dizzy when I get up after sitting a while ...anyone else have this ?

[Pinkgurl]

Today I had been sitting in car a few hours and I was a bit anxious I could feel it in arms etc . Well we got back home and I got out of car and felt dizzy . Almost made it to door but I tripped on step up to door and skinned my knee when I was dealing with it . Anyone else get this ? Doesn’t always happen but does on occasion and it scares me .

[Pinkgurl]

I had eaten so I hope it was just my bad anxiety that had kicked in just prior that did it to me . Have felt it few times over a long span and it’s literally always been when getting out of car after sitting a good couple hours or more in car without getting up .

[Pinkgurl]

Thanks ! Yes I’m going to try and be very careful every time so no repeats . It just made my anxiety I was having before it worse unfortunately . Ugh !

[Hominid711 in reply to Pinkgurl]

Pinkgurl, don't worry. It's just low blood pressure. It happens when we sit for a while and then get up or "unfold" as when we get out of a car seat or up from a low sofa. At the moment of "rising" your blood - following the laws of physics i.e. gravity - doesn't as such rise with us but wants to head South and has to be "pumped" upwards to be available for flowing through the higher-up body parts eg the brain. The "pumping" is triggered by receptors in the blood vessel walls themselves which "sense" the movement of blood downwards and the blood vessels then constrict ie narrow the space for the blood. This mechanism pushes the blood upwards. Another triggered mechanism - the drop in blood pressure also through a feed-back loop involving heart and brain - is that the heart seemingly suddenly beats a bit faster, all this to ensure adaequate blood circulation through the brain. Blood's function in this context is essentially to carry oxygen to the brain, so for that brief moment when circulation in the brain is still a little low, the blood "pooling" in the lower half of the body, you feel that lack of oxygen. And for a bit afterwards. Now these processes happen in all of us, but if your blood pressure is on the low side (good news! It means your arteries get less corroded over a lifetime so these people have a much reduced risk of strokes or heart attacks), or you are dehydrated or still have alcohol in your blood with alcohol widening blood vessels and in this way reducing blood pressure or if you have just smoked a cigarette, or after a run when you loose sweat ie salt and water, or - as in your case - spent a long time sitting or "jack-knifed" behind the steering wheel, for a moment your blood pressure is just that bit too low so you feel faint. Some people do faint or faint just a few times in their lives, others faint never but get these "funny turns" before circulation of oxygen to the brain is sufficient. It tends to be a problem of our younger age. Obviously, if you were to regularly loose consciousness, if you are older when it starts ie in your thirties, forties or older, or if you are on blood pressure meds or meds where the leaflet says "can lower blood pressure", or if you have other symptoms at the same time like excessive fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, shortness of breath, and you don't think these are due to anxiety, or if you have weightloss, uninvestigated vomiting, swollen ankles/feet all of a sudden, or if you are pregnant, you should consult your GP.In short, it doesn't sound like anything serious.

To prevent fainting or stop feeling this light-headedness sooner you can just sit back down in a jack-knifed position then get up slowly, or lie down, legs raised which uses the gravity effect to make blood flow towards the brain, or just lean against a lamp post like I tend to do til the feeling passes.

This from a GP.

So long. Have a great day!

Dr 711

[Pinkgurl in reply to Hominid711]

My bp has been quite high during my anxiety. But when I am not anxious it was not as bad and many times normal . But now I seem to have more episodes of anxiety so I know it goes up then . I felt anxiety attack or panic attack coming on before this happened and I just wanted to get inside and lie down to calm myself . But instead I got up and was dizzy . I also have phantom muffled ear issue that came on with my anxiety that can make me feel unbalanced often . So I’m a big mess since this hit .

[Midori in reply to Pinkgurl]

Would be a good idea to see your Doctor; there is something called Postural Hypertension, and it sounds similar to what you have.

It may not be, however, and there are ways to combat it, some of which have already been mentioned.

My solution, which worked for me, is to take my time getting up from a sitting or laying position; it gives the circulation time to catch up with your actions.

Cheers, Midori

[Hominid711 in reply to Midori]

Postural HypOtension

[Contra21 in reply to Hominid711]

Cure?

[Hominid711 in reply to Contra21]

Not really for low BP. If anything it makes you live longer. If it's anxiety associated have the anxiety treated ie see your GP, psychologist, psychiatrist. If you have no anxiety and it has a large impact on your life there is medication that increases BP. But you would start with a GP appointment and have some baseline investigations first. There is an investigation called 24h BP which - if random BPs are very low - can be done, a so-called tilt test (done in the UK in the specialist setting) and probably more but it really depends on impact, examination and baseline test findings.

[Midori in reply to Hominid711]

Thank you for the correction. As a former nurse I should have caught that.

Cheers, Midori

[Contra21 in reply to Hominid711]

How to improve low bp? X

[Hominid711 in reply to Contra21]

Regular exercise. Good for your mental state too.

