Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night, taken a few steps and thought to you self "oh shit, I'd better sit down or I'm gonna pass out"?  I just had another one today.  Got up to take a piss, was standing at the sink to wash my hands and got the 'oh shit' feeling.  I got on the floor and sat for a few minutes and when I realized I wasn't going to be able to stand up, I had to crawl back to bed.

I had one actual 'loss-of-consciousness' episode before that happened in the middle of the night.  Seems to center around the fact that I'm not fully awake.  I went to the doctor to see WTF happened.  He diagnosed it as neurocardiogenic syncope.  He said he wanted me to undergo a tilt-table test.  I said no thanks.  I mean, unless they're going to schedule the test for the middle of the night and wake me from a sound sleep to strap me to the table, I don't see how they're going to induce dizzyness in me.

Then again, I've been working a lot of overtime lately...maybe I'm more prone to this when my body is in a state of higher stress.  Who knows.

Did it happen before or after you went to the bathroom?

Reason I ask, as it happened to me once. Dr. said that it is actually a common thing. When you take a leak like that at night, your body is in a very relaxed state. A LOT of blood is pumped to the muscles that push out the urine. It actually pulls enough blood in a short enough time period that it causes you to pass out. I got lucky and fell into the tub. Doc said he see's quite a few people with busted heads or chipped/knocked out teeth from hitting the toilet or sink.

Interesting about the correlation between pissing and passing out.

A couple of years ago I had the flu BIG TIME.  Managed to make it to the bathroom to take a leak and just as I was finishing up I went from “Gee, I feel really dizzy” to face down on the floor.  I hit the edge of the cat box on the way down with my nose and was bleeding like a stuck pig as I came to.

I always assumed it was strictly the flu that did me in.

The one today happened after I had taken a leak, as I was standing at the sink washing my hands....So I wasn't in the middle of the act when the feeling overcame me.  The previous time, I had just sat down to take a dump and had started 'the attempt' when I passed out and planted my face in the wall across from the toilet.  Luckily my body sensed the problem and hadn't 'let go' so no clean-up involved.

If i'm laying down and stand up too fast I feel like I'm going to black out, I have been told it's called, Orthostatic Hypotension, the blood pressure doesn't come up fast enough and reach the brain, from what i'm told it's quite common.

Hawkeye's right, this is a common medical condition caused by three factors;

1) middle of the night, natural blood pressure's as low as it's gonna get.
2) Sudden loss of pressure as blood drains to the lower extremeties as you stand and walk around
3) Sudden drop of pressure as the full bladder empties and creates some extra space.


They all combine to drop your blood pressure a little too fast and you pass out.  I'm not a doctor but I have some chipped teeth and a couple of scars from this happening.  The first time my front top teeth caught the edge of the counter coming down and jammed them all back up in my gums. I couldn't eat solid food for a month.


It's an easy fix, if you get up in the middle of the night, and have to pee REALLY bad, sit down.  Viola, no more chipped teeth.  If you don't pee that much it doesn't seem to drop it enough to make you faint but will make you pretty wobbly.....