Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Judy Gaza, Shawano, Wisconsin — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:03:21 GMT

Thank you for this timely information. My brother just passed away...suddenly and unexpectedly, on May 31st, at home alone with no apparent trauma or distress, from severe cardiovascular disease which he did not know he had. 5 days prior to his death, he "fainted" on the golf course but came to 30 seconds later and just thought he was dehydrated, and sat out the rest of the game. He went to his doctor 2-days later and was scheduled for a stress test 7 days later. He did not make that test...and died 3 days later. He took the fainting spell seriously...why didn't his doctor???

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Ally in West Palm — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:04:32 GMT

I have personally never fainted but think I have come close as what you describe resembles many occasions where I have felt dizzy, lightheaded and the need to lay down flat to avoid fainting. I used to smoke cigarettes which could account for the lack of oxygen. The first bad episode I had was in a car and I pulled over and went in a store and repeatedly felt like I could faint but pulled out of it. The next time was in a stuffy hot crowded movie theatre. I had to leave and then developed a fear of movie theatres. I remember feeling faint and I probably hyperventilated, which caused me to panic. While sitting getting my hair done on my wedding day, I felt faint probably from the stress but I chalked it up to inhaling hairspray. I quit smoking and found that helped, of course. Who knows, maybe I have this condition and didn't know it. Everyone I've consulted with has chalked it up to anxiety because something else kicks in and my heart races in fear. It's always bothered me that this is all involuntary and there doesn't seem to be a lot I can do about it other than breathe deeply and slowly, which so far is the remedy. I would guess that Amy Winehouse is probably dehydrated and her body is tired from the drugs. It takes more than rehab to clean up. You have to have the personal desire to want to change for the better and respect your body. I decided I don't want to do anything to obstruct my breathing and was able to quit smoking cold turkey. I get scared when I read that she's doing drugs again or has passed out. I'm afraid one day the headlines will be that she passed away instead of out. She's so lucky to have so much talent and I hope it's a wake up call for her to pay attention to her health.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Rosa Pode — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:24:12 GMT

Ol'e W and Wino have another thing in common... they both have been coke-heads at some point in their life....perhaps this can explained as "Coke Head Syncope".

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

ak, Webster MA — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:40:21 GMT

Knock it off. She fainted because she's a strung out drug addict that doesn't eat. Pictures of her from 5 years ago show the deterioation. Her and her junkie husband have been photographed with their eyes bleeding out of their heads and the police have been arresting every dealer that have been linked to them. Hanging out with Pete "Doperty" while Blake (hubby) is incarerated is the most obvious "I need a medicinal supplier" cry for help in the world. Her parents even know...STOP BEING SO NICE and sugar coating it. It's KILLING a very talented girl sho is on her way to the next "Dead at 27".

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Judy Sullivan, Durham, NC — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:41:06 GMT

Frequently syncople episodes may be cause by substance abuse. Either Bush or Winehouse have that Hx?

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

ronnie, Spring Green, WI — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:41:29 GMT

What I don't understand is why the media keep bringing to our attention dumb,stupid people like Amy Winehouse, Brittney and the other two dumb Simpson sisters. I guess the dumb keep getting dumber including our press! Go get-em!!!

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

SAM , INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:54:03 GMT

EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT WINEHOUSE PROBABLY WAS HIGH AT THE TIME SHE PASSED OUT, YEAH I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THEY HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

SR, providence RI — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:24:33 GMT

ak, Webster MA : Wow, it's great that you personally KNOW her and can share this info with us all...you might wish to take your own advice of "knock it off"...

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

MH, Marietta GA — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:52:35 GMT

Thank you ak. Im glad someone said it. She needs to be tied down some place until she can get her self together, I feel sorry.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

DaisyH Fort Lauderdale FL — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:04:27 GMT

Unfortunately, most doctors dismiss fainting as nothing to fret about; I went down in a restaurant not too long ago. Right out of the blue, I was gone - out cold. They took me to the ED but tests were inconclusive. I called my doc the next morning and they wanted to schedule me for an appt. in 2 weeks. 2 weeks? I am no hypochondriac, but let’s face it; I could be stone cold by then. To make a long story short, I obviously survived long enough to change doctors and never did find out what happened. Now that I know this new doc, I doubt if he’ll be much better. Hopefully it was a fluke and not a sign of something worse. I work in healthcare and know how the doctors really feel about their patients. In Winehouse's case, she's just a mess. We'll be reading about her untimely demise before too long. That lifestyle will catch up with her. Skanky little thing.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

nhoj eod, hsaw Elttaes — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:27:48 GMT

They both got the drugs from Bill Clintons dealer, (his brother).

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

John, Jaxsonville, FL — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:33:17 GMT

Anyone ever look at the possibility of epilepsy?

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Marshal Granor, Elkins Park, PA — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:35:38 GMT

It was WONDERFUL seeing this article. I suffer from this condition and am a patient of Dr Grubb, who was quoted extensively. I have never used any illegal drug, and the condition hit me out of nowhere at age 44. It is extremely difficult to find doctors who understand (or even recognize) this condition, and cases of mistreatment are all to widespread.

