Mum’s Rare Condition Causes Her To Faint During Sex

A mum-of-three is suffering from a rare condition that causes her to pass out during sex.

Laura Crow, 28, from Southend, UK had been perfectly healthy up until she fell pregnant with her son, Dylan in late 2009. “When I was around four weeks’ pregnant, I passed out and went to the doctors. I’d never fainted in my life until then. The first doctor I saw said it was just part and parcel of pregnancy, but another doctor sent me for tests,” she said. That was when she was diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTs) in 2011.

Her disorder caused her resting heart rate to increase at 110 beats per minute – around 40 beats higher than the average person. But when she experiences an adrenaline rush and gets excited, her heart rate peaks at 180 beats per minute – which can cause her to pass out.

This condition has made Mrs Crow feel anxious everytime she and her husband, Ben, 28, go between the sheets.

“Whenever I have sex, there’s a 50/50 chance I’ll faint. The fainting can happen anywhere, any time – but with PoTs, it’s usually a case of gravity taking over, so the best way for us to do it is missionary, with me lying down,” she said.

Mrs Crow recounted the first time it happened while she and her husband were into “it.” “The first time it happened it was a massive shock for both of us. Ben gets very upset – when I wake up he is very distressed, even though he never continues after I’ve passed out. Once I faint I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s very traumatic and worrying for him. But luckily it doesn’t affect our relationship. He’s the strongest rock I could ever ask for,” she said.

Thankfully, after having her next two children – Ralph, three, and one-year-old, Faith – her symptoms started to ease. “We did think twice about having more children,” she said, but at the time, she and Ben didn’t know if it was a hormonal problem that had triggered the PoTs. “It did get better – I used to pass out seven or eight times a day, but after my second and third pregnancy it’s only once or twice a day,” Mrs Crow said.

Apart from that, Mrs Crow also struggles with other conditions linked to PoTs, including Elhers-Danlos syndrome, inappropriate tachycardia syndrome and dis-associative seizures.