Low Blood Pressure - Advice Please
 

Even when I was at my heaviest weight I had no problems with my blood pressure, or general health for that matter.
Since losing over 120lbs though and turning into a gym fanatic that's changed.
Back in May I gave blood for the first time and after that began having episodes where I'd suddenly feel dizzy when I stood up. For quite a while I figured it was just a result of giving blood, but as it didn't get any better I then began to think maybe I was anaemic.
I went to give blood again a month ago and thought that the test they do beforehand would check if I was anaemic or not and the nurse said that I was fine and could go ahead and donate. Then maybe two or three weeks ago I started getting dizzy at other times, not just when standing up. I can be sat minding my own business and I'll suddenly feel dizzy, or doing chores around the house, but it started to worry me when it began happening while I was walking my daughter to school or back, and I felt like I was going to fall over.
So today I went to the pharmacy where they will check your blood pressure for you and I had it tested. They first tested it whilst I was sat down, 105/60, then again whilst they asked me to stand up, 95/60. They also checked my heart rate which I already knew would be low as I wear a HRM for the gym and I know as I've got fitter it has got lower and lower. It was 44BPM when I had been sat for a few minutes. So I was told that I have low blood pressure and a very low resting heart rate. They asked me a brief history and I told them about the weight loss and exercise, and was told that it is probably due to the fact that I am now so fit and healthy, with is a great thing, but that I should arrange to visit my doctor to have a thorough physical and get further advice if necessary. I was told not to worry lol.
So although I am going to make an appointment this next week hopefully, I wondered if anyone here has dealt with low blood pressure, or I suppose more with the dizziness that I'm encountering? Does anyone have any advice on how I can deal with it, if there's anything I can do to help with the dizziness.
I did wonder at one point if it was also linked with low blood sugar, but I'm having the dizzy spells when walking my daughter to school on a morning, which is after breakfast, so that wouldn't explain it I don't think. I've also started taking a multi vitamin in case I was missing anything in my diet.
If low blood pressure is something I'm going to have to learn to live with, as long as there's nothing for me to worry about then fine, but these dizzy spells really are the pits and anything I can do to ease them would be great.

Hey :) I naturally have very low blood pressure. Unlike you though, I don't get dizzy and my doctor says that some people just naturally have low blood pressure. My doctor has encouraged me to eat more salt, but hopefully your doctor will have some good advice for you during your next visit.

I have naturally low blood pressure (sometimes as low as 90/50).

I also have had severe bouts of "dizziness," as you put it. I went through a bajillion tests and exams, and befuddled my doctor. He thought I had a brain tumor, then MS, then Meniere's, then cancer... it was a scary couple of weeks. FINALLY, he just ran some simple bloodwork (I'm not an MD but shouldn't that have been the first thing to test?) and it turned out I was severely deficient in vitamin B12 (and it took another 4 months to determine that the vitamin deficiency was related to Celiac disease, but that's another story).

I've had roughly 10 injections of vitamin B12 over the past couple of years, and take a daily B12 oral supplement along with my regular multivitamin. This, combined with a gluten-free diet, has resolved the dizziness and near-fainting episodes (but my blood pressure is still low!)

Anyway, get yourself checked at the doctor. And run the simple bloodwork first!

Just another with low-ish BP, but I feel pretty good. Mine's usually 105/64 and my HR is 46. This is down from 155/105 and a HR in the 90's. The only time I get "dizzy" is from a head rush after having been bent over for any length of time.

We definitely get lower BP and resting HR's as we get more fit. I used to worry about the HR, but then I read that athletes tend to have extremely low HR's, often below 60. I think the 40's are extreme, but still normal for an athlete.

I'm another one with low natural BP. Even as a kid it was low. The lowest I've seen it (even at 258!) was 85/70... I generally feel fine, though. I do get the swimmy head if I stand up too quickly...

I'm hoping that it won't drop more with the more weight I loose.. That would suck! ;)

My doctor also suggested adding salt, but not with foods. She said to try taking baths in epsom salts, sometimes it helps. The longer and hotter the bath, the better. She also has me taking a multi vitamin, a vitamin C and a vitamin b (I take b12) daily. She wants me to also make sure I get enough protein.


I hope you find a remedy! GL! :D

Salt in the tub, huh? How very interesting!

Low blood pressure runs in my family. I was grateful when I was at my heaviest because my bp was always in the healthy range. Health care professionals were sometimes surprised. I would get a chuckle when they would take my bp, mutter something to themselves, and then take it again. Being the mind reader that I am, I just knew that they were thinking that I had to have high blood pressure because I was obese!

Low blood pressure can cause some issues. My father passed out several times and was severely injured once because he hit his head when he fell. After multiple tests, they decided his entire problem was low bp. The doctor had him increase his salt intake. They also warned him that when he started feeling the dizziness, to lay down immediately so that he would not get hurt passing out. It is a little embarrassing to lay down in the aisle at Walmart, but it beats getting taken out in an ambulance.

I am glad that you are going to see your physician. Please let us know what she says.

I've found it helps! I've had this issue so long, lol, that my pediatrician actually told us about it when I was... 8? At least. I'm 28 now, and it's helped. I don't like salt, growing up we didn't even keep salt in the house... So I was so used to not having it, when my Mom tried to add it in, I wouldn't eat... So they suggested epsom salts, and low and behold, it worked. I only do it once a month or so now, but I can tell a difference. Or, I'm nuts! :lol:

And I too got the 'hey, shouldnt that be higher' looks, time2! I sometimes get that white-coat-syndrome now though, since my Mom passed away. (She was in the hospital for almost a year before she passed away, and daily visits by me - then, a 23 year old only child - made me tense around docs).. But I'm getting better and I'm starting to get the looks again. Soon, I won't have to worry about that! I hope. Maybe I'll get the 'is she going to pass out?' looks. Lol.

I have naturally "low range" blood pressure--that means it's not in the clinical range for low blood pressure, but on the low end of normal. Sometimes I get dizzy from exercising, because that lowers bp even more. It happens after I'm done exercising. I've found that sitting down, drinking water, and having a small carbohydrate snack like an ounce of raisins helps. The carbs aren't directly related to blood pressure, but still, some complex carbs do help the dizziness.

Jay

Until I gained weight, I always had low blood pressure. 80/60 was high for me. (I also had a pulse under 50 from when I was 13 until I hit about 22, MD wanted me to wear a lifealert bracelet for low vitals) Now that I've gained weight, I'm at the lower range of normal, but not clinically low. Because that was a usual number for me, I didn't frequently have any issues, but would occassionaly get headaches and dizzy. I used to get terrible salt cravings, and finally made the connection that the cravings would hit right before my BP took a dive.

Generally speaking, there's really not much they can do to treat low blood pressure. There are some medications that can be administered on a somewhat emergency basis. (at a certain point they considered medicating me for what they considered dangerously low BP, but since I was asymptomatic and it was a chronic condition they just monitored me closely for a few months) Consider keeping a dairy of sorts to track your symptoms- you may find certain things cause your symptoms to flare up. I was usually at my worst in the afternoon. When I had issues, salt seemed to help. Salt and lots of water. Good luck!