There are resources for people who faint, including www.ndrf.org; www.dynakids.org; and a support group (of which I am a moderator) at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NCS_F/

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

I'm a Genious! TX — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:17:37 GMT

Are you kidding me? You couldn't hit on the fact that Amy Winehouse is the biggest cokehead ever? Doesn't coke restrict the blood flow? Uhhhh.........

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Heather Robertson, Florence, Alabama — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:44:20 GMT

My 8 year old daughter faints when she just thinks of something that distresses her. It is very scary and she has hit her head on one or two occasions. I am afraid that the bigger she gets, the more likely she will be to hurt herself. We are working on ways to help her deal with stress and ways she can change her thoughts to something more pleasant. Syncope is scary even if it is considered to be benign.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Barbara Sue — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:38:39 GMT

My daughter used to faint when sitting too long in church or on the sports bench. That lasted between 12 years old and 17 years of age. All the doctors were correct in her case, it was hormonal, once her hormones became normalized, she stopped fainting. Thank Goodness, it was very frightening when it happened.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Heather F, Okla City — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:15:36 GMT

As someone who has suffered from vasovagal syncope all my life, I can tell you it is very hard to live with. It was incorrectly diagnosed as atypical epilepsy in my case, causing me to be on medication for several years that made me terribly, terribly sick. I wasn't correctly diagnosed until about age 24. Now I'm on a beta blocker and while it hasn't stopped every episode, it has slowed them down considerably. This condition can run your life, even down to controlling where to go on vacation (can't ride most of the rides at theme parks - flip me around too much and I'm out cold). Once the episodes occur, they are very draining and can take days to recover from - assuming there is no physical damage. I've almost choked to death on a chair arm during an episode, as well as torn my mouth up while I had braces. Not a fun thing to deal with as a teen. More doctors need to be aware of what the differences in these situations are, and how to diagnose them correctly so people can have a better quality of life.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

aka — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:15:15 GMT

I get migraines, and before I was able to identify and cut my triggers out of my diet (#1 = Splenda), I used to frequently have dizzy spells and see spots. This would usually happen when I stood up quickly. Ordinarily, I would feel it coming on and sit back down until it passed and I could see again, but, occasionally I didn't and would fall right over.

The worst time, I woke up on the floor, felt like I was swimming, then realized something was not right. I had hit my forehead on a sharp corner. I had a concussion, and a permanent dent on my hairline to prove it, but the amazing thing is: now that I don't eat artificial sweetener, I've only had one serious migraine in the past 2 years, and no longer suffer from any dizzy spells and fainting

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

MP Toledo, OH — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:55:37 GMT

My mother, brother, sister, daughter & I all faint. A couple of us have gone the Doctor route with no success. We learn our triggers and manage it to the point where we forget to mention it to new doctors, spouses, etc. I'm a big fan of visualizaion and have learned to picture a really healthly blood flow to the brain while sitting with my head between my knees. Works every time.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Frank Newman Ft. Smith, AR — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:24:40 GMT

I have had the situational syncope all my life. Standing up quickly would cause my vision to go (black out, but still awake) At the most severe, I would also lose my hearing until the blood made it up to my brain. Over the last several years, it had become a real nuisance and I finally did the pass-out after jumping up to answer the phone. Luckily, we have a good rug pad and I only busted my lip on a chair as I went down. I rushed off to see the cardiologist the next day, expecting him to tell me terrible things. I'm still laughing at the simple answer he gave me,"You have low blood pressure, eat more salt". It has worked great. One salt pill in the morning will raise it to the earthshaking level of about 117/68. I guess I'm the lucky one. Stay Healthy Everyone. Aarky

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Lewis S, West Winfield, New York — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:44:27 GMT

I traveled to the University of Toledo Medical Center to see Dr. Blair Grubb concerning my neurocardiogenic syncope, got a power point presentation on the subject and no help!
He glanced at my records and stated "Looks like just a bunch of random tests" I guess I need to be famous. Heading to the Lahey Clinic in two months for some real help.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Sylvester Katt — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:46:33 GMT

Prez Bush did not faint from pretzel eating. He told an off-color joke in front of Laura and she cold-cocked him for it (I know how Texans do things according to their morality), and he passed out as the result. Then they cooked up the story about the pretzels and his slamming into the table.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Erica, Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:48:19 GMT

Had a time 2 or 3 years ago where I was very very weak and dizzy for days and ended up passing out after a dizzy spell. Found out that I had inflammed sinuses....took allergy medicine and I was fine.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Mary Casey, Brooklyn, NY — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:00:31 GMT

I have Neurocardiogenic Syncope. I have been fainting since I was 8 years old but diagnosed at 28. I normally feel dizzy. No one thought that fainting meant something abnormal in my family.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Lyle Dean Phelix >fishmann_profish@hotmail.com — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:57:14 GMT

It would be a good thing if they did an MRI on her. Trust me I had the same problem... it was a brain tumor...Really they should check.

Amy Winehouse: Faint of hair?

Lori Maxey, Greenville, SC — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:27:50 GMT

Thank you for explaining why I pass out when I have to go before a group of people (like when I've been a bridesmaid or had to do a speech in high school). I've even passed out giving blood. I must suffer from poor autonomic tone. I can't even describe the stress I have felt in these situations. Luckily, my passing out has been stopped by a good strong whiff of smelling salts (like at my wedding). Unfortunately it's going to be hard to take a whiff of smelling salts when I get up to give a speech in college.