To ask if you’ve ever had a “near death” experience?

[SinkGirl]

When I was 18 I almost amputated my arm on a bathroom sink - I slipped on a wet floor, landed on the sink which was cracked and broke in half, and I cut my arm down to the bone almost 3/4 of the way around. I lost consciousness quite quickly and lost a terrifying amount of blood - my mum found me in a giant pool of blood and had she not found me then I would have died - but I never experienced anything like the reports of near death experiences. Maybe because I lost consciousness so quickly. Losing consciousness was a bit like going into a tunnel I suppose as my vision gradually reduced to a point and then I was out, but I understand why that would happen.

Just wondering if anyone has experienced this, and what happened? I’m very curious about the scientific reasons for common experiences in this situation. I’ve never spoken to anyone who’s actually experienced it.

My mum passed away three years ago today and for her final 24 hours she was unable to speak and sometimes I wonder what those final hours were like for her - she did seem very peaceful. I’m not at all religious so no comfort to be had there!

I nearly drowned twice as a child

I had HELLP syndrome where both me and my baby almost died. I'm still in denial about it I tell myself it wasn't actually that bad it makes it easier than thinking what could have been.

I lost 6.5 pints of blood after giving birth. Ambulance called (it was a home birth) and all I can say is I knew I was very very poorly but I felt strangely peaceful and relaxed.

It hit me a bit more when the ambulance was met by the consultant and an anetheatist who slammed opened the doors and started pumping me with all sorts of drugs and stuff and a midwife had her hand up my foof to try and stem the bleeding with packs.

My partner was following behind with the newborn and he did say he didn't know wether I was going to be alive when we got there. The 2nd home birth midwife had tried to prepare him without terrifying him.

It was very surreal all in all.

I lost a lot of blood right after giving birth. I felt myself becoming very cold, very weak and shaking uncontrollably. I was losing consciousness and felt myself slipping away. Luckily the medical staff hooked me up to several blood transfusions very quickly and I recovered

@pivotpivotPIVOT I had hellp too. I think it was quite bad but not sure how close I came to dying. Don’t like to think about it too much. Apparently it’s very rare.

I hemmoraged in my first labour and I lost consciousness, I just suddenly felt cold and couldn’t stop shaking then my vision went, I woke up 12 hours later unable to move not knowing what happened in a separate room from my baby, wondering over and over which one of us had died.

Divadee that's an absolutely terrifying story. I hope you and your DH are ok now.

I had my second homebirth very recently. The first one was textbook so I had no worries about having a second. Except when it came to it, it happened VERY quickly. The midwives said they may not get here in time so to dial 999. The pain was unbearable and I thought I was going to die. It wasn't a calming experienc. Thankfully the midwives and paramedics arrived with minutes to spare. Bleeding out was my main concern, not the pain.

I've had two other experiences that were very calm - nearly drowning as a child and then later being caught in a hurricane where the windows flew open and the furniture started slamming around the room. I was struck by how calm I was, thinking "ok well this is it". I was only about 12 at the time too.

divadee that's what happened to me. I've never really got over it. What caused yours? As in what caused the uterine rupture?

I lost tons of blood after dd was born. I remember dh crying and saying "But she's fine!" before passing out and that's it. Post transfusion I was fine.

On the other hand i had a severe thyroid storm post partum where my heart was beating so fast, yet I was immobile. I remember trying to talk to dh but being unable to. Then i remember radio static and sort of polaroids of really mundane bits of my life and then i gradually came to. I'd been out for about 4 days but it felt like 5 minutes. Weird.

slutty mine was caused by a torn cervix and a piece of retained placenta. If was the cervix tear that caused the most problems. It was a risk in a way as I had cervical cancer a few years ago and it was all the scar tissue from the treatments I had that they think caused it. I was lucky as most midwives have never seen a cervical tear. My home birth midwife had only seen 1 before in 30 years of being a midwife. The consultant had signed me off for a home birth as well so I hadn't taken any unnecessary risks. My eldest was a text book birth so I thought a home birth would be fine. Although I still would of needed transferring as the hospital I would of given birth in is only a MLU so I don't think it was anymore of a risk.

I just remember being very peaceful. And not really scared or worried. I was freezing cold, they put some weird foil heater Hoover blanket thing on me, but just very peaceful.

I had multiple transfusions and emergency surgery to repair the damage and remove the retained product.

Another one with a drowning incident here. I was 12 and got dragged to the bottom of a sort of whirpool in a fast flowing river. It took two men to get me out, by then I was exhausted of trying to get out and had given in. I saw loads of random scenes flash before my eyes and the feeling I remember best was this overwhelming rage and thinking "It's not fair, I'm only 12!!".

I also lost lots of blood after my first c section. I was unconscious most of that day and needed a big transfusion- so don't remember the birth of my son at all. 😢 It was 3 days before Christmas and as the wheeled me in a bed from intensive care to another section I got a glimpse of nurses walking about in Santa hats and I thought I was dead 😮
Some horrible stories here, 💐 to all of you xx

Like many others I lost a lot of blood after the birth of my third. Physically I felt cold and shaky but all I could think was I'd just met my baby if waved my kids off this morning and I wad never going to see them again... I had tears streaming dien my face and just kept saying I can't go yet please I can't. I felt everything fade and then I woke up after the op it says horrible and I can't think of speak of my last birth without breaking down. That being said it has made me treasure every moment with my kids or had given me a new lease on life I've given up drinking and now eat better I won't do anything to risk that feeling again I was heartbroken.

