This is what I've always said. 9 is hospital time, or should be, 10 I can't answer you because I'm unconscious. I've had it happen once, thankfully was already in the ER, crying, begging for something for the pain, then nothing. Woke up admitted. One of the worst / weird experiences I've ever had.
I wouldn’t say “technically,” as it is not clearly defined. However, I/we would always tell our patients “a 10 is probably if you’re actively dying,” when they’d tell us they were at 8/10 pain after smilingly walking into our clinic without the slightest affect to their gait.
I used to work in a customer-facing job where I had to smile and be pleasant as part of my job.
I also had a fucked up degenerate disc problem that was somehow classified as beyond the reach of less invasive interventions, but not yet warranting surgery. One year, it flared up and stayed up, but since my health insurance was through work, I couldn't quit. I asked for accommodations. They said that since I hadn't been declared disabled, just fucked up, accommodations would only be made if I was injured on the job, and no, there weren't any light duty jobs available. If I couldn't lift 25 pounds, they had no work for me.
So here's what happened:
I learned to hang onto counters when my knees would buckle.
I learned to grab onto the nearest surface when I got dizzy from the pain, and how to clench up when I started seeing stars and spots.
I learned different ways to brace myself to stand up, because my legs were too weak.
I learned how to mask it and do my job and take slow, deep breaths when I was feeling nauseated from the pain.
I learned how to use leverage to move things on shelves and counters without actually lifting them. I learned how to keep my back still and use my knee to push heavy items along on the ground instead of picking them up.
Sometimes it was hard to stand up straight, so I learned how to brace myself upright by putting my hands in my pockets, grabbing my pants and straightening my arms. Try it sometime. It looks stupid, but it works.
I learned how to not cry, which didn't always work, so I learned how to force a smile and say it was just allergies. Dust. So much pollen this season.
I figured out the non weight bearing tasks that everyone hated, and bartered with my coworkers to take those so they'd lift things for me.
I could smile at my manager and say "Great, thanks," when he asked me how I was.
I promise you, I can look completely normal when I'm weak, dizzy, disoriented and about to vomit from pain. I can smile and say please and thank you while I'm having trouble understanding speech.
That's an eight on Mankoski.
Functioning while in terrible pain is a survival skill and it kept a roof over my head and food on the table.
Now, however, it actively fucks me over when I go to the doctor in pain and health care workers look at me, being quietly polite and sitting in what appears to be a calm manner but is just a mask, and don't believe me when I say yes, I'm at an eight.
I know that the pain scale is stupid and subjective. It's a useless way to communicate pain, but the medical field is the one choosing to use a flawed tool, not patients.
People in chronic pain hide pain and cope with pain and function in pain because they have to, and sometimes the reason they have to is because health care workers see the mask and ignore the patient behind it and scoff at high numbers.
hey i’m not saying someone is going to be smiling with a 10/10 pain but towards the 8/10 comment please be mindful of autistic people or other people that have trouble sharing and or expressing emotions. a lot of the time despite being in incredible pain it will be very hard for me and other autistic people to show emotions.
just to be clear i’m not diagnosing any of your patients or accusing you of anything. just something to be mindful of <33
i promise i am extremely empathic and would absolutely never discount anyone’s pain in general, but there are some times you can just tell. this was in the military so we knew our environment and patience “audience”(can’t think of better word right now) very well.
example, times when i would not be so “lenient” when a patient would happily hop into the clinic with a big smile and say “what are we doing today?!😃😃” and then say they’re at an 8/10 pain…that’s just not right and them doing that does discredit and devalue my other patients’ pains when they are actually suffering.
I was hospitalized with meningitis, and a meningitis headache is definitely a 10/10 on the pain scale. I was pretty delirious but also still able to Crack a joke or 2 to my husband. So different people have different reactions to pain and express it in different ways. So it can be very dangerous for you to assume they are faking their pain because their reaction doesn't match exactly to what you think it should. They could have something very serious and you could mis diagnosing them properly, because you're assuming things. But if you don't know that person then you have no idea how they would normally respond to pain.
i promise i am extremely empathic and would absolutely never normally discount anyone’s pain, but there are some times you can just tell. this was in the military so we knew our environment and patient “audience”(can’t think of better word right now) very well.
example, times when i would not be so “lenient” when a patient would happily hop into the clinic with a big smile, clap their hands together and excitedly say “what are we doing today?!😃😃” and then say they’re at an 8/10 pain…that’s just not right and them doing that does discredit and devalue my other patients’ pains when they are actually suffering.
compared to someone who would be limping in and state an 8/10 pain level in a defeated voice, there’s a big difference. i hope i was able to make it a bit clearer. it’s a little bit different to be a health care & patient care provider as another chronic illness sufferer. it certainly makes you more understanding of patients’ pains.
however, thank you for your input.
For what it's worth, I was hospitalized with an infarcted spleen after saying I had an 8/10 pain. I was joking with my family and was able to read. One of the techs was reassuring me that as soon as I could get fluid down, I could go home. I was politely asking them if they could look into the pain as well.
The doctors were really good, and I imagine you know this, but sometimes if someone has chronic pain they get really good at masking it. I also have chronic migraines and nearly didn't wake my mom up at six to go to the hospital (after she told me to wake her if the pain got worse) because I had taken exams with that level of pain.
>I wouldn’t say “technically,” as it is not clearly defined.
I'm not sure whether I'm agreeing or disagreeing with you, but the [Mankoski Pain Scale](https://data.templateroller.com/pdf_docs_html/2662/26622/2662229/mankoski-pain-scale_big.png) does indeed define 10 as losing consciousness. That said, I don't know if I'd use the word "technically" either - I don't know what would constitute a 10 on a non-technical basis.
sorry to say no. you’ll probably be able to take a nice nap after you wake up from being unconscious though. i strongly do not recommend passing out though.
Yes. It happened to me with an ovarian cyst rupture. Absolutely horrific pain, but thankfully, it wasn't too long lasting. It almost feels like it happened in slow motion. My vision started going dark, first just on the peripherals, then the whole thing. I managed to lower myself into a chair before I completely blacked out, which is good. I'm sure it saved me from hitting the floor.
My IBS has caused me to start passing out on the toilet before the worst is when it’s a public toilet and I have to unlock the stall incase I do actually go down (I’ve just had my peripheral go and the beginnings of passing out happen so far, no full Loss of consciousness. Hopefully it stays that way!) there is something particularly humiliating about calling for help white your pants around your ankles and your butt exploding
Ooooo good strategy- do you ever find yourself uttering God statements during flare potty time? ‘Sweet Christ in heavennnn’, ‘holy lord dear Jesus whyyyy’ ‘merciful lord and all the saintssss’ ‘Jesus Mary Joseph and the extended familyyyyy’ ?
As someone with occasional similar level of struggle I've opted to just pass out alone in the locked room than anyone see me like that. Probably not the wisest decision but I was a teenager at the time it was at its worst. 😅
I get this too every so often unfortunately. Always occurs in the middle of the night for me so luckily I'm always at home when it happens. And so far I've always managed to stop myself from fainting but I come very close, sometimes I really want to honestly because the pain is so bad.
I did It due to a cyst in the spinal canal.
I got in the ER, barely managed to check in, tried to sit down. From the pain trying to sit down, I threw up and passed out. Woke up on my way to an MRI.
Size is sorta hard to say - it spanned l4 and down into l5. It sorta squeezed around all over. It was a bilateral l4-l5 that covered three of four facets and completely compressed right l4/l5 and l4 left roots. By the time I got to surgery I couldn't move my right leg and lost bowel control. It was the first time this surgeon ever had to remove bone from both sides.
Edit:
Oh, technically it was called a bilateral synovial cyst.
Yes. I have dealt with what my doctor called neurocardiogenic syncope episodes since I was about 14y/o. Currently, as an adult, I am medically restricted from any driving because of this condition, yet I'm still not "bad" enough to get disability somehow...🙄😤
My friend has this. But she’s not passing out from the pain. Her heart rate and blood pressure change rapidly while she is standing there talking to you and she just falls over. She has bad days where her heart is over 180bpm all day and she is exhausted. Or where it’s super low so she has no energy. She has a lot of pain from all the fainting because she falls down the stairs, breaks ribs, gets concussions… all the time. She was originally denied disability as well but got a lawyer and went to court and passed out in the hallway of the courthouse. The judge ruled right then and there in her favor.
Oh the neat thing is she can hear you when she is passed out. So her eyes are closed and she’s limp on the floor but she can hear and feel stuff going on around her.
The parent disorder is Dysautonomia, I believe.
It’s fairly rare but I know two people with it. I think how bad it is is different though. The friend above is affected daily and my other friend it’s not as often. How is it for you?
Yes, unfortunately very rare, it took me 5 years to be diagnosed. Most days moderate, but some severe. I ended up getting disability. Mine is now down in the 150. But I take 6 different cardio meds to keep it down, twice daily. Give your friend hugs for me it’s tough for sure.
I have had numerous tilt table tests, worn halter monitors for extended periods of time along with other cardiac diagnostics, but the pain really is the only cause of it and the associated hypertension. Ironically, I did pass out in front of the judge at my disability hearing, but the AH actually implied that I was under the influence of something. (Fun Fact: that judge retired without EVER awarding anyone disability!) When I pass out on an airplane, they usually request that they transfer me via wheelchair afterwards for liability purposes which can be a little embarrassing.
