Dizzy Spells

thegodplato

I thought I'd share with you my `condition` with you lot in case anyone else has similar symptons - but note that yours might not be exactly the same outcome as mine so see a doctor if in any doubt.

Back in November I blacked out whilst on a stag do. I had only had 6 pints and it was only 7pm! I was picked up by a woman who said I had banged my head. I then threw up, rang my mate who walked me to the train station and then I went home. I then had another funny do just before Christmas.
Ended up at the doctors who referred me to the hospital for tests - ECG, Echocardiogram, tilt table. During the tilt table I almost passed out which was good as it prooves somethings not quite right. Now inbetween Christmas and now I am regularly having dizzy spells when standing up, several times a day.
So today I have seen a heart specialist who has informed me that a pacemaker maybe required in the future but, luckily for me, not at the moment. He has also said to cut out caffeine ( only drink 4 cups a day ), and drink 3 litres of fluid a day ( already have 3 pints of water in the evening so that will be me up more times during the night then ), reduce my alcohol intake ( only have a bottle of wine at the wekend, if I drink ) and increase my salt intake by having a bag of crisps a day.
I took up cycling last April to get fit but now it seems to be having an effect on my health in a strange way. Something to be said for being fat and unhealthy then!
I know that the problem I have is related to the fact the heart can't adjust to the difference in pressure going from sitting to standing and that by increasing my water intake, my arteries might not be as de-hydrated so making it easier for the blood to flow and thus hopefully stop the symptons. I have to go back in 6 months so we'll see.

So if anyone else feels dizzy when standing, do not fight it. Ive been told to sit back down ( or lie down if possible ) so the pressure differences aren't there and within a minute you should feel OK - it can be half an hour if you fight it before feeling Ok ( for me ) or longer.

It shouldn't happen whilst cycling as your working the body with your legs helping to pump the blood around. But I've been warned to not do extreme cycling which is a worry as me and my mate are doing LeJog on 6th April ( plug here www.justgiving.com/teams/cyclemadness ) and so I don't know what to do.

I've also been told to add a pinch of salt to my cycling water although I already use High 5 tabs, etc

Just thought I'd share this.

Darren

motd2k

Only 6 pints? :roll:

ShutUpLegs

Only 4 cups of coffee a day?

I'd listen and take heed of what your doctor is telling you.

And what your body is obviously screaming out to you.

Brian B

Hi Darren, not so good news but hopefully you'll be cycling for many years to come.

Orthostatic hypotension is the medical condition when you feel dizzy when standing up and usually more prevalent in people with low blood pressure or the elderly.

Usually in most cases (but not yours) its harmless and nothing too worry about as it is a very temporary drop in blood pressure. Many other illnesses/conditions can also cause this but again these illnesses are more common found in the elderly.

Endurance athletes or the very fit who have a low heart rate when at rest can get this condition when getting up quickly from resting but should only be dizzy for a few seconds or even quicker if you crouch down and the blood pressure returns to normal.

If you feel dizzy(unless you are starving yourself in an effort to get race thin :P ) at any other time then its wise to seek advice from your GP

I very occasionally get this but it when I have not eaten enough and can see spots. In my case the doc says its was totally normal and nothing to worry about. He must have been right as this was 30 years ago I was told this.

Garry H

Isn't he a jazz musician?

thegodplato

I am trying to take note of what the doctor says. Much rather try the reduction in Alcohol and Caffeine option for 6 months to see what happens than have to have a pacemaker fitted ( which is a worse case scenario ).
Sometimes, though I do feel pretty naff in an afternoon regardless of whether I have stood up quickly or not. Sometimes if I crouch down to talk to someone I also feel the black dizzy coming on, but it passes in 5 or 10 secs.
Guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Food has been mentioned but I'm not starving myself at 5ft 10" and 11.5stone, I think thats an OK weight?

