Anyone else get dizzy when they don't eat for X hours?

silhouettes

I am completely healthy other than being obsese (which is something I'm trying to fix!) but I have had this weird problem for awhile now and to me it sounds like low blood sugar, but the doctor said mine was fine.. so I just wanted to see if any of you ever had this problem.

When I don't eat for such a period of time I get dizzy and nausiated and feel like throwing up. I used to lay down in front of something cold like a fan or air conditioner and it would fade.. there were times in the past I felt it in the shower and had to get out IMMEDIENTLY and lay down on the bed... I was afraid I'd fall down, which I never did.

I was worried about this when I started dieting about being able to stay under the calories if I got this way, but since I started exercising it's only happened a couple of times.

I think it's the reason this morning I got a big headache and a tummy ache after doing my first round of EA Sports, because I didn't eat breakfast... I have exercised early without breakfast plenty of times during my diet (I find I loose more weight this way.. when I feel up to it) and this is the first time it has happened.. so it might have been the heat or a combination of both.. but either way it got me thinking and wondering what's wrong!

The doctor finds nothing wrong with me.. but it's weird... it's not like I'm starving... I eat my 1200 and my exercise calories back.

So does anyone else here get that problem? Getting dizzy, headaches, stomach sickness when you don't eat for X hours. Anyone know the cause?

Amy_B

I have had that feeling before, and I always thought it was low blood sugar. I don't think it's necessarily something a doc could say "yes" or "no" when it doesn't happen all the time.

Kitiara47

I only get like that if I don't eat within an hour after waking up. Low blood sugar? That's what I think mine is. It's the only time of the day that I will get sick if I don't eat right away.

kerriknox

I don't any more but that is one of my most common pregnancy side effects. The dr told me it was just low blood sugar and to eat more regularly. I started eating 10 pistachios between meals and that helped a lot!

shander7

I get that sometimes, I just keep a jolly rancher or something with a little sugar in it on hand. A glass of OJ helps too. That usually makes me feel better within 2 or 3 minutes. Hope this helps!

shanice_22

I used to have that problem before I started trying to lose weight. I used to not eat breakfast so wouldn't eat until anywhere between 11am and 12:30pm and then wouldn't eat again until tea time. Or I'd eat breakfast and wouldn't eat anything else until tea time. Or I just wouldn't eat anything all day until tea time. Not always intentionally, sometimes I'd forget to eat (when studying hard) or I didn't have money and forgot to bring food with me. Since I've been trying to lose weight I try to eat every 2 hours (3 hours at the latest, though doesn't always work that way with my break times at work), and I find that I don't get that sick/dizzy feeling anymore.

Shweedog

This happens to me. I used to feel dizzy and even faint after showers. Exercise makes me dizzy too. My doctor said it was from the heat and the way my body is wired to respond to it. I just make sure I am hydrated and remain as cool as possible (ac, fans, etc) when I am doing something that raises my core temp.

moushtie

Are you drinking enough? I know when I feel faint it's actually probably dehydration, although eating fixes it too, because there's water in food.

keb80

I get this but I don't really know the cause of it. I often will get dizzy when I go from lying to sitting or sitting to lying. It usually only lasts 15 seconds or so. Sometimes, but not always, I will get nauseated too. I have passed out before due to what the doctor presumed was low blood sugar but that was years ago. I've wondered if it could be due to anemia in my case, as I've always been borderline but haven't been tested lately.

cawood2

Yes, if i don't eat fairly regularly, particularly when i'm watching calories, I get nauseous, headache, and then dizzy. I find if i eat more often, that helps. Are you drinking enough water? I have had the "almost passing out" (plus sweats and chills) when i worked out in the heat, with nothing to drink. That's all I can suggest.

Sarw27

I find this too sometimes... and have wondered the same thing about my blood sugar, though any time I've had it checked it's been fine. I find that I get a bit of a headache. I have worried about diabetes also, but was not diabetic the last time I checked that. I admit, I am too scared to find out and decided that the best way to remedy it for me was to ensure I eat my meals regularly (spaced apart just enough and eating balanced) and just focus on dropping the weight.

Maybe there is a low-cal snack you can keep on hand for times like these? I don't think it would take much.

jluthersw

I get that a lot. Mine is low blood sugar. The doctor could not detect this unless he takes your blood sugar when you feel like this. I actually pass out if I do not fix this. I just try to eat light little snacks through the day and that normally keeps it down. I would watch out and make sure you do not actually pass out because it really is not fun. Good luck!!

sarad777

I generally have to eat something every 3 hours or I feel like crap. I get increidbly irritable if I miss a meal.

pitbullmama

I also get the shakes, nausea etc if I go without eating for a few hours. Blood sugar drop, happens to alot of people. I try to keep some form of protein snack in my purse if I'm going to be out for a while.

