That is a low blood pressure (avg 130/80) which will be a contributing factor to your light headedness. Spending longer on the cool downs will also help.
I will certainly add in time after my intense and long rides for a better/longer cool down. I will increase hydration and electrolyte replacement during and after it as well. Thanks for the input. I will report back after a few sessions and let you know how it goes/went.
Update. I did a bit more research, reevaluated my training and diet. I increased my carbs both before and significantly after my ride. I also included making sure I eat more during my rides. This seems to have reduced the symptoms. Not gone completely, For example, yesterday was a light day, Recovery ride and run. Last nights dinner was homemade lentil turkey soup. Plenty of carbs and protein. Has a slight light headedness this morning when standing from couch to go get more coffee. Todayās episode could be lack of water. However, I am monitoring and and paying strict attention to when it happens. Very interesting for sure. Today will be a hard intense trainer ride. Time to prep and ride!!!
Just out of curiosityā¦
How quickly do you stand up?
Do you stand up without pushing off a support with your arms?
I would say I stand up moderately fast. This morning I was sitting back on couch, legs outstretched on ottoman, scooted forward, and stood up took a couple steps with slight dizziness. Had not eaten yet this morning, just coffee at that point.
I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but people who have low blood pressure sometimes get dizzy when they stand up quickly. Have you spoken to your physician about this?
It might just be a side effect of being in good shape (and low on blood sugar). It sometimes happens to me, especially when I stand up using my core strength without pushing off on the arms of a chair.
Not medical advice, go see your doctor and specialist!
I also suffer from this. Postural orthostatic hypotension is what my cardiologist called it. As for why I had this diagnosis from a cardiologist, I also have costochondritis or some other issue with my chest. Had a chest pain one day, not fun, ended in the ER. Had a ton of work done, ekg, ecg, stress tests, CT scans and a few other things only to find out there is no visible issue and the one thing they thought it could be required an oncologist, who also said Iām fine but they donāt have a clue what the problem is. 9 months off the bike for this BS
In the mean time the lightheaded issue was still there (and I have had it for years) and I asked about it. She dismissed it as a non-issue as my readings were perfect, and my blood pressure was also normal while relaxed and sitting. Basically I have some neuromuscular issue where it takes a bit of time to get my body to switch to the higher blood pressure required to keep blood in my head when I stand, randomly. There is no fix, BUT you can lessen the issue by recognizing how you feel before this happens, then standing slower and follow that up by doing leg and core engagement when you do stand to increase your blood pressure until your bodyās normal processes update.
It is sometimes related to not eating enough, but not always. Definitely worse after hard workouts when I am really tired.
Best way Iāve been able to reduce it is to remain standing or at least sitting upright for longer periods, but thatās not easy for me for other health reasons. If you donāt mind standing, try a standing desk while working vs sitting or lying down with your laptop in your lap etc.
Hey, Thanks for that input Scot. I thought it very insightful and helpful. Actually, I am seeing a new doctor on the 4th because my regular doctor just blew it off as dehydration and inquired no further⦠along with some other reasons I need to no longer use them. So, at my appointment they will get a full inventory of issues past and present and I will see if they are up to the challenge. I hate seeking out new doctors.
Of course. If I find anything new on my next checkup (which might not be a while, I hope) Iāll post. That being said, any ideas you come up with I would love to see if my doctor might think they could apply to me as well. Itās a very frustrating condition.
New year and a new family doctor. I had a conversation with him. Todays BP was 100/60. So, it is regularly low.
He leaned towards dehydration, and also recommended I see a cardiologist to rule out anything out of the ordinary. I may take him up on his advice.
Things I am currently doing to possibly mitigate the issue includeā¦
More rehydration after workouts
Eating carbs as soon as I get back from training
Stretching and cooldown on yoga mat
Increasing salt in my diet
Trying to be more consistent with the steps above.
Hi
Iām 66 now with a resting pulse of about 38 ish. Used to be lower when I was younger - gave them a shock when they first put me on a heart machineā¦
I believe this condition is called orthostatic hypotension. Iāve had it for years now - get dizzy every time I stand up. Once in awhile itās so bad Iāve actually passed out and gone down.
It happens because the blood pressure distribution in your body changes when you go from a sitting or lying position to a vertical standing position and your brain is briefly starved of blood.There are sensors in your body that notice this change and your body responds accordingly to adjust the blood flow and pressure distribution so you donāt feel faint. Except in some people, these sensors donāt work so well anymore and especially as you age this becomes quite common.
There is no real medical solution. Iām just very careful when I stand up and I stand up very slowly so my body has time to react. If you feel dizzy a quick fix is to lower your head or just lean against something for 10 or 15 seconds until your body catches up and the dizziness passes. I think it might also be tied to a low resting heart rate but Iām not entirely sure, but I wonder if it would be different for me if my resting pulse was higher.
Same - I have a decent RHR of 55 and relatively low blood pressure, average 90/65. All my life, Iāve had occasional lighteheadedness upon getting up, especially when not eating enough (Teenaged crash dieting always made me faint). But it was very bad as I was recovering from COVID both times last year. As I started feeling better, there was a day or two that I had to spend completely supine to keep from fainting. Ever since then (January was the last bout), Iāve had a lot more orthostatic hypotension when getting up after a period of inactivity. Also, every morning when I go down to the basement to feed the cats, I start to black out after coming back up and have to put my head between my knees for a couple of minutes. Otherwise, I appear to be fully recovered from COVID - this is my only unresolved symptom.
I havenāt actually made a connection between harder/longer workouts and increased lightheadedness. Iāll try to tune in to that. And I appreciate the advice to take cool-downs seriously - Iāll make sure to spin until my heart rate is normal and see what difference that makes.
Iāve had this several times over the years. When I get fitter it happens more. I saw a cardiologist when it first happened (I actually blacked out and hit my head). Heart diagnosis was "youāre super fit and your heart is working really well ". He thought it might be related to low pulse rate, and the length of time it takes for the heart to respond when you stand. During that time your brain is experiencing very low blood pressure. He didnāt have the equipment to measure that, so it was a working hypothesis.
In my case itās impacted by stress, but thereās also a family history of it. So multiple things at play.
Other thing to ask is if they can measure your carotid flow.
When you felt you were blacking out, did your color vision turn off, and all you saw was the world in grey/gray scale? Did things you were hearing appear farther away in the distance?
Yes, that describes it, along with dizziness and then buckling if it gets that far.
That is a bad sign. The loss of color vision, and the remoteness of hearing could indicate that the brain is shutting down to conserve energy. I would definitely consult a physician.
I have been in that situation twice, but I was much younger at the time, and I was able to recover quickly. I know some people who suffered from that condition as a result of extreme dehydration and exhaustion.
Wow! Thanks for the warning. Iām quite well fed and famed for the moderation of my workouts so not sure what to think. I will check in with my doctor.