Anyone ever faint before?

rabbit wrote:

you had a spinal standing up? I had exactly one before they realized all my fainting was epilepsy and not meningitis. Was the most painful experience of my life. They hit me with straight morphine twice before I stopped screaming.

No, they had me sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, leaning against one of those moving tables they put your food tray on. Hint for future orderlies: those things roll like a ball bearing sprayed with WD40 on ice. They will not hold a 6'2", 200 pound bald guy in place were he to, say, suddenly refuse to provide input to his body.

Yeah, spinal taps are less fun than oral sex, I'll give you that. And all my symptoms -- whole body pain where I quite literally crawled up my stairs and a 4 week headache -- was caused by meningitis... or at least that's the quack's theory.

I fainted once the morning after I strained my back. It was pure agony to move, but I had to urinate. So I went to the bathroom and was standing with the tackle out waiting for my 40 year old urinary tract to kick into operation (it's like starting an old tractor- lots of fits and starts). Waves of intense pain were shooting up my spine, and the next thing I know I'm on my back in the doorway to the bathroom and my wife is standing over me asking me what I'm doing on the floor.

Later I went to the doctor and he said that there are times when you are in so much pain that your brain just shuts everything down.

I very nearly fainted once on a plane in 2006 and had a similar experience to you Sinatar. Best Buy was flying me out to the Canadian headquarters across the country in Vancouver for training. They paid for the flight but it was coach. I'm 6'4" and a fair bit overweight so needless to say, I was compressed into my seat. Having a window seat and not wanting to constantly inconvenience the people beside me, I didn't get up frequently during the 6.5 hour flight. About an hour out from landing, my legs were getting incredibly stiff and I couldn't take it anymore so I got up to walk to the bathroom, just to have somewhere to go. Shortly after I stood up, the sudden rush of blood back into my legs overwhelmed my system. I was standing in line for the bathroom and suddenly got very dizzy and I feel over onto a row of poor bastards beside where I was standing.

A bunch of people freaked out and the flight attendants went into health emergency mode. They laid me down in some staff seating and kept feeding me juice to bring my energy back up. There happened to be a doctor on the plane and after looking at me, concluded that it was likely the blood rush that caused it. The problem was that Canadian flight regulations required that paramedics be waiting when we land, that they come onto the plane and clear me before anyone could leave. Our flight was 2 hours behind and many people had to get off right away to catch connections so I got a lot of evil glares. When they cleared us to disembark, several people literally jumped up and sprinted out of the plane to try to catch their connection. When I called my girlfriend back home, I made the mistake of prefacing the conversation with "Now don't panic." That was a mistake.

For the return flight, I showed up 2 hours earlier and requested a bulkhead seat which is at the front of the coach section and has about twice as much legroom. A very good idea. I hate flying.

ColdForged wrote:

I'm like Yellek, though I lack fallopian tubes and am almost certainly far more bald.

Actually, there's a bit more to it than that. For instance, Yellek is a better kisser.

Z... zing

I've passed out for a few seconds after having the wind knocked out of me, but never passed out. Not even when I donated blood*.

*It always tickled me that the really huge, football-type guys were the only ones who ever pass out from giving blood. Teehee.

Just once, and it was by design. Playing a pickup game of football, I was running to catch a hail mary, the guy behind me started treading on my heels as I slowed to pull the ball in, and I had the sudden premonition that this was going to be very bad. He tripped me up, there was a truly spectacular flash of pain, and I wound up in a sitting position with a splintered collar bone poking out near the base of my neck. I don't remember the next few minutes myself, but apparently I very calmly said "It's broken. Do you know where the hospital is?" When he nodded, I said "Okay. I think I'm going to pass out." And I did. Came to when they tried to carry me to the car, and zombied around in shock until they knocked me out at the ER.

Years later, when Ronin came out and I watched that scene where DeNiro did the same thing after having the bullet taken out, I knew just how he felt.

Oddly coincidental that I hit "Office Linebacker" on that post. The moons of Saturn are aligned!

Dr_Awkward wrote:

I fainted once, apparently because of that locked knees thing. While in the Air Force I was standing in formation one warm day and got similar symptoms. Vision tunneling to black, etc. I fought it off once and fell backwards into the guy behind me the second time. I recovered instantly and felt fine, if a little embarrassed.

Danjo Olivaw wrote:

Once at just over six gravities and again right after getting my wisdom teeth removed.

Druidpeak wrote:

Hmmmm, twice. Standing in church, everybody holding hands, and started getting that weird tingly feeling. Boom, next thing I know I'm being carried outside by my dad. Luckily I was a little guy and the fall didn't hurt that bad.

