Not sure if this is the area for this question, but sometimes say 1 in 3 when I train or ride, I find about 20-30 minutes in I get light headed and sudden heavy sweats. Lasts for a few minutes then gradually clears. Always 20-30 minutes in and never after. Could this be food related? I have no medical conditions or issues.
That sounds potentially dangerous to me, especially if it happens outdoors and you’re in traffic.
I’m not a doc or anything medical, and it might be a good idea to mention it to your doc and have them check you out again.
However:
- do you have low blood pressure? Do you feel light headed or faint in other parts of your life?
- do you measure your heart rate? Is there anything happening during those episodes?
- how long have you been training, and how dit do you feel in general? Does it happen when you go running or when doing other sports?
- you think it might be food related - when do you usually eat before riding? And how much?
To me, it sounds like your body is moving blood supply to your legs, and taking a bit too much from the head in the process. A full stomach might make it worse, because blood will also be needed for digestion.
As I said, I’m not a medical professional, and they might know much better what is happening.
1 Like
Go to see a doctor. See this:
Essential Information For Cyclists | How Safe Is Your Heart? | GCN.
Yeah I’ve been to the doctors and no issues found all healthy, heart rate doesn’t do anything weird I wondered if it was a sugar thing. I also had this yesterday whilst walking after 2 miled and it was hot , obviously indoor turbo so maybe heat ? Just wondered if anyone else has had the same.
Thanks guys all advice helps. I’ve been riding and training for years so not doing anything new but I am 48 do maybe should calm down a little.
A blood glucose meter is very cheap, and you could get some data during your rides pretty easily. If it’s not fueling, then it’s probably something with bloodpressure. Exercise usually causes your blood vessels to expand which reduces your bp. It could be you go into workouts underhydrated and the initial vasodilation is more than your blood volume can support. You could test this by loading some salt (1/2 tsp or so) an hour or 2 before a workout.
1 Like
Thanks Gcarver I will do a little testing to see what happens.
i’ve experienced this as well. Seemed to be when I ate a high carb breakfast, specifically, oatmeal. Even if I had some protein with it, I would still get a bit lightheaded. I stopped with the pre-workout oatmeal and the lightheadness has gone away. Only anecdotal so please take it as such.
i have been experiencing the same, not always. Sometimes when i eat cereal before a ride (~1hr before) i get light headed 5 min in to about 20min. Taking in some high carb drink seems to make it stop. Happens when i run also. My wife who runs quite a bit gets the same. She has even stopped eating before 15 mile runs. Doctor doesnt seem to have a clue when i mentioned it during my last physical. I have never had issues with BP.
Read this, it might give you some insight.
Endurance Nutrition: What to Eat Before, During & After Exercise
My understanding is that you eat high glycemic carbs, and your blood sugar level goes up, and your insulin is metered out into the bloodstream to work on reducing that amount of blood sugar, and it might normally take a couple hours before it gets everything stabilized. But, if you start exercising while that insulin is already working, and your blood sugar level is dropping as a result of the insulin that’s coursing through your veins, the exercise lowers that blood glucose (BG) even more than the insulin was dosed to deal with…so the BG goes too low (i.e, your body had no way of knowing it basically didn’t need to put out that much insulin before you started exercising, but when it figures it out, it’s too late).
Or it could be something else…
This seems like a reasonable explanation. When i experience this issue it lasts 20min and then im fine for 2-3 hours as long as I keep fueling. Ill experiment by trying some lower glycemic carbs prior to longer exercise or not eating prior to shorter sessions.
I was having issues with feeling spacey during and after a workout ride. I was told that it was possibly two things, one dehydration and two low blood sugar. (I said that I was peeing after a ride, but that wasn’t enough of a sign that I was properly hydrated)
After a really punishing ride, I started drinking lots of water and ate a few pieces of fruit and I felt completely different, no ‘space cadet’ feeling, felt so much better. I was warned about supplementing/using too much sugary stuff before and during, but urged to drink more water. At least that’s something to add to what might be contributing to your experience.
Another thing: are you getting ketonic? Smelling/tasting ketones? If it’s getting that bad, you really should make some adjustments. A ketonic state is changing your blood chemistry for the worse. (And what did your last physical blood tests show: A1C and blood sugar?) After my discussion over the space cadet feeling, I asked if I should be checking my blood sugar post-ride. The answer was that I was likely running low, for good reason, and if this spacey feeling didn’t clear up, I probably should be checking it, but the changes I made seemed to stop it. At the time I was so spacey that I’d stumble occasionally, not good. Sometimes I’d freak out a little which didn’t help. But your comment about sweating increasing suddenly doesn’t sound normal, proceed with caution? Nothing beats a specialist’s opinion.