My Blackouts - Vasovagal Syncope

After walking around the PC Show in Expo Halls for 1 hour+ in early June , I sudden felt I was going to faint or blackout.... I held onto the salesperson shoulder and suddenly went down BUT was standing up again in a matter of seconds. I felt nothing other than I knew I blackout momentarily.

No cold sweat, blur vision, headache or fast heart beating.......!

I took some water from my own bottle and sat on a chair for a while and then left with my friend who was with me. He happens to be my neighbour too so we took the bus home together.

Looking back, I have 2 similar blackout episodes but did not pay any attention as it was very momentarily and no other symptoms.

The 1st occurrence (in 1Q) was when I was seated on a small stool and loading the washing machine with our laundry. I just blackout but before my body hit the floor, my right hand pushed me up upon consciousness. While I was a bit shocked but I felt alright so no action taken.

The 2nd occurrence (in 2Q) was after my lunch at Bedok Mall and my wife & I were at Uniqlo browsing the shelves but we got separated. I suddenly stumbled backwards a few steps and held onto the shelf to steady myself, during the momentarily blackout, and again recovery was very fast and we just ignored it.

The 3rd occurrence in the PC Show gave me a wake-up call and after discussing it with my wife, we decided to consult our family GP the following morning.

After discussing the options with our GP, we decided that I should go to SGH A&E since I am already a patient with their National Heart Centre (NHC).

I was admitted for a night for monitoring and a consulting Cardiologist discharged me since I have a coming appointment with my own Cardiologist at NHC in a couple of weeks. All the monitoring and blood tests were not conclusive  but they suspected it to be vasovagal syncope. 

"Vasovagal syncope (vay-zoh-VAY-gul SING-kuh-pee) occurs when you faint because your body overreacts to certain triggers, such as the sight of blood or extreme emotional distress. It may also be called neurocardiogenic syncope.

The vasovagal syncope trigger causes your heart rate and blood pressure to drop suddenly. That leads to reduced blood flow to your brain, causing you to briefly lose consciousness.

Vasovagal syncope is usually harmless and requires no treatment."

I saw my own Cardiologist soon and he immediately reduced my BP medication a bit and scheduled a blood test and Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography test too but in 4 months time. He said I could travel so I actually went to Sydney-Melbourne in July and toured the beginning of the Silk Route-China in Sept. I even climbed up the Sydney Bridge and  part of the Great Wall of China too...!

In Nov, about 4 months after the last episode, while walking home from the bus stop, I felt faint again and my right hand automatically held onto a huge potted plant along the road ( there are a few nurseries  there ) and my upper body landed in-between the big pot and a sawn-off trunk.....OMG...!!!

Can u imagine if my head has hit either the trunk or the pot? My chest hit the edge of the pot and it was a bit bruised and my right hand was scratched by the branches. My wife witnessed this episode and it freaked her out.... Me too, as this is the worse situation, so far!

My Cardiologist said that my tests results are good and no blockages of the arteries or heart problem. The thorough blood results are ok too! But because of my recent blackout in front of the nursery, he reduced my BP medication further and he suspects that it could be due to postural syncope ( ie. change in position ; eg sitting to standing up as I was taking a long bus ride  before i walked home ). I have to monitor my BP and review the status again in Feb 2107.

The Cardiologist taught me to clench my fists and push my stomach muscles out to push up my BP if I feel faint in future. Ideally, sit or lie down even if in public as the danger is the fall and injuring myself esp the HEAD....!!!

Well, I hope no more blackouts in future and if I do fall momentarily, it is not a serious one.....

 In the meantime, I hope my BP will be stabilised with the change in the dosage.

Penang - 23 to 25 Oct 2016

Jason has his semester break so we flew back to Pg to visit my Mum and sister, Susan.

We love the Pg food ..... Char Koay Teow and Hokkien Prawn Noodle soup...

Came across this Muay Chee stall too.....

Finally, High Tea in the afternoon at Hotel Jen  before we left for the airport.

China Silk Road - Sept 2016

The Silk Road tour was an eye opener and different from our earlier Kumning and Sichuan tours. 

China is really a very big country with different tribes and cultures. 

We just saw the beginning of the Silk Road, starting from Xian to Urumqi.

Of course, we saw the famous Terracotta Warriors... really amazing....!!!

One of those huge defensive City Wall, their design and strategy to trap the enemies if the front wall or entrance have fallen is amazing.

We climbed part of the Great Wall of China, inclined at 45 degrees on the mountain, right to the tower near the peak of the mountain.  No proper steps so I cannot imagine how the soldiers climb up and down or move along the wall swiftly to fight the intruders.

We also took a bullet train and it was very fast and comfortable especially when we were in 1st class, where the seats are broader and more leg room.

To view more photos in my album in Facebook, go to this link :

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154171727993127.1073741861.740248126&type=1&l=bc4d7b89d4

Penang - 28 to 30 Aug 2016

Visited Mum again and brought along a few photos of Jon & Winnie wedding in Melbourne.

Helped Susan to buy a new printer and set it up for her, as requested.

Also, tied up  the dust bin to the tree in front of the house else it could fall into the drain.

