taken at home from last spring until this morning and he said to stop my BP medication. He felt I passed out because my BP was low. And of course when his nurse took my BP it was really high and she was alarmed (like me) but then I took out my own monitor which I had with me and tested it again and it nearly read what she got - so she said that the monitor seems to measure correctly which means all my own notes I had were pretty accurate. They took an EKG, too. And I'm scheduled for a nuclear ECHO and treadmill test in a couple of weeks. That's the story, so far anyway.

It was a relief to see that my own monitor nearly agreed to their reading in the office and she said it is always a good idea to bring the home device in to check it out to theirs. Mine is the CVS brand but who knows who really manufactures it. When I was checking online for the best BP devices, Omron came up on every list so I ordered one from Best Buy. My CVS monitor is years old and I figured maybe it's time to replace it. Now I'll have two. yay! lol

Have a great weekend!

No, I didn't test my blood sugar. Or my bp. To tell the truth, doing any of that was the last thing on my mind. I just washed my face and drank some water and went back to bed at that point. I don't even think my toe or foot hurt then but when I woke up a couple of hours later, yeowie! So, I don't know if it's one or the other or both. Well, actually my bp has been low and that's why he said to stop the medication.

White coat syndrome indeed! I see the cardio once a year because I've had irregular EKGs for a few years. He said it's my 'normal' now and it probably will always be abnormal, but every time I'm in that office (once a year!) my bp is high like it was today. But to rule out other problems, I have to do the nuclear tests which I had to do when I was first referred to him for the irregular EKGs.

And today it was 66! Crazy weather!

Yes, we had a day that was really much too warm right in the middle of cold temps here. Very odd.

For some reason my EKGs now are abnormal in the same way each time but not showing heart damage. That cropped up a few years ago and I was referred to the cardio who scheduled my first nuclear ECHO and treadmill, both of which were fine, but I see him once a year to keep a check on it. This fainting incident sent me back to him 2 months earlier than my regular app't, so I'm scheduled for these two tests again in 2 weeks. Now, in the ER I had the blood tests for enzymes that show a heart attack, 2 chest x-rays that would show damage, etc. and a continuous EKG and they were all negative (except for that irregularity). So, the best guess is my BP dropped. The cardio didn't think the vagus nerve was involved.

Judy, Judy, Judy! What the heck? How did you break your leg? And why was it two months before you saw an ortho? Hey, we have missed you! :-(

Lanie, "vagued out" (love that term) is what I did that led to finding out I had a 60% occuded carotid artery, although they were not connected, according to my caridiologist. So if that hadnt happened to me (vaging out) I might still not know my carotid artery had this problem. The left one is relatively clear. I had 3 episodes in a few months, then never again. Mine always started with a severe pain in my lower abdomen and my vision gets fuzzy. One time I was sitting when it happened and found myself on the patio floor. I was watching my young grandchildren at the time so got up and told them we were going in the house. The last thing I remember was my knees buckling and I guess I went down. The thing with these vagal attacks is that as soon as you go prone, you come back. So I picked myself up off the floor. I told my cardiologist the next time I saw him (he follows up a valve problem) and that's when he did the ultrasound. He has no explanation for the vagal syncope. My husband has had a few also, one time he had to lie down on the sidewalk. Another time, they called 911 at work.