Guest guest Posted July 30, 2002 Report Share Posted July 30, 2002 Maybe you can clear this up for me.... I understand that my father " faints " because of a sudden drop in BP when he tries to get up from a sitting position. Once he is " down " that is once he has fainted would his BP pressure read as being very low or is it only really low as he " fainting " ? The reason I am asking this is because the nurses at the home where he is say that he is having seizures because after an episode, when he passes out, his BP is not low. They have given him Tegratol, an anti-seizure, medication and it is seriously compromising his speech to the point where we can not understand him at all... Thanks Joanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 30, 2002 Report Share Posted July 30, 2002 Joanne, When your dad faints from low BP he falls and is basically laying down, so his BP goes back up. On the Tegratol, I am not sure that a medicine would be causing slurred speech - have they checked him for all types of infection? Is it listed as a side effect of that medicine? Could he have pneumonia or a UTI which is causing some of the problems? Talk to the doctor and mention infection causing slurred speech in brain disorders. Take care, Bill Werre --------------------------------------------------------- > > > Date: 2002/07/30 Tue PM 12:07:21 CDT > To: shydrager > Subject: blood pressure reading > > Maybe you can clear this up for me.... > I understand that my father " faints " because of a sudden drop in > BP when he tries to get up from a sitting position. Once he is > " down " that is once he has fainted would his BP pressure read > as being very low or is it only really low as he " fainting " ? > The reason I am asking this is because the nurses at the home > where he is say that he is having seizures because after an > episode, when he passes out, his BP is not low. They have given > him Tegratol, an anti-seizure, medication and it is seriously > compromising his speech to the point where we can not > understand him at all... Thanks Joanne > > > If you do not wish to belong to shydrager, you may > unsubscribe by sending a blank email to > > shydrager-unsubscribe > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 30, 2002 Report Share Posted July 30, 2002 Thanks for clearing that up Bill. My brother in law is a Dr. and he told me that Tegratol can affect a person's speech and balance. Because of the information on this site, I have mentionned the effect of an infection. My mother did say that he had a slight temperature. Abnormal body temperature is another point that is often mentionned here. I know that people with MSA don't register a fever sometimes because their body temperature is low. Is there any " scientific " explanation for this that I could show the nurses and doctors ? Once again, thanks for replying to my question. Here is another one. Is it " normal " for an MSA patient to develop extreme speech problems as the disease progresses? I hope that you are well. Joanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 30, 2002 Report Share Posted July 30, 2002 Joanne, I have talked to Charlotte's doctors about the fever thing at length and they feel that only low grade fever is abnormal in MSA patients. Specifically what would normally be just over 100 in a normal person can be a degree or so lower in a MSA patient because of the autonomic failure problem. When a MSA patient gets above 100 they are treated the same as normal people however. We on the list feel that other signs such as confusion, loss of memory, loss of movement (sudden) and fatigue are much better indicators of infection than temperature in early stage infection. This has been borne out many times as we have diagnosed infection from 10,000 miles away and ER doctors tested and found infection. Just tell ER doctors that the patient has autonomic failure due to a brain disorder which affects their body temperature control. That seemed to work for me. Also warn them that laying the patient flat will demonstrate the failure as the BP will rise and go back down when the patient sits up. By that time they will begin to realize you have some knowledge of the disorder. Take care, Bill Werre ================================================ > > > Date: 2002/07/30 Tue PM 04:03:18 CDT > To: shydrager > Subject: Re: blood pressure reading > > Thanks for clearing that up Bill. My brother in law is a Dr. and he > told me that Tegratol can affect a person's speech and balance. > Because of the information on this site, I have mentionned the > effect of an infection. My mother did say that he had a slight > temperature. Abnormal body temperature is another point that is > often mentionned here. I know that people with MSA don't > register a fever sometimes because their body temperature is > low. Is there any " scientific " explanation for this that I could show > the nurses and doctors ? > Once again, thanks for replying to my question. Here is another > one. Is it " normal " for an MSA patient to develop extreme speech > problems as the disease progresses? > I hope that you are well. > Joanne > > > If you do not wish to belong to shydrager, you may > unsubscribe by sending a blank email to > > shydrager-unsubscribe > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 30, 2002 Report Share Posted July 30, 2002 Joanne, This article explains how the autonomic nervous system regulate body temperature. http://parkinson.org/autonomicns.htm You can explain that in MSA the autonomic nervous system is not functioning properly and therefore body temperature regulation is off as well. Also read this page which is about Pure Autonomic Failure (PAF). You can think of Multiple System Atrophy as being PAF plus additional symptoms. http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/gcrc/adc/autonomic.html " It is noteworthy that patients with PAF do not usually have fevers as high as healthy subjects; nevertheless, any fever will significantly lower their blood pressure and consequently decrease their functional capacity. A sudden decline in functional mobility in a patient with PAF is suggestive of an intercurrent infection, usually of the urinary tract. A reduced basal metabolic rate is typical. Evidence of normal sympathetic and parasympathetic activity, such as nausea and pallor, may not occur when expected. " Take care, Pam Re: blood pressure reading > Thanks for clearing that up Bill. My brother in law is a Dr. and he > told me that Tegratol can affect a person's speech and balance. > Because of the information on this site, I have mentionned the > effect of an infection. My mother did say that he had a slight > temperature. Abnormal body temperature is another point that is > often mentionned here. I know that people with MSA don't > register a fever sometimes because their body temperature is > low. Is there any " scientific " explanation for this that I could show > the nurses and doctors ? > Once again, thanks for replying to my question. Here is another > one. Is it " normal " for an MSA patient to develop extreme speech > problems as the disease progresses? > I hope that you are well. > Joanne > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 30, 2002 Report Share Posted July 30, 2002 Hi Joanne, Sorry to hear of all of your father's troubles. What medicine is he taking for the low b/p? As Bill has said, once your Dad hits the ground, his b/p should return to normal, but once he stands again, it would fall. Once he sits or lays down, his b/p should return to what is normal for him. Does he take salt pills or at the very least, maybe he could be taking bouillion. Let us know how he is doing please. Love, Jean & Chrissie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 Joanne: In ken's case, his BP was usually very high right after he came to after a passing out episode. It once went as high as 237/120 after one of these episodes. It is the rising BP that helps them come to. As Ken fell and passed out, it always looked much like a seizure, but the doctors who saw it, said it looked like one, but it was not. I would tell the nurses not to give any new medication without discussing it with his Neurologist and I would insist on a true diagnosis of seizure activity before giving Tergretol. When ken was in the Nursing Home, some of the nurses called his passing falling asleep. This was almost as bad as calling it a seizure. Good Luck, Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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