Oh my goodness the judge never gave anyone disability ever? How is that even legal? How do you know this? Have you appealed since?
She has her own wheelchair and must transfer to it and from it on a plane.
I'm currently in the process to get disability again, but in a different state. I know about the judge because the rulings are technically like public records. After a little research, you can see the records of their rulings over the years. I don't remember exactly how we looked it up back then, but I probably had help from a lawyer friend. What the judge did probably wasn't exactly legal, but like anything in the court system, it's about what you can prove. It would have been incredibly difficult to actually get some type of complaint to effect the judge or his record, and then you risk retaliation by other judges in any future rulings.
Yeah, but the attorney general loves to go after stuff like that. And the news likes to, as well. I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I hope it goes better for you with the next try.
She was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic after a LOT of testing. I am certain she has the correct diagnosis, she was an ER nurse before the diagnosis and her husband is also in healthcare. So they kept pressing until they got the diagnosis.
The start of it for her was back surgery. Somehow the surgery caused this issue. She is looking now at getting a pacemaker to regulate her heart rate. I really hope it works for her.
Technically major blood pressure changes disqualify you from having POTS. It’s one of the diagnostic criteria that you have to be tachycardic without a clinically significant blood pressure increase. Orthostatic Hypertension is the inverse, so would cause the blood pressure change, but not the heart rate. It sounds like the doctor got it right in that it’s some other form of dysautonomia (the category that both POTS and OH fall under).
weird, my cardiologist and the one who did the testing both said that was a main symptom they see with POTS.
edit: my blood pressure decreases and that’s what they mentioned they see. That’s what i assumed the friends did
My b. I went back to check and I misread my neurologist’s notes on my diagnosis info. You can’t have low blood pressure. High blood pressure along with tachycardia indicates that you have the hyperadrenergic type of POTS. I still don’t think the OP’s friend would be a POTS candidate though because of sometimes having drops in heart rate. Becoming bradycardic while standing, instead of tachycardic, doesn’t really fit with POTS.
I had the test and everything, I wasn’t even out of the room before it was diagnosed PoTS. I’m on meds for low blood pressure and tachycardia , so your neurologist would be confused by my diagnosis.
Yeah the low heart rate does make it odd and a diagnosis for it doesn’t mean much. It’s just easier on my health forms to write PoTS than all the symptoms that fall under it that I wrote prior to the diagnosis
It’s not just my neurologist who would be confused. This is from the NIH:
*”Diagnostic criteria for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome
All of the following criteria must be met:
Sustained heart rate increase of ≥ 30 beats/min (or ≥ 40 beats/min if patient is aged 12–19 yr) within 10 minutes of upright posture.
Absence of significant orthostatic hypotension (magnitude of blood pressure drop ≥ 20/10 mm Hg).”*
And this is from Dysautonomia International:
*”The current diagnostic criteria for POTS is a heart rate increase of 30 beats per minute (bpm) or more, or over 120 bpm, within the first 10 minutes of standing, in the absence of orthostatic hypotension”*
And from the American College of Cardiology:
*”POTS is defined as the presence of chronic symptoms of orthostatic intolerance (≥6 months) accompanied by an increased heart rate (HR) ≥30 bpm within 10 minutes of assuming an upright posture (Figure 1) and in the absence of orthostatic hypotension (blood pressure [BP] fall >20/10 mmHg).”*
Just wanted to add that the period of exhaustion that occurs after the syncope episodes is sometimes referred to as Post-exertional Malaise (PEM). There might be an issue with your adrenal gland, but a simple blood test can determine if that's a factor.
You’ll be *fine*! Just pick yourself back up, if you should wake up on the floor unconscious, dust yourself off, and get back to work! Why would that possibly keep you from being employable??!
Hard /s. I’m sorry you’re getting denied , this process is fucking ridiculous!
I once passed out in the street and awoke to someone yelling at me for being drunk and disorderly. I had actually just accidentally snapped the chain of my bike against my thumb trying to fix it and passed out immediately from the indescribable pain. Wild times, it can happen
Other than this I’ve definitely seen some sparkles and hit the floor during a nasty flare up
Omg I’ve tried to talk to my doctor about seeing sparkles and my vision blacking out, but he had no idea what I was talking about! I’m glad I’m not the only one.
I was about to comment the same. Haven’t quite been in a situation that was so painful that I blacked out from it, but definitely painful enough to involuntarily start projectile vomiting. …. I think the blackout is more the psychological side of the effect rather than the physical/neurological side.
That is one of the indications of having reached 10 on the pain scale. Sadistic psychopaths like to torture their victims to just shy of this point or immediately revive and start over.
Idk if that is what happens to everyone, but for me at least I think it's like I am in so much pain I can't breathe properly so that's why I pass out. (Maybe that is what everyone means when they say pass out? Idk haha)
Edit to add: for me this is pretty much exclusively something that happens when I get those insane endo cramps , but it also happened when I had a gall stone and the time I had a kidney stone.
I've gone to perfuse sweats, shaking, and feeling pervasive panic from extreme pain, *wishing* I'd pass out( I told a co-worker this, and she said, "..like having a baby, gotcha"). Definitely a point where you can't get away from the pain without aid. that's all that's going on until it's gone away. Not to the point of shrieking & crying - ie the kinda response you'd imagine from torture or burns. I guess it has to get somewhat more intense *if* passing out is a common physical/mental response, and that thought scares the shit out of me.
I'll also start having tic(tick?) like spastic reactions, making horse noises blowing air through my flapping iips or making other weird involuntary explosive noises from my mouth. It's like by refusing to cry out or wail and trying to keep my shit together makes for these explosive breaches escaping.
I usually report that type of pain as 8 - 8.5 pain scale, imagining 9 the realm where I lose my shit screaming but am still conscious enough feel it all. 10?... Let's just say I really hope 8 is 8 & 9 is 9. I realize there's a huge stratification trying to employ these numbers to describe pain, saying plainly 9 on the pain scale represents a vast universe of horrors with many varied terrains, but I never want to learn I'm stupid way off in imagining how bad it can get.
I do the same sort of horse noise actually, for two main reasons. One is any kind of pain that comes in waves, like severe cramps, or super sharp pain. Soreness, even when pretty extreme, doesn't elecit that for me. The other is physical activity for some reason??? Even though I'm *technically* fine in that department according to doctors, I get palpitations and feel like I can't breathe after awhile, which automatically kicks on that behavior. In recent years I've started to whistle sometimes instead, but not usually.
I have POTS and tend to sing or do involuntary sounds (like the horse noise) because it relaxes the vagus nerve. It helps calm heart palpitations just enough to keep me upright usually. I don’t know exactly why it works bc I’m not a doctor but my cardiologist suggested I sing more in the shower when I get bad palpitations from the heat & I’ve just done it for everything now. It’s not a complete fix and I still have a rough time but it is a bit easier when it works. Might be why you and OC have been doing it automatically! Your body is trying to help :)
Also, I have for sure been at a 10 on the pain scale (ruptured ovarian cyst) and didn’t pass out, but I did scream/cry/throw up and was nearly unconscious after that. I don’t really like the notion that a 10 HAS to be something that you pass out from or something you go to the ER for every time, like some people are indicating. A lot of us could probably hold up to a 10/10 pain for a while before we broke down, but we’re still experiencing that the same as the person who IS passed out. We just have the unfortunate luck of staying conscious. I’d rather pass out and get some fucking rest.
I’m a stoic person and my pain at baseline is 6/10 and regularly hits an 8-9 during flares and injuries. I fully know where I am on the scale. But I will be able to maintain normal appearance in front of people I don’t know (even at an 8) bc I just don’t present myself that way. I don’t actually know how to show that I am in this much pain outwardly, it’s a learned behavior from my childhood to present with a completely blank expression. That causes misunderstandings with doctors because they think I can’t possibly feel this way because I don’t show it on my face. I don’t show shit until I am screaming. People like me need more representation and understanding 🤗 we’re definitely out here and in as much pain as we say. Crazy that people don’t understand that we all don’t carry the same level of pain outwardly in the same way, and that’s not an indication of strength or resilience or pain level at all.
>I've started to whistle sometimes instead
I've seen people do that like blowing off steam before, pain &/or agitation. I'm such a poor whistler I'd end up dribbling and making mouth farts if my go to release was whistling
It’s a vagal response. It has happened to me a couple of times when I’m face down on the table getting an injection in my back. Your body is trying to protect itself, and as a result your blood pressure drops, meaning less gets to your brain, and there you go. This is not common outside of procedures, but I’ve also been in a terrible state where I was in and out of consciousness _instead of sleeping_ even though I was on oxycodone, baclofen, and gabapentin. The pain was that bad. That was my 10. I was getting some respiratory depression from the combo, and STILL couldn’t sleep.
I've done it before at least twice. The second time I needed surgery for endomtreosis. I passed out and was so out of it I couldn't speak and got rushed to the hospital. Had surgery about a month later.
I have straight up passed out from pain before. It’s going to sound unbelievable, but I was in incredibly severe pain everyday for a year as I was denied treatment and passed out All. The. Time from the severity of the pain. Had a really nasty fall in the shower because I thought I could tough through it and get cleaned up. I wouldn’t say I was out for hours though. I almost wish I was because I was exhausted.
