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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Fainting After Having Food?

2 months ago I fell unconscious shortly after finishing a meal. I was unconscious long enough for first responders to be there and the ambulance not long after. The waitress said I was looking ashen before I went unconscious and I vomited as I was falling. I felt no warning signs before this. All cardiac, brain, blood work, and blood pressure checks came back in normal to excellent range. I am a 55 year old female, a little overweight, but active. My doctor has basically said, come back if it happens again, but I do not want it to happen again. Is there something else I can be checking to find a cause? Thank you.
posted on Fri, 17 Nov 2017
Twitter Tue, 10 Jul 2018 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 13 Jul 2018 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service.
I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.


The fact that the heart and brain examination and blood work come out normal is a good sign and rules out serious conditions.
Sometimes when we eat fast and a lot of food at a time it might happen that fluids in our system get moved towards the vessels in the stomach and bowel, causing a very low blood pressure in the blood system elsewhere else and increasing the risk for fainting.

Very likely this is what happened in your case and the best way to prevent it in the future is having frequent small amount of food. In case of having 3 big meals a day, you can have 4-5 small meals so your blood is not shifted to the gastrointestinal system and causing you low blood pressure and fainting.

Hope I have answered your query.
Let me know if I can assist you further.

Kind regards,
Antoneta Zotaj, MD
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What Causes Fainting After Having Food?

Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. The fact that the heart and brain examination and blood work come out normal is a good sign and rules out serious conditions. Sometimes when we eat fast and a lot of food at a time it might happen that fluids in our system get moved towards the vessels in the stomach and bowel, causing a very low blood pressure in the blood system elsewhere else and increasing the risk for fainting. Very likely this is what happened in your case and the best way to prevent it in the future is having frequent small amount of food. In case of having 3 big meals a day, you can have 4-5 small meals so your blood is not shifted to the gastrointestinal system and causing you low blood pressure and fainting. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Kind regards, Antoneta Zotaj, MD