I’ve never understood it. Every time I’ve stood up and felt light headed enough to think I might pass out, I’ve reflexively taken a knee and the feeling goes away.
For those of you who have passed out, how does it happen? Does it come on too fast to do anything about? Or do you try to tough it out and not get down? Fill me in on what it’s like because I don’t get how someone can go from standing to hitting the deck…
Ever try to describe to a child what anything they haven’t experienced feels like? It’s almost impossible to use language they’d understand.
That said, it depends on what’s caused it. I raced bicycles for years and got hit by cars a number of times. Usually I would see it coming and wake up with people crowded around me – it’s not like it feels like anything.
I also was an oarsman for the national team for several years and blacked-out during hard pieces or competition. Then you saw the tunnel close and hoped to hear the horn before checking out – always embarrassing. To me that always felt like I was trying to hang on to something I couldn’t quite grasp.
All in all, it seems like an odd question. There’s a big difference between feeling lightheaded and being knocked out or fainting. If you haven’t felt it, you wouldn’t understand.
It’s really strange. I have been choked out and knocked out. Being choked out first involves a great deal of blood pressure in your head, then I woke up on the mat.
Being knocked out is odd. I get hit, then all of a sudden I am on the ground, but I remembered it, just had no control over my legs.
Passing out while drunk is different too.
it is true, it doesn’t really feel like anything…it’s especially not like being lightheaded. I’ve only passed out once when I was very ill with bronchitis. I was standing up for a chest x-ray and felt sick and tired but then it was like a curtain went down, one second I was there and the next…not.
It was very quick for conciousness to come back but I couldn’t move for a second. It was pretty weird, kind of cool though too.
There are different types of passing out.
We used to one when I was a kid where you squat down, hyperventilate, stand up fast and someone bearhugs you. When you exhale, down you go. Sort of a tingly and strange semi-concious pass out.
Nitros baloons and whippits were similar.
Different drugs have some strange effects when you zonk out from those too, depending on dose and substance.
Heat exhaustion/de-hydration are strange. Those were like feeling weak, then someone flicked an off switch. Just nothing for an undeterminable amount of time, then Poof! concious again, but sick an weak.
When I passed out from dehydration I was sitting down, I suddenly felt really tired and sick to my stomach. Next thing I knew I was waking up groaning and being given some dextrose drink.
[quote]fireplug52 wrote:
Being knocked out is odd. I get hit, then all of a sudden I am on the ground, but I remembered it, just had no control over my legs.
[/quote]
Yes it is quite odd. When it happened to me(only happened once :-S), I would forget small things and when sitting still I passed out twice. That was about it, really interesting experience i guess you could say.
[quote]sdspeedracer wrote:
Ever try to describe to a child what anything they haven’t experienced feels like? It’s almost impossible to use language they’d understand.
That said, it depends on what’s caused it. I raced bicycles for years and got hit by cars a number of times. Usually I would see it coming and wake up with people crowded around me – it’s not like it feels like anything.
I also was an oarsman for the national team for several years and blacked-out during hard pieces or competition. Then you saw the tunnel close and hoped to hear the horn before checking out – always embarrassing. To me that always felt like I was trying to hang on to something I couldn’t quite grasp.
All in all, it seems like an odd question. There’s a big difference between feeling lightheaded and being knocked out or fainting. If you haven’t felt it, you wouldn’t understand.[/quote]
He could just ask someone to compress his carotid artery. 
Had this happen to me once, I thought I was dead. It was like a dream that lasted for years, then I came to and remembered what happened.
I’ve also passed out from having blood drawn, it’s totally different. This was more of a woozy feeling with spots in the vision, then clunk.
[quote]on edge wrote:
For those of you who have passed out, how does it happen? Does it come on too fast to do anything about?[/quote]
I passed out once in my hallway when I had an extremely high fever and was trying to get to the bathroom.
And, yes, it happened very fast. I was still in the middle of thinking “I think I better lie down” when my shoulder bounced against a wall and I felt the carpet hit my face. I say “felt” because at that point, I could only see a starry blackness and my ears where ringing something fierce.
Equilibrium had apparently managed to quietly sneak away while I was distracted by loss of video and audio. I don’t recall ever feeling as disoriented as I did in those few seconds.
Basically, I went unconscious in the space of maybe 1 or 2 seconds at most. Oddly vivid memory though.
Like everyone said, different types of passing out…
A concussion kind of feels like you aren’t there. It takes a lot out of you, but you feel like you are experiancing the thing from outside your body. I’ve had mild concussions too, and that just feels like you wake up and your confused.
Passing out from a hypoglycemic episode is like having someone take a vacuum and suck the life out of you. Head wise, it feels like things are spinning and moving a lot. And then you wake up in the ambulance and throw a fit.
Now just passing out from being lightheaded is like you have already experianced, but they you wake up. Things get either really dark or really light, you feel lightheaded, and then you wake up. Sometimes you remember the trip to the floor, sometimes you don’t.
I’ve really done this too many times…
All I have ever felt is a real calm and relaxed feeling followed by the crack and ringing accompanied by my head hitting what ever I’m falling on. then nothing. then a headache. Then embarrasment
Yea, like others have mentioned, I think it’s totally dependent on what causes you to pass out. I’m a Type 1 diabetic and passed out from a hypoglycemic event; really hard to describe but your body/mind is suddenly overcome with “waves” confusion, spinning, delirium, and a feeling of pressure being applied all over your body and head. And like threewhitelights says, then you wake up in an ambulance…or a crowd of people around you…or in my case, my buddy looking down at me who himself looked like he was ready to pass out:)
like bliss to an insomniac
[quote]on edge wrote:
I’ve never understood it. Every time I’ve stood up and felt light headed enough to think I might pass out, I’ve reflexively taken a knee and the feeling goes away.
For those of you who have passed out, how does it happen? Does it come on too fast to do anything about? Or do you try to tough it out and not get down? Fill me in on what it’s like because I don’t get how someone can go from standing to hitting the deck…[/quote]
Look up “orthostatic hypotension”. Sounds like that’s what you’ve got. Your reaction to take a knee is correct. If you don’t passing out is possible. Orthostatic hypotension is a condition where your blood pressure follows an extreme drop right after standing up from a seated or prone position. Usually it will cause dizziness and lightheadedness, but sometimes it can cause you to pass out.
I got that sensation for years and had no freaking clue what it was. When I went to doctors I didn’t have any words to describe what was going on, so they just looked at me funny. The disorder can be treated with drugs, but the best way to deal with it is to just be careful when standing up. Pay attention and take your time getting up if necessary.
If all fails and you do pass out, it’s not really a big deal unless you bang your head into something on the way down. You’ll wake up in a few seconds anyway and you’ll be fine aside from a possible minor headache.
Dizzy first, tunnel vision second. Waking up last. No recall of actually going out. Could have been several minutes, seems like the blink of an eye.
Only happened to me when dehydrated. Felt like crap for days after.