How to stop dizziness? Update: b12 helped

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nanette1985

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Oct 12, 2005
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Any exercises or whatever to stop being dizzy? I'm on a ton of medications and I have a lot of general dizziness. Anything that might help? Thanks.

UDATE: I was rehearsing for a show. One of the other dancers recommended mB12 methyl B12 and B12 dibencozide - sublingual. Supposedly this is a wellknown remedy for ballet issues dancing on a raked stage. I'm not a ballet dancer, I'm more of a jazz dancer, where balance isn't quite as much of an issue. The show was yesterday, it went well. I'm not the one who fell. Yay me! A few weeks of B12 and the dizziness became tolerable. P.S.with MD permission.
 
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deadken

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Aug 8, 2004
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If you never had dizziness before the medications, I think you'd be best off talking to your doctor about different dosages or different medications. Just a guess here, but I don't think there is any exercise that will help lessen dizziness.

BTW: I'm not sure you should be doing strenuous activities when you already know that you are having dizziness issues. I think it might be an accident waiting to happen.

If anything, maybe swimming would be okay? I wouldn't suggest doing it anywhere without a lifeguard (and letting them know that you are on medications BEFORE you get in the pool), but at least you can't fall down.

Edit: Have you tried varying the time you take your medications to see if you can lessen the dizzying effects? Maybe taking a few hours before bedtime would let most of it 'wear off' for the most active hours of your day?

Also, are there any dizziness warning labels on any of the medications you are taking? If so, I'd suggest that you start by asking about lessening the dosage or varying the time taken of those first.
 
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nanette1985

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Meds are for blood pressure, cholesterol, arthritis and insulin, all of which are known to cause dizziness. Docs assure me the meds are too necessary to alter or experiment with. Just figured it wouldn't hurt to ask here. I've been active all my life so far and it's driving me nuts avoiding activity because of possible unsteadiness.
 

HNNstyle

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Assuming you're on medication because of your weight then doing intense cardio for 40 mins a day for 7 days a week, then within 3 weeks your BP and cholesterol should be pretty close to normal. You might be able to fix your insulin levels with exercise but that really depends on how far gone you are. I don't know any exercises that can fix arthritis but I'm guessing strength building exercises that target areas around your arthritis can help.
 

ibex333

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Mar 26, 2005
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No, I never heard of any exercises that would stop dizziness. Exercise in general can help alleviate whatever is causing your dizziness, depending on what it is, but it's kind of ridiculous to exercise when dizzy. I can imagine what it would be like to be dizzy every day, and if this is the case you may want to try to look into other ways to manage your health issues OTHER than medication. I am talking about supplements, diet, yoga, tai-chi, etc, etc.

Insulin you can probably never stop. So that has to stay, unless you'll develop iron discipline.

Blood pressure, and cholesterol you CAN manage without meds, unless you are very, very sick, but it's a process, and until you make changes in your diet and add exercise you will have to continue with these meds. I am willing to bet it's these meds that are causing your dizziness.

Arthritis... I don't care how bad it is, but you DON'T need medication every single day. My grandma suffers from horrific pains in her joints 24/7 but she tries to avoid meds unless she feels like she is going to lose her mind from pain. If she can do it, you can too. And definitely, some arthritis meds can and do cause dizziness.

Here's a thought... My grandfather, god rest his soul, was pretty "healthy" until he developed a brain tumor after a car accident. He had diabetes and a host of other ailments, but he managed them so effectively with diet and exercise that he hardly had to worry about any of it.

He'd wake up every morning at 5am and go through his usual exercise routine. He'd do it religiously his whole life, never missing a single day! Even when he was bed bound, after his operation, he continued exercising in bed, flexing his joints, moving his arms and legs dozens of times, until exhaustion. He managed to walk again, in his mid seventies, all by himself after a stroke caused by a neurosurgeon, thanks only to his unyielding discipline.

He mostly ate tons of buckwheat, salads, soups and occasionally meat/fish. Very small portions, about 4 times a day, always at exact same times.

He got to a point where his blood sugar levels remained low, even without meds. He'd only have to take his pills when he'd allow himself to have something he shouldn't. He never suffered from high blood pressure, and never had high triglycerides or cholesterol.

My grandma on the other hand, always eats whatever she wants. So she got major problems with weight, cholesterol and blood pressure. she takes a ton of meds to manage it all, but at least she tries to avoid them when not absolutely necessary.

I know I got sidetracked with my stories and comparisons, but I say all this so that you can see that meds can be avoided or at least greatly reduced.
 

deadken

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Aug 8, 2004
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Ahhh, now I understand a bit more. I too believe that with a proper diet and exercise you could reduce or eliminate the need for some medication(s).

