dizzy spells - advice needed

[logic]

I'm 14 weeks pregnant and I'm having dizzy spells. About every other time that I get up off a chair or bed, I feel really faint and get a roaring sound in my head and my vision greys out for 2 or 3 seconds. It's getting me down. I'm worried that I will pass out while looking after ds

Any advice would be gratefully received.

have you had your bp taken?
possibly low blood pressure

are you getting up too quickly perhaps????

Have you had a check up with the doctor yet? Maybe you have a blood pressure problem. I have only fainted once in my life and that was when I was pregnant with ds3, so I know dizzy spells and pregnancy go together sometimes, but if you are repeatedly experiencing this, I would go to see a doctor just to discuss it.

Agree that this sounds like low blood pressure. You could start by drinking more fluids and removing diuretics (things that make you pee) like caffeine. If it it blood pressure, drinking more fluids will increase the volume of blood in your body, hence increasing the pressure. Also, are you getting enough iron? Your growing baby selfish as they are! is sucking up your blood. So, it's important to have lots of iron so that your body can make more blood.

the obstretrician told me that bp goes down in pregnancy - so if you already had low bp it is likely to be very low by now. You need to take your time getting up from sitting or lying and don't rush anything. Good news is that bp rises again in the last trimester so you should be ok then.

It does sound like your dizzies are very frequent though so worth having a chat with GP or midwife I think.

hth and good luck

And make sure your blood glucose doesn't get too low by eating regularly.

I had my bp taken a month ago and it was normal but normal for me is 110/60 which I know is below average anyway...

I do tend to get up quickly usually because ds is about to do something unwise He's at that age.

Yes, I have this too - currently at 24 weeks and it has got better since the first trimester. I have rather low blood pressure (80/50 at the last count) and everything goes black most times I stand up, and I see stars. Midwife told me to stand up slowly, and to sit down if I was feeling dizzy, even if that meant sitting down in the middle of the pavement. Better than fainting she reckoned!

Good news is that it's nothing to worry about.
But definitely mention it at your next midwife check and they will no doubt measure your bp.

Thanks, girls. I get to see the GP in a couple of weeks so I could ask him then. I am taking pronatal vitamins to try and keep my iron levels up because I was a bit anaemic after my last pregnancy.

my mate is pg,she's got very low blood pressure and is experiencing similar symptoms to you. Agree with eating little and often.

logic, I have had exactly the same thing and it is quite normal in pregnancy. In fact, apparently it can be one of the first signs that you are pg, getting light-headed when you stand up. I know it's horrid and it can last for some weeks. I only blacked out once, very briefly, when putting dd1 on the loo, and was lucky in that a bruised knee was the worst I managed to infliced on myself. I saw my doctor and my blood pressure was fine, so unfortunately I think it's just one of those things you have to live with.

Having said that, perhaps you should see your doctor or midwife and see if there is anything they can suggest.

Hope this isn't too gloomy - you could try standing up slowly and see if that helps. Hope it passes sooner rather than later.

Hi Logic, I have low blood pressure too (not as low as to make me feel faint too often or black out...), and the advice I have been given is to eat little and often (as the others have said) and to really cut out the alchohol altogether, if you haven't already. I think making sure you get enough sleep (if that's possible!) can help too.... good luck!

Thank you all for the advice. I will have to try and put myself first a bit more!