BranMuffin21

I don't know what its actually called but I get crystals in my ears moving around and I get really dizzy to the point I feel like being sick. Usually if I don't eat for more than 4 hours, was being active, and my last meal was light.

NoExcuseTina

I get light headed when I do not eat, but not dizzy...with the obesity, it could be more serious than just low blood sugar...you could be diabetic (or boarderline diabetic)...I would have you doctor run a test to make sure (as it is a serious disease)

Sarw27

P.S. I have also experienced getting dizzy in the shower- to the point I have to get out and lie down for a few minutes. I think it is because of the heat and not having eaten, so I've started showering with the curtain at the back of the shower open just a little... and leaving the bathroom door open. That way it doesn't get too steamy and I don't feel sick.

silhouettes

Thanks for your answers so far!

I haven't actually passed out yet.. but I've felt like it at times.. like I said it's getting better when me working out.. I eat more frequently.. but there are times you can't help not eating for whatever reason and that's when it happens .

I ate some crackers and I felt better in just 20 minutes.. it was fusterating having that feeling again.. It's been awhile

I have asked the doc and been tested for things, but nothing was ever found.

And yes! I do that to in the summer, I leave the bathroom door and shower curtain open just a tad bit so I don't get to hot.. it must help because I can't remember the last time I felt that way in the shower.. it was sometime before I started loosing weight.

Kalrez

Happened to me very often a few years back. I was basically not eating. Stupid, I know, but whatever. I would always get dizzy. I passed out in the shower numerous times. I think it was a combination of the heat and having nothing in my body. Once I started eating again, the feinting stopped. The only time I feel like that now is if I am very hot, which I think is a lot more normal.

PlanetVelma

This happens to me when I don't eat every 3-4 hours. My dr and nutritionist told me to make sure that I am eating well balanced meals/snacks (protein/carbs/sugar).

So I make sure I have a good balance for my meals and that really helps, now if I eat something sweet (donut, candy, soda, etc...) I will feel better for the short term but then later my blood sugar will drop even lower than it was before. So I try really hard to avoid eat anything super sugary if I start feeling icky. I may have a small glass of OJ, but I will couple that with scrambled eggs & toast (as an example).

I do feel like that when i'm dehydrated too - so make sure you are drinking plenty of water as well.

You may want to consider making a dr's appt and also discuss your concerns/issues with a nutritionist. Perhaps even take a copy of your food journal so they can see what you're eating/how much water your drinking/etc....

silhouettes

Oh yes and water wise, I had 3 cups before I felt it this morning.. cuz I drunk it with my exercise.. which isn't bad for being that early, I do stay hydrated.

Riebop

If I wait too long between meals and am overly hungry, I'll get a serious headache and horrendous stomach pains. I generally eat ever 3 hours or so. I tend to be hungry in the moring. I will eat a half of a banana if I'm working out in the morning because I'll get light headed and won't have any energy to actually finish the workout.

Amo_Angelus

I had this happen to me for years! And I did fall down when it got very bad. The doctor ran every test he could think of for ages. No result, so I wa chatting to a nurse who told me "You know, it sounds like you're anemic, like your body isn't storing iron properly. What you need to do is make an appointment for a blood test and then not eat for x ammount of hours before the appointment" so that's what I did. By the time I went to the doctors I was so weak that I was on the verge of fainting and hey presto, I had a very low iron count! Thing is, several doctors have told me that iron take days to regiter raises or decreases, so it shouldn't be anemia, it hould be sugar. But my sugar is fine, my iron count can change in only a matter of minutes. Heat make it worse, as does anything in my system (I got a throat infection and ended up passing out twice in a day from anemia)...