[MindfulMoment]

Happens to me all the time. The muffled ears, fuzzy vision, shaking, sometimes a ringing in my ears. My arms feels weird and sometimes my hands feel like they… don’t belong to me if that makes sense lol. It’s all a part of the fight or flight response, probably made worse because you were sitting and all the blood went to your feet. Fainting/going black isn’t dangerous, it happens, as long as you recovered from it and it isn’t happening all the time try not to make it more than it is. Next time, slow yourself down. Breath some good, deep breaths and remind yourself it’s just anxiety and it’s ok. The fight or flight tells us to run, hurry and our body responds by sending more adrenaline. If you can slooooow way down those sensations will pass. Sorry you skinned your knee. Falling as an adult is so sucky.

[Pinkgurl in reply to MindfulMoment]

Thanks ! I will try and slow down my stress levels if I can a bit before I try and get up . I just tend to panic and want to just get inside when I’m feeling that way . Sorry you have similar issues to me . This really sux . And my nose is stuffy and congested from allergies I guess so good deep breathing is not a option at moment . I have had dry mouth as a symptom from day one so I don’t know what to take for my post nasal drip I get in pm and am because most everything has dry mouth as side effect . Ugh ! I can’t wait to finally get cbt therapy . Several months of this junk with no help has me so incredibly miserable ! I’ve begged for actual therapy pretty much because my first 2 appts weren’t actual therapy yet . Just informational . They said if I used someone else as a filler between appts then I would lose all my appts with my primary therapist . . I didn’t want that . And I have one appt October 10 and next isn’t until November! How do they expect anyone to get better if the appts are way too far apart ? It was same for my first and second one . Over a month between . I need weekly or bi weekly at very least ! Makes me more depressed than i already was . Sorry to vent .

[MindfulMoment in reply to Pinkgurl]

It’s not about slowing down the anxiety or stopping the anxiety at all. It’s an acceptance of what you feel being simply a chemical discharge of an organic process in your body. Fight or flight, while it feels terrible, requires nothing further from you. It’s the sympathetic nervous system doing exactly what it’s supposed to do to keep you safe. When those intense feelings arise, you slow down, take slow deep breaths making sure to exhale longer than the inhale. This will engage the parasympathetic system which will start to bring in calm. It really is simple, it is not easy though. It’s basically overriding your primal warning system. CBT is so helpful, I’m going through it right now. Much harder than I ever expected. But through CBT, medication and acceptance you can, and will go on to reclaim your life. While you are waiting for therapy to actually begin, start focusing on acceptance and teaching yourself to breath properly. The more you can see that you aren’t actually as out of control as you feel the more confidence you’ll have going into therapy. Vent away

[Pinkgurl in reply to MindfulMoment]

I am not on any medication at all yet either . Was hoping cbt would make the difference . But now I’m not sure and am talking to dr about exploring medication because I’m such a mess . I have to get rid of this stuffed nose somehow so I can breathe freely . Great time to get allergies / sinus stuff . 😭

[MindfulMoment in reply to Pinkgurl]

If you can’t breath through your nose you can do a short, sharp inhalation through your mouth, keep it short and make sure you fill your lungs fully. Then exhale slowly with pursed lips.

[MindfulMoment in reply to Pinkgurl]

CBT can be just as effective without medication. Some people find it easier when they are more stable. There’s nothing wrong with meds, and nothing wrong doing it without. Have you ever tried magnesium or Reishi mushroom? Both are great natural anxiety meds.

[Pinkgurl in reply to MindfulMoment]

I was not sure which magnesium . My cousin recommended calm but it has lax effect and I already have gut stuff with this

[MindfulMoment in reply to Pinkgurl]

Any supplement that has magnesium taurate and glycinate. There are a bajillion supplements available. You want to choose one with as few ingredients as possible. I buy my Reishi from OMM. They also have a hot chocolate that contains Reishi and ashwaghanda and a supplement called “zen” that also has GABA. GABA is the same transmitters that benzos work on. Replacing GABA has a strong calming effect.

[MindfulMoment in reply to Pinkgurl]

and to add. A good exercise for you would be when you feel that anxiety starting to rise, and all you want is to run inside and lay down. Sit with those feelings. Stay out in the car, allow the anxiety to come down before you go in. Breath, slow your brain and re-engage your pre-frontal cortex so you can think clearly again. That will stop the ear mark you’ve made in your brain that being outside isn’t safe but inside is. Because you are safe in your car, in the driveway too.

[Pinkgurl in reply to MindfulMoment]

Ok I can certainly try that . Makes sense that I associate inside as a safe space . And it’s always the same walk from car to inside that triggers the dizzy . No other time that I can think of that I get that dizzy feeling .

[Adlon57]

It does happen to me, when I have been sitting, quickly get up, my head gets very dizzy, have to 'adjust' for a few seconds, lean against something get my bearings, I know why, rather macabre, I have epilepsy, double seizure, irreparable brain damage, broken skull, affects my balance, I am getting checked, for high sugar in liver, diabetes 2, as well, but in reality the skull damage the more likely, hope it is something pretty simple🤞

[Pinkgurl in reply to Adlon57]

God bless you have a lot to deal with . I pray it’s something simple too for you ! Thank you for chiming in . ☺️

[Trainchaser]

Happens to me off and on when I have been sitting for a while. Talked to nurse at work and she says it is likely orthostatic hypertension which is change in your blood pressure. She said to get up slower and wait a extra second or two before you start to walk. Hope this helps. Rick

[Pinkgurl in reply to Trainchaser]

Thank you for this . I will get up slower from now on .