Dizziness issues.

thegrovylekid

Makes fake cards
Member
Hey there. I'm posting here to bring up something that has happened to me on multiple occasions. Basically, sometimes, when I wake up and then get up [or even just stand up] I'll suffer some form of an extreme dizzy spell. What happens is my eyesight goes all fuzzy, I find it hard to stand [Usually culminating in me sitting back down, or leaning out to rest on a wall] and feel light-headed. While this doesn't sound too bad, one time I fell back-first into my bookcase and another time fell to the floor, hit my head and went unconcious for a few seconds. For the most part, this is harmless, but sometimes it is extremely dangerous. [I still have a scar on my back from when I hit the bookcase - I'll take a picture of the shelf sometime tomorrow.] Does anyone else have this problem? If so, what do you do to alleviate it?
 

Athena

The Cooler Danchou
Advanced Member
Member
I get semi-frequent dizzy spells, light-headedness, and accompanying nausea as well. Sometimes it's just seeing stars, sometimes it's more. I also happen to know that I'm borderline anemic, and this is what usually causes these problems for me, though sometimes it's because I'm having a migraine or a panic attack.

Sometimes dizziness can be caused by iron and/or vitamin deficiencies, especially if it's infrequent. You can try taking vitamin or iron supplements and see if that helps the problem for you. If it's frequent, it may be caused by an overarching issue such as anemia (even borderline anemia like mine can cause it to happen), in which case you'd probably want to discuss it with a family doctor.
 

thegrovylekid

Makes fake cards
Member
I get semi-frequent dizzy spells, light-headedness, and accompanying nausea as well. Sometimes it's just seeing stars, sometimes it's more. I also happen to know that I'm borderline anemic, and this is what usually causes these problems for me, though sometimes it's because I'm having a migraine or a panic attack.

Sometimes dizziness can be caused by iron and/or vitamin deficiencies, especially if it's infrequent. You can try taking vitamin or iron supplements and see if that helps the problem for you. If it's frequent, it may be caused by an overarching issue such as anemia (even borderline anemia like mine can cause it to happen), in which case you'd probably want to discuss it with a family doctor.
That's the odd part. I'm not anemic [or borderline anemic] or vitamin/iron deficient. One minute I'm standing up, the next thing I know I'm picking myself up off the floor with no memory of actually falling. The first time into the bookshelf was especially weird, because, while I couldn't see, move, or even feel for a few seconds [I didn't realize I was hurt until I "woke up" so to speak, and it took me a few seconds longer to realize what was wrong.] but I could still hear all the books and tins and the like falling off my shelf. The second time was a bit different as well, where I felt like I had woken up on the bathroom floor [I had reached out to place my hands against the mirror, I guess I didn't quite make it] and didn't hear a crash, didn't feel my body hit the floor, didn't see anything. I actually didn't realize my head hurt for a few more minutes. Is that similar to what you feel?
 

Athena

The Cooler Danchou
Advanced Member
Member
It's been a long time since I've ever blacked-out or browned-out during a dizzy spell, so no, very different. I would definitely recommend mentioning it to a medical professional since it might be a sign of something larger, especially if you know your iron count is good.
 

Leaf_Ranger

Knight of Nature and Pokémon
Member
I think the most common case of dizziness (with me and some friends) happens when getting up fast, namely after laying on a bed but this is not a sign of something wrong, just that we got up very fast and shouldn't so we have a temporary dizziness.

Edit: this type of dizzines makes your eyes see some white at the center and like a flash (along with a feeling of your brain being...slightly heavier than usual), which in most strong cases can make it affect your entire field of vision and last about three seconds. Again, it's nothing wrong but it can be frightening due to the surprise, more so in the last case.

Also, by "getting up", not only doesn't it mean getting on your feet quickly but this dizziness may also happen when quicly lifting you upper body while the legs are stretched in bed.

All this said, nothing is better than seeking professional advice with a doctor and when I mean advice it doesn't includes web searching!!
 
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King Arceus

Aspiring Trainer
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
I get up fast and have this happen to me if I've been sleeping / laying down for several hours.
 