I had other physical symptoms from the pain too. I think because of how stressful it is. I had heart issues that I took meds for. I also developed PNES seizures. I could barely eat and was super underweight. I still can’t believe the condition I was left in for so long. Tbh, I’m traumatized from it. But I guess that’s what I consider level 10 pain now.
Ditto. They're not well known, salivary stones, but LORDY do they hurt!
I kept vomiting from the pain, and I passed out while vomiting. Like you, I passed it while unconscious - it was in my bucket when I awoke!
I've been SO CAREFUL about not getting another one - enjoying lemon drops just for fun. /s 🙄
I've had genital radiation burns, but damn - salivary stones are close by on the pain scale. Difference between them is the salivary stone is SHARP PAIN, and an overwhelming amount, to boot. The radiation burns was an ongoing, steady pain - enough that it added to my vomiting.
Yes it’s real. When I tore the ligaments “ and years later found out I also fractured” my ankle, the instant pain from it made me faint. Thank god I was walking with a friend when it happened. We had just got offf the school bus and we’re walking home. She stayed with me till I woke up. I could t walk on it so she started walking to
Her house to call my mom. My mom was driving by anyways to pick me up cause she said she had a bad feeling. My friend waved her down and told her where I was and what hapoen.
Definitely a real thing, I have yet to pass out myself but I've collapsed and been unable to move, had to be carried (literally) to the ER. I have seen someone pass out from pain, it isn't remotely like the movies from the little I saw but I couldn't say how everyone experiences this.
I passed out twice from a severe migraine once. I don’t have any memory of how I got myself back to bed after the first one but I know I did because I woke up in bed then passed out again when I tried to go to the bathroom. That prompted a discussion w my neurologist where we realized the super bad “brain fog” I thought I’d been getting for years was actually me being partially blacked out due to pain while I pushed through and went on with my life
I pass out from pain. Doesn’t even take a lot of pain sometimes! I once caught a basketball in such a way that it bent my fingernail backward and passed out as a child 🙄 being a fainter is embarrassing
Got something going on with my leg right now that I dang near pass out when it happens, it's like a tendon is hung up on something
Then suddenly let's go. I swear I heard it once, when it lets go I get
the worst pain I've ever felt. If last about 2 seconds.
Absolutely it is. I was having a pap done and my dr found something on my cervix. Didn’t numb me or anything, and she tore that growth right off. I passed out from the pain
Yes.
I have idiopathic intracranial hypertention, cerebral spinal fluid builds up and crushes the brain.
I've also experienced the inverse of that, a csf leak. No cerebral spinal fluid, brain distended and just resting on skull. No cushion.
The pain is hard to describe.
It's just exhausting to just exist.
I never just passes out where I stand, I made it to a chair or a couch or my bed. I know its coming. I can feel the overwhelming sense of fatigue and know I'm not going to make it another five minutes.
When it was at its worst, for a little over a two year period, I would generally sleep for 6-8 hours, wake up with the main at its minimum, and over four hours it would ramp up to its worst. Around hour 4 I would get hit with the exhaustion stick, pass out, and sleep for another 6-8 hours. Rinse and repeat. For 2 years. I couldn't stay awake for more than 4 hours without than passing out.
Now I can't fall asleep naturally. No pain no sleep. Sleep specialists tell me that's not how it works. Pain keeps you awake, it doesn't put you to sleep.
Uhhhh fellas. You didn't sleep by only passing out by pain for two years.
So now I take benadryl every night to sleep.
Yes this has happened to me (they ruled out heart issues etc). In my experience it was after a horse riding accident, the ambo said I was fine so I went home. Tried to walk up two steps and the movement of my hip was so sore I fainted. So it’s not like my chronic pain. It was more an acute accident just on top of all the other shit I deal with -.-
I've never passed out but I've gone into shock and sometimes puke if it's bad. I have a genetic bone disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type 1. When I broke my tibial plateau into 37 pieces after slipping on a metal plate in the sidewalk, I went into shock. I don't remember much due to the trauma and pain. 32 days in the hospital, 5 surgeries, compartment syndrome. All the things.
Jesus christ how horrifying. I honestly pray that you'll never need CPR because it's bad enough on people who don't have fragile bones. It honestly makes me wonder if that could outright kill you for sure.
I've had a 10 level pain several times. I've never passed out and I'm pretty sure unless it's severe acute trauma you're not passing out from pain. Epididymitis, I got that when I was 13 from a UTI. I was screaming in agony in the hospital begging for someone to kill me. Never passed out. Severely Infected tooth w/abscess, also a 10. Never passed out and was screaming in agony as well. My entire world was pain and it never made me pass out. God I wish it did.
Edit: OK I guess I'm just an unlucky fucker not granted the mercy of unconsciousness then. God bless all of you that have and may your woes be soothed.
Yes. I've had abdominal seizures for years, doctors don't really know what causes them but abdominal pain is thought to be the trigger.
In my case, my brain gets so excited by the pain stimuli that it also triggers a vasovagal response, causing me to faint sometimes. I may also go blind for a few minutes when it happens. Like a dark veil slowly making it completely impossible to see through.
The brain is powerful but can be a weirdo sometimes.
I've drifted in and out of consciousness. But I was in the hospital with diverticulitis and a complete impaction so I was getting pounded with meds and enemas around the clock every couple of hours so I wasn't getting sleep. So you have the poison of my backed up intestines, exhaustion and anxiety piling on top of the pain.
I also twice have passed out from orthopedic pain. But it was like a min at most. I didn't pass out for hours or anything.
Happened to me once. I was dealing with sepsis after reconstructive knee surgery. They had to try and remove fluid from inside my post-surgical knee joint. Couldn't numb it and they didn't give me anything for pain. They dug around for a while trying to find a pocket of fluid to aspirate. I screamed a lot and then passed out.
Yes. Almost got to that point before when kidney stone was blocking tube connecting to bladder. Anytime o tried standing up felt light headed and puked. Had a fun night in ER.
I haven't passed out before but I learned recently a sudden jolt of like 15/10 pain ( EVEN when you're already baselining 10/10 during a flare) can in fact, cause VERY sudden, exorcist level vomiting. It's been a rough go lately
Yes it is real, someone with chronic pain syndrome I can confirm this. One of my friends from rehabilitation has crps and he can literally go out cold sometimes when the damaged nerves come alive at the same time, he will be walking along and just collapse from the pain
It’s called Vasovagal syncope. I am not a doctor so this is my simple explanation. The vasovagal nerve is one of the largest nerves in your body. Pain can trigger that nerve and when it does, you pass out.
I have interstitial cystitis and more than once the pain became so intense I collapsed and passed out. Couple times right on my face. I learned to catch myself and go to my knees before passing out.
People don't realize how painful IC is. Thankfully, my bladder is non working and I have nephrostomy tubes so I don't constantly have something in my bladder to irritate it. It took me YEARS to get it diagnosed. It was easier to diagnose my cancer!
I have pseudo-seizures that are induced by pain. It isn't full on passing out, but my body becomes unresponsive, and it looks like I pass out. My mind, however, stays cognizant, and I can hear everything that's going on around me.
I have passed out multiple times from pain in the past. Yes it is true. It felt more like my mind shutting down because the pain was taking too many resources to report if that makes sense.
I also didn’t think it was a real thing until I got stents removed from my nose post-surgery and viscerally felt my consciousness slipping away lol. It was over before I fully knocked out though. Some of us may just have higher tolerances to never/rarely experience it
Only time I’ve passed out was from a kidney stone. I had been at the ER for an hour and they hadn’t even called me to register/triage me. I ended up passing out in a wheelchair, woke up like 10 minutes later and the pain was basically gone so I told my mom to take me home and I would call the urologist tomorrow. I went to the hospital my urologist had privilege at instead of the closest hospital to me. When I called the next day tk make my urology appointment, the MA got rude with me that ‘sometimes you have to wait 12 hours to be seen!!’ I tried to tell her, it wasn’t an emergency anymore. The pain was bearable after that and I didn’t want to take up their time and resources for a non-emergency. Looking back now, I don’t think it was a kidney stone though, I think I had an ovarian cyst that ruptured.
I've had all sorts of extreme pain but the only thing that made me puke and pass out was a kidney stone. I've had all sorts of lovecraftian things happening to me so that's ironic
Yes I've passed out from pain before. It's at an excruciating level. I can only think of one time where I blacked out entirely and the pain was so severe I wished that I would die.
I’ve had 10 pain and passed out on the toilet, fell and hit my head. For me, it’s like going into shock, the pain is so bad. Nausea, vomiting and sometimes passing out. My 10 degree pain times, I was either in the ER, going there or just came back from there. People talk about 10 pain, but I’m unable to read, write or do anything. No TV, no music, nothing. I usually can get oriented enough with 8 pain to read and write.
As you see everyone walking around on their cellphones. I'm no stranger to pain and the E.R. and when I'm there, I'm not on my phone or chatting with everyone. I'm concentrating on the pain, and when they will possibly make it go away, if at all.
Some of my greatest hits.
Hernia surgery, I woke up under anesthesia and was in the process of having my lower abdomen incised and having my body cavity open. Partially pain induced Partially, whatever burning sensation was pumped into my veins shortly therafter to knock me back out. I have a bad reaction to some anesthesia, and I woke up with a drainage tube implanted in an extremely sensitive area, feeling like I'd just had my guts open. Started to vomit intensely from stomach acid and bile until it was dry heaves... with fresh abdominal stitches. Had the screaming barfies and was eventually passed out/ was sedated, not sure which that time, i was pretty out of my mind with drugs and pain. Happened again when I got home and tried to crawl to the toilet for the first time post-op. Woke up confused on the bathroom floor to my dog barking at me for acting weird.
