Dizzy and faint

[Sprat12]

I'm 15+3 and keep getting horrible dizzy / faint spells, feels like low sugar but it keeps happening despite consuming a fair amount of sugar!

I have my 16 week appointment next Friday so I will speak to the midwife about it, but anything anyone would recommend in the meantime? It's not fun and wipes me out.

Are you just feeling dizzy or actually physically fainting too?

If you are just feeling dizzy, that's a normal symptom as in the second trimester your blood pressure goes lower than usual. Make sure to keep your sugars up throughout the day, and always have a chocolate bar / sweets etc in your handbag, to give you a little boost as and when you need it. But definitely mention to your midwife next week so they can check your glucose levels.

If you are physically fainting however, I would 100% speak to your midwife and/or GP sooner! x

I've had dizzy spells that are probably related to low blood pressure for most of my adult life.

A couple of tips for managing it:

• try to drink lots of fluids every day. It keeps your blood volume higher, so you are less likely to get big drops in blood pressure. You can also increase the amount of salt in your diet (mmm, crisps ...), which will also increase blood volume, but I'd check with your midwife before doing that!
• For me hot showers / baths and hot humid weather make it a lot worse. When you are warm, your capillaries dilate to allow more efficient heat loss through the skin, but it also lowers your blood pressure. I find having slightly cooler showers (not freezing, I'm not a sadist, just not steaming hot) is very helpful, as is keeping the bathroom well ventilated so it doesn't get too stuffy.
• Standing up from lying down or sitting on the floor are also times when I can get dizzy, so just being aware of that and taking your time standing back up can help avoid a dizzy spell.
• Apparently, squeezing your butt muscles is supposed to help stop your blood pressure dropping when you stand up, but I've never found it did anything useful!