Snowy Run - and a question about light headedness

[Stomper72]

Was due to do my usual 30-35 min consolidation run yesterday but the gremlins got the better of me and I ended up settling for my YWA session as my daily exercise instead. I decided that I'd go out tomorrow (today) for my run. There was more faffage this morning then a strange thing happened, I noticed it was snowing outside. Now, I've run in rain and wind and sun and pitch dark and freezing temps and combinations of all of those conditions during my short running career but not snow. For some reason, rather than deter me, it actually motivated me! I pulled on my long sleeve warmer running top and off I went. It was a challenging run initially because it was cold and I had to pull my sleeves over my hands at one point to warm them up and I had to contend with the occasional face full of snow whipped in on the odd gust of wind that was rather unpleasant. However once I got fully warmed up I was plodding away happily. I even managed a strava PB on one of the short but steep inclines near me. I was feeling pretty good that I'd beaten the gremlins so I also took the hillier option home on the return leg home. I was a bit frustrated that my Zepp/amazfit app appears to have lost GPS about half way round so I couldn't marvel at the stats of my extra effort or count the hilly bits towards my January 2000m incline challenge.

I enjoyed a nice hearty lunch of leftover Dall and even treated myself to a bit of cheesy naan bread (I've been moderately low carb for a couple of months) a few minutes after that, just as Id been bending over emptying the dishwasher, I felt very giddy. This has happened before (usually if I've been bending over) and I've put it down to blood pressure being lower after exercise and that I've been losing a bit of weight which is probably lowering my BP also. Usually the slight giddiness passes as quick as it starts, but today I had to get to the sofa and then I had to get on the floor, once I was on the floor with my legs on the air I rapidly felt better. I checked my BP soon after and it was 118/67 and my blood oxygen (according to my watch and phone) was 99/97% none of those measurements seem to be problematic in my opinion.

I guess the dizziness would be down to pushing myself a little harder but I wish there was an easy way to find out what was wrong. Does anyone else have experience of diagnosing occasional short lived light headedness?

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Sounds like a great run.

Any information that any members give to other members of this community is

not intended to replace professional medical advice, so, if you are concerned, then it would be wise to consult your GP practice. The practice nurse may be perfectly well qualified to talk you through this issue. Many practices also have online consultation facilities.

I am not sure how accurate your measuring equipment is likely to be, so don't take watch/phone readings as gospel.

Take care.

[Stomper72 Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Cheers IT, yeah I kind of knew that was probably the route to take. I dislike the faff of arranging and then attending appointments with the Drs and it's much worse since Covid. I don't think I'm alone in that. I was hoping someone might know a good way of self diagnosing, maybe wishful thinking 🤞

[IannodaTruffe Mentor in reply to Stomper72]

As I say, a phone call or online consultation, where you give details of your condition and it will be reviewed by a GP, are available.

If you had felt light headed immediately after a run, then I might have suggested that your cool down was too brief and caused low blood pressure as a result, or even low blood sugar. However, as you had eaten and this was some time later, then it doesn't sound as if it is definitely connected to the run.

This nhs.uk/conditions/dizziness/ may give you some routes to follow.

[Stomper72 Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

I've got to phone the GP practice to get the results of a blood test from a month ago, I'll mention it then and see what they say. well done for being the voice of reason 👍

[Sunnytom Graduate]

Hope your feeling okay and as already been said no harm in getting a medical MOT just to be safe x

[Stomper72 Graduate in reply to Sunnytom]

Yeah I'm all good now, in fact I was as soon as I got on the floor. I think it was low BP caused by bending over. I think that means I am no longer allowed to do the dishwasher. I'd better inform my wife 😆

[Sunnytom Graduate in reply to Stomper72]

🤣🤣 or you need to bend your knees and not bend when doing so..

[Stomper72 Graduate]

I'm off to see the Drs tomorrow, I remembered that I needed to get the results from my blood test that I had early December (checking liver function and diabetes etc) so combining the two things got me over my reluctance to contact the surgery. Silly really.

[nowster Graduate]

It sounds like Postural Hypotension (POTS) but you're best getting checked out by your GP.

I suffer from it occasionally. Bend down, do something, stand up quickly, feel wobbly for a few minutes.

[Rising60 Graduate]

Absolutely not qualified medical advice, but I found that I would sometimes have a similar episode as long as an hour after a run and it seems to happen less frequently now that I've made a conscious effort to drink more liquid when I get home.

[roseabi]

Do you ever get migraine? If so it could be related to that.