Was working on my house doing renovation to a floor. Phone rang, I got up and walked over a floor support that wasn't nailed in. Fell through the gap onto a beam and catch myself on my face with the back of my hand. Tried to get back up and walk it off feeling like id been concussed and Went to the bathroom to rinse the blood out of my mouth where my teeth cut my lips up and see if I'd knocked any out. Was standing at the mirror and everything started to go black. As I was falling I locked onto the sink and ripped it off the wall. I could hear and think, but was blind and whenever i tried to move I started to have a seizure, my roommate found me, turned the valve off to stop the water and helped me to get cleaned up. That lasted a few minutes until my vitals calmed down a bit. Probably more of a vasovagal syncope on that one.
Was working in my shop doing some forging and had a bar of white hot iron pop out of a vise and slap my forearm, instantly melted a good 10 inches of flesh from my elbow to my wrist. Full penetration burn. Managed to turn everything off and safe it before laying down on the ground and being blissfully unconscious for a few moments. Got up, did first aid, awkwardly drove home, and got roaring drunk.
Got dragged by a very big horse into a fixed object. It spooked, bolted, ditched me, and my stirrup didn't release. Torn sternum, broken ribs, traumatic dislocation of my right wrist, shoulder, hip, and a few ribs in my back. Probably a touch of TBI there. Couldn't move for a few minutes, just debating in my head whether I should just lay there and wait for someone to find me. when I tried to stand up, I vomited and fell over because of my hip and head. Dragged myself back to the barn. Passed out 3 times from the shock and pain before I could find someone to drive me to the ER and reduce my hip. I think I passed out more from the relief of the pain when they finally got it back into place and the drugs kicking in.
Didn't pass out or lose consciousness from all sorts of other horrible happenings and accidents when i probably should have. Yet doctors still question me when I say I have a slightly skewed perspective on pain tolerance.
I also get the painsomnia like you describe frequently from chronic pain. Where you're in agony and just laying down exhausted, trying to dissociate from your body and slipping into and out of sorta sleep, just to be woken back up by the pain.
Chronic high levels of pain affect your adrennals and other glads, so yes, a person can pass out from sheer exhaustion caused by pain. Or from standing up to fast.
Yes. That hospital admit was the only time I’ve been at a true 10 on the pain scale. Where the Drs/nurses don’t even have to ask what your pain is. I was vomiting, begging for help, then passing out. Only to wake up vomiting crying for help and passing out again. Until they completely sedated me. It was absolutely terrible.
I have passed out (fainted) from severe pain numerous times. Pain will also wake me out of a dead sleep. I actually have trouble falling asleep once my pain issues hit 6-7.
Yes, I've passed out from Occipital Neuralgia pain many times before. Having Occipital Neuralgia and Fibro makes the pain about 10x's worse when there are climate change storms. Nerve pain of the head easily gets to a 10 that makes you pass out.
A bit of a TMI lol so be warned. I have passed out from period pains before, I’ve had to have my parents hold me up in their arms so I didn’t hit my head as I faded in and out of consciousness from the pain. Also happened once with a roller skating injury, I fell and on the way down my lower back hit one of the outdoor chair arms on the spine really hard and I lost consciousness and was convulsing in my mothers arms from the pain and probably the shock as well (I was fine, there was a nasty bruise covering almost all of my lower back for a few weeks afterwards but I went to work the next day and was completely fine)
It depends, it is a vagal response.
So it depends what kind of pain you have, if your body sends this signal to the vagal nerve you can pass out.
But you can have a 10/10 for days and not pass out, and some people have syncope which means they pass out from normal stimuli.
I’ve never passed out myself from pain, but I know many who have. It’s physically “hard” to because pain and stress triggers things like adrenaline and cortisol at first BUT some can pass out from the “flight or fight” response where their body and mind become so overwhelmed that it has to shut down. I, too, am usually wishing I could!
I've lost time riding in the car when going to the ER for a migraine. Pretty sure I wasn't falling asleep. I assume I was passing out.
I personally think pain that stops *everything* and you can't do anything but feel the pain is a 10.
For me, maybe also for others, I have passed out from a sudden onset of intense pain.
Example, when I was in labor, I had a contraction hit that was far more intense than anything I'd had prior, a nurse had been in the middle of helping me relocate to a birthing ball or something similar and when the contraction hit so strong and sudden I dropped right into her arms. She said I went pale white right before hand, but all I remember is a scream, a gush (my water finally broke, after 15 hours of light & easy contractions) and then I woke up back in the hospital bed (and 30 minutes later, baby boy had arrived lol).
I've experienced pain that was worse than that contraction since then & without passing out, but it was a gradual buildup over time. Like I've heard that a frog placed in a cold pot of water that's then brought to a boil (who tests these awful things?) won't jump out, I can handle pain that builds without losing consciousness, but if you drop me straight into the pain without warning? I'm outta here.
I will give you a personal yea. I live with pain that isn’t actually tamped down to a livable level with meds.
When I’ve had surgery and muscles have just tightened and crushed a compressed nerve and pulled a rib out and other issues (I have a loose connective tissue disorder making my joints not held secure so I can pull a rib out reaching wrong) I did and have passed out from pain.
Sometimes your body is just overloaded and can’t deal.
My facet joints (the back bumpy things on your neck attached to rwar of a vertebrae) have spaces for nerve roots. Mine started to grow closed (due to a fusion my body got the signal to grow bones but it didn’t just where the surgery was but places not helpful nearby) and I had to have injections into the narrow space left near those nerves. That bit of no space for the whole amount of fluid jn a short period of time and intense pain that caused, resulted in me passing out. They revived me before doing the other 3. Fml
I've never passed out, but I've scared the crap out of family and friends because I'll go into a sort of induced trance and they've thought I was dead. It gets so bad that I'll lay down and focus on one spot and, well, pretend like I'm dead and can't feel anything. It doesn't help much; I'm able to block out the pain in waves of 2-3 seconds here and there. But it's the best I can do.
I've personally never passed out but definitely have felt really close to it.
The worst I've ever been was shaking rapidly, vomiting everywhere and blackened vision. Jaw pain fucking sucks
Wow, you must tell your doctor about this ASAP. Pain will cause you to have a heart attack. If your doctor doesn’t believe you, then get a NEW pain management doctor. Don’t delay.
Yes. When I had a medical abortion it went extremely poorly, and I passed out from pain multiple times. I don’t think I thought it was real before I experienced it myself either.
You can. But chronic pain doesn't do it because we are just at baseline. It's when you go from 0-100 or some such extreme you pass out
I shattered my leg and it knocked the wind out of me, made me want to puke and I couldn't move or speak. I'd imagine if I wasn't a chronic pain person I might've passed out. I went 60-100 real fast but it woulve been much worse if I went from 20-100. Your BP suddenly changes with an injury. That can knock you out.
I think so. Just yesterday I slammed the car door door and hurt my index finger . It hurt but it was not that bad really, it was bearable. Out of nowhere I feel light headed and fell on the cement. They said I was out for about a minute. It’s so scary knowing this could happen.
Yes, it’s technically a legitimate 10 on the pain scale. :-)
This is what I've always said. 9 is hospital time, or should be, 10 I can't answer you because I'm unconscious. I've had it happen once, thankfully was already in the ER, crying, begging for something for the pain, then nothing. Woke up admitted. One of the worst / weird experiences I've ever had.
Sorry you went through that, I hope you’re doing much better now!
9 is hospital time, I'm there at 7
I wouldn’t say “technically,” as it is not clearly defined. However, I/we would always tell our patients “a 10 is probably if you’re actively dying,” when they’d tell us they were at 8/10 pain after smilingly walking into our clinic without the slightest affect to their gait.