Aoki

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Happened to me yesterday after I took a nap and tried standing immediately upon waking. It's quite normal to have this sometimes because of the sudden inbalance that occurs when you rapidly change direction (such as lying down on the bed for long periods of time and suddenly sitting up and standing). However, if you are concerned that it is a chronic condition, you should consult your doctor. As you stated earlier, you may be certain that you are not anemic but it might be also a good idea to check your blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
 

Purrloin

#509
Member
As others have said, being dizzy when standing quickly is normal, especially after sitting/laying for a while. I think pretty much everyone gets that occasionally (or often) because a relatively "drastic" change of position like that is accompanied with blood pressure changes. If you are still worried though, schedule an appt with your doctor (or call and speak to one of his nurses).

For the record, I suffered from a lot of dizziness/fainting in my teen years, so I know how scary it can be. (I once fainted in a GameStop and took out a display case of games...!) But truly, unless you are getting dizzy spells seemingly at random in any situation, I wouldn't worry about it too much. A doctor can help you figure out if it's something that needs to be looked at more, but I'm guessing they'll have a "wait and see" attitude.

In the meantime, try standing slower. When getting out of bed, sit at the edge of your bed for little bit before standing. And if you feel like you might get dizzy, sit down safely asap instead of waiting for it to pass. Don't want you falling and hitting your head again.
 
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Celever

Wheeeee~
Member
While imbalance upon standing up is very common (and can be dangerous if you have bad balance anyway) I don't think that's what you were describing. All it is is over or underbalancing, vision doesn't go fuzzy or anything else you described. As with all other common medical conditions like headaches etc., it's likely that this just affects some people more drastically, and you're one of these people just due to your DNA. I highly doubt you have a real medical issue, and if you go and see a doctor they probably won't try and act until you actually get dizzy and walk off a bridge or something. Right now your doctor is probably just thinking you're over-exaggerating overbalancing when you stand up quickly, which seems to be the condition you have.

For now, just start standing up more slowly and carefully, like @Purrloin said. This is the sort of thing where if you do it for a few days, maybe a week, it becomes a habit and in the future you'll stand up carefully and slowly 90% of the time. Just try to prevent it from happening at all. Also, although you said you don't have iron deficiency, it can really do no harm trying. At one point it turns out my iron levels were quite low and I managed to find some iron tablets which helped my constant headaches a little bit (lessening the pain), so even if you don't think you have low iron levels, it's quite possible you do, and if you had tests at the doctor it's totally possible you've developed low iron levels since then by not eating the right diet. If not then take them anyway and hope for the placebo affect :p.

As for dizziness in general, a bit about me :v. I get dizzy and I get head aches a hell of a lot, which is pretty annoying, I'll be honest. This is down to two things. The first is that whenever I get high up off the ground (note that my definition of high is like 8 feet or something) I totally space out and get really dizzy, which is just dangerous. This isn't due to low oxygen, because my blood is pretty healthy and I can survive up hills and mountains very well if I can't see how far up I am. It's just due to my huge fear of heights which completely messes with my head, so if I'm anywhere where I can see a drop I have to hold on to someone and walk slowly somewhere else, and then sit down. Otherwise I will fall over and if I fall over the drop or just hit my head on the ground it could be fatal. It's not very useful and looks ridiculous to other people when it happens, but hey. I don't think there's a lot I can do about it.

The other time I get constant dizziness and headaches is when it's hot. That's because in Britain, which is a small island let's not forget, all heat is full of moisture and the humidity slowcooks my brain or something, IDK. That's what it feels like. My internal temperature is completely out of whack so that if there is humidity I don't feel cold at all. Not cold wind or cold rain of anything. All I can feel is the heat and it means that during the summer I can't go out or I run the risk of collapsing. This wasn't as big an issue, but thanks to global warming the summers here are now like 23 degrees celcius every day, which is way higher than I can handle. I haven't seen a doctor about it, but once again I don't think there's anything I can do about it besides moving to Sweden or Spain. I went to Spain with school and it was the only time I've ever enjoyed heat, because it was dry there and it was so nice :eek:.

Also, since headaches and dizziness go hand in hand, I'll put this here as well. I always have a headache. Like 100% of the time. The only thing that solves it is drinking herbal tea (painkillers accelerate the pain more, which literally makes no sense because I know how painkillers work >___>), and even then it's only gone for about 5 minutes and then it's back again. I've gotten fairly used to it now, but sometimes the pain is exaggerated to a point where it's painful to turn my head or focus on something without me having to close my eyes for a minute and regain myself. It also means that I have a lot of trouble sleeping, because I have to wait for the pain to die down, which is something I really have little control over. I tried to research it online and there are a huge amount of things which set different people off with headaches, so it seems possible that I'm just set off by everything? It could be much more simple and just be that since this country always has a wet underlying tone to it that the dizziness caused by humidity and moisture in the air is always present with me but sometimes to a lesser scale? Both make sense, but if anyone has any tips for this I would be highly appreciative.
 

