Starting to worry...

Schumeany · 11-13-2008, 04:12 PM

It just sounds like you're not eating enough. When I go under my calories, I get light-headed too, and I am currently eating your "maintenance' level of calories and continuing to lose with cardio six days a week and strength training every other day.

When I look my BMI/Activity Level up on a calorie calculator, most of them say I need at least 2000 a day to maintain -- and I am 2 inches shorter than you are. More food, my dear...shovel in some almonds.

While going to see your doctor is not a bad idea, I wouldn't sweat it too much... Often after weight loss people get light-headed because of the drop in their blood pressure. It takes a while to compensate.

Sheila53 · 11-13-2008, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schumeany

While going to see your doctor is not a bad idea, I wouldn't sweat it too much... Often after weight loss people get light-headed because of the drop in their blood pressure. It takes a while to compensate.

While this might be true (although the drop in blood pressure usually happens when going from sitting to standing), swollen lymph nodes are an indication that the body is fighting something. Dizziness coupled with swollen lymph nodes sounds like something is medically wrong so I'm glad the poster is trying to get an appointment ASAP. And, hey, I think eating more is a good idea, too.

MindiV · 11-13-2008, 04:43 PM

I'm thinking my problems may be somehow related to an inner ear problem...got an appointment at 3 pm Friday.

Also...will certainly be eating more calories! I'll get this thing taken care of, one way or another...

MindiV · 11-13-2008, 04:51 PM

I also just did my BMR/BMI calculations...first time in a while...

My BMR comes in at 1,609, but my "maintenance" number is about 2,100. My BMI is 20.7.

So eat more...not a problem...

mandalinn82 · 11-13-2008, 05:21 PM

Mindi - quick way to figure out if your inner ear is causing the dizziness...go to the drugstore and get some Bonine (it's an OTC motion sickness med). Take a dose...it shuts off the inner ear balance signals, which is how it works on motion sickness. If the dizziness goes away, it is most likely an inner ear problem.

I have benign positional vertigo (basically...inner ear dizziness when I move my head) every time I get a cold, and Bonine fixes the problem. Your doctor can also move your head in specific directions/movements to realign the ear.

Sheila53 · 11-13-2008, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandalinn82

I have benign positional vertigo (basically...inner ear dizziness when I move my head) every time I get a cold, and Bonine fixes the problem. Your doctor can also move your head in specific directions/movements to realign the ear.

It's awful, isn't it? I had that, too, and got so dizzy sometimes that I'd vomit. I went to an ENT doc and had the "realignment" and haven't had any real problem since. From what I read later, that treatment is controversial and some docs won't do it. I was quite happy that my ENT did.

mandalinn82 · 11-13-2008, 05:30 PM

I have a really strong stomach, but I also tend to gag when I move with the BPV.

A side note: Bonine might make you a little sleepy, so don't take your first dose when you have to be on your game.

MindiV · 11-17-2008, 08:41 AM

I went to the doctor on Friday...he's going to have me do a glucose tolerance test on Wednesday morning to see if I'm hypoglycemic. I brought up the ear thing, and he brushed it off. If I'm not hypoglycemic, I'll see about the Bonine and push the ear thing before I let him test anything further...

Can weight loss MAKE you hypoglycemic, or was it likely a problem I already was developing?

sdnyc99 · 11-24-2008, 12:56 PM

Hi Mindi,
I'm new here and was glad to read your post because I'm going through sort of the same situation. After losing the weight I wanted, it keeps coming off without me really wanting it to. I'm down to about 130 (I think) at 5'7", which I think is fine and healthy as long as it stops there. But it's not stopping. I don't count calories, but I eat very clean and only whole, unprocessed foods. I've sort of become addicted to the gym and workout nearly every day.

I wasn't worried until I started getting comments. Then I fit into a size 4 jeans and was very happy with that. Now the size 4's are loose and I'm thinking "What is going on???"

I actually called into the Jillian Michaels radio show with this question (anyone else a fan? I sounded like an idiot because I was thrown off by actually hearing her voice!) and she told me to work on my body composition and add strength/weight training and to start counting calories to make sure I was getting 1800-2000 calories in. It seems silly to start calorie counting now, when I wasn't doing it before to lose weight. But I'll do what I need to do to stay strong and healthy.

I need to look healthy to be a good role model for my daughter, which is my #1 concern. I don't want to look stupidly skinny. But I also don't want the extra weight to come back on!

Anyway, to make a long post longer...I'm very interested to hear how your story is turning out and if you found anything else out from your doctor. Please share what is/isn't working for you. It often feels like there is very little support out there for a situation like this because the attitude I get is "Oh, poor you! I wish I were in your situation." But the truth is that we all want to be healthy, whichever way the scale numbers are going.

Angela

MindiV · 11-24-2008, 01:06 PM

Sdnyc99 – Thanks for your post! I've also run into a lot of the "that's not a real problem" attitude when discussing this issue.

The doctor ordered some blood tests, and we've discovered that I'm hypoglycemic. I haven't had a follow up appointment yet, so I don't know if this was a problem before I lost weight, or if it's something that's developed as I've gotten smaller. Luckily, for now, I'm hovering around 138-140. I'm 5'9" tall, so that's pretty skinny on me. My biggest concern at the present is finding out what I need to eat to help get the hypoglycemia under control, and NOT lose more weight.

I've been strength training during the entire process, and counting calories. I'm still working on upping my calorie consumption, but now I'm also having to worry even more about what I eat than I have been previously. The doctor also mentioned that the majority of people who are hypoglycemic WITHOUT diabetes will develop diabetes later in life. That also runs in my family, and is the primary reason I wanted to lose weight and take better care of myself: to avoid diabetes.

I guess my husband has the right attitude about it, though...he said that I probably would be diabetic, at this point, if I hadn't lost weight, rather than "just" hypoglycemic, which is manageable.

Shannon in ATL · 11-26-2008, 11:47 AM

Hi Mindy - I've been sick the last few days and just saw that you had updated on this post. I'm glad that there wasn't anything more serious wrong, hypoglycemia is absolutely manageable. Are you still losing weight? I've kept working on increasing calories, but haven't done a great job the last two weeks. Like you, I find myself full fast, so I'm trying to eat a lot of things like peanut butter and such to get more calories in for less volume.

Angela -I've gotten some of the same response from people in my life when I've talked about continuing to lose weight. I just got over being sick and think I've lost more weight again. I didn't weigh as it is also in the middle of TOM, but my pants are loose today too.

MindiV · 11-26-2008, 01:34 PM

Shannon - I'm hovering around 138-140...we'll see after next week, though. Through the last several months of my weight loss, and even now, the only time I LOSE weight is during my TOM...so we'll see...