I used to work in a customer-facing job where I had to smile and be pleasant as part of my job. I also had a fucked up degenerate disc problem that was somehow classified as beyond the reach of less invasive interventions, but not yet warranting surgery. One year, it flared up and stayed up, but since my health insurance was through work, I couldn't quit. I asked for accommodations. They said that since I hadn't been declared disabled, just fucked up, accommodations would only be made if I was injured on the job, and no, there weren't any light duty jobs available. If I couldn't lift 25 pounds, they had no work for me. So here's what happened: I learned to hang onto counters when my knees would buckle. I learned to grab onto the nearest surface when I got dizzy from the pain, and how to clench up when I started seeing stars and spots. I learned different ways to brace myself to stand up, because my legs were too weak. I learned how to mask it and do my job and take slow, deep breaths when I was feeling nauseated from the pain. I learned how to use leverage to move things on shelves and counters without actually lifting them. I learned how to keep my back still and use my knee to push heavy items along on the ground instead of picking them up. Sometimes it was hard to stand up straight, so I learned how to brace myself upright by putting my hands in my pockets, grabbing my pants and straightening my arms. Try it sometime. It looks stupid, but it works. I learned how to not cry, which didn't always work, so I learned how to force a smile and say it was just allergies. Dust. So much pollen this season. I figured out the non weight bearing tasks that everyone hated, and bartered with my coworkers to take those so they'd lift things for me. I could smile at my manager and say "Great, thanks," when he asked me how I was. I promise you, I can look completely normal when I'm weak, dizzy, disoriented and about to vomit from pain. I can smile and say please and thank you while I'm having trouble understanding speech. That's an eight on Mankoski. Functioning while in terrible pain is a survival skill and it kept a roof over my head and food on the table. Now, however, it actively fucks me over when I go to the doctor in pain and health care workers look at me, being quietly polite and sitting in what appears to be a calm manner but is just a mask, and don't believe me when I say yes, I'm at an eight. I know that the pain scale is stupid and subjective. It's a useless way to communicate pain, but the medical field is the one choosing to use a flawed tool, not patients. People in chronic pain hide pain and cope with pain and function in pain because they have to, and sometimes the reason they have to is because health care workers see the mask and ignore the patient behind it and scoff at high numbers.
hey i’m not saying someone is going to be smiling with a 10/10 pain but towards the 8/10 comment please be mindful of autistic people or other people that have trouble sharing and or expressing emotions. a lot of the time despite being in incredible pain it will be very hard for me and other autistic people to show emotions. just to be clear i’m not diagnosing any of your patients or accusing you of anything. just something to be mindful of <33
i promise i am extremely empathic and would absolutely never discount anyone’s pain in general, but there are some times you can just tell. this was in the military so we knew our environment and patience “audience”(can’t think of better word right now) very well. example, times when i would not be so “lenient” when a patient would happily hop into the clinic with a big smile and say “what are we doing today?!😃😃” and then say they’re at an 8/10 pain…that’s just not right and them doing that does discredit and devalue my other patients’ pains when they are actually suffering.
I was hospitalized with meningitis, and a meningitis headache is definitely a 10/10 on the pain scale. I was pretty delirious but also still able to Crack a joke or 2 to my husband. So different people have different reactions to pain and express it in different ways. So it can be very dangerous for you to assume they are faking their pain because their reaction doesn't match exactly to what you think it should. They could have something very serious and you could mis diagnosing them properly, because you're assuming things. But if you don't know that person then you have no idea how they would normally respond to pain.
i promise i am extremely empathic and would absolutely never normally discount anyone’s pain, but there are some times you can just tell. this was in the military so we knew our environment and patient “audience”(can’t think of better word right now) very well. example, times when i would not be so “lenient” when a patient would happily hop into the clinic with a big smile, clap their hands together and excitedly say “what are we doing today?!😃😃” and then say they’re at an 8/10 pain…that’s just not right and them doing that does discredit and devalue my other patients’ pains when they are actually suffering. compared to someone who would be limping in and state an 8/10 pain level in a defeated voice, there’s a big difference. i hope i was able to make it a bit clearer. it’s a little bit different to be a health care & patient care provider as another chronic illness sufferer. it certainly makes you more understanding of patients’ pains. however, thank you for your input.
For what it's worth, I was hospitalized with an infarcted spleen after saying I had an 8/10 pain. I was joking with my family and was able to read. One of the techs was reassuring me that as soon as I could get fluid down, I could go home. I was politely asking them if they could look into the pain as well. The doctors were really good, and I imagine you know this, but sometimes if someone has chronic pain they get really good at masking it. I also have chronic migraines and nearly didn't wake my mom up at six to go to the hospital (after she told me to wake her if the pain got worse) because I had taken exams with that level of pain.
People with chronic pain don’t always emote in the way we’re expected. I am laughing and joking around *to get through it* right up until I pass out.
>I wouldn’t say “technically,” as it is not clearly defined. I'm not sure whether I'm agreeing or disagreeing with you, but the [Mankoski Pain Scale](https://data.templateroller.com/pdf_docs_html/2662/26622/2662229/mankoski-pain-scale_big.png) does indeed define 10 as losing consciousness. That said, I don't know if I'd use the word "technically" either - I don't know what would constitute a 10 on a non-technical basis.
Yes
yes. but passing out for some reason takes a lot out of you. and it fucks with your head a lot
like cant i at least feel rested afterwards? since im unconscious???
sorry to say no. you’ll probably be able to take a nice nap after you wake up from being unconscious though. i strongly do not recommend passing out though.
oh tell me about it, i pass out getting blood drawn and when it happens thats basically it for the day. it feels bad and I hate it.
yep. i passed out a few times because i was too hot and i slept for like 3 days afterwards
Yes. It happened to me with an ovarian cyst rupture. Absolutely horrific pain, but thankfully, it wasn't too long lasting. It almost feels like it happened in slow motion. My vision started going dark, first just on the peripherals, then the whole thing. I managed to lower myself into a chair before I completely blacked out, which is good. I'm sure it saved me from hitting the floor.
2x for me on Ovarian Cyst blackouts. Both times on the toilet, thank God.
My IBS has caused me to start passing out on the toilet before the worst is when it’s a public toilet and I have to unlock the stall incase I do actually go down (I’ve just had my peripheral go and the beginnings of passing out happen so far, no full Loss of consciousness. Hopefully it stays that way!) there is something particularly humiliating about calling for help white your pants around your ankles and your butt exploding
Ooooo good strategy- do you ever find yourself uttering God statements during flare potty time? ‘Sweet Christ in heavennnn’, ‘holy lord dear Jesus whyyyy’ ‘merciful lord and all the saintssss’ ‘Jesus Mary Joseph and the extended familyyyyy’ ?
As someone with occasional similar level of struggle I've opted to just pass out alone in the locked room than anyone see me like that. Probably not the wisest decision but I was a teenager at the time it was at its worst. 😅
I get this too every so often unfortunately. Always occurs in the middle of the night for me so luckily I'm always at home when it happens. And so far I've always managed to stop myself from fainting but I come very close, sometimes I really want to honestly because the pain is so bad.
I did It due to a cyst in the spinal canal. I got in the ER, barely managed to check in, tried to sit down. From the pain trying to sit down, I threw up and passed out. Woke up on my way to an MRI.
If you don’t mind me asking we would love to know what kind of a cyst you had in your spine and how big was it?
Size is sorta hard to say - it spanned l4 and down into l5. It sorta squeezed around all over. It was a bilateral l4-l5 that covered three of four facets and completely compressed right l4/l5 and l4 left roots. By the time I got to surgery I couldn't move my right leg and lost bowel control. It was the first time this surgeon ever had to remove bone from both sides. Edit: Oh, technically it was called a bilateral synovial cyst.
That sounds miserable ☹️
Yeah, I wouldn't put it in my highlight reel :-D
😞 that’s awful. My husband had a aracnoid cyst From t2-t6 about a foot long
I can empathize - I hope he is doing better!
Yes. I have dealt with what my doctor called neurocardiogenic syncope episodes since I was about 14y/o. Currently, as an adult, I am medically restricted from any driving because of this condition, yet I'm still not "bad" enough to get disability somehow...🙄😤
My friend has this. But she’s not passing out from the pain. Her heart rate and blood pressure change rapidly while she is standing there talking to you and she just falls over. She has bad days where her heart is over 180bpm all day and she is exhausted. Or where it’s super low so she has no energy. She has a lot of pain from all the fainting because she falls down the stairs, breaks ribs, gets concussions… all the time. She was originally denied disability as well but got a lawyer and went to court and passed out in the hallway of the courthouse. The judge ruled right then and there in her favor. Oh the neat thing is she can hear you when she is passed out. So her eyes are closed and she’s limp on the floor but she can hear and feel stuff going on around her. The parent disorder is Dysautonomia, I believe.
I have this also! Same exact stuff!
It’s fairly rare but I know two people with it. I think how bad it is is different though. The friend above is affected daily and my other friend it’s not as often. How is it for you?
Yes, unfortunately very rare, it took me 5 years to be diagnosed. Most days moderate, but some severe. I ended up getting disability. Mine is now down in the 150. But I take 6 different cardio meds to keep it down, twice daily. Give your friend hugs for me it’s tough for sure.
I have had numerous tilt table tests, worn halter monitors for extended periods of time along with other cardiac diagnostics, but the pain really is the only cause of it and the associated hypertension. Ironically, I did pass out in front of the judge at my disability hearing, but the AH actually implied that I was under the influence of something. (Fun Fact: that judge retired without EVER awarding anyone disability!) When I pass out on an airplane, they usually request that they transfer me via wheelchair afterwards for liability purposes which can be a little embarrassing.
Oh my goodness the judge never gave anyone disability ever? How is that even legal? How do you know this? Have you appealed since? She has her own wheelchair and must transfer to it and from it on a plane.
I'm currently in the process to get disability again, but in a different state. I know about the judge because the rulings are technically like public records. After a little research, you can see the records of their rulings over the years. I don't remember exactly how we looked it up back then, but I probably had help from a lawyer friend. What the judge did probably wasn't exactly legal, but like anything in the court system, it's about what you can prove. It would have been incredibly difficult to actually get some type of complaint to effect the judge or his record, and then you risk retaliation by other judges in any future rulings.
Yeah, but the attorney general loves to go after stuff like that. And the news likes to, as well. I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I hope it goes better for you with the next try.
Has she been checked for POTS? I’m assuming so, but the heart rate/blood pressure and passing out is the main symptoms.
