Of all the questions we’ve asked, I don’t think we’ve done this one yet. I’m a fainter; I faint when I get injured. I should probably tell my husband; I’m not sure I have yet. When I was a kid, I just passed out - plop. Now that I’m older, I recognize the warning signs and can basically head it off at the pass when I’m about to faint.
Any other fainters here?
Yep!
When I was a vegetarian, I fainted on a regular basis. I’m vegetarian again. I’ll start wearing the body padding.
I faint when I have blood drawn.
Sometimes I just faint. For fun, I guess. I’m joking.
Just seems to happen. I’m starting to suspect narcolepsy.
I’ve only fainted once. It was during my only attempt to give blood. (note the word attempt) Something went wrong. There was a lot a pain, a report of me levitating off the chair, then a short nap.
Not me. Not when giving blood, or when injured, or any other time.
I used to watch with interest while donating blood, both the sticking and the blood flowing down and filling the bag, until a tech told me I was creeping her out. I’m oddly proud of that–it felt sort of like being told to cool it, because I was scaring the vampire. 
I don’t think so, I never given blood though, I am a little bi squicky about needles. I guess the only time I ever came close was when I accidentally stabbed myself in the hand with a steak knife, then mom says time for the teatnus (sp?) shot and I got woosey. 
Never really fainted though, I always have sorta wanted to just to add it too my life experinces…
Nup. Haven’t fainted since once when I was a teenager. Never knew why that happened, either. Someone must have turned my master-switch off.
I used to faint from time to time when I was a teenager, if I stood up too fast, especially in a hot bathtub or similar circumstances. I vividly recall one incident, where I was reading in the tub for a long time, then stood up; the next thing I can remember is me back in the tub with the book floating in the water.
It hasn’t happened since I was a teenager, although like many people I’m more apt to simply fall asleep after (or during) a hot bath.
I never have. But I’ve always wondered what it woud feel like.
I’ve only had one actual fainting spell, when I was 10 and had the chicken pox.
I do get dizzy spells, though - everything starts to go black, I’ll be standing up and when the blackness passes, I’ll find that I’m sitting down and don’t really remember doing it, that kind of thing, although I’m never actually unconscious.
I’ve come close, like when I get up too fast, but I don’t think I’ve ever gone all the way into unconsciousness.
How do you do that?
I’ve never fainted. What’s it like? I’ve only ever lost consciousness through falling asleep and general anaesthetic.
I faint in response to pain, sometimes. There’s a sort of trigger spot somewhere in my abdomen that causes me to drop like a stone if ever a wave of pain washes over it. It’s very hard to explain, but it’s almost like a button: push it and I’m down. Menstrual cramps activate the button sometimes, and my kidney stones definitely did. Sometimes pain elsewhere will also have the same effect, like the time I had to dig a bit of debris out of a bad scrape on my hand which had already begun to heal.
What does fainting feel like? I suddenly get very very warm and I feel like pressure’s building up in my head. There’s often a whooshing sort of sound in my ears, or a hum that gets louder and blocks everything out. The next thing I know, the world is at a funny angle because I’ve tipped over. Usually I get dizzy for a bit first, but sometimes it’s all happening too quick for the dizziness to set in. Because it’s happened fairly often, I know the signs of an approaching loss of consciousness, and I can prevent the faint by sitting or lying down.
Blood doesn’t bother me, though. I can give blood, take blood, and work with blood in the lab, without any sort of wooziness. Which is probably a good thing, if I want to stay a medical technologist.
Another fainter here. I tend to faint (or as I prefer “pass out”) on average about once a week. I have to wear a medic alert necklace so I don’t alarm strangers and they call an ambulance (which still happens occationally).
For me, fainting feels different then Antigen described. The only warning/symptom of an oncoming faint is that the lights get really bright. Instead of everything going black, everything goes white. Unfortunately by the time this happens, it is too late to do anything but faint.
Never fainted, but I’ve caused a number of people to faint. Interestingly, I would say that 80% of the people who have fainted in my presence (when I’ve drawn blood from their pet, or probed a wound, etc) have been male. A friend who is a tattoo artist told me that 90% of his fainters are male.
I’ve never fainted. Granted, the worst pain I’ve ever felt was after having all of my wisdom teeth removed – I’ve never broken a bone or had (non-oral) surgery, etc. But the sight of things never bothers me: I can eat dinner while watching Trauma: Life in the ER, and I even used to volunteer in a hospital ER. And needles don’t bother me at all: I’m fine when getting shots, I’ve been tattooed three times, and when I was allowed to give blood I used to watch (but was never accused of creeping out the tech ;)).
Just the other week I gave a presentation on tattoos: I brought in a local tattoo artist as my SME, and she said the same thing.
I didn’t think I was, but I was at the doctors on Thursday because my knee got all swollen and huge and I couldn’t really walk (woke up that way one morning) and when the doc went to drain it, next thing I knew I was laying flat on my back wondering where the hell I was.
So unbelievably trippy.
It’s comparable to being put under anaesthesia.
There’s usually a bit of a build up where you are feeling queasy and your vision starts blacking out (it can become tunnel-like briefly), and you just… drop out. Literally. I’ve fainted standing up, and apparently knocked my head on the ground right good, but didn’t feel a thing until I woke up (which happens pretty fast, since like during sleep, you’re not conscious of any time passing) and had a throbbing headache.
Forgot to say what it felt like: my heart started beating really, really fast to the point I could feel it in my ears, I got super nausous (sp?) and way dizzy. I’ve felt that way before (again, at a doctor’s office- during a rectal examination- blech) but was able to keep from passing out by breathing. Apparently, breathing wasn’t enough this time.
Yep. I’ve fainted dozens of times. Doctors are perplexed by it. I’ve had heart tests, epillepsy tests, sugar tests, brain scans and all sorts of other tests I can’t remember right now. I’m a certified Medical Oddity, I tell you.
I usually can sense that it’s coming on about ten seconds before it happens, so can get myself into a safe place. (Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t faint sitting or lying down.) But it has happened on occasion that I’ve woken up on the floor. On those times, it hit me like a baseball bat to the back of the head, and I couldn’t even put my arms out to catch myself as I fell. (I busted my teeth through my upper lip and have a lovely scar to show for it. If I ever get brave enough, I’m going to tell people I got it in a knife fight.)
It seems to have no rhyme or reason. It happens right after I’ve eaten, and on an empty stomach. It happens when I’m physically or emotionally distressed, as well as when I’m as calm and content. It happens when I’m hot or cold, or even comfortable with the temperature.
I tell all of my co-workers about it as soon as I start working with them. “For the love of God, please don’t call an ambulance. I’m so sick of that. I’ll look like I’m dying, but I swear, in a few minutes, I’ll be fine.”
My latest doctor put me on Zoloft, becuase there’s a new theory that fainting can be caused by a sudden flood of seratonin in the brain. So far, so good.
I’ve fainted twice in my life. First time at the hospital with my mom- they removed an IV from her arm and walked out. She pulled the gauze away from her wrist and blood came spurting out. I went to the door to call for help and the last thing I remember was some orderly type person catching me and helping me to a chair.
Second time was when I was at the hospital getting stitches in my hand. The doctor poured iodine on and something about the dripping blood and iodine got to me.
I couldn’t tell you what it feels like though…It was like I’m there one minute and then I’m there again, only confused.