After having ds by emcs my dh took his siblings to see him, my heart started behaving erratically. Red Button was pushed and the room was filled with Drs.
I truly thought I was going to die and I didn't know a soul in the room.
Was terrifying.

Some of these stories are horrible, to everyone involved. I was terrified of PPH when I was pregnant.

I'm lucky enough to have nothing to add to this thread myself.

I was resuscitated. As I went I knew that was it but there was no life images flashing before my eyes just a black tunnel closing in on my vision, like fainting. I did involuntarily shit myself after I had 'gone' though, how lovely. Apparently it's not that uncommon as the body relaxes. Obviously I was bought back to life again but I didn't see any visions or white lights or angels.

divadee yes that sounds familiar. I too felt very peaceful as I felt the ebb and flow of life. I had a bandl's ring that caused a uterine rupture and lost 17pints of blood, they couldn't put it in fast enough. I ended up having a hysterectomy whilst they tried to save my life. I've never forgotten a single second of that day, or the day before when I knew something was wrong, went to the maternity unit and was shoofed away as a time waster. It was not my first child.

Another sepsis story. I just remember feeling very calm and just wanting to sleep. I shut my eyes and could hear a doctor asking me to stay with them and holding my hand then nothing til I woke up hours later. Writing it down it makes me a bit tearful but I genuinely was just tired and calm.

A few.

One that sticks out was during my flying days. We were coming in to land at Paris CDG, and a plane was right behind us landing very close, it was 40feet away.

So a 40 foot near miss. When the pilots came out of the cockpit and passengers had left, there was sweat dripping off their faces

That brought it home real quick how we were close to dying...

Post-strangulation (very oddly peaceful after the initial panic), found myself traveling at speed to what looked like a blue star in black space (maybe what people mean by the tunnel?)

'Woke up' there to a place that it felt like I'd been many times before, the overwhelming feeling was one of, 'oh I remember this!' Glimpses of my life, all of it, past/present/future, and the moment of my death, which is when I realised I wasn't going to die.

Profound sadness, and then 'waking' up again. I'm not religious, but I do believe that place is where I was before I was born, and where I will return to again. I can't fully describe it (future drug experiences and certain vivid dreams come the closest!), but I'd rather be there than here. I feel like I'm clock-watching through a dutiful shift here.

Another drowning here! I had an accident while white water rafting that resulted in me spending a lot of time under water and pretty much passing out.

I was flailing in white water rapid and couldnt figure out which way was up etc. I became really focused, not much panic but just knew i had to swim what i thought was up, i swam down then corrected myself. No other thoughts, no tiredness just an urge to swim. When i was almost near the surface when someone in panic kicked me far back down.

I suddenly became calm. I remember thinking just "oh. I needed to get there, i dont think that i can swim again. Oh". I felt light etc but that was because i was about to pass out. It was really calm and slow. Nothing deep or meaningful just acceptance.

Luckily i was pulled out and the rest is history but that sense of calm is not one ive experienced since!

Goodness me these are terrifying

Longdistance post reminded me of a flying one. Was on a small plane heading to the Peruvian jungle. All announcements had been bilingual in English and Spanish until we attempted to land. Then a panicked announcement in Spanish sees everyone else take the brace position and start praying. My friend and I don't speak Spanish so don't know what's going on. People are crying, the landing is aborted and the plane makes a second successful attempt to land.

We're completely confused and everyone else is terrified and very quiet. The pilots were presented with bottles of rum on arrival and looked visibly upset. Still no idea what actually went on. All I could think of was that I didn't have enough time to turn my phone on and text my family that I loved them.

Two near drownings as a child. I’m actually a very strong swimmer.

First time was in the sea and I just remember not being able to find the way up. Luckily my brother was able to grab me and pull me up to the surface.

The second time was in a swimming pool - it was the last lesson of term and we had the big floats out to play with. I somehow got trapped under a float with 2 or 3 children on top of it, in the deep end. I couldn’t push it off me and I couldn’t push myself down to swim out from underneath it. Utterly terrifying and I don’t actually remember how I got out.

2yo, apparently I was pulled unconscious from the ocean. Some nearby fishing (Navy) sailors heard my mother panicking, went in water, pulled me out & gave me CPR. Don't remember anything about it.

Never near death but have had fits my whole life. I always have dreams in them and amnesia when I wake up. Once I woke up and couldn't even remember the concept of a human. It was weird coming out of that one.

Not me but my DH. He was terribly ill and on full life support. He hovered between life and death for a good few weeks. He ended up in an induced coma for 8 weeks.

When he was brought out of it he thought it’d only been a day or 2. He had really strange dreams during the coma. I don’t remember them all but one was that he was a hostage at Entebe airport. Another that he was working in the anals of a ship in the laundry - he said everything was white. Another was that a giant white golf ball was heading towards him. So white light featured a lot.