Dizzy when standing

Posted , 11 users are following.

Lately I keep getting dizzy when I stand from squatting position mostly, though sometimes from chair.

I bought a blood pressure cuff machine. Taken before lunch it's been what to me seems low.  I used to always be one of those 110/70 types, before PMR, and when I exercised.

lately lows like 80/66 HR 88, 85/63, 91/68, 101/71 with a surprising HR in the 80s.  This seems new to me.  I can assume this monitor not well calibrated maybe?  But the dizziness causing me to check.

Resarching on Internet, these numbers are considered low.

I don't think I'm dehydrated, though am craving salt and thirsty at times. 

Rheumy on Thursday, so I will ask as I hope to get her to take me off Plaquenil and Sulfasalazine. Been on them 6-7 months, Pred 6 mg.

I'm just wondering about PMR and blood flow throughout body.

Just wondered what y'all knew.

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26 Replies

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  • Posted

    It could well be something as basic and simple as postural hypotension - your BP doesn't catch up quickly enough when you change position suddenly. The answer there is - don't move fast. Stand slowly and then wait a  minute before moving off.

    I've had similar problems recently - BP all over the place but a 24 hour monitor showed nothing untowards except these occasional BP dips to a similar level to your lows which seemed to coincide with a hot flush!

    By the way - not blood rushing to your head - quite the reverse, not enough blood is getting to your brain. And high BP at the doctor's - White Coat Syndrome rolleyes

  • Posted

    Thanks y'all!! 

    Report on what Rheumy said about my dizziness and blood pressure:

    She said its could be my weight loss (it's pretty extreme), and/or with my craving of salts, to up my electrolytes and water intake. Also, with my weight loss, I should decrease my thyroid meds a bit. And with my muscle wasting, eat more protein as snack in between meals (ugh, that's tough). 

    And add fish oil with my calcium and D.

    Also, it's pretty hot here already in the south, so perhaps I am sweating more outside which could be contributing to it as well.

    As a side note, I'm going to do the Forteo daily injections for my now osteoporosis .  It's for 2 years. I dreaded adding another drug, but she talked me in to it. 

    Otherwise all looked good. Will start tapering to 5 mg Pred. 

     

    • Posted

      Oh, goodness, I just looked at my labs (they didn't have them and as I was leaving Doctor they gave them to me and said all was good).

      But what I read is thyroid higher than usual, still in normal range, but I've never had it this high.

      The glucose is 131, again, never been that high. Geez. And MCV, MCH high, are those anemia? Guess since I'm on cusp and she knows we are tapering Pred, then guess no need to mention.

      I bet this is obviously contributing to my trouble getting to sleep, dizziness and blood pressure.  

    • Posted

      Has your doc done PROPER diabetes tests? The weight loss concerns me when you say "extreme".

      What "thyroid" is higher than usual and rising? And if the MCV is high - how high? 

      Have you had your B12 and folate levels checked?

    • Posted

      Sorry, I almost missed this post.

      I luckily have my physical with primary week after next. I'll ask about diabeties, the non fasting level was 131.

      My weight got down to 108 lbs naked in morning, but today is 111.

      I'm 5'5"

      MCV 104, MCH 33.3

      thyroid TSH 3.35 (normal range .45 to 4.5, but PA said they like it near 1.0) , hypothyroid, but I feel fine, so I'm not worried. Rheumy put me on natural thyroid verses synthetic and I don't have symptoms. Another gal on thyroid forum posted same thing, funny.

      So happens I called primary and asked if I can get B12, folate, potassium, sodium, calcium tested, and they said yes, but I might have to pay for it. So I'll call my insurance Monday. So silly insurance won't pay for vitamin/ mineral tests.

       

    • Posted

      Fasting? Non-fasting? Non-fasting is pretty meaningless - what had you eaten?
    • Posted

      Just normal breakfast in morning 6 hrs earlier. No sugar, no breads. 3 eggs whites, 1 yoke, kale or spinach, mushroom, Tumeric, ginger, black pepper, ...

      I have been craving breads, so lately I'm eating very thin slice of organic seed bread with a tad bit of apple cider butter. Sometimes 1-2 oz coffee. 

      But that was my birthday so I went to the "city" and shopped and visited botanical gardens, park then to blood center, then lunch afterwards. 

      Pretty sure I didn't have sugar that morning because I wanted to see what tests said. 

       

    • Posted

      Curcumin can chelate iron from your body and can cause stomach upset in some people.

      I felt worse in Curcumin and my hct dropped precipitously during the 3 weeks.

    • Posted

      thanks Karen. Do you think even the 1 tsp I have of turmeric would do this? At first PMR diagnosis I was trying to ingest 1500 mg Curcummin but did notice it upset my stomach. So I eventually stopped. 

      I do eat a lot of red meat, 2 times a week now because I'm so hungry, love it most of all meats (grew up around cows I guess). 

    • Posted

      Layne, I took a smaller dose- I forget exactly. I think it was a 100mg capsule 2x a day of the most concentrated form. I took it for a month actually and finished the bottle kept on hoping but then I was just worse.

      I worry about alternative ideas without many studies as well as knowing if any adulterants are in the supplements. In the US, in mainstream stores, testers found weeds, rice, insect parts etc. in herbal supplements. Some were adulterated with prescription substances not on the label, others did not have the ingredients listed on the label.

    • Posted

      I too read that, that's just terrible isn't it?!  We don't know who we can trust.  Heard they don't always have the amount they claim either. 

      I never liked taking any supplement or vitamin before PMR, prefer natural foods. But I didn't know about the Vit D and absorbing calcium. I like being outdoors but not when hot. 

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