Dizziness and fainting 10 weeks post op

[Ryan Witner 0]

Hey guys I'm 10 weeks post op gastric sleeve. I have times where i stand up and get really dizzy and last night was at a friends house and ended up getting really dizzy, then lost my eyesight and ended up fainting in his kitchen. and luckily he caught me before i hit my head. Im wondering if anybody else experienced this. Not gonna lie i kinda ate a little shitty for dinner and had some fries and cheese sauce from chick fil a. So im curious whether or not what I experienced was dumping syndrome. When i woke back up i was a little shaky in the legs for a half hour and just drank a lot of Water and ended up feeling fine within like 45 minutes. Was a scary experience honestly. Also i started out before surgery at 328 and im down 65 pounds already. Which seems like a lot of weight to lose in 10 weeks

[MissMerryberry 43]

What phase of food are you in, 10 weeks post-op, seems like you can have soft foods but not regular foods yet. My guess is that you didn't get enough Protein in your day and eating cheese sauce and fries for dinner was the straw that broke the camel's back. Also, it could be that you aren't hydrated enough either. Those two things not hydrated enough and/or not eating enough protein can kick your body's butt!

Find out your daily protein goal from your doctor or dietitian and also get at least 64 ozs of Clear Liquids daily (this can include Protein Shakes and milk, too).

You have been losing weight really fast, 65 lbs post-op in 10 weeks? I know men lose faster, but that is pretty insane! My instincts are telling me that you haven't been getting enough nutrition for awhile now, protein is so super important!

Also, remember we had bariatric surgery to improve our health and having some fries and cheese sauce can just tempt you to eat other less healthy, low protein stuff.

Good work on your loss so far, but you gotta be alive to enjoy it! Pump up that protein and water!

[Ryan Witner 0]

My plan has me on a modified regular diet after a month. I get about 60 grams of Protein in me a day even though sometimes it's hard and normally at least 64 Fluid oz of Water. I mainly eat chicken and salmon for most of my meals and kinda just splurged last night bevause ive been feeling fine lately before last night. But there are quite a few times where i get dizzy when standing up or bending over

Sent from my Pixel 3 using BariatricPal mobile app

[loridee11 522]

I had some issues with low blood pressure and dehydration that caused dizzy spells for me. Make sure you are drinking lots of Fluid and including electrolytes.

[Ryan Witner 0]

I had some issues with low blood pressure and dehydration that caused dizzy spells for me. Make sure you are drinking lots of Fluid and including electrolytes.

When i got home i checked my blood pressure and it was slightly elevated. Nothing crazy though and i also forgot to take my bp medication yesterday. But i drink alot of propel zero and get plenty of electrolytes. Which makes it even more odd for this to happen

Sent from my Pixel 3 using BariatricPal mobile app

[SpartanMaker 954]

Could be dumping syndrome, especially because you ate something you know you shouldn't have. Everyone reacts differently and the foods that trigger it can vary.

The other option may be orthostatic hypotension. This is really common in bariatric surgery patients. It happens because you used to have a massive blood volume to carry blood to all that fat. As you lost weight, your overall blood volume also went down because you didn't need that much any more. The problem is that your veins and arteries don't shrink as quickly as the blood volume dropped, so now you have less blood, in a still large container. That equals lower blood pressure in general, but it's especially bad when standing from a sitting position. Your blood can rush to your legs and that causes a corresponding loss of blood in your head. That can cause dizziness and fainting.

For most people, this will go away in time as your veins and arteries shrink, but it could take a few months. In the interim, some strategies you can use would be increasing your salt intake and the use of compression stockings.

As always, don't take the work of some rando on the internet (me). Talk to your surgical team and get it checked out.

[catwoman7 11,223]

dumping isn't very common with sleeve - although that said, it's not unheard of.

this sounds more like a blood pressure or blood sugar issue, though - that is definitely NOT uncommon the first few weeks or months after WLS. Mention to your PCP - he/she might want to do a workup to see what's causing it.

Edited September 7, 2022 by catwoman7

[Ryan Witner 0]

dumping isn't very common with sleeve - although that said, it's not unheard of.
this sounds more like a blood pressure or blood sugar issue, though - that is definitely NOT uncommon the first few weeks or months after WLS. Mention to your PCP - he/she might want to do a workup to see what's causing it.

I have to go for my 3 month blood work in a couple of days so i figured I'd just wait it out until then. They're checking for literally everything. Including blood sugar

Sent from my Pixel 3 using BariatricPal mobile app

[catwoman7 11,223]

4 hours ago, Ryan Witner said:

I have to go for my 3 month blood work in a couple of days so i figured I'd just wait it out until then. They're checking for literally everything. Including blood sugar

Sent from my Pixel 3 using BariatricPal mobile app

I had an issue with that about a year after WLS. They checked several things because they said there could be any number of reasons - low blood pressure, reactive hypoglycemia, inner ear imbalance, or even at UTI! They didn't find anything, but my PCP suspects it was probably glucose-related, and my glucose level just happened to be normal during the work up. So she suggested I eat something every three hours - preferably a Protein. I haven't had that issue since, so that might have been it - or at least it was for me.

I know a lot of people experience that because of low blood pressure, though - that seems to be the most common culprint.

hope they figure yours out!!

Edited September 8, 2022 by catwoman7

[Arabesque 7,468]

It’s likely postural hypotension. That is your blood pressure drops on standing from lying down or sitting & takes time to be pumped up to your head. Hence the loss of vision, fainting, dizziness & wooziness. It’s very common after surgery while you’re losing weight then for most it passes. It didn’t for me & I experience it several times a day every day but low blood pressure was a pre existing & family tendency before surgery.

Yes, add some electrolyte drinks & also add a little extra salt to your diet.

Get up slowly & don’t move for 10 or so seconds (you’ll work out how long you need). Some say marching your feet before standing helps - it doesn’t help me. I find it very handy to keep close to a wall or furniture so when your blood pressure drops you can touch the wall or furniture to ground yourself. I’ve even been known to grab hold of a friend. 😁 I also bend over so the blood gets back up to my head more quickly.

[kcuster83 1,504]

I have been having this lately. I haven't actually passed out though, but came VERY close a few times.

I went to my PCP, blood pressure drops are very common after WLS and your body should regulate.

Of course, different people, different problems and different resolutions.

Definitely talk to your doctor and/or surgeon.

Hope you feel better soon, I know how miserable this is!

[Bettyboop56 33]

Maybe too much of electrolytes. I was told one Gatorade, powered a day, 28 oz.