To ask if you've ever had a near death experience and what went through your mind?

[Flufferblub]

I have a medical condition that sometimes brings on seizures. I have stopped breathing a couple of times in the past. I felt really unwell in a hospital waiting room one day (best place to be I suppose), and after waiting hours, I got up to speak to the receptionist to tell them I was feeling really unwell. I collapsed in the middle of the waiting room. I was aware, but things around me seemed a little distant. I noticed that I wasn't breathing, and I really thought that I was going to die. My mind was very calm and willing to go along with it. I thought Oh well, that's that. I was 32 at the time.

Any way, the doctors rushed over and got me breathing again. I find it a little bit reassuring how calm I was. But also a little bit scary how little fight I have to survive.

Has any one had any experiences like this they want to share?

This is a lovely thread. I'm terrified of dying and leaving my children but reading about the feeling of calm coming over you has actually made me feel a bit better.

Three times. Very different circumstances.

Everything just seemed to stop. I was vaguely aware one of the times that someone seemed to be pounding my chest (compressions), but I felt nothing (no pain, nor pressure).

It was quite peaceful and I didn't feel scared.

I had two teeth out at the dentists when I was about seven. They used gas in those days and, because I was so frightened, I was breathing very deeply and my airway collapsed whilst I was under. I found myself in a dark tunnel. I wasn't frightened, but the tunnel was full of cartoon characters which I found a bit odd. Anyway, I was brought round and awoke to find the dentist and assistant in a bit of a panic and he was withdrawing an airway from my throat.

They eventually had to stop using gas as children were dying whilst under.

Not on the same level as near death but the first time I gave blood. I was 17.
I fainted and as I did I saw my life flash in front of my eyes.
It was ike a flick book of memories .
I loved seeing them .
I have low blood pressure !

The song was another Boney M song
“brown girl in the ring”

everytime I think of that documentary I think of that song

I ended up suddenly seriously ill, and I knew it was life-threatening. I didn’t have the peaceful time others are describing, but neither was I panicked. I’m a coper and a very practical person, highly organised, and the thoughts that went through my head were about who would tell my parents, and how devastated they would be (they were hugely dependent on me) and also who would sort out my belongings, money, general affairs etc. it was all the practical arrangements that I was thinking about.

Road accident. Complete sense of calm and saw everything around me with a sense of serene detachment. No pain or fear. Time operated differently and I felt outside of everything.

I was in hospital and the surgery had gone badly due to complications with the tumour they were trying to remove. I just remember hearing, “come on sweetheart, please just breathe for me, come on just breathe my darling” I knew I wasn’t breathing but felt so calm and thought oh dear I think this is me then, I’m done. I never felt any fear. Anyway they continued and they got me back, so grateful for them trying so hard. Was a very long recovery, I’ve never forgotten that feeling. I never found out who that nurse was unfortunately.

What a touching and fascinating thread.

i had an anaphylactic shock from the contrast dye used for a kidney scan. I felt as I was on my back, whooshing backwards and feeding absolutely panicked that I couldn’t tell anyone that i was dyIng and they needed to do something quickly. Luckily they were obviously doing something quickly as I’m still here to tell the tale but the only memories are I have are of the whooshing backwards and the terror of being unable to tell anyone I was dying.

I had similar when being strangled by my ex, I tried to push him off for a few moments, then I lost all strength and gave up. I felt very calm and peaceful, I remember thinking 'I'm going to die but that's ok'. I assume my body released something that calmed me down, so I wasn't scared. I'm sorry you've been through something similar xxx

What went through my mind? Absolutely nothing, no conscious passing of time. I went to sleep (twice) and woke up days later in ICU having been on life support both times.

Thank you to everyone sharing your stories. This is such a fascinating thread. One thing that stands out is the fact that everyone's experiences were so calm except the ones involving choking on food. I guess there's a natural instinct to try and remove the blockage so that might explain the fight and panic. Absolutely terrifying.

I had a massive bleed at home; I had a whipples procedure to remove a fist sized lump of pancreatic cancer in 2017, and when I got home pancreatic juices leaked and burned through my femoral artery. Cue massive bleed at home - doctors still don't know how I made it to the hospital. I went on to have 6 transfusions - for every bag of blood they were putting into me, I was vomiting more back out. I was like a little play doh esque bleeding machine 🤦🏻‍♀️

My husband found me on the bed with my eyes open and I just remember feeling weirdly calm. I even remember thinking "I'm talking so calm it's going to freak everyone out" BUT I also had this weird sense that I wasn't going to die even though I knew I was probably close to fully bleeding out.

It made me believe in something else although I don't know what - a lot of weird things happened that day for example, I was on blood thinners and for some reason didn't inject it that morning; this saved my life as my blood semi clotted and stemmed the bleed. My husband was at his brothers just walking through his front door for a cuppa and said he just had this gut feeling he needed to get home to me - when he got home I was on the bed passed out.

I felt 'something' around me - safety, serenity - I can't explain it. But something.

That’s reminded me of hearing ‘breathe for me, darling’ and receiving the ‘sternal rub’ several times. It was bloody painful, I remember feeling so pissed off.

@MissHoollie I have low blood pressure and low blood sugar too, so I know the feelings you're describing

💐So sorry to hear so many DV stories of men's hands around women's throats.

I'm quite terrified of choking, and sometimes I do need to be more aware when I'm eating. I do tend to just shovel food in without much thought 🤦

I think about being in a car accident a lot. I do quite a bit of motorway driving and often wonder if my luck is going to run out. I've never been in a car accident thankfully, but I imagine it every time I drive

I had very severe PE with my son, who had to be born at 28 weeks due to this.

I had no symptoms at all, and it was only after I'd been discharged from HDU that they told me I'd had HELLP syndrome too.

I remember waking up in hospital & being all disorientated about where I was, as there'd been talk of transferring me to other hospitals due to bed shortages.

When I got out of hospital I went to buy an expensive handbag I'd seen before going in. Life's short!

I feel the same. I lost my precious daughter 5 years ago when she was 42 and these posts have have helped me so much … the thought that her last moments here were calm means so much to me. Thank you everyone x

Every post I've read about having a bleed has pretty much been the same as yours - my own experience included. Weirdly calm.

I had a hemorrhage and lost a lot of blood. Everything went fuzzy and then I woke up in hospital after several blood transfusions. I don't remember any calmness, just nothing. Exactly the same feeling as going under for surgery.

As a child as I had encephalitis but I hardly remember, I had a brain op to relieve pressure on the brain but I cannot stand my head being touched at all. It caused seizures for three years and I would pass out and my Mother found me not breathing a couple of times.

I had a haemorrhage when I had a PG loss, was scary as anything and I went in to some sort of shock, that affected me for quite a few years.

Meningitis. Felt the exact same calmness you did, along with I'd not really missed much in life.

Glad I lived though. Does change your perception slightly.

I'm so sorry that so many women here have been strangled by men, just awful 💔

@Meatymeatytimetoeaty Probably outing but I live near there.
I hope you are alright, that sounds horrible x

Thanks so much everyone for sharing your experiences & i’m so sorry to hear about what some of you have been through. I have an advanced cancer so I think about dying a lot & this thread has comforted me.

Car drifted into my lane on the motorway and hit my back wheel. Thought I was going to die. I screamed and immediately thought of my boys, shouting out their names in my head. I can still hear it. It was awful and terrifying, that momentary belief of me losing them and them losing me.