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  1. #1
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    Default "Attack" of dizziness and weakness

    Today I was hiking up some steep tricky terrain. I got up and just kind of collapsed. I was dizzy and my muscles were very weak. My hiking partner indicated that there was a nice place to sit a little ways a way and I insisted on sitting down immediately. I did for awhile, ate and drank and got up, still didn't feel great, but about an hour later felt better.

    I wondered if this has happened to anybody else. I speculated it was a "glycogen" depletion type event. ?

    Any ideas. I usually eat rather high carb meal the day before and didn't yesterday as I was out to eat.

    --des

  2. #2

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    I have tendencies toward vertigo--there are lots of different reasons for it, such as an inner ear issue or hypoglycemia. Frequently when you are hiking, however, I would suspect dehydration as a possibility.

  3. #3

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    I'd suspect dehydration with low blood sugar. If you are like me, the bursts of activity are out of the realm of normal activity (desk job) and if you aren't used to noticing the signs, it can seem to hit pretty fast. I used to have more issues with that when I was younger with no body fat and didn't take good care of myself on a daily basis (food, exercise).

  4. #4

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    This is absolutely the right spot to get medical help. NOT
    Go to a doctor to find out for sure

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by NICKTHEGREEK View Post
    This is absolutely the right spot to get medical help. NOT
    Go to a doctor to find out for sure
    By all means, go to the doctor. Get your sugar metabolism and hemoglobin checked.

  6. #6
    Registered User orangebug's Avatar
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    Among the vital signs we aren't seeing - age and pulse rate jump out at me.

    Real world doctoring is required here.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by desdemona View Post
    Today I was hiking up some steep tricky terrain. I got up and just kind of collapsed. I was dizzy and my muscles were very weak. My hiking partner indicated that there was a nice place to sit a little ways a way and I insisted on sitting down immediately. I did for awhile, ate and drank and got up, still didn't feel great, but about an hour later felt better.

    I wondered if this has happened to anybody else. I speculated it was a "glycogen" depletion type event. ?

    Any ideas. I usually eat rather high carb meal the day before and didn't yesterday as I was out to eat.

    --des
    There are two different forms of glycogen depletion.

    In one type, you lose glycogen in the muscles first. You can still walk, painfully, but not up hills. You are basically burning fat only at that point, so you have about half the energy you normally might. I am not sure how it interplays with fluids and salts and so on, but in theory you can march for days on just body fat, while your body breaks down protiens into sugars to feed your brain. In the second type, less common I believe, and even more dangerous, you lose glycogen from your liver first, so your blood sugar drops, and your brain malfunctions. This is very bad and can be fatal.

    Not sure what was up with you, but you did the right thing to stop. Could have been many things. Glycogen. Too little Fluids. Too much fluids. Salt deficiency or imbalance. Adrenalin. Insulin. Fever. Sun stroke. Heat stroke. Stroke. Take it slow and get to know your body and how it works and what it needs. Cheers.

  8. #8
    Registered User Lyle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JAK View Post
    Could have been many things. Glycogen. Too little Fluids. Too much fluids. Salt deficiency or imbalance. Adrenalin. Insulin. Fever. Sun stroke. Heat stroke. Stroke. Take it slow and get to know your body and how it works and what it needs. Cheers.

    Add to this list hyperventilation. Most likely a combination of two or more of the above.

    Anything like this ever happen before? If so, definitely go see your Doc.

  9. #9

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    In case no one has mentioned it, you should see a doctor. They have these thingys that tell them what's going on inside of you.

  10. #10
    Registered User orangebug's Avatar
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    Folks, there are some very significant bad things this could be, including stroke (TIA), arrhythmias and the like. We know nothing about desdemona, especially medical history, vital signs and the like.

    All suggestions of etiology are pure speculation. Desdemona needs a real world doctor to assure none of the very bad possibilities are valid.