My normal heart rate at rest is around the mid 40's which I know is low-ish and I also have a low blood pressure too. When I was on the tilt table, the blacking out occured because my heart rate dropped to 26 and so did my blood pressure. Although within a minute of having the table lowered I was Ok, although feeling woozy for the rest of the day.

Just hope it doesn't spoil all the self-planning me and my mate have done for our LeJog in 3 weeks time. Fingers crossed.

Mikey1976

Very interesting read.

I'm currently going through a phase a getting dizzy when I stand, the last spell was probably the middle of last year. It seems to have disappeared after a period of approximately 4 weeks last year but last week it flared back up!


Haven't got a clue why it's happening, will just have to monitor it closely.

roger_merriman

Clearly somewhat worrying for the OP, I do get dizzy standing up, but normally if very tired, and rare at that.

I do have low blood pressure, 110/60 normally though can drop to 90/45, high blood pressure runs in my familly so I keep and eye on mine, which is low though with no obvious side effects.

RDB66

Garry H wrote:

Isn't he a jazz musician?

Sorry, had to chuckle at that one !! hahaha

neeb

I've had occasional mild orthostatic hypotension on and off for at least 20 years. It's not much like the OP's though as it only ever happens if I'm physically tired (e,g, relaxing after a long ride) and stand up quickly, or if I stand up from an extreme crouching position when relaxed (e.g. reading a book on the bottom shelf of a library). Also it never lasts more than about 5 seconds and because I am used to it doesn't cause me any problems at all. I actually associate it (rightly or wrongly) with being in good physical condition. Just worth pointing out in case other people reading this have the same thing and worry that it means there is something wrong with their heart - it is actually quite a normal thing to happen if you have lowish blood pressure (especially in the period after exercising where there is a reaction to having had high blood pressure and your blood pressure falls), and low blood pressure is generally a good thing providing it's not a symptom of some other underlying condition.

That said, there are serious conditions which can cause the same symptoms, so get it checked out.

Good luck Darren with dealing with this - hopefully the changes the doc has suggested will help.

kiwidan78

Hi all, first post.

I had a similar problem with epilepsy and it took 4 different doctors to diagnose it. Most just told me not to drink.
It did stress me until the problem was finally sorted. Back riding a bike now.

Dan.

goonz

Used to happen to me when I was a child but thankfully doesn't happen any longer. I do occasionally get black spots if getting up really quickly but never enough to fall faint. It's not a nice feeling but hopefully take it easy, take heed frm your doctor and you should be ok on the LEJOG.

Good luck with that, really want to know how you get on.

thegodplato

Latest update is that last night, when I got home from work, there's a letter from the hospital asking me to attend to get a Cardiomemo Recorder next week. Apparently the device needs to held against the heart when I experience any dizziness or palpatations. Its sort of a little ECG. Then I have to send the recording down a phone line to the hospital by holding the device against the speaking part of a phone - sounds very much like listening to an old ZX81 trying to load a game off a tape machine for those that can remember a ZX81 !!
4 weeks I'm supposed to do this for, which will make the 8 days of LeJog interesting as I guess I will have to carry it with my whilst cycling ( even though my `episodes` don't occur whilst pedalling.
I can't deny the hospital seem to be trying hard to see what is wrong with me with all these tests!

diy

Had a whole bunch of tests earlier this year, including angiogram, 48 hour ecg box, etc etc. as a result of my genetic risk to heart problems (all the men in my family have had heart attacks - my brother when he was younger than me).

I also get dizziness, but importantly was told it was a factor of being fit and therefore having a low resting HR. On a fasting day, I tick over at about 38bpm, less if I haven't had any coffee. On a normal day its high 40s low 50s after eating.

Generally the fitter you are the more prone you are to dizziness when you suddenly stand up, as you are less able to cope with the blood pressure change. I also get vasovagal syncope (fainting due to minor injury e.g. cut fingers, needles etc.) which is also amplified by having a low HR.