Something Unexpected Happened To Me

Thirteen months ago, on the 27th of July 2022 something strange and a bit disturbing happened to me ....

Blackouts Are Dangerous

 ... I had a blackout and hit the bathroom floor.

Now before I go any further, I should perhaps give a little background. I hadn't eaten for 20 hours, and not drunk anything for at least 13 hours. It was the tail-end of a mini heatwave (just 3 or 4 days or so of sunshine), and I had decided to get my daily shopping chores done before taking any breakfast or liquids.

So I had been running around for over an hour before embarking on to the last shop. By this time I was feeling hot and flustered and whilst waiting at the checkout actually was light-headed enough to need to put my hand down for support.

 

So I left the shop, and drove home. Even after finishing unpacking, which involved several trips between street parked car and the kitchen, as I had frozen goods, I had to piss about bending down  rearranging the freezer shelves to make everything fit .... so I was very hot and knackered by the time I made it up the stairs to the bathroom, in order to splash my head in cold water.

 

It was after standing up straight after doing that, when I blacked out. I came round quickly I think, and I lay on the floor assessing the damage. I had hurt my neck and back in two places (the cervical and upper spinal column area, and the sacrum area), and scraped my elbow and bruised my head ..... oh, and severely bruised my man ego.

 

After a few moments I was able to get up gingerly, and get to my bed. I debated calling an ambulance, but the thought of 30 hours in Accident and Emergency (A&E), filled me with dread (such is the state of the local NHS these days), so I didn't ... I still had vivid memories of spending that long waiting time to be examined last time I went to A&E in January 2022.

 

After laying on my bed, I decided (rightly or wrongly) that a combination of my body overheating, combined with a low blood sugar level (through lack of eating), poor body hydration (a problem I am prone to, as I have had a habit of under hydrating - outside of pubs that is - all my life), and a sudden slight blood pressure drop, as I brought my head up sharply after splashing my face, was the probable cause of the blackout.

 

My Heart BPM Record

 

Over the next few days, I was a bit cautious getting up, while the head bruise went down, and I monitored my heart Beats Per Minutes (BPM) via an app (average BPM 82, over 30 days of readings, including events such as physical labour). I even went to the local chemists (O'Briens Pharmacy) and had a free Atrial Fibrillation test (which was a 5 green tick pass ... so apparently OK. But if it happens again, to the Doctors I will go). The two extreme BPMs seem to have been caused by me stressing and panicking over heart attack fears in the days immediately following the blackout on 27th ... Heart rates can vary wildly if your state of mind is not stable e.g. panic can release adrenaline (a hormone), and make the heart race faster.  

 

A normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute, and generally, a lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular fitness ... so an 82 BPM average is not too bad, and my resting figures were 76 BPM or under, with an average after 72 resting readings of 71 BPM (70.86 rounded).

 

So I was reassured to some extent .... of course it could still have been a mini stroke, or even some sort of heart issue etc, but usually the most obvious cause, is actually the likeliest one, and apart from the physical wounds from the fall, I could discern no obvious new conditions such a tingling arms or chest pounding, heart fluttering etc etc.

 

However it was the two back injuries that actually gave me the most problems. I have once in the past damaged my lower back in the sacrum/coccyx area (under what circumstances I can't recall), but I did remember that it took ages to get better, and that equally proved to be the case this time as well. It was only after around 20 days that the pain subsided to a dull ache, which localised as the sacrum area, and I could eventually sit down without real discomfort.

 

Similarly I don't know exactly how I hurt my lower neck, upper spine in the cervical vertebrae bones/muscles (maybe the infamous 'whiplash' effect as my head firstly hit the door and then the floor), but I certainly did ... this injury caused me to feel a little bit dizzy occasionally, until I used anti-inflammatory gel to bring down any swelling around the bones that might have been pressing on nerves etc down.

 

However after a month I seemed to have fully recovered, and did two days lifting, carrying, and bending etc, whilst carrying out garden chores such as tree trimming, hedge cutting etc, without feeling odd or in anyway unusual, and now, over 15 months later I have put the whole incident aside. In fact it's only because of this tendency of men in particular to dismiss injuries / aches and pains etc, that I decided to record the events and record results .... just in case haha.😆 

PS: Always consult your doctor if you have any health concerns or worries, or if your normal resting heart rate is consistently above 100 beats a minute (tachycardia), or if you're not a trained athlete and your normal resting heart rate is below 60 beats a minute (bradycardia), especially if you have other signs or symptoms, such as fainting, dizziness or shortness of breath etc.

 

PPS: If specifically exercising, or doing something very physical, then the suggested maximum heart rate during exercise should be roughly equal to 220 BPM, minus the age of the person. So for example if aged 66 then (220 - 66) a max of 154 BPM max during heavy exercise, or if aged 33 then (220 - 33) a max of 187 BPM during heavy exercise. (American Heart Association figures) .... that's just in case any of you are super athletes 😉.