TrainingWithTonya

Unless your doctor tested your blood sugar when you were having a bout of it, then they wouldn't see it as low blood sugar. More then likely you have normal blood sugar if you eat on a schedule, but because you are using the sugar in your blood throughout the day, it will dip if you don't replenish it, which is when you feel the dizzy, light-headed, nausea, etc. If you can test your blood sugar at the time you are feeling bad (IE: With a home monitor like diabetics use), then you can see the low blood sugar. I'd still bet that is what it is and would recommend eating something with a mix of simple and complex carbs so that you can get some immediate increase in blood sugar so you feel better immediately but also have the complex carbs that will keep your blood sugar more stable for the next few hours too.

mariabee

Unless your doctor tested your blood sugar when you were having a bout of it, then they wouldn't see it as low blood sugar. More then likely you have normal blood sugar if you eat on a schedule, but because you are using the sugar in your blood throughout the day, it will dip if you don't replenish it, which is when you feel the dizzy, light-headed, nausea, etc. If you can test your blood sugar at the time you are feeling bad (IE: With a home monitor like diabetics use), then you can see the low blood sugar. I'd still bet that is what it is and would recommend eating something with a mix of simple and complex carbs so that you can get some immediate increase in blood sugar so you feel better immediately but also have the complex carbs that will keep your blood sugar more stable for the next few hours too.

You rock my world Tonya!

silhouettes

I asked my doc again today when I went and she agreed that's it's low blood sugar but she can't test it since I wasn't feeling that way.. so thought I would update and say that

She told me just to keep crackers or something nearby at all times in case it happens.

cupcakesplz

This is so me! It is also one reason why I have put in the weight and find it hard to lose it. I wasn't always like that, as a kids I wouldn't eat much food and Bam! I started eating every time I could. At the start of this spell I will feel weak, my tummy is like a washing machine, I feel a headache coming on and I feel dizzy. If left untreated the headache will increase, the dizziness increase and the nausea starts. The third stage leads to a migraine

fishshark

Shweedog wrote: »

This happens to me. I used to feel dizzy and even faint after showers. Exercise makes me dizzy too. My doctor said it was from the heat and the way my body is wired to respond to it. I just make sure I am hydrated and remain as cool as possible (ac, fans, etc) when I am doing something that raises my core temp.

yea same here if i take too hot of a shower (which i prefer so almost burn myself) it takes me like 45 mins to cool down and be able to stop spinning. Cant be in the car unless air is blasting lol. for me its more dehydration then it is not eating.

lynn_glenmont

necro thread

Francl27

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

necro thread

Almost 5 years!

kristinaschmidt129142

silhouettes wrote: »

I am completely healthy other than being obsese (which is something I'm trying to fix!) but I have had this weird problem for awhile now and to me it sounds like low blood sugar, but the doctor said mine was fine.. so I just wanted to see if any of you ever had this problem.

When I don't eat for such a period of time I get dizzy and nausiated and feel like throwing up. I used to lay down in front of something cold like a fan or air conditioner and it would fade.. there were times in the past I felt it in the shower and had to get out IMMEDIENTLY and lay down on the bed... I was afraid I'd fall down, which I never did.

I was worried about this when I started dieting about being able to stay under the calories if I got this way, but since I started exercising it's only happened a couple of times.

I think it's the reason this morning I got a big headache and a tummy ache after doing my first round of EA Sports, because I didn't eat breakfast... I have exercised early without breakfast plenty of times during my diet (I find I loose more weight this way.. when I feel up to it) and this is the first time it has happened.. so it might have been the heat or a combination of both.. but either way it got me thinking and wondering what's wrong!

The doctor finds nothing wrong with me.. but it's weird... it's not like I'm starving... I eat my 1200 and my exercise calories back.

So does anyone else here get that problem? Getting dizzy, headaches, stomach sickness when you don't eat for X hours. Anyone know the cause?

I came across a couple articles one day about excess stomach acid and how it affects your body. I have the same problem (especially when I'm trying to cut down my calories), I would eat breakfast and before lunch I would start to get a headache and feel really nauseous and dizzy. Once I ate lunch, I felt completely normal again.

For me, it was because my stomach was producing excess acid because I was very stressed at work. The reason you feel better after you ate is because food in your stomach triggers your stomach to start releasing the food and stomach acid down into your intestines. Apparently there are quite a lot of people that go to their doctor and believe it has something to do with their blood sugar, and the doctors can't find anything wrong because they're looking at the wrong cause.

I spoke to my doctor about what I had read and about my stress, and first he obviously told me to reduce my stress, but he also gave my some acid reducers, which have significantly helped me!

This was a life changer for me, as I had been gaining weight as I thought I was constantly hungry and would eat the minute I started to feel nauseous. (It didn't help that I would eat crap, and overeat).

This may not be what's happening to you, but it's always good to bring up with your doctor, I really hope this can help you as it has helped me!

Also, if I can find the articles I will post them here.