Fainting when standing for a while

I had two fainting episodes after standing for a while. Went to GP who sent me for 24 hour BP cuff, 24 hour heart monitor and ECG. I was on a beta blocker and at times my pulse was going down too low. This was stopped and I haven’t had any episodes since. Unfortunately, the experiences frightened me so much I ended up with anxiety, resulting in palpitations. It is a frightening experience so get it checked out for peace of mind.

My mum had similar problems Hers was caused by leaky heart valves and she did have a pacemaker fitted and blood pressure medication. There may be many reasons for your problem though so hopefully you can get tested soon. Mum always carried with her a light weight seat on a walking stick (bought from a National Trust shop) if she knew she would be in a long queue or having to stand for any length of time. She found it helpful and I know its not a permanent or ideal solution but hopefully could be helpful for you in the short term. Good luck.

I think it is an excellent suggestion to take someone with you when you go for your next appointment.
Did you have a full blood count to discount anaemia?
Below knee compression socks with a zip are very comfortable and might prevent further episodes of fainting to use until the cause is found, from Amazon and under £10.
If you ever feel faint ….. lie down immediately….. you will feel self conscious … but bystanders need to understand it will prevent injury because blood is pooling in your legs and is needed in your head ! and you may avoid actually fainting.
Good luck.

I've been involved in healthcare and research too for over 40+ years, so I know a thing or two on the topic. When it comes to 'syncopal episodes' or the like, I have had personal experience. I have the real Meniere's disease, not just tinnitus (noises in the ears). I became totally deaf on the right, when I was 35 yo. There are a few symptoms of the disease (no longer tinnitus, which happens at the beginning), I would become like a drunken person, unable to walk straight. Later, I began having 'head drops' when I suddenly hit the ground (could not stretch arms to save myself either). Then, I would have to sit there for a while and later go to bed and sleep it off! In short, the episodes feel as though the blood in the brain goes down to the feet and bingo! I can sort of tell by the feeling in my head in the morning, if it is lingering in the background. I usually don't go out or travel far if so. It can hit suddenly...like the time I was in Sicily, at the heritage site of Agrigento, where I hit the ancient rocks, headfirst and I draw a crowd of like thousands around me. My heading was bleeding a lot. One man in the crowd, reached out and pressed a large hankie on my forehead and pressed hard. Turns out he was a neurologist, spoke English. People wanted to lift me up, after I told him I had Meniere's he said, "leave her for a while." I have a house on the mainland Italy. My daughter had to do the drive back, after the ambulance took me to a hospital. It turned out that I broke my ankle on those rocks. My face squared the maid at the hotel the next day! The positive bit of the story is that we got to travel first class by air and never had to check in or pull any of our luggage! I hope you get to the bottom of your dizzy, or light-headed spells. Interestingly, Meniere's is a medical phenomena. Until recently, there was little research into this crazy disease and they still are not sure what causes it. All I know is, I thank God I have 2 ears, rather and just one, but it sure did affect my social life, especially in noisy environments, because I cannot always join in the conversation - words can sound different to what is actually being said. Your problem could be vestibular also.

Dee1012

There's a condition called PoTs...postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.
Some of your symptoms sound very similar if you look on the NHS website that has some information, it could be worth having a read through.

I must admit I immediately thought POTS too Dee1012
I think ask the GP to do sitting and standing BP and I would clearly explain what precedes the condition, and don't let them fob you off.

If you have back pain prior,do you legs feel weak?
If so, it might be an issue with the nerve supply. Strangely that comes from your neck area.might be worth asking for a neck x ray.

My father had a couple of episodes of fainting for no apparent reason.

It turned out that he had a faulty heart valve.

I am not saying that this is the case with you but just thought I would post for info.

do check your blood sugar too as it can cause fainting after period of standing

Dad had a similar problem as he got older. He would suddenly become aware that he was”going down” and would immediately collapse like a sack of potatoes. Luckily he never really hurt himself and would recover very quickly. The doctor did tests and said it was nothing to worry about and he could still drive. He had low blood pressure so idk if that was a contributory factor from other postings. He lived to be 96.

I experienced something like this. For me it turned out to be heart related. Maybe it's something to do with your BP dropping, either way I'd want it investigating

I get this and in my case its due to low blood pressure. I can walk (with stops) but start to black out if I am on my feet too long

This would happen to me and was dismissed by GP until I passed out when driving. Luckily no one hurt,even though the car finished up the wrong side of the road.I was given a heart monitor for a week which showed I have AF. Since having a Pacemaker (12 years ago ) I have been fine.

Need to check with GP this seems similar to POTs I get it when standing for too long my smart watch shows raised heart rate for 10 minutes then it goes back to normal thankfully I’ve only fallen once

Thank you all so much for your input. It's not my BP, I've actually stood for 50 minutes in the kitchen and then taken my BP and there is nothing wrong! And I managed then to get to a chair and sit down....

I am noting all your suggestions and will mention them to the doctor. I agree, the current situation is definitely life limiting, and I need to get it sorted.

Thank you again.

This has happened to me recently a couple of times when I have been standing for some time in hot weather, although I don’t experience pain. I was indoors for the last one, could see stars and felt as though I was going to faint so laid down for a while and gradually felt better. I took my blood pressure and it was far lower than usual.
Apparently blood tends to pool in the legs when standing for some time and heat and dehydration don’t help the situation.

It’s more than a postural drop, listen to karma lady.

There's a condition called PoTs...postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.
Some of your symptoms sound very similar if you look on the NHS website that has some information, it could be worth having a read through.

My dad had this, exactly this. He was advised to sit, or even lie down immediately when he started to feel faint. It wasn’t ever found to be anything serious. It is caused by low blood pressure. I’ll guess that as we age, our heart finds it more difficult to pump blood right up to our heads when we are standing, and so the blood pressure drops. Lie down and the heart pumps blood properly again.

Once he collapsed in a toilet, in a restaurant. My husband had to climb over the door of the cubicle in order to unlock the door and get him out. Of course, as soon as he fell, the blood pressure improved and he came back to the table and was fine.

Please get your blood pressure double checked my mum had a few incidents you experienced it was a certain form of blood pressure.

My sister in law had a similar occurrence to you OP. She was hospitalised because she injured herself quite badly. The tests she had in hospital showed it was caused by irritation of her vagus nerve. Might be worth mentioning this to your GP.

The pain preceding the faint is something that needs feeding back to your doctor. A previous poster has suggested one possibility which is not to be ignored
I have passed out twice after pain in my back under ribs ... it was caused by spasm of a sphincter in the biliary system that irritated the vagus nerve.
I think you need to see the doc again.

Agree with Bluebelle you will benefit from online shopping. So much easier for you. Hope you feel better soon

Sounds like your blood pressure is dropping when you are standing. This is the reason soldiers faint when standing to attention for extended periods. Try not to stand still when queueing. Keep your feet moving, it might help.
I also think you ought to ask you GP to take your BP after you have been standing for a while.
I do hope you find a reason and a solution for the fainting.

Maybe ask your GP (if he hasn't already done it) to check your BP and pulse when sitting, and then after standing for 5 minutes or so.

…..And do an online shop instead of standing in queues or trudging around the shelves