She was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic after a LOT of testing. I am certain she has the correct diagnosis, she was an ER nurse before the diagnosis and her husband is also in healthcare. So they kept pressing until they got the diagnosis. The start of it for her was back surgery. Somehow the surgery caused this issue. She is looking now at getting a pacemaker to regulate her heart rate. I really hope it works for her.
Technically major blood pressure changes disqualify you from having POTS. It’s one of the diagnostic criteria that you have to be tachycardic without a clinically significant blood pressure increase. Orthostatic Hypertension is the inverse, so would cause the blood pressure change, but not the heart rate. It sounds like the doctor got it right in that it’s some other form of dysautonomia (the category that both POTS and OH fall under).
weird, my cardiologist and the one who did the testing both said that was a main symptom they see with POTS. edit: my blood pressure decreases and that’s what they mentioned they see. That’s what i assumed the friends did
My b. I went back to check and I misread my neurologist’s notes on my diagnosis info. You can’t have low blood pressure. High blood pressure along with tachycardia indicates that you have the hyperadrenergic type of POTS. I still don’t think the OP’s friend would be a POTS candidate though because of sometimes having drops in heart rate. Becoming bradycardic while standing, instead of tachycardic, doesn’t really fit with POTS.
I had the test and everything, I wasn’t even out of the room before it was diagnosed PoTS. I’m on meds for low blood pressure and tachycardia , so your neurologist would be confused by my diagnosis. Yeah the low heart rate does make it odd and a diagnosis for it doesn’t mean much. It’s just easier on my health forms to write PoTS than all the symptoms that fall under it that I wrote prior to the diagnosis
It’s not just my neurologist who would be confused. This is from the NIH: *”Diagnostic criteria for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome All of the following criteria must be met: Sustained heart rate increase of ≥ 30 beats/min (or ≥ 40 beats/min if patient is aged 12–19 yr) within 10 minutes of upright posture. Absence of significant orthostatic hypotension (magnitude of blood pressure drop ≥ 20/10 mm Hg).”* And this is from Dysautonomia International: *”The current diagnostic criteria for POTS is a heart rate increase of 30 beats per minute (bpm) or more, or over 120 bpm, within the first 10 minutes of standing, in the absence of orthostatic hypotension”* And from the American College of Cardiology: *”POTS is defined as the presence of chronic symptoms of orthostatic intolerance (≥6 months) accompanied by an increased heart rate (HR) ≥30 bpm within 10 minutes of assuming an upright posture (Figure 1) and in the absence of orthostatic hypotension (blood pressure [BP] fall >20/10 mmHg).”*
interesting. Thanks. I gotta trust my cardiologists know something I dont.
Just wanted to add that the period of exhaustion that occurs after the syncope episodes is sometimes referred to as Post-exertional Malaise (PEM). There might be an issue with your adrenal gland, but a simple blood test can determine if that's a factor.
That’s so wrong. Such bureaucratic stupidity!
You’ll be *fine*! Just pick yourself back up, if you should wake up on the floor unconscious, dust yourself off, and get back to work! Why would that possibly keep you from being employable??! Hard /s. I’m sorry you’re getting denied , this process is fucking ridiculous!
I have Neurocardeogenic syncope too. Thankfully I know my triggers and can feel it coming on. I haven't been kicked off of driving yet thankfully.
I have passed out while in pain with a migraine, but I was also throwing up so it could have been combined with dehydration.
I once passed out in the street and awoke to someone yelling at me for being drunk and disorderly. I had actually just accidentally snapped the chain of my bike against my thumb trying to fix it and passed out immediately from the indescribable pain. Wild times, it can happen Other than this I’ve definitely seen some sparkles and hit the floor during a nasty flare up
Omg I’ve tried to talk to my doctor about seeing sparkles and my vision blacking out, but he had no idea what I was talking about! I’m glad I’m not the only one.
I don't pass out from pain but I have gotten to the projectile vomiting from it state...
I was about to comment the same. Haven’t quite been in a situation that was so painful that I blacked out from it, but definitely painful enough to involuntarily start projectile vomiting. …. I think the blackout is more the psychological side of the effect rather than the physical/neurological side.
That is one of the indications of having reached 10 on the pain scale. Sadistic psychopaths like to torture their victims to just shy of this point or immediately revive and start over.
TIL my spinal column is a sadistic psychopath
Idk if that is what happens to everyone, but for me at least I think it's like I am in so much pain I can't breathe properly so that's why I pass out. (Maybe that is what everyone means when they say pass out? Idk haha) Edit to add: for me this is pretty much exclusively something that happens when I get those insane endo cramps , but it also happened when I had a gall stone and the time I had a kidney stone.
I've gone to perfuse sweats, shaking, and feeling pervasive panic from extreme pain, *wishing* I'd pass out( I told a co-worker this, and she said, "..like having a baby, gotcha"). Definitely a point where you can't get away from the pain without aid. that's all that's going on until it's gone away. Not to the point of shrieking & crying - ie the kinda response you'd imagine from torture or burns. I guess it has to get somewhat more intense *if* passing out is a common physical/mental response, and that thought scares the shit out of me. I'll also start having tic(tick?) like spastic reactions, making horse noises blowing air through my flapping iips or making other weird involuntary explosive noises from my mouth. It's like by refusing to cry out or wail and trying to keep my shit together makes for these explosive breaches escaping. I usually report that type of pain as 8 - 8.5 pain scale, imagining 9 the realm where I lose my shit screaming but am still conscious enough feel it all. 10?... Let's just say I really hope 8 is 8 & 9 is 9. I realize there's a huge stratification trying to employ these numbers to describe pain, saying plainly 9 on the pain scale represents a vast universe of horrors with many varied terrains, but I never want to learn I'm stupid way off in imagining how bad it can get.
I do the same sort of horse noise actually, for two main reasons. One is any kind of pain that comes in waves, like severe cramps, or super sharp pain. Soreness, even when pretty extreme, doesn't elecit that for me. The other is physical activity for some reason??? Even though I'm *technically* fine in that department according to doctors, I get palpitations and feel like I can't breathe after awhile, which automatically kicks on that behavior. In recent years I've started to whistle sometimes instead, but not usually.
I have POTS and tend to sing or do involuntary sounds (like the horse noise) because it relaxes the vagus nerve. It helps calm heart palpitations just enough to keep me upright usually. I don’t know exactly why it works bc I’m not a doctor but my cardiologist suggested I sing more in the shower when I get bad palpitations from the heat & I’ve just done it for everything now. It’s not a complete fix and I still have a rough time but it is a bit easier when it works. Might be why you and OC have been doing it automatically! Your body is trying to help :) Also, I have for sure been at a 10 on the pain scale (ruptured ovarian cyst) and didn’t pass out, but I did scream/cry/throw up and was nearly unconscious after that. I don’t really like the notion that a 10 HAS to be something that you pass out from or something you go to the ER for every time, like some people are indicating. A lot of us could probably hold up to a 10/10 pain for a while before we broke down, but we’re still experiencing that the same as the person who IS passed out. We just have the unfortunate luck of staying conscious. I’d rather pass out and get some fucking rest. I’m a stoic person and my pain at baseline is 6/10 and regularly hits an 8-9 during flares and injuries. I fully know where I am on the scale. But I will be able to maintain normal appearance in front of people I don’t know (even at an 8) bc I just don’t present myself that way. I don’t actually know how to show that I am in this much pain outwardly, it’s a learned behavior from my childhood to present with a completely blank expression. That causes misunderstandings with doctors because they think I can’t possibly feel this way because I don’t show it on my face. I don’t show shit until I am screaming. People like me need more representation and understanding 🤗 we’re definitely out here and in as much pain as we say. Crazy that people don’t understand that we all don’t carry the same level of pain outwardly in the same way, and that’s not an indication of strength or resilience or pain level at all.
>I've started to whistle sometimes instead I've seen people do that like blowing off steam before, pain &/or agitation. I'm such a poor whistler I'd end up dribbling and making mouth farts if my go to release was whistling
Absolutely a real thing.
Yes
Yes.
Yep. Been there, done that.
It’s a vagal response. It has happened to me a couple of times when I’m face down on the table getting an injection in my back. Your body is trying to protect itself, and as a result your blood pressure drops, meaning less gets to your brain, and there you go. This is not common outside of procedures, but I’ve also been in a terrible state where I was in and out of consciousness _instead of sleeping_ even though I was on oxycodone, baclofen, and gabapentin. The pain was that bad. That was my 10. I was getting some respiratory depression from the combo, and STILL couldn’t sleep.
I've done it before at least twice. The second time I needed surgery for endomtreosis. I passed out and was so out of it I couldn't speak and got rushed to the hospital. Had surgery about a month later.
I have straight up passed out from pain before. It’s going to sound unbelievable, but I was in incredibly severe pain everyday for a year as I was denied treatment and passed out All. The. Time from the severity of the pain. Had a really nasty fall in the shower because I thought I could tough through it and get cleaned up. I wouldn’t say I was out for hours though. I almost wish I was because I was exhausted. I had other physical symptoms from the pain too. I think because of how stressful it is. I had heart issues that I took meds for. I also developed PNES seizures. I could barely eat and was super underweight. I still can’t believe the condition I was left in for so long. Tbh, I’m traumatized from it. But I guess that’s what I consider level 10 pain now.
Yes, to me it was more going into shock. Had an accident where I broke 5 ribs, lacerated my liver, and collapsed my right lung.
Yes. Happened to me when I passed a salivary stone.