  11. #11
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    I'll talk to my doctor about it, but as far as my last physical which was less than a year ago I was healthy. In the past, I was dxed with hypoglycemia. More current doctors have sort of dissed this whole idea saying that this is sort of a fad diagnosis and that there is no such thing unless accompanied by diabetes, which I don't have. Perhaps this isn't quite true.

    I am on medication that could make me instantly light headed if I should stand up quickly say.

    Nothing like this has happened before or in the real world (so to speak) (or since, the rest of the trip was delightful and uneventful.)


    --des

  12. #12
    Registered User Tennessee Viking's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by desdemona View Post
    Today I was hiking up some steep tricky terrain. I got up and just kind of collapsed. I was dizzy and my muscles were very weak. My hiking partner indicated that there was a nice place to sit a little ways a way and I insisted on sitting down immediately. I did for awhile, ate and drank and got up, still didn't feel great, but about an hour later felt better.

    I wondered if this has happened to anybody else. I speculated it was a "glycogen" depletion type event. ?

    Any ideas. I usually eat rather high carb meal the day before and didn't yesterday as I was out to eat.

    --des
    During my high school days, I had some head ponding migraines in the mornings for about 2 months. My doctor theorized that I was having a protein/sugar imbalance. Which at that time, I was swimming in Mountain Dew, pizza, and sugar candy. He suggested to lower bad sugar intake gradually, such as sodas & candy; then to start eating peanut butter snacks through out the day.
    ''Tennessee Viking'
    Mountains to Sea Trail Hiker & Maintainer
    Former TEHCC (AT) Maintainer

  13. #13
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    Sounds like low blood sugar to me. Maybe you're hypoglycemic.
    Quote Originally Posted by orangebug View Post
    Desdemona needs a real world doctor
    Seconded.

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by bfitz View Post
    Sounds like low blood sugar to me. Maybe you're hypoglycemic.

    Seconded.
    Thirded.
    I was gonna guess that yesterday but didn't want to sound like a geek.
    But is is my straight up guess.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by desdemona View Post
    I was dxed with hypoglycemia. More current doctors have sort of dissed this whole idea saying that this is sort of a fad diagnosis and that there is no such thing unless accompanied by diabetes, which I don't have. Perhaps this isn't quite true.
    Whether or not you call it "hypoglycemia", some people are definitely more susceptible to having blood sugar crash out (and then their body crash out) than others. If you hadn't eaten much before the faint spell, I'd agree with everyone else in this thread. (Still would suggest a doctor, tho.)

  16. #16

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    Unless it happens again or your blood sugar is whacked, a doctor won't have a clue. You did right to immediately sit down. Better to sit or lie down than fall down and crack your skull open.

  17. #17

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    Only about one third of people survive the first heart attack. Every heart attack victims funeral I have been to, their survivors tell about an incident such as yours. Most have a good reason why they didn't go to the doc. Good Luck to ya

    Clyde

  18. #18
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    Years ago, I had a blood sugar test (one of those long ones) and I definitely got low blood sugar. I have had them before, but not so much lately. I had a snack (gorp) about an hour earlier. OTOH, I maybe exerted myself quite a bit more than average.

    Another thing is low blood pressure-- I can get this standing up quickly.

    I also think a few other things people mentioned are possible (dehydration). Though not sun or heat stroke. It wasn't particularly hot.

    I have doubts that a doctor could figure this out in an otherwise healthy person, unless I could take him on the trail and could reenact it somehow.

    Still I will ask about it.


    --des

  19. #19
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    I work in an ER. If you came to the ER with dizziness and weakness symptoms, you would be given an EKG within 5 minutes of arrival.

    Just saying, don't get diagnosed here, go see a doc.

  20. #20
    Registered User orangebug's Avatar
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    Ding, Ding, Ding!

    What I'd been thinking the whole time.

    There are many possibilities with much more significance than transient hypoglycemia that deserve evaluation.

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