We ate at a hawker stall in front of Prangin Mall upon arrival the first evening. Cheap n good.

Sydney - Melbourne in July 2016

We decided to visit Sydney on the way to attend Jonathan & Winnie wedding in Melbourne.

Free & Easy in Sydney and we caught up with our ex-colleague and friend, Diana Wan, who took us out for a day,  visiting Centennial Park, Bondi Beach & Watson Bay.

One of the highlights was the family climbing up the Sydney Bridge... We did it....!!!

Not forgetting to mention the Opera House and the Koala too.

Of course, we could not skip the Blue Mountains.

















We stayed with the Cosbys in Pearcedale while in Victoria to attend Jon & Winnie wedding.

We met and fell in love with Poppy, Eleisha's dog.

My Father's 1st Death Anniversary

Times flies and my father has passed away for a year by 31 Mar 2016.

I flew back to Penang over the last weekend to join in the anniversary prayer at the temple.

http://pcwthoughts.blogspot.sg/2015/04/remembering-my-father-mr-poh-kum-hoong.html

Visit Penang 28 Feb - 1 Mar 2016

Since it was Jason's school holidays, we decided to visit my mother and elder sister in Penang again.

With Mum and 5th aunt .....

My cousin, Ling, took us to this 'Tree Restaurant', which has relocated from the Jetty, for some seafood dinner.

This is the Cheah Kongsi that was near the restaurant.

Caught this artist painting on the wall near the bus interchange behind our hotel, Penang is well known for its Street Art.

We have a very successful shopping trip at 1st Avenue Mall too and I myself bought this original MU jersey, as it worked out to be about S$20 cheaper due to our strong exchange rate.

Visit Penang 6-8 Jan 2016

My wife & I visited my Mum in Penang again and also met up with my younger sister, Wei, and her husband who were in town too.

Jason was in school so could not join us.

As usual, we also went hunting for the local food that we miss so much.

Breakfast.....

Lunch....

Dinner .....

2015 Reflections & Welcoming 2016

Happy New Year in 2016 and looking forward to Good Health & Cheer too...!!!

My reflections on year 2015 ....

1) Dad decided to leave us at end-Mar 2015, a week after Singapore Founding Father - Lee Kuan Yew passed away. Dad was a fan of his so maybe, he thought he could catch up with him ......

     Dad passed away in his sleep peacefully. I am happy that my family & I have many good times together whenever we visited him; ie taking him out for a good meal and a good action movie. We also helped him re-discovered Mahjung and we played a couple of times together and then I loaned him my iPad with the game in it, which he enjoyed tremendously.

2) I decided that I will put my Photography interests on hold and instead of upgrading my DSLR, I bought a compact digital camera but a high-end model with 1 inch sensor for better image quality and ease of taking photo during my travels, a Canon G7X.

It was a good decision as I am happy with my photos taken and I am impressed by the Scene Mode - Handheld Night scene. It is also easier for my wife and 3rd party to take our photos as it is easy to use ( ie. like the mobile camera touch screen for focusing ).

I wanted to attend the Macro Photography class but I missed it. So hopefully, I can do so in 2016.

3) My wife and I  travelled to Canadian Rockies + Alaska from end-May to early June 2015. While it was a long flight to our destinations and a 14 days of land and cruise combined, we enjoyed the sights and it was memorable as it was so different. When I look at the Photobook on it, I am so happy that we made this trip.

The whole family also went to Hokkaido in October 2015, after Jason has ORDed from his NS in August and before he started his studies in JCU in November. The food and scenery were great!

So we met our target of travelling overseas twice in 2015 but I hope we can go overseas at lease once in 2016 as it seems so unsafe globally... if you know what I mean. While we do not want to live in fear but taking unnecessary risk or going towards danger zones may not be too smart too......?

So maybe, we will go to Sydney instead.....? We will play by ear as I was thinking of visiting Spain and Portugal in 2016 initially.

Jason went backpacking with his buddy, Kenneth, in Japan in March this year too.

Other than the above, I repeated my colonoscopy in Feb and have a few polys removed and will repeat the procedure in 2 years' time. 

I have the lump in my left neck-shoulder area checked in May and it was found to be fats and to keep monitoring the size of it else no major issue. 

Jas strained his re-constructed ACL in his right knee in Aug and now undergoing physiotherapy sessions. I wish that he would stop his soccer and take up another interest instead as I fear for his mobility when he grows older due to repeated strain on his ACL.

The air con system in Jas room was replaced after 13 years of usage, in Aug. I replaced some of the fluorescent tubes and a couple of bulbs with LED lights in Nov. Brighter and savings on my electric bill too.

We also replaced our old dining table in Dec and shopping for a new main lounge table now.

In 2016, I would like to have a more regular exercise regime and target to lose another 1-2 kgs, besides walking on my Apos shoes daily. Eat healthier too.

One project that I will start in 2016 is to scan my photos prints into digital format; esp Jas and Jack growing years together.

Continue to travel overseas and attend the Macro Photography class too.

2015 was quite a good year and I look forward to a better year in 2016.

So a very Happy New Year to all and more good health and cheer in the coming year too.....!