Dizziness - Blood Pressure Issues, maybe?

[annie]

CycleChic,

If I am understanding you correctly, your dizziness only occurs if you suddenly stop after strenuous activity? I've always been told NEVER to just stop, but to keep moving and let your heartrate slow down gradually...... While you are pedaling, or running or hiking, etc. the movement of your legs is assisting your heart in pumping the blood through your body. When you stop suddenly, your heart is forced to take over all the pumping itself and often, can't compensate so quickly. Not enough blood is pumped to the extremities, including your brain, and you get that feeling of light-headedness. I know I have certainly experienced that. So I try and always remember to slow down, instead of simply stopping. I've also felt nauseous at the top of a hill, if I totally went too hard. This doesn't happen regularly, tho', and if you are having problems ALL the time, you're still better off talking to your doctor. Let them decide if you need to go in for a check-up. Sometimes, just the peace of mind you get from having a problem checked out is worth it. Hopefully, its nothing serious.

annie

[RoadRaven]

CC... maybe its medical, and the replies here have me wondering... but when I had read your post only I immediately thought "lactate threshold". You say this happens during strenuous activity like climbing on a bike... thats inevitably when my HR spikes.
I can't comment on the hiking as it is years since I have.

When you get to LT, your heart rate is way up there and you can feel a combination of dizzy, headachey, sore legs/abdomen, and thinking about/wanting to throw up. When my HR is way over lactic, not only do I feel like I am going to be sick, I also begin to believe my heart my just burst up my throat and crash into my skull.

When you ease the exertion, the lactic acid begins to disperse and things start to feel better and more normal again...

When the intensity is intense you get these symptoms... a Heart rate monitor would help to identify this. Veronica asked... do you have one?

[CycleChic06]

I don't have a heart rate monitor, but I'm thinking I should get one. It's kinda like what Annie's describing, the whole thing about my heart pumping super hard and stopping kinda disorients me, I get dizzy, nauseus and I have puked on several occasions. But definitely if I don't stop, the symptoms don't occur. And if I do stop, start feeling this way, if I start moving again, the symptoms go away within a few minutes. It's pretty much anytime I'm exherting myself, like I said, hiking, running, whatever. And I've kinda always been like this, I grew up with the "suck it up" mentality and just figured it was nothing until my friend thought it might be a concern.

But I know they're kinda vague symptoms and could possibly be any that people have described, low blood sugar, reaching the lactic threshold, etc...

I've called and made an appointment with my doctor, she wouldn't talk to me over the phone and told me I had to come in but at least I'll get some answers and clear my mind of any concern.

Emily

[RoadRaven]

If its what Annie describes, then it most likely what I have described too - its your lactate threshold... still, get it checked by a doctor if you are concerned, and ride with others til you know for sure