Momentary shut down of central nervous system.

My son has had cataplexy for a couple years, and this sounds a lot like his description as well. From what I've read, it's a part of narcolepsy. He says his are triggered by happy, laughing, reminiscing type emotions. He sees a psychiatrist and a neurologist and has gotten some meds that help him not have them, or at least lessen their frequency. Since these docs have helped him, I thought I'd pass it along for what it's worth. I wish you good luck and good health! Karla B

Thank you Karla B. That's very interesting and I'll check into it.
Regards,
Tadueo

Your episodes sound like vasovagal syncope episodes which occur due to your twisting your head/neck a certain causing this response. I’d be interested to learn what symptoms you exhibit? Please google it and check it out too, sound scary.

jenatsky,
VSE. First time I've heard that. Wow.
The only requirement for the attack is that some part of my body must be in motion stretching in scope from while putting my arm in the sleeve of my shirt while standing I immediately shut down and fall to the floor head first to an attack when I was bent over picking up a cell phone and collapse. In each of the four cases I lost total control of my body. The duration is no longer than a second or two and the only after effects are from my falling body impinging with the floor or other objects. My vision remains intact thru the attack. It has never occurred while I'm in a sitting position. I don't like the happening.
I will google it.
Regards,
tadueo

jenatsky,
I think we can rule out VS as during an episode the victim "passes out".
In my episodes I remain conscious and maintain vision and the duration is about a second from which I return with no after effects.
Thanks anyway,
tadueo

The concern you should have is for passing out, which can be detrimental when you hit your head. I’m a retired nurse so hear me out, please? If you’re becoming lightheaded or dizzy with exertion it can a couple of things. If your heart is not able to keep up with the demand you’re putting on it the decreased blood flow to your brain might be the resulting symptom. If you’ve got a blocked or partially obstructed carotid artery in your neck the increased exertion might be compromising your ability the push blood to your brain. Are you an in shape guy that usually exercises?

i hear you.
My cardiologist says that, healthwise, I'm in the upper 2% of his patient's in my age group. I exercise twice a day with routines provided by my health therapist. I was an athlete, tennis, wrestling, in my younger days and yet I still have CHF, A-fib and high BP .
I think all my Docs are clueless as to what causes my nervous system shut downs.
It's like someone throws a switch and I drop.
tadueo

I have recently experienced several nervous system shutdowns when attempting to bend over the last one last May 21st. It's like someone threw a switch and I drop like a stone. Last time I seriously injured my forehead. I can still see during the shutdown but can do nothing to protect myself. It lasts less than a second. My neurologist says I have severe spinal degeneration with major buildup on the bones. My neurosurgeon says" there is nothing for me to do" although I've heard of operations where these bones are scraped to relieve this situation.
I'd greatly appreciate any relevant info.

@tadueo I can appreciate your concern for the episodes when you are suddenly falling, and in reading some of your other posts, I see that you are 90 years old and have significant spinal degeneration and bone spurring. My question to you is what are you doing to prevent falling?

My dad had a skull fracture and traumatic brain injury that changed his life. He fell and hit his head on concrete when he was outside cutting down some invasive tree growing against the foundation of his house. He was never the same after that although he did live many more years. At 90, you may not do well with spine surgery. It is a major trauma to the body as well as the general anesthesia being hard on the body. Sometimes older patients do not come out of anesthesia so easily. My mom was one and needed oxygen after a parathyroid surgery. With surgery you always have to balance the risk against the benefit. There may not be enough enough benefit to make surgery a good option for you. Surgery can make you worse and cause permanent pain.

I am a spine surgery patient and had a cervical fusion because of spinal cord compression. I also had some issues with muscle spasms that rotated my C1 & C2 that before my spine surgery caused sudden vertigo and loss of balance. That happens because of the vertebral arteries that run along the sides of the cervical vertebrae, and if the vertebrae are twisted, the arteries get stretched. All I had to do was look up at a bird flying over and lost my balance and fell. You could have similar issues if your vertebrae have some slipping out of normal positions and your head movement triggers this.

Have you talked to your doctor about using a wheel chair to prevent falling? It happens so suddenly for you and you say that you cannot prevent it from happening when you bend over. The risk of injury is huge for a person your age if you fall. If you hit your head, it could be fatal. With my dad, he was in the hospital for about 3 months, and the doctors had to drill holes in his skull to relieve the pressure of swelling inside the skull after the injury. Brain injuries are very slow to heal and may never recover completely. My dad had to relearn language and how to swallow food again.

A physical therapist may be able to help some if there are other reasons for falling that are related to loss of strength. Have you talked to your doctor about physical conditioning? Would you consider being proactive and trying a wheelchair? My mom uses one because she has pain in her feet and difficulty walking and has no balance. She lives alone, and if she tried to walk, she would end up falling, so she decided to have a wheelchair to maintain her independence. She has severe osteoporosis and a fall in the past broke her pelvis in 3 places and her foot. She spent 3 months in a nursing home rehab, and then went through foot surgery because all the tendons shortened and her foot twisted. That helped her be able to put her foot flat on the floor again, but she is still severely disabled and walking is painful and very difficult. Prevention could have saved a lot of pain and disability. It also affects the entire family because I've had to live with my parents and take care of them when they could not take care of themselves.

Jennifer,
Thank you for your informative response. After hearing of your families health problems I feel mine are minor in comparison. I haven't had a shutdown episode since May 21 even though I've tried to trigger one by going through all kinds of bending motions. Over a padded floor, of course. I'm very careful to bend over in areas where my falling won't cause injury. Concrete floors are out. I've learned to bend at the knees before bending my back which seems to help.
I presently do two sets of exercise therapy daily as prescribed by a local clinic.
I keep the idea of a wheelchair in my back pocket in case my condition should become worse. My PSP recommended a cane as an interim step.
I haven't ruled out a bone scraping op as I have two associates with successful outcomes although I hear what you say about the severity of these operations and I am 90 .
Me: "Doctor, it only happens when I bend over." Neurosurgeon:"Don't bend over."
Tadueo