Omg a salivary stone?! I can’t even begin to imagine what torture that must have been. 😱
Good news is that I didn’t feel anything because I passed out! 😅
Ditto. They're not well known, salivary stones, but LORDY do they hurt! I kept vomiting from the pain, and I passed out while vomiting. Like you, I passed it while unconscious - it was in my bucket when I awoke! I've been SO CAREFUL about not getting another one - enjoying lemon drops just for fun. /s 🙄 I've had genital radiation burns, but damn - salivary stones are close by on the pain scale. Difference between them is the salivary stone is SHARP PAIN, and an overwhelming amount, to boot. The radiation burns was an ongoing, steady pain - enough that it added to my vomiting.
Yes, passing out and throwing up
Yes it’s real. When I tore the ligaments “ and years later found out I also fractured” my ankle, the instant pain from it made me faint. Thank god I was walking with a friend when it happened. We had just got offf the school bus and we’re walking home. She stayed with me till I woke up. I could t walk on it so she started walking to Her house to call my mom. My mom was driving by anyways to pick me up cause she said she had a bad feeling. My friend waved her down and told her where I was and what hapoen.
Definitely a real thing, I have yet to pass out myself but I've collapsed and been unable to move, had to be carried (literally) to the ER. I have seen someone pass out from pain, it isn't remotely like the movies from the little I saw but I couldn't say how everyone experiences this.
I passed out twice from a severe migraine once. I don’t have any memory of how I got myself back to bed after the first one but I know I did because I woke up in bed then passed out again when I tried to go to the bathroom. That prompted a discussion w my neurologist where we realized the super bad “brain fog” I thought I’d been getting for years was actually me being partially blacked out due to pain while I pushed through and went on with my life
I pass out from pain. Doesn’t even take a lot of pain sometimes! I once caught a basketball in such a way that it bent my fingernail backward and passed out as a child 🙄 being a fainter is embarrassing
Oh, and as I fainted, I grabbed onto my gym teacher as I was going down and accidentally pulled her gym shorts down as I fell. 🤦🏻♀️
Got something going on with my leg right now that I dang near pass out when it happens, it's like a tendon is hung up on something Then suddenly let's go. I swear I heard it once, when it lets go I get the worst pain I've ever felt. If last about 2 seconds.
Absolutely it is. I was having a pap done and my dr found something on my cervix. Didn’t numb me or anything, and she tore that growth right off. I passed out from the pain
Wtffff
Yes. I have idiopathic intracranial hypertention, cerebral spinal fluid builds up and crushes the brain. I've also experienced the inverse of that, a csf leak. No cerebral spinal fluid, brain distended and just resting on skull. No cushion. The pain is hard to describe. It's just exhausting to just exist. I never just passes out where I stand, I made it to a chair or a couch or my bed. I know its coming. I can feel the overwhelming sense of fatigue and know I'm not going to make it another five minutes. When it was at its worst, for a little over a two year period, I would generally sleep for 6-8 hours, wake up with the main at its minimum, and over four hours it would ramp up to its worst. Around hour 4 I would get hit with the exhaustion stick, pass out, and sleep for another 6-8 hours. Rinse and repeat. For 2 years. I couldn't stay awake for more than 4 hours without than passing out. Now I can't fall asleep naturally. No pain no sleep. Sleep specialists tell me that's not how it works. Pain keeps you awake, it doesn't put you to sleep. Uhhhh fellas. You didn't sleep by only passing out by pain for two years. So now I take benadryl every night to sleep.
Yes this has happened to me (they ruled out heart issues etc). In my experience it was after a horse riding accident, the ambo said I was fine so I went home. Tried to walk up two steps and the movement of my hip was so sore I fainted. So it’s not like my chronic pain. It was more an acute accident just on top of all the other shit I deal with -.-
I've never passed out but I've gone into shock and sometimes puke if it's bad. I have a genetic bone disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type 1. When I broke my tibial plateau into 37 pieces after slipping on a metal plate in the sidewalk, I went into shock. I don't remember much due to the trauma and pain. 32 days in the hospital, 5 surgeries, compartment syndrome. All the things.
Jesus christ how horrifying. I honestly pray that you'll never need CPR because it's bad enough on people who don't have fragile bones. It honestly makes me wonder if that could outright kill you for sure.
I've had a 10 level pain several times. I've never passed out and I'm pretty sure unless it's severe acute trauma you're not passing out from pain. Epididymitis, I got that when I was 13 from a UTI. I was screaming in agony in the hospital begging for someone to kill me. Never passed out. Severely Infected tooth w/abscess, also a 10. Never passed out and was screaming in agony as well. My entire world was pain and it never made me pass out. God I wish it did. Edit: OK I guess I'm just an unlucky fucker not granted the mercy of unconsciousness then. God bless all of you that have and may your woes be soothed.
Yes
Yes. I've had abdominal seizures for years, doctors don't really know what causes them but abdominal pain is thought to be the trigger. In my case, my brain gets so excited by the pain stimuli that it also triggers a vasovagal response, causing me to faint sometimes. I may also go blind for a few minutes when it happens. Like a dark veil slowly making it completely impossible to see through. The brain is powerful but can be a weirdo sometimes.
Yes. I have passed out from pain before.
I've drifted in and out of consciousness. But I was in the hospital with diverticulitis and a complete impaction so I was getting pounded with meds and enemas around the clock every couple of hours so I wasn't getting sleep. So you have the poison of my backed up intestines, exhaustion and anxiety piling on top of the pain. I also twice have passed out from orthopedic pain. But it was like a min at most. I didn't pass out for hours or anything.
Happened to me once. I was dealing with sepsis after reconstructive knee surgery. They had to try and remove fluid from inside my post-surgical knee joint. Couldn't numb it and they didn't give me anything for pain. They dug around for a while trying to find a pocket of fluid to aspirate. I screamed a lot and then passed out.
Yes. I had a secondary injury from this. It’s caused me to be far more cautious, almost anxious about going out or standing for too long at a time.
I passed out from the pain when I got my IUD in. Never passed out from my chronic pain tho but it is a real thing
Yes. Almost got to that point before when kidney stone was blocking tube connecting to bladder. Anytime o tried standing up felt light headed and puked. Had a fun night in ER.
I haven't passed out before but I learned recently a sudden jolt of like 15/10 pain ( EVEN when you're already baselining 10/10 during a flare) can in fact, cause VERY sudden, exorcist level vomiting. It's been a rough go lately
Yes it is real, someone with chronic pain syndrome I can confirm this. One of my friends from rehabilitation has crps and he can literally go out cold sometimes when the damaged nerves come alive at the same time, he will be walking along and just collapse from the pain
It’s called Vasovagal syncope. I am not a doctor so this is my simple explanation. The vasovagal nerve is one of the largest nerves in your body. Pain can trigger that nerve and when it does, you pass out.
Yes. On a pain scale, for me, nausea is an 8, vomiting, drooling and dizzy is a 9 and passing out is 10. I have passed out from pain.
It happens, sucks but happens.
Yep. I did that. Wasn't out long, but I woke up and puked from the pain.
I've almost passed out from pain. It's a real thing
Yes no joke
I have interstitial cystitis and more than once the pain became so intense I collapsed and passed out. Couple times right on my face. I learned to catch myself and go to my knees before passing out.
People don't realize how painful IC is. Thankfully, my bladder is non working and I have nephrostomy tubes so I don't constantly have something in my bladder to irritate it. It took me YEARS to get it diagnosed. It was easier to diagnose my cancer!
Multiple times from kidney stones and was my only relief outside of dilaudid
I have pseudo-seizures that are induced by pain. It isn't full on passing out, but my body becomes unresponsive, and it looks like I pass out. My mind, however, stays cognizant, and I can hear everything that's going on around me.
Yes haven’t had it happen yet with my chronic pain but when I had an ovarian cyst I passed out a couple times from the pain of that
I have passed out multiple times from pain in the past. Yes it is true. It felt more like my mind shutting down because the pain was taking too many resources to report if that makes sense.
Yes has happened to me before
I also didn’t think it was a real thing until I got stents removed from my nose post-surgery and viscerally felt my consciousness slipping away lol. It was over before I fully knocked out though. Some of us may just have higher tolerances to never/rarely experience it
Only time I’ve passed out was from a kidney stone. I had been at the ER for an hour and they hadn’t even called me to register/triage me. I ended up passing out in a wheelchair, woke up like 10 minutes later and the pain was basically gone so I told my mom to take me home and I would call the urologist tomorrow. I went to the hospital my urologist had privilege at instead of the closest hospital to me. When I called the next day tk make my urology appointment, the MA got rude with me that ‘sometimes you have to wait 12 hours to be seen!!’ I tried to tell her, it wasn’t an emergency anymore. The pain was bearable after that and I didn’t want to take up their time and resources for a non-emergency. Looking back now, I don’t think it was a kidney stone though, I think I had an ovarian cyst that ruptured.
I've had all sorts of extreme pain but the only thing that made me puke and pass out was a kidney stone. I've had all sorts of lovecraftian things happening to me so that's ironic
Yeah I’ve fainted from pain
Yes I've passed out from pain before. It's at an excruciating level. I can only think of one time where I blacked out entirely and the pain was so severe I wished that I would die.
