Dizziness...anyone experience this?
 

After hard workouts, I find that if sit for a while, especially when I cross my legs, I get dizzy when I stand up. Sometimes seriously dizzy.
I worry that I have poor peripheral circulation, since my hands and feet get cold very easily.

I'm 30, adequate diet, no health problems that I know of, no other symptoms, etc.

I plan to see a doctor, I just wonder if anyone has experienced similar issues and how you ended up dealing with them.

Blood pressure drop. Especially with your legs crossed impedes the recirculation of blood to the brain. Walk off the workout and let your body cool itself down before sitting.

I get a lot of nausea while riding hard.

I've had the same problem for 25 years. The fitter I am the worse it is. Cooling down doesn't make a difference. It can happen any time that I am lying down or sitting still and get up quickly. It's worse for the rest of the day after a long weekend ride. Perhaps because I am more relaxed than I am at work.

I deal with it by not springing to my feet so fast. I am normally very energetic and will jump to my feet to go do something. But if I do that when I have been sitting still and relaxing, I'll partially black out- my vision goes black and there's a noise in my head. If I sit up, wait a few seconds, then stand up like a normal 50 year old there's no problem.

I've talked to doctors about it. There's a name for the syndrome but I have forgotten it. The problem is that the valves in your legs are open and your blood pressure is low, so when you stand up there's not enough blood pressure to the brain. There are some drugs that have some effect but they're not really worth taking unless it's really a problem for you. I deal with it by getting up slower and waiting it out when I forget. As long as I find something to hold on to so I can keep my frame of reference, having blacked out vision isn't so bad. It doesn't last long.

When I asked my doctor recently he told me about a trick- right as you get up, grip the fingers of each hand together and pull. You don't have to pull hard. That supposedly activates the same system that closes the valves in the legs and raises the blood pressure. It may work: I keep forgetting about it until after I've gotten up.

Isn't that the way it always goes. Sometimes I have this issue when standing up after having crossed legs even when not after exercise (and my legs fall asleep when crossed quite frequently - I wonder if it's all related).

Sitting with crossed or not crossed legs doesn't seem to matter for me. YMMV of course.

I think it's common the fitter you are and can happen on a bicycle too if you stay in one position for a long time... try to flex your legs and squeeze your stomach down before you get up... that might prevent the blood pressure from dropping. Either that or don't get up so quickly.

^^^^ Yep

It's a common problem. As you fitness improves your normal blood pressure is lower. The problem is exacerbated by dehydration after exercise. Try eating something salty and drink lots of fluids after a ride.

I have had that problem for years. Again, the fitter I am, the worse it is. Often it is worse the day of a work out but it works on other days also. It is caused by a low blood pressure and low heart rate, you stand and the blood drains from the head. Since the brain isn't getting any blood, you get dizzy. It only takes a few seconds for the heart to respond and increase the blood flow. The dizziness goes away.

Orthostatic or postural hypotension:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthostatic_hypotension

Thank you for all the responses. This has made me much less worried.

Have you ever blacked out?

The first response is actually quite correct. Crossing your legs is bad for you. I know, it's of a fashion for skirtgirls that want to remain modest; but if you're hopping on a bike in a skirt... :rolleyes: The guy behind you at the light has his camera phone out btw :innocent:

So if you're in sports gear, don't do it. In fact, you may do better to actually lie down rather than sit, to get your legs and your heart at the same elevation and help your blood pressure come down. After you've walked off the high heart rate, of course; don't dead drop from high exertion to relaxation. I've done that when meditating and my body was pretty seriously jacked (when meditating, this is extremely apparent).

I rarely sit/lay down after working out. I walk around for a little bit with my hands behind my head. just what i've always been told.

no, thankfully. if i had, i'd have gone to the ER.

not sure i understand what you're talking about here. i'm a dude, not wearing skirts, and not crossing my legs immediately after a workout.

to be clear, this isn't something that's happening right after a hard workout - not like i workout, sit down, stand up, get dizzy.
it's more of an always thing when i'm doing a lot of hard rides, e.g. when i'm in good shape.

Still a good idea to mention it to your doctor... It's been happening to me for years also.

~kn

I experience it as well, it is more evident after working out.

It may seem strange, but for me snacking half a cup of whole grain cereal, an apple etc seems to make it less pronounced. I guess it has to do that the blood goes to the stomach. Drinking unsweetend green tea also seems to help.

It may seem strange but since I added strength training to my routines the symptoms are little by little fading away.

Of course like others say tell your doctor etc.

In my case everything is good so far as I had a physical exam about a week ago. From an electrocardiogram, thyroid, testoterone, hemmatocrits, blood pressure level tests where done and everything came back fine. I follow a healthy diet, non-smoker, no alcohol, monitor my workouts with heart rate and I know it is not over-training etc. I say it just as reference... I am still trying to kick caffeine, maybe next year's resolution, lol.

Blood pressure meters are cheap (about $30-$40). It's interesting to see how a long ride affects bp. My record low after a ride is 88/56.

any idea what causes this? i normally ride at a moderate pace but one day when i was coming up on a short, steep hill i just gave it all i had, and by the time i got to the top i felt like i was going to throw up. used to happen to me when i lifted weights also, but now that i have a bike i stay away from the gym as much as possible.

i get nauseous too, but only after hard rides. it comes and goes. i assume because the blood is all in my legs, and suddenly i have a protein shake in my stomach.

so yes, i'll be checking in with the doc eventually. it is comforting though to hear that others are experiencing similar things, and have spoken to their doctors about it.....as opposed to people responding like "CALL 911!"

It can also be blood flow being distributed to your digestion, particularly if a large meal was eaten. There is also hypoglycemia to think about as well if you're eating a lot of carbs and sugars afterwards. It could be something worse, so best to take your health seriously.

Calling 911 is not always a bad idea, nobody is going to chastise you if you're losing consciousness and calling them, in fact a lot of people(men) are too reticent to call for help.

I have blacked out from this... once. I stood up, felt the typical dizziness, heard the noise, and my vision was narrowing. All stuff I had started experiencing pretty regularly since I started seriously training. I grabbed the doorframe to steady myself, and the next thing I knew my wife was looking down at me asking "What are you doing?". I looked around, realized I was on the floor (with a bump on my head), and replied intelligently "I don't know." Interestingly, that's the same response I've given when I've crashed and someone has asked if I'm okay.

I saw my cardiologist, and had several tests, including echo-cardiagrams and wearing a Holter monitor to record my HR for 24 hours straight. He ended up referring back to a nuclear stress test he had already conducted, saying that, with no indications of anything bad in the additional tests, it was the best indicator there was of my cardiovascular health. I was fine, and just needed to avoid blacking out and hitting my head! Tensing your muscles briefly and waiting a few seconds before standing up can help. When you have the more serious symptoms (noise and the narrowing of your vision) my advice is to get close to floor. :-)

the most extreme incident for me had narrowing of my vision, but no blackout. since i've realized what causes it i'm not having the problem as often.

For some people quickly dropping into a squat helps.

Wife and I did 65 miles on the tandem yesterday, 3300' of climbing, too. I had 37 minutes of Z4, she probably had more. She was fine while she was riding, but almost fainted when she got off the bike. I had her sit down with her head between her knees - standard practice for feeling faint. Diagnosis: combination of orthostatic hypotension and low blood sugar. She hadn't eaten much during the ride, only about 600 calories, as she has a sensitive stomach. She also felt nauseous. She was fine after a few minutes of sitting and drinking a recovery drink.