Now this is creepy. I thought it was quite a coincidence the first incident was similar to my experiences but after I read the second and third, I started to wonder...

Anyway. I fainted exactly three times and almost a fourth.
I almost fainted in church once (ironically enough). Had all those weird feelings others already described and had to stumble out. A few years later I actually fainted in church. It was my grandfather's funeral while having to knee for some sort of prayer.

The second time was when I had to have a wisdom tooth pulled out. I was at the dentist and got this anesthesia in my mouth and he pulled the tooth out. It was very quick and painless. No big deal, really. After everything was finished, I wanted to stand up and got this weird feeling. The dentist sad I looked like a ghost and told me to sit down again. So I sat down on the chair and was kinda knocked out but not really. I could talk and response to their questions but I didn't know what's going on. So they gave me some kind of stuff that was supposed to make me feel better and I recovered shortly afterward (I don't know if it was because of this tincture). The dentist told me it is not uncommon to pass out after such a procedure. Then I walked home. I have no idea how long I sat on this chair.

The third time was during the short time I had to do military service in basic military training. It was 5:45 AM after morning exercise. We had to stand in formation and wait for our assigned corporal to lead us to the building where we got our breakfast. I started to feel weak and passed out. Luckily, I was standing in first row and the guy behind me caught me before I hit the ground.

My sister passes out quite frequently. With her it seems to be low blood sugar.

Andy wrote:

Anyway. I feinted exactly three times and almost a fourth.

To the left, or to the right?

I used to be easy to faint as a teenager. Once, when I was maybe 16 or 17, I dropped very suddenly in an outside market. I woke up immediately after hitting the ground, but had to sit down for a while. It passed with age, I think a doctor said it was something to do with my metabolism, blood sugar and stuff.

As a kid I've fainted because of high fever. I had crawled downstairs for a drink and tried to stand up to the fridge, failing. Given a choice, I prefer fever hallucinations to fever fainting, I very nearly split my skull when I fell.

Also as a teenager, I knocked myself so hard on the ground after falling on a snowboard that I fainted for a while. Or I guess you could call that a knock-out, though, probably lost a few brain cells while at it...

dhelor wrote:
Andy wrote:

Anyway. I feinted exactly three times and almost a fourth.

To the left, or to the right?

I had already edited my post before you posted

I knew this word looked strange with an 'e'.

I've only fainted once that I'm aware of. During college I had an infection on my index finger, small but the doctor wanted to drain the puss from it and disinfect it. He got out one of those sterilized razors and started to cut. Suddenly everything seemed to be muffled and it felt like my head was in a wind tunnel. Next thing I knew I was in the corner of the office being shaken by the doctor.

Yeah. Y'all have better stories than me.

Just after last Christmas, I got food poisoning at the Alamo Drafthouse. Stayed home sick for two days not even able to hold down water. My allergies hit around the same time, so I took a Benadryl on an empty stomach. Went to take a shower, next thing I remember was waking up mid-fall in the shower and nearly breaking my hip.

At least I didn't mistakenly drink any of Bonus Eruptus' Sleepytime Tea again (bottle of Guinness and Benadryl). For a big guy, I'm a total lightweight. A Benadryl will put me to sleep within a half hour.

Bonus_Eruptus wrote:

At least I didn't mistakenly drink any of Bonus Eruptus' Sleepytime Tea again (bottle of Guinness and Benadryl).

Have you tried barbiturates and whisky? I hear Marilyn Monroe swore by those.

When I was 14 or 15, I developed a corn on a ball of my right foot due to an ill fitting cross-country ski shoe. When I finally went to a podiatrist to remove it, it has a calloused significantly, and there was a considerable amount of cutting to be done before the corn could have been frozen out.

Naturally, the time and place of that event being Mother Russia in 80s, there wasn't even a passing thought about anesthesia. Cutting at that spot somehow produced a pain so intense, I broke a cold sweat and passed out for what turned out to be a half-minute. I remember collapse of the peripheral vision, sounds becoming muffled, light being replaced by soft darkness, and for a last blissful second of consciousness, a disappearance of the pain.

When I was 12, I was at a wedding where not 1 but 2 groomsman fainted. The first was towards the back, and came out of nowhere. One minute, the unity candle, the next, groomsman on his face. The second guy was 10 minutes later. He stumbled sideways off the stairs to the side. Through it all, the preacher kept going. The bridesmaids flowers were shaking so hard they were loosing petals as they tried not to laugh. All in all, it was the best wedding I've ever been to.

