Fainting while exercising

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shoneybabes
shoneybabes Posts: 199 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am looking for any information or advice about fainting during cardio. I was in the middle of my 10k run and I got really disorientated, dizzy and felt like I was drunk and then I fainted. Anyone ever experienced this?

I am not a fainter, this is a first, it wasn't hot nor was I dehydrated. I can do 10k's regularly so its not a fitness thing but it did feel like I was sprinting the whole time.
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Replies

  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    Running too fast and probably not having enough sugar/food in your system. What is your diet like?
  • shoneybabes
    shoneybabes Posts: 199 Member
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    I eat healthy, I am a vegan and I had a banana on wholemeal for breakfast with a bite of a nakd bar before the race started.

    I felt like I was running too fast but my dad who I was running with said I was going slow and that I have ran better.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    "Well, I do declare. I feel all sorts of weak and faint"
    woman-fainting.jpg
    I can do 10k's regularly so its not a fitness thing but it did feel like I was sprinting the whole time.
    Heat, humidity, hydration, nutrition, tired. Lots of different factors can make the same run much harder some days. Do you wear a HRM? Sometimes it's a good thing to monitor. If you're putting out maximal effort to run the same pace perhaps you should take it down a notch. Running by effort isn't a bad idea. I did yesterday's long run with a goal of keeping my HR around 160 or lower regardless of speed.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    Maybe talk with your doctor and see if he/she can run tests to make sure it isn't something else?
  • silvergurl518
    silvergurl518 Posts: 4,123 Member
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    i agree with all of the above posters. i've dehydrated before, as a child, numerous times. it's possible you had heat exhaustion...or were severly dehydrated....but please don't let internet strangers diagnose you. go to your primary care doctor and get some tests done. could be a wide variety of things (vitamin deficiencies; thyroid issues; heart stuff). better to get a medical opinion than that of the peanut gallery.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Not to sound like an alarmist, but if I were you, I'd get my heart checked. I suffer from the occasional arrhythmia that feels pretty much like what you described.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    I eat healthy, I am a vegan and I had a banana on wholemeal for breakfast with a bite of a nakd bar before the race started.

    I felt like I was running too fast but my dad who I was running with said I was going slow and that I have ran better.

    yep, sounds like your blood sugar bottomed out
  • Tw1zzler
    Tw1zzler Posts: 583
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    I've almost passed out a few times while lifting, my doc said it might have been low blood sugar. Definitely consult your doctor.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    Its hard to know from the info we have....

    It could be low blood pressure, or not eating enough in general, or anemia, or vasovagol syncope, or you were just tired. If you felt like you were sprinting the whole time while only jogging, then something is amiss.
  • shoneybabes
    shoneybabes Posts: 199 Member
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    Well I went to the doctors and am getting a heart scan and the usual blood tests. I think I just ran too hard and too fast as I was running at my dads pace.

    Just wondered if anyone ever did anything to prevent it or kept going afterwards?
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    Well I went to the doctors and am getting a heart scan and the usual blood tests. I think I just ran too hard and too fast as I was running at my dads pace.

    Just wondered if anyone ever did anything to prevent it or kept going afterwards?

    The same questions remain, without identifying the underlying cause, no one can offer advice on how to prevent this from happening again.

    Don't worry, your doctor will be able to give you better info than any of us can :flowerforyou:
    Hope it all turns out well!:drinker:
  • mallen404
    mallen404 Posts: 266 Member
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    I eat healthy, I am a vegan and I had a banana on wholemeal for breakfast with a bite of a nakd bar before the race started.

    I felt like I was running too fast but my dad who I was running with said I was going slow and that I have ran better.

    yep, sounds like your blood sugar bottomed out
    Yep blood sugar.

    I have been close to fainting before, just have some juice or fruit before the gym next time and it will help big time!
  • cfredz
    cfredz Posts: 292 Member
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    i started insanity at the beginning of the month and by week two day 1 i got really dizzy during my workout but kept going. then for 4 days i still felt dizzy/lightheaded/like the room is spinning and i went to my dr. its vertigo. im getting bloodwork done this week to see if maybe i have an electrolye imbalance (i dont consume a lot of sodium) or anything else wrong. I also might not have been eating enough for insanity (was at 1600, i just bumped to 1800)
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    How many calories are doing?? Your breakfast doesn't sound like much for a 10k run.
  • Gizziemoto
    Gizziemoto Posts: 430 Member
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    See your doctor. Could be so many things. Low pressure will make you faint too. Definitely see your doctor to find out for sure.
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
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    I'm going to guess low blood sugar. Or dehydration. I fainted a couple months ago from dehydration (although not while running - I was in line at Starbucks) and a couple weeks ago I started getting dizzy during late afternoon spin classes. That was my blood sugar dropping. Now I put a supplement in my water (not necessarily suggesting this, but I always eat a snack before but didn't want to be too full) for intense late afternoon workouts.
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,862 Member
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    From the American College of Cardiology http://bit.ly/18pF1Hq

    "When is fainting the sign of a serious problem?
    Fainting may be the sign of a serious problem if:
    It happens often in a short period of time.
    It happens without warning. (When fainting is not serious, a person often knows it is about to happen and may vomit or feel hot or queasy.)
    You are losing a lot of blood. This could include internal bleeding that you can't see.
    You feel short of breath.
    You have chest pain.
    You feel like your heart is racing or beating unevenly (palpitationsClick here to see more information.).
    It happens along with numbness or tingling on one side of the face or body."
  • czardastx
    czardastx Posts: 127 Member
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    Go see a doctor. Don't ask us, we're (for the most part) not educated, trained physicians. Find out if it's just a one time thing or something serious. Next time could happen where you could be seriously (even fatally) injured.
  • zacharydeveaux
    zacharydeveaux Posts: 17 Member
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    As I get nearer to my goal weight and am eating less calories, I occasionally get light headed like that. So far it's been 100% my fault and was because of not eating enough calories that morning (blood sugar). Was easily fixed in my case by more snacks and better timing of meals (I.E. - eating lunch before I go to the gym instead of 'getting around to it afterward')

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