vegan newbie getting dizzy...help

orlagh

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  1. Vegan newbie
hi everyone
I was wondering if i could get some help?
I've recently gone vegan (2 months ago, cold turkey) and from about 1 month ago I've randomly been getting dizzy spells. (such as if i stand up to fast) I've never had a dizzy spell in my life so to me its quite an unusual experience.
I'm sure I've been getting enough calories as I've been tracking my food on an app, which tells me how much calories/protein/carbs/vitamins ect. So this helps me keep a well balanced diet (with help from the vegan pyramid) plus I'm taking supplements just to make sure I'm not lacking anything. I've been hitting the goals pretty much every day and never feel hungry. I drink plenty of water so i know its not dehydration.
Has anyone else had an experience like this? is it just my body just adapting, going through withdrawals or do you think I should seek medical advice?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

regards
orlagh
xxx
 
Hi Orlagh,

I too am a new vegan, 7 months in and have a couple of health issues that I'm concerned are diet related.

It seems this isn't a very active forum, I left a similar question yesterday but have had no replies.

If I were you, I'd definitely go see your doctor and maybe have some blood work done. Of course this may not be diet related at all and simply a coincidence but better to be safe than sorry. My concern is that after 7 months I am still having terrible digestive problems. Something I never had as a meat eater, in fact I thought I had a cast iron constitution.

To sum up, it's certainly not been the easy transition everything I read led me to believe. I don't miss meat but if, as I suspect soya based foods and even gluten are a problem for me, this will mean a really restrictive diet, something that I wasn't expecting at all.

All the best.

Simon
 
Hi,

I'm also a pretty new to vegan diet (even though I still eat some vegetarian classified meals) and I also have some problems with dizziness. Maybe its the fact that you have to eat so large quantities now and I don't think I manage to eat as much as I should? So maybe you should calculate your food quantities and see if they are enough? Hope you feel better soon.
 
May I suggest you be sure to get enough starchy food, such as sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, brown rice, etc. I have suffered from dizziness in the past and it is typically due to too few calories (low blood sugar). Depending on what you are eating, your new diet could have a lot fewer calories (less density.) Also, if you are consuming less salt, there could be a drop in blood pressure that your body needs to adjust to. Digestive problems are common when you go from a low to a high fibre diet, as well, and it can take a long time to adjust. (Some people say it is only a month or so, but it was a year before I wasn't a floating gas bag!) I eventually took 1/2 a lemon in warm water every morning and my digestion straightened out pretty quickly. Also be sure to supplement but you don't need to over do it. I've had stomach and bladder issues if I take too much B vitamin in supplement form. For the record, I've been vegan almost a year, vegetarian for two years before that. I typically eat some brown rice and lots of fruit and a little flax seed for breakfast; vegetables (steamed or soup) and some beans for lunch, or potatoes and greens; dinner is bean tacos or more of the same thing I had for lunch. My health has improved greatly and I've lost 50+ pounds. I'm not an expert, but that has been my experience, I hope it helps. If dizziness persists, I would definitely see a doctor.
 
Sorry you didn't get many replies, but this is a difficult question to answer. I also get dizzy spells where my vision blacks out after I quickly stand up after sitting down. I then have to stand still for some seconds waiting for my vision to come back. Since changing to a mostly vegan diet, these have continued as before, being only very occassional. Diet has not had any effect. In my case, I just learned to live with them. They have happened a lot but never at a very inconvenient moment and almost always at home.

I mentioned this to an optician and he shared with me an article about orthostatic hypertension. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/orthostatic-hypotension/basics/definition/con-20031255
I think he is correct, that's probably what I have. Perhaps you could read the article to see if that is what you also may have.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/orthostatic-hypotension/basics/causes/con-20031255 is about the causes of it.

Although I personally found no change in any of this after a dietary change, the above does mention meals as a possible cause and, regarding causes that could be related to diet, mentions low blood sugar and dehydration. So could more sugar or drinking more be a possible necessity with your new diet? I am not sure but it might be something to think about.
 
Please take great care with interpreting posts made by random unqualified people on the internet (like me), and consider seeing an appropriate professional if you perceive this to be a serious case.