I like the idea of tai chi and yoga. Couple one or both of those with a little walking (maybe on a treadmill so you can hold on if you become dizzy) and a little light weight lifting (not going for heavy lifting, but to build muscle to take a bit of strain off of your joints) and perhaps you can get into a physical state that eliminates the need for some of the medications you are on.

There are natural alternatives to medications. I'm not even talking supplements, but other choices. I've learned about using bee stings to help arthritis. One bee sting in the affected area can give help for 3 months (your body produces a natural anti-inflamatory). Yes, it sucks for 2 hours or so. But, if it helps for 3 months, that's a trade off that I'd be interested in at least trying, especially if the medication for it was causing me undesirable side effects. Try google and see what you come up with, who knows.
 

elitejp

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Jan 2, 2010
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If dizziness is a problem just stick with machine weights for the time being. Any exercise would be better than none. Start off easy and see how you feel.
 

blackdogdeek

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Mar 14, 2003
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When my doctor put me on blood pressure meds because I had borderline high blood pressure I used to get light-headed a lot. After I cut my sodium intake my blood pressure dropped, my doctor took me off the meds and then the light-headedness went away.

Is there anything you can do with your diet to reduce your blood pressure?
 

interchange

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This is something you need to bring up with your doctor, but here's a few questions:
1. When you say dizziness, what do you mean? Light-headed or room-spinning?
2. When do you get dizzy? Certain times of day? Certain activities?
3. Do you experience any other symptoms with it?
 
Sep 29, 2004
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I'm curious. You have alot of health ailments.

What is your age and weight? What do you do for exercise?
 

nanette1985

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Oct 12, 2005
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I'm curious. You have alot of health ailments.

What is your age and weight? What do you do for exercise?

I'm 55 5'6" weight 130. I've been a performer & dancer much of of my life.

I'm diabetic, never been overweight. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in my 20's when I was studying piano at Juilliard and began to have pain and control problems.

That's been changed to Lupus - sometimes I test positive for RA, sometimes it's Lupus. I also have vasculitis. Lupus, vasculitis and diabetes are a stupid combination.

Exercise - apart from dancing - swimming walking, chasing grandkids, plus whatever my MD's and PT's recommend.
 

brandonb

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Oct 17, 2006
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How long have you had dizziness?

When I was younger, maybe 15 years ago now. I had bad dizziness, like room spinning, had to lay my head on the ground in fear of cracking my head open. It would happen multiple times per day. I went to the doctor, and he said it was an inner ear infection, and it would clear up on its own. It got better over about a 6 month period (happened less frequently - less severe), but did not really go away completely for about a year.

I'm wondering if you might have the same issue as I did.
 

interchange

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
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I'm 55 5'6" weight 130. I've been a performer & dancer much of of my life.

I'm diabetic, never been overweight. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in my 20's when I was studying piano at Juilliard and began to have pain and control problems.

That's been changed to Lupus - sometimes I test positive for RA, sometimes it's Lupus. I also have vasculitis. Lupus, vasculitis and diabetes are a stupid combination.

Exercise - apart from dancing - swimming walking, chasing grandkids, plus whatever my MD's and PT's recommend.

Hi nanette. Sorry, but my opinion is that this is one for the MDs. The cause of your dizziness could be something common and/or trivial, or it could be something more serious given your medical conditions and medications. I urge you to make an appointment with your doctor to try and figure it out.
 

Mr. Pedantic

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Any exercises or whatever to stop being dizzy? I'm on a ton of medications and I have a lot of general dizziness. Anything that might help? Thanks.
Unless something's drastically changed with the way you're living or what you're eating since the last time I talked with you, I would say stay on the meds, and go talk to your doctor if you're getting side effects. A lot of blood pressure meds have dizziness (especially when changing posture) as a matter of course, because that's what they're supposed to do. I would advise against going off these at all unless your blood pressure can be well controlled without, because it will eventually cause you all manner of problems in relation to your kidneys, eyes, hands, and feet, if you don't already.

As for cholesterol, ezetimibe (ezetrol) can cause dizziness, but none of the others as far as I'm aware; statins tend to be very well tolerated. If this is the problem, and it's not really necessary for cholesterol control (i.e. if you could get away doubling the statin dose or something) then you might be able to do that. Again, though, it's best to talk to your doctor.

As for insulin, I imagine dizziness if that were the cause would be due to hypos...? Again, go to the doctor.

It's better if you can manage your blood pressure and such without lifestyle changes, but usually it's not practical - a lot of people seriously underestimate how much you actually have to change to appreciably alter your lipid profile or your blood pressure. I imagine that at most you would be able to lower the doses of your medications somewhat, and this may cause a reduction in associated side effects. However, I wouldn't expect that you'd be able to get off them without adverse effects on your health, unless they're already low-dose.
 
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