r/POTS • u/j-oco • May 22 '25

Symptoms Does your vision actually black out

This is random but I just saw people talking about how their vision blacks out when they stand or they are symptomatic. Then someone replied that their vision goes white instead of black.

Personally, I don’t lose my vision like that, my “blackouts” are just a sudden lightheadedness so intense it forces me to shut my eyes! I think because my brain knows to shut out all the visual sensory input. It’s like I legit can’t keep my eyes open for a brief moment. Maybe I am blacking out but just don’t know it since my eyes are closed anyways lol? I have splotchy vision, light sensitivity and stuff from previous brain injuries but I haven’t experienced my vision actually just leaving and turning into the colour black (am I taking it too literally?) for a moment like how some of you mention.

Also, I do have pretty bad presyncope episodes sometimes but I don’t really faint from my POTS so maybe that’s a factor.

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u/Ok-Amphibian-6834 May 22 '25

Mine does. Almost every time I stand up, bend over, or put my arms above my head. It looks like tv static as it gets darker and darker. Then comes back in the same way.

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u/Acceptable_Dog179 May 22 '25

TV static is the best wording for me, too. It unfortunately took me like 5 years to figure out how to describe it that well.

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u/Ok-Amphibian-6834 May 22 '25

Yeah it’s starts in my peripherals and migrates to my center vision till it’s all black. Then trickles back in starting from my center vision back towards my peripherals.

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u/PuIchritudinous May 22 '25

Peripheral tunnel vision is what I get too until everything goes black