1) Appendicitis. Foreign country. Bumpy taxi ride to hospital.

2) High school football. 98 degrees. 100% humidity. Huge pollen count. Wind sprints. Asthma attack.

3) Boxing. Right cross. Chin.

4) Mountaineering. Broken ankle. Stick shift. 2 hour drive back to Seattle.

Funkenpants wrote:
Bonus_Eruptus wrote:

At least I didn't mistakenly drink any of Bonus Eruptus' Sleepytime Tea again (bottle of Guinness and Benadryl).

Have you tried barbiturates and whisky? I hear Marilyn Monroe swore by those.

Not yet, but it sounds fun. I had forgotten I'd taken the Benadryl before cracking open the Guinness. Which, of course, is how most people die mixing drugs and alcohol.

I've only passed out once. I was in the shower (with my girlfriend) and my vision started fading to black. I tried to get out and sit down, but ended up falling against the shower wall and sliding down into a sitting position (the shower was quite small). I was only out for a little bit (10, 20 seconds), and came to with her freaking out (rightfully so). I was able to get out and get to the couch, where I rested for a minute or two. I then went to our bed (to get more comfortable) as the couch wasn't nearly long enough for me to really lay down on. Needless to say, we didn't try that again until we moved into an apartment with a bigger shower.

Quintin_Stone wrote:
ColdForged wrote:

I'm like Yellek, though I lack fallopian tubes and am almost certainly far more bald.

Actually, there's a bit more to it than that. For instance, Yellek is a better kisser.

You seem mighty certain. How was the testing process?

Paleocon wrote:

3) Boxing. Right cross. Chin.

I believe the word for this is "knocked the fsck out".

I'm not sure if I've ever fainted. I remember tennis lessons when I was 12 or 13. We were practicing volleying, and my 'partner' spiked a ball into my boyz. I remember getting hit, and I remember being on the ground, but I don't remember the fall. (Then again, I'm pretty grateful for that; I rather not remember getting hit in the nads, thank you very much.)

I've fainted twice:

1. The first time, I had just come from two concurrent soccer practices, so I had been running about for a good four hours (one for High school and one for club) and when I got home, I was extremely thirsty and I, for whatever reason, grabbed a diet coke and took a swig.... and the next thing I remember is that diet coke is all over me and I'm laying face up on the floor staring at the kitchen ceiling.

2. The second time, I was working at Putt-Putt at the ticket counter and taking tickets. Well, when we take tickets, we use a large shredder to shred them for recycle. I wasn't paying attention to the shredder and stuck my fingers right into it. The shredder's two rollers that precursor the shredding device caught my fingers. I remember waking up behind the counter sitting on the ground and it felt like I was in a dream. I was sitting there thinking I was in bed and that I was late for work. It took me awhile to get over the pain in my fingers too.

Stengah wrote:

I've only passed out once. I was in the shower (with my girlfriend) and my vision started fading to black. I tried to get out and sit down, but ended up falling against the shower wall and sliding down into a sitting position (the shower was quite small). I was only out for a little bit (10, 20 seconds), and came to with her freaking out (rightfully so). I was able to get out and get to the couch, where I rested for a minute or two. I then went to our bed (to get more comfortable) as the couch wasn't nearly long enough for me to really lay down on. Needless to say, we didn't try that again until we moved into an apartment with a bigger shower.

Was your fading to black almost pixellated-style of fading? I know mine was when that horse kicked the crap out of my calf muscle. I walked to a couch and sat down and started to see litle black dots that began to obstruct my vision. I had to stand up and shake my head and resisted passing out, but I'm pretty sure that's what was happening.

I fainted once. I was sitting in a co-worker's office one morning hearing her relate a detailed story about an extremely horrific and bloody car accident she witnessed the evening before. I wasn't especially troubled by the story, but I do remember feeling slightly queasy. I left her office and was walking down the hallway to my own when (just like in the movies) my field of vision became a diminishing circle, slowly shrinking to blackness, and I almost completely lost the use of my limbs. The last thing I remember before blacking out completely is slumping against the wall a few feet from my office.

I must have stumbled into my office, because I came to in my desk chair a few moments later, clammy and shaking. My limbs ached and I felt terrible. Mercifully, no one witnessed the incident.

Though I still occasionally/randomly get queasy at the sight of blood, it never happened before and it hasn't happened since. It alarmed me enough that I went to the doctor, and he told me it sounded like I'd simply gone into shock.