Purrloin

#509
Member
Also, since headaches and dizziness go hand in hand, I'll put this here as well. I always have a headache. Like 100% of the time. The only thing that solves it is drinking herbal tea (painkillers accelerate the pain more, which literally makes no sense because I know how painkillers work >___>), and even then it's only gone for about 5 minutes and then it's back again. I've gotten fairly used to it now, but sometimes the pain is exaggerated to a point where it's painful to turn my head or focus on something without me having to close my eyes for a minute and regain myself. It also means that I have a lot of trouble sleeping, because I have to wait for the pain to die down, which is something I really have little control over. I tried to research it online and there are a huge amount of things which set different people off with headaches, so it seems possible that I'm just set off by everything? It could be much more simple and just be that since this country always has a wet underlying tone to it that the dizziness caused by humidity and moisture in the air is always present with me but sometimes to a lesser scale? Both make sense, but if anyone has any tips for this I would be highly appreciative.
The first thing I wonder when people say they have a headache all the time is if they need glasses. :p Do you have glasses/contacts, or have you been to an eye doctor lately? Before I got my glasses when I was 13ish, my head was throbbing by the time I got home from school. These days I still get noticeable eye-strain without them, so I just wear them pretty much from morning to night.

Other than that, I don't really have any advice for headaches, because everyone I've talked to who has them chronically always says that their doctors just shrug it off. It's definitely one of those areas in the medical arts that needs a heck of a lot more research.

As far as feeling dizzy when it's hot, I used to get that too when I was younger and would play sports in the heat/humidity a lot. I eventually learned that I wasn't hydrating properly and have since made sure to drink a lot of water every day. The "8 glasses a day" thing is kinda arbitrary but I aim for that anyway. Ever since I started hydrating a lot more, the heat and humidity doesn't bother me much.
 

Celever

Wheeeee~
Member
The first thing I wonder when people say they have a headache all the time is if they need glasses. :p Do you have glasses/contacts, or have you been to an eye doctor lately? Before I got my glasses when I was 13ish, my head was throbbing by the time I got home from school. These days I still get noticeable eye-strain without them, so I just wear them pretty much from morning to night.

Other than that, I don't really have any advice for headaches, because everyone I've talked to who has them chronically always says that their doctors just shrug it off. It's definitely one of those areas in the medical arts that needs a heck of a lot more research.

As far as feeling dizzy when it's hot, I used to get that too when I was younger and would play sports in the heat/humidity a lot. I eventually learned that I wasn't hydrating properly and have since made sure to drink a lot of water every day. The "8 glasses a day" thing is kinda arbitrary but I aim for that anyway. Ever since I started hydrating a lot more, the heat and humidity doesn't bother me much.
I used to need glasses, but somehow my vision completely fixed itself and I'm like 19/21 now, IDR which way round it goes for me, but doesn't really matter. I have no idea how it happened and really it makes very little sense because I didn't wear my glasses very often (just because I didn't like them and I was younger at the time so I obviously didn't have the concept of it helping me in the future) but I guess I just got lucky. I go to the opticians biannually because you can go free in Britain biannually n_n.

And yeah, headaches aren't very well catered for at doctors offices. Things like deodorants and perfumes can trigger headaches in a lot of people, but there haven't been guidelines set in place preventing doctors from using them, when really there should be. Hospitals should be headache free zones :p.

And yeah, people say that to me a lot. Problem is that I drink 4 litres of fluid a day. Admittedly sometimes this is alcohol which doesn't do much for the hydrating aspects, but during the school week it's generally 4 litres of water and I still get the headaches, so I really don't think hydration is a huge problem for me. It would be a lot easier if it was, though >____>. I don't think that hydration would help anyway, given that the cause of it is the moisture in the air. Throwing water at the problem when the problem is water doesn't seem logical :p.

Thanks for the reply, though. I have talked to people about it before and a lot of the say the same things because logically those would be the solutions, but logic has never really applied to me as far as medical stuff goes. I've managed to break bones in places where it should be physically impossible to do so and painkillers and such affect me weirdly in that they don't affect me very strongly at all :p. I feel like I should belong in a science lab somewhere being tested on :v
 
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