I do have panic attacks, but only when i see a spider! I have an extreme phobia of spiders (even baby ones), thanx to my older bro who thought it was funny to put them in my bed/throw them at me etc when i was little. I don't get the same sensations having a panic attack like when i faint. But maybe its a different panic attack? Who knows? This is why i thought it might be good to ask others from their experiences to see if anything sounds to be very familiar. So far your inputs have been great peeps, so cheers for commenting :)

sorry i didnt mean my last post to sound so abrupt.. what i was meaning was..there are loads of other symptoms to panic attacks,that ezzakins hasnt mentioned,so i would say its unlikely.

panic attacks dont just make you drop to the floor.!! you get anxious,heart palipations,sweating,shaking etc

this sounds like panic attacks,which courses fainting

I know everytime when i'm gonna faint. First i get the slight light-headedness/dizzyness, which sometimes if i relax and calm myself down i can pull myself out of it, but (and this is the only way i can describe it), you know when you look at a light bulb and when you look away you see dots/patches of colour? Well when i'm gonna faint i see dots/patches of purple. these patches then take over until i can't see anything...and my hearing goes very dull and i sweat like crazy...next thing i know i'm waking up on the floor. This happens everytime without fail. And even tho i feel clammy from sweating apparently others say i feel cold to touch, even though i feel red hot myself. i normally have "the shakes" for about 10-20 mins after the fall...but normally afterwards i feel absolutely fine. Heat could be a factor, i sometimes get a lil dizzy if its too hot but not normally to the point where i'm gonna faint...also when i'm in a crowded/enclosed space (i never used to get dizzy in enclosed places, but since my last proper fall was in a lift by myself i think its made me a bit paranoid and has caused a "knock-on" affect).

Anemia, heart problems ann being dehydrated all cause fainting. In the warmer months many people faint on the underground etc. Epilepsy can usually be diagnosed with an ecg as more often than not theres a brain defect which shows up. Epilepsy also runs in families, four members of my family have it on my mothers side. Often it starts as a child though some kids might just have a convulsion which is not epilepsy. Some get an aura or warning beforehand, others dont. Epilepsy is controlled by drugs but they dont come without their side effects and they can cause liver disease among many other things. Iv had epilepsy since i was 2yrs old and used to have 3 or more a day. My drugs caused me to not be able to function properly as i was sleeping half the day and had kids to look after also as they were having no effect on my seizures i am no longer on them so my epilepsy is uncontrolled but i have less now. I understand about the injuries as iv had many and had to go to hospital numerous times for stitches, carpet burns, allsorts!

its certainly worth asking for a second opinion..in fact im sure if you keep pestering they will take notice and attempt to get to the bottom of this. with epilepsy you can have two kinds..grande mal which is associated with seizures,and less commonly peti mal,which are often described as "abstences" where as the patient can suffer from temp loss of memory,fixation,glazes,collapsing etc. (no seizure involved)..i know of a few ppl with this form. Its also very common for a person with peti mal epilepsy to become aware of a paticular "aroma" prior to episode...this aroma is normally the same ach time,even if subtle,a sufferer can start to recognise this as a warning sign that an episode is about to start,and at times can prepare themselves sometimes minutes or seconds in advance....Have you noticed a aroma prior to your collapses ?

Diabetes runs in the family but everytime ive had a test they say my blood sugar level is fine...i remember one time when i had a fall and they were monitoring how many beats a min and the trainee nurse said to the other "its below average"...then the proper nurse asked if i was an active person. and at the time i was...i went aerobics every week and was in about 10 different sports teams etc, and she said that the healthier the heart is the less it needs to "pump" as the heart muscles are stronger. But you never know, considering they always said there was nothin wrong with yah mate. Ive often wondered if it was a form of epilepsy as i know theres so many different forms. i know most people only associate epilepsy with "flashing lights" etc which ive never had a problem with...so i think it would def be a good idea to be tested for that. God, theres all these things they've said to me like "your hearts fine, blood sugars fine, blood pressure drops dramatically then normalizes etc...cant they just tell me what it is already and treat me lol! After my last fall and getting the scar on my head my mum has now permanently nicknamed me "harry potter"...its so annoying lol!

this is similar to what a friend of mine went through for years. Theething is with ECG's they only do traces for about 30 seconds,which i dont think is long enough to illiminate "some" other heart factors.especially as you may not be suffering at the time its performed... have you been tested for peti mal epilepsy? you may have a abnormal heart rythm are you diabetic my friend was eventually put through the mill on testing,she passed out during one paticular test and woke up in coronary care as her heart periodically stopped...They found her blackouts were caused by her heart slowing down now and then...she was the youngest person in the uk to be fitted a pacemaker at that time....They used to say nothing was wrong with her !!

I know that everytime i have my blood pressure taken after the falls the hospital have said its much lower than it should be....then when they next check it (say 30 mins later) its completely fine. They where gonna refer me to a neurologist (i've prob spelt that wrong lol)...but even tho i chased it several times at my doctors after handing in the referal, and rang the hospital, nothing came out of it in the end. I think blood pressure has definately got something to do with it tho!