Dizzy/Light-headed

I have had my pacemaker for four years now and just in the last year I start to get this fuzzy/funny feeling when I swim. These past few months I have gotten them just randomly, for example when I'm sitting in my desk at school. I've told my doctor about this several times and have done 24 hour monitors and stress tests and yet everything comes up fine. When I go see him, he does a tune up and fixes things here and there in order for me to not have any possible PVC's or dropped beats. He also told me to drink more water than the normal person, which I have been. But today I got really dizzy in class and I know I wasn't dehydrated. I had drank three bottles of water in three hours. Does anyone have these weird feelings and symptoms too or am I just putting it in my head?
I even got out of swim practice early today because I did not feel like playing around with the symptoms. Is it possible I am feeling PVC's or is it something else?
Any information, experiences, or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks. God Bless.

4 Comments

Check pulse?

by Selwyn - 2013-09-11 08:09:19

You could always try checking your pulse at the time and note any variation with the normal rate/rhythm. This would exclude a PM/cardiac problem for all practical purposes, I would think.

Dizziness is difficult to define and covers symptoms from vertigo to lightheadedness. I did wonder whether any other symptoms were associated such as excess sweating, shortness of breath etc. Maybe some further details would help here. If you get 'dizzy' laying flat, if virtually excludes a low blood pressure problem ( and drinking more water is not going to help).



Let's talk alternatives ...

by donr - 2013-09-12 02:09:56

...there are some. Selwyn suggested you check your pulse when it happens. Good idea. If it is fine - within normal limits for your level of activity, where do you go from there?

You gave me three hints:

1) You are 17 & have not had a lot of experience at being responsible for your own health decisions. You have not had the life experiences that your Grandfather has had. Look at me as your grandfather for this discussion. I'm old enough & have been around the block a few times more than you; have seen a few more things, healtwise & know a few more things that can do to you what is happening.

2) Your Cardio told you to drink more water than normal. Did he tell you HOW much more to drink? Did he ask HOW MUCH you currently drink? Did he tell you HOW to tell if you were getting the correct amount of water? Being 17 & trusting your cardio's judgement, did you go out & start drinking more water than you did? Can you guess where I am heading? Have you ever heard of someone OD'ing on water?

2) You said that just before the latest episode in class you drank 3 bottles of water in 3 hrs. How much water had you been drinking prior to that? Can you associate some of your symptoms w/ drinking a lot more water then normal just before?

I'm not saying you OD'd - just to talk to your Dr. & ask him/her to CONSIDER that as the reason for your symptoms NOW; not previous bouts of them.

I speak from bitter experience, having OD'd on water. I was working in the desert & had no experience w/ water requirements. The guidelines we were given was to drink ONE Liter (That's a quart, roughly, to US types) per hour. I was working w/ an old desert hand & I figured he knew what he was doing, so I kept up w/ him & swilled down 3 liters in three hours. I got all the symptoms you got, got dragged to a hosp in a 100MPH ride fearing I was having something serious (Well, it really was) & they found my BP at 170/120 & it took them a week to get it back to normal. Come to find out, my kidneys can only handle about 1/2 liter per hour (about a pint).

One final point - a PM is not very good at stopping PVC's. MOF, it's almost worthless. You see, a PVC is a beat that comes EARLY. The PM cannot predict when something will come early. It can only replace beats that are going to be missing or are late in occurrence.

PVC's will not do those things to you - normally. I have PVC's by the trainload - averaging 2 every three minutes - that's about 10,000 per day. Those are not MY symptoms - however, they MAY be yours, but I doubt it.

You asked a very good question - about the possibility of this being in your head. There is a mental component to every disease/malady/physical irregularity. The anxiety/worry about possibilities of something being seriously wrong can prey on your mind & make things worse than they really are. It's called a psychosomatic problem. Comes from the Greek: Psycho means head/brain/mind; Soma means body. Hence it is a problem of mind affecting the body & making it feel ill. Usually it is in some manner closely related to a physical ailment the person already has. It is NOT imaginary. It is very real & should be treated through educating the patient about what his/her physical ailment is & relieving the anxiety that goes along w/ it.

If I have helped you any at all, I'm thankful. It is NOT fun to be going through what you are. If you have any questions I can help you with, pls ask.

Don (Old enough to be your grandfather.

Hi

by pacergirl - 2013-09-12 08:09:49

I have PVCs when I'm tired and when I'm stressed! They can last for up to an hour or more and they wear me out. I feel dizzy and sometimes a bit nauseated. After an episode I feel as if I've run a race.

There was also a time that I was on a medication that left me so dizzy that I could not bend over without feeling like I was drunk. It was awful I couldn't even tie my own shoes. I complained to my dr. And he changed my meds. I take ziac now to control my rapid heartbeats. I discovered it might be the medication by reasearching the side effects of the medications I was taking by using the Internet.

I'm thinking its PVCs or your meds.

I hope you find a solution,
Pacergirl

Ditto to what Don said

by jenny97 - 2013-09-12 10:09:14

You've gotten a lot of good advice about what could be causing your symptoms: medications, low blood pressure, overdrinking water.

If you've done holters, then they should have been able to tell if your symptoms coincided with PVCs.

If your doctor suggested drinking more water, it may be that he believes it's a low blood pressure issue. If that is the case, then drinking more fluids and eating more sodium may help. But be aware that drinking straight water, as Don suggested, can cause problems too. One of the problems associated with overdrinking water is loss of sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

I have symptoms similar to what you describe and often they have ended in fainting. My doctor also told me to drink more water. But when I went to the Mayo Clinic to be evaluated, they told me to back off on the water and replace some of it with sports drinks to help maintain potassium, magnesium and sodium levels. You might try that out and see if it helps, particularly when you are exercising.

I still mostly drink water (because I like it best), but I also drink gatorade or propel or other sports drinks before, during and after a work out.

Anyway, good luck in your search for answers!

Jenny

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