It happened to me once on an international flight. I felt dizzy and sick, and started walking towards the bathroom. Then I remembered feeling confused about how to open the door and the next thing I knew I was sitting in the flight attendant area being attended to. I never knew what caused it and it hasn't happened again. I agree, it is scary and quite unnerving. Hope you're feeling better .. maybe take it a little easier today.

It's just a kind of faint, isn't it? It's happened to me lots of times, like maybe a dozen or so times in all. The last time it happened was when I got hit by a car this past Valentine's Day, and the last time before that was some years ago at work, when I was just eating lunch at my desk and reading something on the net. The time before that I had the flu. Sometimes there's a clear cause and sometimes there isn't at all.

It is a kind of faint - well, it is a faint - but I had never known you could faint in this weird specific way...blood pressure drops, tunnel vision, hot face, confusion, and then you wake up a few minutes later and you're like "What happened?!"

So strange.

I've never fainted. Very scary!

Happened to my first husband a couple of times. We were sitting in a restaurant listening to a guy tell a story about breaking his leg, and suddenly, boom, Steve's on the floor. He was nauseated when he came to, and threw up after we got him home. Was fine the next day. He of course got teased for being squeamish, but we never did figure out what really triggered it.

Steve also demonstrated that you can do something similar to this to yourself from the inside. He woke up really thirsty one night and went to the kitchen for some water, and drank a VERY large mouthful that he had to force down his throat, gulp!, and that caused enough pressure on the nerve that he passed out cold and concussed himself nicely with the resulting fall. A talented man.

Poor Miko! It's scary, isn't it? There is nothing quite like losing consciousness suddenly. It sounds like you know what brought your syncope about, but please be sure and bring it up to your doctor the next time you have a checkup. They like to know those sorts of things.

I have had VS episodes my whole life, a few dozen times in all, perhaps. I have a significant cardiac arrhythmia, so I usually have about 30 seconds warning before I drop like a stone. As I've grown older, I have learned to manage these attacks. Here's hoping that last night was your one and only, and will act as a simple anecdote for ever after.

If you have never had one before, I can imagine how disconcerting it must have been.

Yup, this has definitely happened to me before. Last time was over New Years. That time I had the added bonus of throwing up on myself.

The most disconcerting part was indeed not knowing what was going on. I was having a great time talking to the woman next to me, when suddenly I was finding it was really hard to get the words out. I couldn't speak well and I didn't understand why - it was the kind of feeling you might have if you get really really drunk, only I knew I wasn't really really drunk, especially not so quickly. Then my face became very hot, and I remember thinking "I'm not OK, and I need to do something about it, I need to tell someone I'm not OK." And then nothing, and then my next memory was opening my eyes to a bunch of concerned faces who saw me slump over the table and were frightened. I felt just awful after waking, but my host provided me with lovely cool water and we took a walk around the block, which seemed to get my blood moving again. I was embarrassed because I realized that others might have thought I just overindulged, but when I got home -- feeling pretty much fine again, and normal, but scared - I put two and two together and realized it was this combination of dehydration and a sudden big meal that messed with my blood pressure. I had seen it happen once before to my dad, so when I made the connection I felt much better that at least this was a known thing, not an incident of some kind of poisioning or something. I too hope it was a one-time occurrence and will remember to DRINK MY WATER.

Drink your water!!

Yeah, this happened to me once at the dentist's office. I didn't pass out completely, I think because of being in a reclining position already, but I did hyperventilate for a couple of minutes. I felt like I was dying. It was very strange.

Happens to me when I give blood. Even though I'm not squeamish at all. Now I just sit down and tell them to tip the chair back immediately.

That happened to my SO! Yes very scary, but thankfully he didn't hit his head on anything like before since he shared a story about the peeing fainting that got him in a room with the secret service ( fainting right next to the white house will do that )

Oh, it IS scary the first time --- that sudden and complete absence of everything. I'm glad you bounced back quickly.

I was embarrassed because I realized that others might have thought I just overindulged

Don't even worry about that. When I've seen someone faint, it's pretty easy to tell that it's simple fainting or other medical event, and when I've seen someone slump over from drink, it's pretty obvious that they're badly drunk long before the slumping.

Perhaps more reassuring: I get vasovagal gray-out pretty often (apparently caused by fluctuating blood pressure), and when I was young and skinny with lower blood pressure, I used to faint with embarrassing frequency. Fainting harmlessly and recovering gracefully got to be a habit: at the first sign of faintness, if I couldn't sit, I'd put my back against a wall and slide down to the floor so at least I wouldn't fall (which not only is dangerous but REALLY freaks out witnesses).

All those times I fainted, even though it was a youthful period of occasional over-indulgence in liquor, no one ever mistook my fainting for drunken passing-out. If they didn't make that assumption about young, occasionally drunk me, they probably aren't going to make that assumption about Proper Grown-Up You.

I too hope it was a one-time occurrence and will remember to DRINK MY WATER.

DRINK YOUR WATER. Such good advice. Last week, The Fella was worried he was coming down with the flu; I was pretty sure it was mild dehydration (since his beverage intake is pretty much Diet Dr. Pepper, coffee, and sometimes beer). I prescribed glass after glass of ice water and iced (and therefore watered-down) OJ. Within 20 hours, he was all better, and I notice he has adopted my habit of always having a glass of water handy.