I'm not sure if mine actually counts as fainting per se. It was sparring night at my karate club. I missed a block and took a good round kick to the head. I was shaken but still with it. The NEXT DAY I was working at my desk. I looked at the clock hoping the day was going faster then I looked down and saw my shoelace was undone. I bent down to tie it. I woke up on the floor, shoelace still undone, and the clock reading 20 minutes more than before. Scared the crap out of me.

I've fainted a couple of times in the past.

The first time was in high school sex education, watching a tape on female anatomy which I'd already seen the previous week. I remember thinking "why do we have to watch this tape on ovaries again" whereupon I suddenly felt weird and blacked out. I woke up (and it was just like waking up in the morning, coupled with a mounting sense of "this isn't my bed") being shook by my teacher having fallen off the high stool I was sitting on and whacked my head. Naturally everyone in my class assumed thereafter that I would faint in the presence of pictures of ovaries.

The second time was pretty standard -- biology class, the teacher dissecting a pig's trotter. Someone was going to faint, might as well be the guy with form.

I haven't fainted recently, though I did feint a lot for a while. I prefer feinting to my left and then sweeping my sword round to my opponent's left temple, because the embarrassment of fainting in sex ed all those years ago has turned me into a vicious bastard.

Sinitar wrote:

When I got to the train station to go home my head started swimming, my body tingled, my vision got this sort of hazy glow over everything and my hearing became incredibly muffled as if I had cotton in my ears.

I fainted once while I was very ill and it was very similar to this. When I woke up I was on the floor, my head hurt and my ears were ringing.

I've only fainted once in my life. However I've had many times where I had severe pain and missed several seconds of life. Plus when I donate blood, my vision will become tunneled.

The one time I fainted was when I was going through a very bad chest cold. I have asthma and they seemed to just get along sweetly. Upon visiting the doctor the second day of my cold, I could barely breath. I remember waiting for the doctor to come into the room, finally he showed up. After the doctor asked 2-3 questions, I raised my hands in front of me as they were feeling funny. With extreme tunnel vision I could see that my hands were gray and clammy. At that, I fainted. I came to with an oxygen mask on me and 3 doctors surrounding me. I'm still proud of myself for powering through until the doctor showed up.

Since my first post was just “I faint a lot”, I thought I’d try to come up with a list of my more memorable episodes:

1) After banging my elbow on a desk in about 3rd grade I found myself on the floor under my desk.

2) First day back in school after being sick, field trip to the art museum. Stared at an abstract painting until it started to move and then found myself on the floor.

3) Getting my finger stuck for the tiny little blood drops they take for who knows what (I was about 10). Woke up on the Dr’s office floor to find out they hadn’t even done it yet.

4) In an ice cream parlor with my dad and a friend. Was looking at the old nasty jawbreakers in jars on the counter trying to count the ones that were cracked and looked moldy. Went to the doorway for some air, told my friend I was going to pass out and then did just that. My friend thought I was kidding and just watched me fall.

5) The first time I got a shot in my hip, after standing up off the hospital bed/bench thing I fell, hit my head on the floor and had a seizure. Woke up with 4-6 people standing around me holding my legs up over my head. Went in and out of consciousness for a few minutes that seemed like hours, hearing things like “her heart rate has dropped again to 30”. Disturbing.

6) First visit to a natural hot springs in Japan, the steam was making me woozy, so I went to get out and passed out on the rocks (they visit hot springs there naked). Woke up to many Japanese speaking people looming over me (I don’t speak Japanese) and I couldn’t remember what country I was in and why I was naked.

7) After petting a dog that then bit my hand, I denied being bit as I was washing the wound and then passed out.

8) Many times in showers with inadequate fan systems, once banging my face on the corner of the sink counter and getting a split lip.

Nowadays, I feel it coming and haven’t actually fainted in a long time, but I often have to sit down wherever I am to stop it from happening.

An all out faint, just once so far... As per the phobia thread, this involved needles. I worked as a Lifeguard in college and Columbus made arrangements for any health and safety employees to have Hepatitis B vaccination course. I told the nurse I wasn't good with needles, but she patted my hand and said I'd be fine. So she gives me the shot and tells me to sit still for 5 minutes until someone comes to take me up front to finish the paperwork. She returns chatting with another nurse to walk me out. We got about 2 steps into the hallway and my vision starts to go. I wake up with one of them on each side and a cool towel on my forehead.

Needless to say by the time we got to the front desk, my chart was updated to state that I was prone to faint after being given an injection and that I should always be laying down for future appointments.

I've had almost fainting spells that ranged from a full visual black out (but no other altered senses) to vision sparkles, slightly dizzy, light headed and clammy skin.