What causes people to BLACK OUT?

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  • What causes people to BLACK OUT?

    i have a character that occasionally gets black outs where she can't remember certain things. is this a real disorder that can happen to someone and if so then what is it called?

    i'm trying to create a situation where the character gets certain gaps in her memory from an accident but i was looking for something to actually call it.

    of course i could just say she has black outs and the doctors don't know why, but seems like based on x-rays of the brain and all the technology that doctors would have some kind of clue right?
    One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

    The Fiction Story Room

  • #2
    Re: What causes people to BLACK OUT?

    Just a thought, seems that in some cases not knowing the reason would add more tension to the story.
    If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base.
    Dave Barry

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    • #3
      Re: What causes people to BLACK OUT?

      Originally posted by Juno Styles View Post
      seems like based on x-rays of the brain and all the technology that doctors would have some kind of clue right?
      Surprisingly often doctors have no clue.

      (I say this in general, not in regard to your situation, with which I have no experience.)
      "Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.-
      ― Ray Bradbury

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      • #4
        Re: What causes people to BLACK OUT?

        yea maybe i'll just keep it so doctors have no clue then.
        One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

        The Fiction Story Room

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        • #5
          Blackouts, Eh?

          Originally posted by Juno Styles View Post
          i have a character that occasionally gets black outs where she can't remember certain things. is this a real disorder that can happen to someone and if so then what is it called?

          In my case, I call it "sleep."

          In some instances, such as you describe, it might be called "organic amnesia."
          JEKYLL & CANADA (free .mp4 download @ Vimeo.com)

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          • #6
            Re: What causes people to BLACK OUT?

            The 'Vagal response' is a good one to cause blackouts.

            The karate move called the "shuto strike" is meant to rely on this.

            Remember when a certain president blacked out from choking on a pretzel?

            This is the vagal response. It is also the reason people might faint when they get blood drawn.

            It is basically the brain's control system shutting down certain systems in response to a stimulus (eg: Change in breathing pattern, heart rate increase, etc). It can also be cause by other things - such as a temperature increase (or decrease) and the control system tries to fix the problem by shutting of the wrong part.

            It is basically equivalent to the autopilot of a plane shutting out the pilot in response to a (perceived) problem.

            My girlfriend has them. She doesn't have amnesia afterwards though.

            In her case, for about 30 seconds before she blacks out she gets unsteady on her feet, and then instantly incredibly stubborn. (It doesn't matter about what - she just gets convinced of some random thing.)

            Then she'll black out for a bit.

            In her case, it is because the wiring in her control system is short circuiting, but is fascinating to watch.

            She's had 'word salad' a couple of times too. That's when she'll talk perfectly normally afterwards, but the words are random. (eg: Instead of saying "I'm perfectly fine, what are you looking at me like that for? I'm fine!!" she'll say "Odd staples book, with for well annual tyranny shortly down? Odd Book !!")

            The conversation would be normal just with word substitution. So if she rephrases the question, she'll use the wrong words consistently. I wish I recorded it last time. You'd have to be a genius with words if you wanted to fake the symptoms.

            Next time it happens, I'll make an effort to answer her using her vocabulary. I don't think I'll be able to figure it out, though. (I was pretty unsuccessful last time I made a vague attempt)

            Mac
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            • #7
              Re: What causes people to BLACK OUT?

              lol, wow....that actually sounds kinda serious though. do doctors know how to prevent or treat that?
              One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

              The Fiction Story Room

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              • #8
                Re: What causes people to BLACK OUT?

                there was an episod of HOUSE where the guy blacked out for no reason, hit his head on the way down, and came back up, talking like that.... it was a very interesting episode... and I wondered if that could really happen... I guess so

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                • #9
                  Re: What causes people to BLACK OUT?

                  alcohol poisoning can do that. way back when, in my 20s, overseas in the Navy, I did a lot of drinking - as did most sailors. I headed off like any ol Friday night, had a few at the club, went to town, had one drink and dont remember anything till waking up Monday morning; onboard ship, being just as normal as anyone else. when colleagues started talking about all the fun WE had - I couldn't remember any of it. strange part; no one saw any difference in me.

                  couple years later, same thing happened in the Phillipines, cept I had some red blotches on my arms - went to the Dr. He asked right away how much I drank. he did some tests and said the alcohol in my blood equated a drunk person - even tho I acted fine; one or two drinks would put me over the line.

                  a year or so later, an event in VietNam (sober) caused a blackout that lasted two weeks - no one saw any difference in me during those two weeks, but I only remember a couple things that happened on my way home.

                  who knows, drugs, alcohol, stress, traumatic event, can all be the cause.
                  bj

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                  • #10
                    Re: What causes people to BLACK OUT?

                    Originally posted by Juno Styles View Post
                    lol, wow....that actually sounds kinda serious though. do doctors know how to prevent or treat that?
                    It is serious, but when you live with it you do see the funny side occassionally.

                    According to the omniscient wikipedia, her MS means that 'almost any neurological symptom can appear'. They are pretty random - I think they should give all patients a bingo card to see who can fill in a row first.

                    Mac
                    New blogposts:
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                    • #11
                      Re: What causes people to BLACK OUT?

                      Mac,

                      Since you have talked about this in an open forum, I don't think it will be indiscreet for me to comment.

                      When you described her symptoms, my first thought was temporal-lobe seizures. Before I became a physician (in one of my previous professional incarnations), I had a female friend who had very similar experiences. I remember them as always happening when she was at rest, not standing, but that may have been incidental. She would stare, go blank, and put her head down for about 30 seconds or so. Then she would wake up, confused. This was back in the days before we had the diagnostic capabilities that we possess now (primitive CT if any at all, and no MRI). She had been diagnosed with temporal-lobe epilepsy.

                      However, when you added that your friend has MS, that put things in a different light. I suppose the MS might account for the symptoms. MS can cause a great many symptoms.

                      As for passing out, the most common reason is the vasovagal response. You can Google it to find out more.

                      "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

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                      • #12
                        Re: What causes people to BLACK OUT?

                        That makes sense.

                        One test would be whether anti-spasm medications makes a difference. Since it is effectively the insulation of the wiring being destroyed there are many places a short circuit could occur!
                        New blogposts:
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                        *Preselling your film - Learning from the Experts
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