Oh, yeah. I've gone through periods of my life where I was very susceptible to vagaling-out. Sometimes all it took was simply thinking about something I personally found scary. Needles, for instance. I used to be so bad that, if you merely touched a hypodermic to my skin, I'd be out and down immediately. It took two nurses to hold me down when getting the blood test done for our marriage license. I kept passing-out on the table.

Once, my optometrist tried fitting me for contacts. As soon as she put the first lens on my eye, I passed out in her chair. It certainly made her day.

The worst one was back in the 80's. I was fresh out of college and working in the advertising department of a large regional department store chain. I was in the photo studio directing a merchandise shot. The photographer and I were taking a break and just chatting. His wife was an OR nurse and for whatever reason, he was talking about a prostate surgery she had recently assisted in. I was sitting on a ladder. Suddenly, I felt that familiar cold flush and I sensed myself becoming detached from the world. My vision went fuzzy and sounds drifted far, far away...

I woke up, face down on the concrete floor, in a large pool of blood. I had gone straight down like a sack of wet cement and face-planted to the floor. My glasses had carved my head open in a neat circle around the socket. The photographer had immediately called 911, thankfully. I took a ton of stitches and was pretty ugly and bruised for weeks after.

It's been awhile since I have had an attack, though. It's an interesting experience, to pass-out. But not exactly pleasant, either.

A similar episode happened to me while drinking bubble tea. Jon and I had met up with another couple and were happily sipping bubble tea (the kind with the giant tapioca balls that you suck up through a wide straw), which I'd had a couple times before, when I suddenly felt very very nauseous, with sweat breaking out on my upper lip, and I was trying so hard to smile and pretend nothing was wrong, but they could tell. Apparently I turned white as a ghost. Boy did I feel sick. I didn't pass out, luckily, but I really thought I was going to throw up. I'm not sure what brought it on, but I never could drink bubble tea again. I get nauseous just looking at it.

Watching the doctor draw blood and fluid out of my mom's knee in the emergency room also induced a similar response. Not dizziness, luckily, but very very nauseous. And I'm usually very good about watching medical procedures. I'm fascinated by surgery on TV; I always watch with no problem when my blood is drawn; I was president of the biology club in high school. But that one got me.

Glad you're feeling better, Miko.

synchronicity?

This happens to me, too. I take a high-powered blood pressure reducer, and eating a big meal can trigger that reaction in me.

Definitely call your doctor's office Monday. It may not require an actual visit, but telling docs about things like this makes them feel loved.

Apparently you weren't standing and took a fall. I am glad of that. That stuff is rough on the head. I know.

It's happened to me twice - once when I was teaching a class, which spooked my students no end, and once when I gave blood. The latter means that I am no longer welcome at my local blood donation place, as I fainted so deeply that I emptied the contents of my bladder all over the floor.

Not a pleasant experience overall, but coming round felt strangely pleasant both times, before I realised what happened: like waking from a long sleep.

Glad you feel better, and yes, drink your water.

This happens to me ALL the time. Any time I watch anything to do with hospitals or medical procedures. I've staggered out of more movies, health classes, and HIV prevention seminars than I can even count. It started when I was in about 4th grade (I guess?) and I'm 35 now. Doesn't matter how graphic the content - it can be as simple as someone getting a drip in the emergency room or a complex discussion of red and white blood cells.

Miko, I hope you're feeling better today. I fell for you too, how scary the expire can be. Try to get some rest today. Stay away from the heat. Have someone that loves you hug you for a while.

FWIW:
My one experience was also a fear-response.

My neighbor steeped toward me while explaining how a steel cutting "scissors" snipped his had, almost in two. Later, his wife, a nurse, would describe my response as taking a back-dive. She said I threw my arms in the air and I just keep going. This was probably my body trying to catch myself as I blacked-out.

I landed square on the top of my head. I lay there, she described, shaking. I recall have an amazingly difficult time clawing my way back to consciousness. There was too much urgency to become conscious again to feel the terror and still, oh boy, was there terror.

I had no scratch or bruise and no headache. Amazing. I also recall no pre-incident symptoms. I was just sanding there and then desperately trying to get back into my body.

The following day, while shopping, I began to fell the incident start again. I stepped aside in the aisle and through sheer force of will, kept it from happening again. It hasn't happened since.

Has this happened to me? twice! One time I stood up too fast and blacked out, hitting my forehead on an open cupboard door. Another time I don't remember what happened, but I woke up on the floor holding the phone to my ear, with the person on the other end saying "hello? hello?" Both times I ended up with a new scar.

I will reiterate - DRINK YOUR WATER. When I am properly hydrated, this doesn't happen to me. Also, I have taught myself to sit down or get on the floor whenever I start to feel my consciousness slipping away. It is scary!

This has happened to me a lot, mostly because I have a tendency to get dehydrated easily. And I don't drink enough water. DRINK YOUR WATER, YES YES YES.

