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!

My large bowel tried to kill me. It blocked completely, 8 weeks after my c section. Crohns mixed with post pregnancy hormones. I can’t remember any of this, was delirious due to the pain, but was rushed to hospital where they gave me pain relief and an NG tube so suck everything out, as it couldn’t come out the other way. Ended up with emergency surgery in the middle of the night to remove half of it completely. I remember trying to poo at home and being in severe pain, while spewing up green slime, next thing I remember is waking up screaming in critical care post surgery as the pain relief hadn’t worked. They’d given me morphine but I’d been taking tramadol for years so if hadn’t worked. The remainder of my bowel started going the same way quickly so was removed the next day.

I didn’t realise how close I’d come until I spoke to my own surgeon about it a few months later. I was moaning about the on call surgeon who did my first surgery for not taking it all out the first time, and was told off rather harshly as he had saved my life :(

I’m still quite calm about it and it was almost 4 years ago. Think it’s still to properly hit me

I slipped down a high cliff after a large dog leapt at me (dog startled as hadn’t seen me rounding a corner). Managed to come to a stop close to worrying overhang and those on path managed to get me up.
As I was slipping I did think I was going to die. I didn’t have any ‘life flashing before my eyes’ or thoughts of loved ones. I just thought very clearly ‘oh I hadn’t thought it would be this way’. Hasn’t affected me and I still walk the same walk (take a bit of extra care around blind turns, dogs and cows and that section). However writing this has made me shudder a bit !
Hugs to all posting.

I’ve flatlined several times. First at birth, then several times from being 3mth old (severely asthmatic) and then when I was four and a half on the operating table. Turns out I’m allergic to anaesthetic and then when I was 14 when I had an infection around my heart.

All I know is from the last time everything was loud and hearing a whooshing sound in my ears and I could feel my pulse throughout my body. Felt like I was being sucked through a tube while being suffocated/drowned at the same time and everything was black. Then calm where I was unaware of everything and anything except the darkness, people’s voices sounded like they were coming through water. No bright lights or pearly gates or anything and I’m a practicing Christian 😂

I nearly died from sepsis. The sense of impending doom while I was at home was frightening - I can remember thinking "I don't want to die alone". But from that point I remember very little and a lot of the memories I do have have subsequently proven to not be entirely real. However there was no pain and the fear disappeared as I got more poorly - I don't think I'll be frightened of death again as I know that it would be very easy to slip into nothingness (and it didn't seem to matter very much).

I nearly drowned when I was 9. Family holiday abroad at a water park and I guess they don't have the same health and safety, because the metal railings on the large concrete steps sloping into the pool had large triangular gaps in them under the water, ones that were wide near the surface but got narrower the further into the pool you went.

Me and a friend were fooling around and in our 9 year old wisdom we thought it would be a good idea to swim through the gaps. This was very easy near the top and we managed it lots of times. I suppose I got overconfident and complacent because I mistakenly tried to swim through one of the deeper gaps and got stuck.

I didn't panic at first and tried to swim through but this only made things worse. What followed was probably a full minute of desperate struggling, thrashing and squirming as I tried to get free.

Eventually the lack of oxygen takes hold and you begin to stop struggling. Everything slows down and you just stop. I guess that's dying.

I don't know how long I was there like that but thoughts past through my mind. That I'd never see mum or dad or again, that I'd never see the sun or anything above the surface again....

Then out of no where a fuck ton of adrenaline must have kicked in because I fought and fought. The pain and blood didn't matter.... Somehow I pulled myself out. That first breath of air was simply amazing.

My friend hadn't realised what had happened and was horrified. We both agreed not to tell our parents for fear of getting into trouble. I told my mum I cut open my side by falling.

Looking back my parents should have been keeping a closer eye on me, and so should have the lifeguards. But seriously, keep an eye on your kids.

I was 16 when i was almost killed by a truck.
We had pulled over, a hose had blown on our van. My mate jumped out, we lifted the passenger seat where engine was and she told me jump in the driver side, behind her chair was tape and a torch, would have got to next town to fix properly.
As i turned round a truck came past, ripped of the door and front end of the van.
If i had been sitting normally id have been dragged out by the truck and smooshed onto the road.
As a result i have flashbacks and anxiety so bad in the driver side of a car that ive never driven, i cant sit that side of a car front or back.

Gosh my heart goes out to you all.

These are making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up

I had an overwhelming sense of peace and no panic.

I had gas at the dentists in the 70s and he had trouble bringing me around. I ended up in a dark tunnel which was full of Disney characters.

I almost died of an asthma attack, no near death experience, there was a good amount of time when I was scared and then I was too tired to care.

Not as serious as these but I had serious blood loss after having my son. I remember feeling so calm, looking at DH holding him and feeling really accepting this was it. The room was full of people and I could see the numbers going down on the blood pressure machine (I usually have high blood pressure) and calmly thinking...ooohhh that number isn't good.

My emergency c section is the closest. My daughter got stuck during labour and it became a panic very quickly they unplugged the bed and ran to theatre where I signed a form as they were putting me under general anaesthetic. I remember taking the mask off as I was drifting off and saying “don’t worry about me. Just save my baby”. My poor DH was left in the labour room and he still has nightmares about it as he was left alone in a room where the floor was covered in my blood and a pair of my blood soaked slippers in the middle. I remember waking up in the recovery room and thinking I might have died as it was so dark and quiet! Luckily we were both ok and I have a beautiful daughter :)

I nearly died in the moments following my sons birth. I had severe sudden on set pre eclampsia and my son was born via emcs.
Once he was out my bp crashed going from 180/210 to 40/80 in 3 seconds which caused a fit where I should of had a stroke and heart attack, my liver should have failed as I had extremely high protein levels.
But for some reason this didn't happen and I just slowly started to slip away, fortunately the anesthesiologist noticed and gave me a huge shot of adrenaline and something to stabilize my bp and I survived unscathed

LegallyBrunet was this when you were a teenager? this happened when I was with my friend when I was about 14. We were walking across a road and she had an absence seizure and I basically dragged her across the road. She couldn’t understand why I must have looked absolutely terrified!