[Stomper72 Graduate]

Thanks to everyone who replied, I had a telephone consultation with the Drs, which ended up being GOOD news all round really. 1st off my blood test confirmed that I'm well below the threshold for diabetes and pre-diabetes, good start! 2nd my cholesterol was down from my previous reading, whilst it was still over 5 the Dr said he wasn't worried about it in context of my improving lifestyle. 3rd he felt that my BP readings of 115/67 were a bit on the low side for a chap of my size which he felt explained the occasional light headedness. I've been on big doses of both Ramipril & Amlodipine and he's going to half my Amlodipine for now and review in 6 months. He said that I'm doing really well and that the weight loss and running is undoubtedly fuelling these improvements. Keep on running folks! 🖐️

[nowster Graduate in reply to Stomper72]

A BP of 115/67 is on the low side of normal, which makes sense. I've just done mine: 127/78, but I have recorded 116/68 once back in April.

[Stomper72 Graduate in reply to nowster]

You've got good readings. I think he felt it was a bit low for me specifically because I'm 17st 6lbs (down from about 18st 4lb in October 2021)he said if I'd have been a woman or lighter then those numbers would be more normal. He even said that for my size 130 - 140 wouldn't be excessive. As I lose weight I'm hoping that I can get off the drugs altogether and still have a "normal" BP.

[nowster Graduate in reply to Stomper72]

Understood. It makes sense: greater body volume requires greater pressure to get the blood round.

Best of luck!

[Stomper72 Graduate]

Just thought I'd add a little update here rather than start a new thread. Apologies if it's a bit lengthy and a bit self indulgent.

After my telephone consultation with the Dr on Friday in which he reasoned that my light headedness was being caused by my too low (for me) BP and reduced my amlodipine tabs to 5mg from 10mg. I woke up on Parkrunday and decide to skip the morning amlodipine altogether so I didn't run the risk of getting dizzy. All went well had a nice solid 35 min parkrun and carried on testing my BP at various points over the weekend. My BP stayed in the sub 130/80 range so I decided (rightly or wrongly) to skip Sundays amlodipine too. Again my BP remained unchanged and low, but on Sunday evening I noticed that my resting heart rate had dropped to 45bpm! I checked it a few times and it was consistently below 50bpm. I was aware that it had been tracking down since I started running and had previously seemed to be anywhere around 55-65 at resting bpm and was actually feeling positive about it, but 45bpm set off an alarm bel in the back of my head. So I did the dreaded google. "Low heart rate" search results suggested "Bradycardia" and upon further investigation it turns out that another symptom of Bradycardia is light headedness/dizziness/feinting!

I could barely sleep last night due to anxiety and wondering if I've somehow messed myself up by getting fitter! I know that sounds silly but that's where my mind is going. I booked another phone consultation with the Dr this morning. He again surmised that my low BP was the cause of the occasional dizziness. I admitted that I hadn't taken the amlodipine and after I told him the readings I'd had over the weekend he said in that case let's knock those on the head altogether. So that was pleasing. He said he wasn't overly concerned with a 45bpm reading and he went on to say that electronic devices seemed to struggle once people got outside of the typical expected ranges suggesting he was sceptical about the reading. For some reason I failed to tell him that I'd used three different devices this morning (BP monitor, fitness band and smartphone) and that they were all within 2bpm of one another at 52/50/50 for some reason I felt like I'd sound like I'd be calling into question his knowledge and kept my mouth shut (funny animals aren't we?) He re-iterated that he felt the reductions in BP and resting HR were most likely a result of my running. To be sure he said he did want to do a trace and booked me in for tomorrow to get that done with one of the practice nurses.

I've got to be honest, I didn't feel as reassured this time (probably to do with his scepticism about the HR readings) and it left me feeling a bit fed up about running and the lifestyle changes (moderate low-carb) I've made since October last year. So much so that for the 1st time in 4 months I went to the chip shop and shovelled kebeb and chips down my throat. That didn't satisfy my self destruct craving so I had some choccie biscuits as well. Of course that didn't make me feel any better either. I want to go for a run to make up for my lapse but I feel like I can't until I after my ecg tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed.

On a positive note, I've got to say considering we're in the middle of a pandemic and notwithstanding that these consultations have been over the phone rather than in person, the speed at which I've managed to get appointments is excellent.

Sorry again for long self serving post

👍

[NotPrime in reply to Stomper72]

I’ve had similar conversations about blood pressure and heart rate with my GP. My bp medication was reduced to stop the occasional lightheadedness. My resting heart rate is around 43, my GP’s reaction “Of course it is, you’re a runner. It’s what I’d expect “.