The most recent time was when I had a tooth infection and was going to the dentist that day or the next, but I was in pain and not taking good care of myself otherwise. I had just gotten up and hadn't had much sleep, or enough water. The worst part was I started to panic, and hyperventilate, and barely got to a chair so I could put my head down for a while. I didn't actually faint that time, though, but it felt pretty awful.

Yes, once when I was a kid. Hot day, dehydrated, felt weird, tried to get a teacher's attention and next thing I knew I was waking up in the nurses office.

Happened to the mister two or three times after seeing blood or something. He was in the hospital with a friend when the doctor saw him going down and got him into a gurney before he hit the floor. Good timing!

I've gotten tunnel vision and gray-out from playing trumpet. Never passed out, though. It usually happened in charts with prolonged high parts, like the end of April in Paris. In each case, I just took the horn off my face and waiting for vision to turn color again.

THANKS to everyone - your stories make me feel so much better, that it's not such an unheard-of experience. Some of these are pretty awful-sounding and I'm glad your collective injuries and potential embarrassments weren't worse than they were. It has been very reassuring, though, to hear about the relative normalcy of this happening.

when I've seen someone slump over from drink, it's pretty obvious that they're badly drunk long before the slumping.

Thanks for this! I realize that you are probably right. I was carrying on a fine, connected, lively conversation right beforehand, and was pretty verbally lucid right after too, though flustered - and by the time we got home, I felt pretty much normal, though shaken. In other words, it wouldn't be easy to mistake me for a drunk person, and now that you mention that everybody can tell the difference I have faith that it's true.

Obscure Reference, thanks for linking that comment. Interesting. When I woke up again, the first sense that returned was sound, people calling my name. I opened my eyes and could see a set of concerned faces, LT right in front, saying "it's all right, you're all right, you just checked out for a minute," but it didn't make sense to hear I was all right because I didn't know what might have been wrong. And the scene looked so Hollywood-ish, like a fisheye lens effect with the staring faces, that just seemed so unreal! I remember that the people's faces were one of the creepiest parts of it - I think I said "You all look so concerned!" while asking what happened. It is definitely weird to be at the center of an event which you actually weren't mentally there for.

Again, thanks everybody for the stories. Our bodies do some weird, weird things, don't they? Glad we're all all right, happy to enjoy life and be fine again today.

Wow, sorry to hear about that Miko- sounds super unsettling.

It's never happened to me but I once saw a friend almost take a header onto a tile floor from this very thing. Luckily there were enough people there to catch him and keep from from hurting himself.

Foe a while in my teens, drinking over-carbonated soda would do it. High Mass (Roman Catholic) with incense on a hot day in a stuffy (not air-conditioned) church. I gray out sometimes from standing too fast, or from a not-that-exciting heart condition. It's never happened while driving or in any other safety-heightened situation.

I got dehydrated enough to have a headache Sunday, but started really slugging down water, and juice over tons of ice, and all was well.

Take care of yourself, Miko.

Happens to me several times a day, sometimes as many as 5 or 6. On bad days I am pretty incoherent afterward. None of the standard treatments seem to help much, damn their eyes.

For people who experience unexpected syncope once in their lives, often it never happens again.

usually you can quickly sit down on the floor or, if already sitting, rest your head on the table and then lie down as soon as you can, and then you are pretty unlikely to actually faint.

the mister had a couple of these episodes last fall, related to a sudden drop in blood pressure. Turns out it was likely the early signs of anemia from some mild to moderate intestinal bleeding from what the Dr. thought was Crohn's. His iron levels had tanked, and a scope showed some "pretty ratty" ilium issues, to quote the Dr. Both of us are pretty conscientious about hydration owing to being athletes living at elevation, and otherwise healthy, so I'm glad we went in; it was indicative of a larger issue.

I used to also get these all the time as a teenager when I was doing stupid things related to diet that affected my blood sugar.

Since quitting wheat/sugar/dairy and abandoning a lifetime vegeterian habit (his hippie parents raised him veg; not his choice) in favor of a more primal/paleo type approach, the mister has had no issues whatsoever with syncope, and his GI / Crohn's symptoms have been in full remission, and his iron levels have come back up - not to where we'd like, but they're improving.

His blood sugar problems used to be one of his major issues trying to get through a long bike race - if he didn't eat something substantial every 2 hours on the nose, he'd have a precipitous blood sugar drop and get what we call the "hangries" (hungry+angry) and corresponding lightheadedness. And in a long hard bike race, you just can't do "substantial".

Neither of us drinks alcohol anymore after discovering that the bulk of both our IBS / internal issues were frequently triggered by it (I get bloaty/crampy). Not even beer. It's not worth the discomfort.

Sorry, late to this thread. It happened to me several times when I was younger. Once right after my mom (the doc) pierced my ears, once while singing with my choir at a concert, so there were some memorable moments.

If you get that dizzy nauseated feeling again -- you know now what it feels like -- you can often ward this off by sitting and putting your head between your knees until you feel like yourself again.

Also, avoiding overheating, drinking your water, and not being too susceptible to the thought of body piercing/loss of blood are good ways to skip feeling this at all.

Sorry, Miko. Never a fun event to experience this.