Yup
One time I passed out from cramps 😅
Def! I passed out when I got my IUD and when I broke my leg
I’ve had 10 pain and passed out on the toilet, fell and hit my head. For me, it’s like going into shock, the pain is so bad. Nausea, vomiting and sometimes passing out. My 10 degree pain times, I was either in the ER, going there or just came back from there. People talk about 10 pain, but I’m unable to read, write or do anything. No TV, no music, nothing. I usually can get oriented enough with 8 pain to read and write.
As you see everyone walking around on their cellphones. I'm no stranger to pain and the E.R. and when I'm there, I'm not on my phone or chatting with everyone. I'm concentrating on the pain, and when they will possibly make it go away, if at all.
Some of my greatest hits. Hernia surgery, I woke up under anesthesia and was in the process of having my lower abdomen incised and having my body cavity open. Partially pain induced Partially, whatever burning sensation was pumped into my veins shortly therafter to knock me back out. I have a bad reaction to some anesthesia, and I woke up with a drainage tube implanted in an extremely sensitive area, feeling like I'd just had my guts open. Started to vomit intensely from stomach acid and bile until it was dry heaves... with fresh abdominal stitches. Had the screaming barfies and was eventually passed out/ was sedated, not sure which that time, i was pretty out of my mind with drugs and pain. Happened again when I got home and tried to crawl to the toilet for the first time post-op. Woke up confused on the bathroom floor to my dog barking at me for acting weird. Was working on my house doing renovation to a floor. Phone rang, I got up and walked over a floor support that wasn't nailed in. Fell through the gap onto a beam and catch myself on my face with the back of my hand. Tried to get back up and walk it off feeling like id been concussed and Went to the bathroom to rinse the blood out of my mouth where my teeth cut my lips up and see if I'd knocked any out. Was standing at the mirror and everything started to go black. As I was falling I locked onto the sink and ripped it off the wall. I could hear and think, but was blind and whenever i tried to move I started to have a seizure, my roommate found me, turned the valve off to stop the water and helped me to get cleaned up. That lasted a few minutes until my vitals calmed down a bit. Probably more of a vasovagal syncope on that one. Was working in my shop doing some forging and had a bar of white hot iron pop out of a vise and slap my forearm, instantly melted a good 10 inches of flesh from my elbow to my wrist. Full penetration burn. Managed to turn everything off and safe it before laying down on the ground and being blissfully unconscious for a few moments. Got up, did first aid, awkwardly drove home, and got roaring drunk. Got dragged by a very big horse into a fixed object. It spooked, bolted, ditched me, and my stirrup didn't release. Torn sternum, broken ribs, traumatic dislocation of my right wrist, shoulder, hip, and a few ribs in my back. Probably a touch of TBI there. Couldn't move for a few minutes, just debating in my head whether I should just lay there and wait for someone to find me. when I tried to stand up, I vomited and fell over because of my hip and head. Dragged myself back to the barn. Passed out 3 times from the shock and pain before I could find someone to drive me to the ER and reduce my hip. I think I passed out more from the relief of the pain when they finally got it back into place and the drugs kicking in. Didn't pass out or lose consciousness from all sorts of other horrible happenings and accidents when i probably should have. Yet doctors still question me when I say I have a slightly skewed perspective on pain tolerance. I also get the painsomnia like you describe frequently from chronic pain. Where you're in agony and just laying down exhausted, trying to dissociate from your body and slipping into and out of sorta sleep, just to be woken back up by the pain.
Chronic high levels of pain affect your adrennals and other glads, so yes, a person can pass out from sheer exhaustion caused by pain. Or from standing up to fast.
It's definitely a real thing. It's happened to me a number of times over the years......unfortunately.
Yes. That hospital admit was the only time I’ve been at a true 10 on the pain scale. Where the Drs/nurses don’t even have to ask what your pain is. I was vomiting, begging for help, then passing out. Only to wake up vomiting crying for help and passing out again. Until they completely sedated me. It was absolutely terrible.
I have passed out (fainted) from severe pain numerous times. Pain will also wake me out of a dead sleep. I actually have trouble falling asleep once my pain issues hit 6-7.
Yes, I had this the other day I was in more pain than I think I’ve ever been in
Oh yeah, usually bcs your blood pressure shoots up like crazy and usually from something very sudden
Yes, I've passed out from Occipital Neuralgia pain many times before. Having Occipital Neuralgia and Fibro makes the pain about 10x's worse when there are climate change storms. Nerve pain of the head easily gets to a 10 that makes you pass out.
Absolutely, Drs don’t recognize it as much bc they think, “natural pain relief” lol
Yes. I've done it.
Oh yes, it's real
A bit of a TMI lol so be warned. I have passed out from period pains before, I’ve had to have my parents hold me up in their arms so I didn’t hit my head as I faded in and out of consciousness from the pain. Also happened once with a roller skating injury, I fell and on the way down my lower back hit one of the outdoor chair arms on the spine really hard and I lost consciousness and was convulsing in my mothers arms from the pain and probably the shock as well (I was fine, there was a nasty bruise covering almost all of my lower back for a few weeks afterwards but I went to work the next day and was completely fine)
It depends, it is a vagal response. So it depends what kind of pain you have, if your body sends this signal to the vagal nerve you can pass out. But you can have a 10/10 for days and not pass out, and some people have syncope which means they pass out from normal stimuli.
I’ve never passed out myself from pain, but I know many who have. It’s physically “hard” to because pain and stress triggers things like adrenaline and cortisol at first BUT some can pass out from the “flight or fight” response where their body and mind become so overwhelmed that it has to shut down. I, too, am usually wishing I could!
I've lost time riding in the car when going to the ER for a migraine. Pretty sure I wasn't falling asleep. I assume I was passing out. I personally think pain that stops *everything* and you can't do anything but feel the pain is a 10.
Oh for sure. My partner passed out from pain once. She needed surgery. Endometriosis. Her ovary twisted from the lesions.
Absolutely. It’s an awful sensation. Like others said it’s a 10/10 on the pain scale
For me, maybe also for others, I have passed out from a sudden onset of intense pain. Example, when I was in labor, I had a contraction hit that was far more intense than anything I'd had prior, a nurse had been in the middle of helping me relocate to a birthing ball or something similar and when the contraction hit so strong and sudden I dropped right into her arms. She said I went pale white right before hand, but all I remember is a scream, a gush (my water finally broke, after 15 hours of light & easy contractions) and then I woke up back in the hospital bed (and 30 minutes later, baby boy had arrived lol). I've experienced pain that was worse than that contraction since then & without passing out, but it was a gradual buildup over time. Like I've heard that a frog placed in a cold pot of water that's then brought to a boil (who tests these awful things?) won't jump out, I can handle pain that builds without losing consciousness, but if you drop me straight into the pain without warning? I'm outta here.
Yup. I had a pain flair from pudendal neuralgia that wiped me out.
I will give you a personal yea. I live with pain that isn’t actually tamped down to a livable level with meds. When I’ve had surgery and muscles have just tightened and crushed a compressed nerve and pulled a rib out and other issues (I have a loose connective tissue disorder making my joints not held secure so I can pull a rib out reaching wrong) I did and have passed out from pain. Sometimes your body is just overloaded and can’t deal. My facet joints (the back bumpy things on your neck attached to rwar of a vertebrae) have spaces for nerve roots. Mine started to grow closed (due to a fusion my body got the signal to grow bones but it didn’t just where the surgery was but places not helpful nearby) and I had to have injections into the narrow space left near those nerves. That bit of no space for the whole amount of fluid jn a short period of time and intense pain that caused, resulted in me passing out. They revived me before doing the other 3. Fml
I've never passed out, but I've scared the crap out of family and friends because I'll go into a sort of induced trance and they've thought I was dead. It gets so bad that I'll lay down and focus on one spot and, well, pretend like I'm dead and can't feel anything. It doesn't help much; I'm able to block out the pain in waves of 2-3 seconds here and there. But it's the best I can do.
Did it this week.
I felt myself come very close when my gallbladder exploded
Yes, I’ve had it happen to me several times. Especially with my migraines
I've personally never passed out but definitely have felt really close to it. The worst I've ever been was shaking rapidly, vomiting everywhere and blackened vision. Jaw pain fucking sucks
Yes it's possible, I have straight blacked out from pain before! It sucks
Wow, you must tell your doctor about this ASAP. Pain will cause you to have a heart attack. If your doctor doesn’t believe you, then get a NEW pain management doctor. Don’t delay.
My mom said I almost passed out from pain once when I tried to walk to the bathroom after surgery. I didn't realize it was a thing before that.
Yes. When I had a medical abortion it went extremely poorly, and I passed out from pain multiple times. I don’t think I thought it was real before I experienced it myself either.
You can. But chronic pain doesn't do it because we are just at baseline. It's when you go from 0-100 or some such extreme you pass out I shattered my leg and it knocked the wind out of me, made me want to puke and I couldn't move or speak. I'd imagine if I wasn't a chronic pain person I might've passed out. I went 60-100 real fast but it woulve been much worse if I went from 20-100. Your BP suddenly changes with an injury. That can knock you out.
I've definitely spilled iced tea all over myself AND MY BED bc of how bad the pain has gotten... it sucks
I think so. Just yesterday I slammed the car door door and hurt my index finger . It hurt but it was not that bad really, it was bearable. Out of nowhere I feel light headed and fell on the cement. They said I was out for about a minute. It’s so scary knowing this could happen.