It's been a while since I've posted. But I want to see if there are others that have encountered a peculiar situation taking care of a loved one that has dementia. And, I apologize if I am all over the place, my mom just had a syncope episode about an hour ago and I think my BP is off the charts still.
My mom really likes Ensure/Boost drinks. She's had several syncope episodes that I notice seem to occur after she's consumed an additional Boost/Ensure within an hour of having one (she will insist and throw a fit if I don't give it to her). I don't do this often, sometimes I just redirect her to another topic and she forgets the demand for an additional drink.
Has anyone else had encountered this?
In November, she was hospitalized due to such an episode. Ultimately, the doctor's removed her from several medications (blood pressure meds) because it seemed her heart rate was very low. Now she is only on one BP medication (she takes one pill in the morning and one at night).
This evening, she insisted on an additional Ensure and I was exhausted and relented. Not long afterwards, she fainted. She comes to, and starts vomiting and then faints completely. The ambulance came and took her vitals and everything was back to normal. So we didn't make a trip to the hospital this time. I sent the information from the EMT to her doctor via an app we use to communicate; normally, if the doctor feels the vitals are concerning, they will call and have me take her into the emergency room.
I'm just wondering if the Ensure/Boost is the culprit?? Sometimes it's all she wants, she'll pick around the food I prepare and ask for an Ensure.
https://www.google.com/search?q=passing+out+after+drinking+cold+water&rlz=1C1CHBD_enUS896US896&oq=passing+out+after+drinking+&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0l7.8039j1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Can you pass out from drinking cold water?
“The cold ice water gets into the esophagus and the stomach, and there are nerves along the esophagus and stomach known as the vagus nerves,” Dr. Schultz explains. “These nerves can fire up, send a signal to the brain and actually cause an individual to pass out and lose consciousness briefly.”
Best of luck!!
BabyGirlga, I wonder if cold water or iced tea don't provoke a response b/c they don't have either any preservatives, additive or whatever, and are literally more pure in form, especially water. If iced tea is based on an herbal tea, that's another factor to consider.
I've seen the ingredient list for Ensure and although I don't remember it, I think it had a lot of different ingredients, and perhaps some chemicals. They might be reacting to an overdose from the second bottle of it.
Back in the late 1980s I realized I was allergic to sodium nitrate and nitrite in foods, especially strawberries. So I avoided it in everything, including medicine, as an anesthetist told me that preservatives were used in meds. I had no idea of that and was shocked.
Every once in a while I'll have a reaction, and am reminded that I need to check ingredients of everything that's not natural, although it would be better if I could limit my intake only to natural foods and ingredients. But there's always chocolate and I haven't figured yet figured out a way to eliminate the food of the gods from my food intake. After all, if it's meant for gods, it must be good, right?
After reading the ingredients, I don't see where this stuff is good for you. Might as well by a milkshake and throw in some protein powder.
And BabyGirlGa, what a great post and "mystery solving" on your own part. I am quite fascinated with this. I so seldom hear of people who will take ensure or boost in any great amounts. I agree. This could be a sugar thing.
I'm wondering if this is happening with your mother? Have her faints happened close to getting up from a chair, or some similar activity of movement?
In fact I'm now remembering that one of if not the first episodes occurred when Dad was in the cloak room at his church, bending over to get his boots or something like that, when he passed out and went down. At least there were a lot of boots to cushion his fall.
also if she has a bowl movement I wouldn’t let her get up too quickly.