Dizzy Spells

So today I was sitting on the couch, stood up......sat right back down.  My head went to swimming!  My dad (who we were visiting) being the over protective dad that he is insisted that he check my BP.  It was 96/53 (or something like that) so what do I do.....CALL THE OB!  Freaked out, she calms me down and says that when you are pregnant ur blood vessles open up to support more blood going to the uterus and this is normal, to call her if my pulse rate gets above 100. (it was 60)

she said that i NEED to eat more salt....why is this?  I have been craving foods high in salt, but i assumed since my sister had toximia (sp) that i should avoid salt if at all possible.....

Im so confused!

I'm 16 weeks.  I have no idea about the salt....but the dizziness happens to me all the time when I stand up too quickly.  I usually just try and get up slower than normal.....

Pregnant women need tons of salt.  Sounds like the opposite advice you might get....but when I was pregnant I was worried about pre-eclampsia and one thing that I kept reading over and over is that it might be too LITTLE salt not too much that makes it worse.  (not causes it, but makes it worse)

I know I craved soup, soup and more soup.  Others crave pickles (very salty).  I also craved potato chips or anything "savory".  I could have passed up dessert most nights while pregnant in lieu of another serving of "savory". 

http://www.emaxhealth.com/87/3512.html

Dr. Marsden has a vested interest in pre-eclampsia because he was a pre-eclamptic baby himself. In 1958, his mother was hospitalized for pre-eclampsia. In those post World War II years in England, sugar was rationed, and a lot of people had gotten into the habit of putting salt on their cornflakes. Mrs. Marsden was no exception. Accepted treatment for pre-eclampsia in those years was severe restriction of salt in the diet. A horrified matron caught her sprinkling salt on her breakfast cornflakes, and after giving her a scolding, took away the salt shaker and ordered her to stay in bed - or else.

At that time, all pre-eclampsia patients were placed on a salt-free diet because it was thought that salt would further elevate their already too-high blood pressure. Today, in no small part due to her son's research, it is known that curtailing salt consumption is the worst thing you can do.

"We now know that this is dangerous. The blood vessels leak salt into the tissues in pre-eclampsia, and so the salt is not where it is supposed to be. The danger is that salt restriction would make the problem worse. It turns out my mother was treating herself appropriately," says Dr. Marsden.


Seems like your doctor is up on the most recent research....kudos to her ! 

I know my blood pressure dipped pretty low at points too during my pregnancy -- like your doc said your body is making a lot more blood and opening vessels to pump it around and dizziness can occur. 

Cindy

Before I was pregnant, I would stand up and almost pass out, now it's even worse. I have to move slowly and get up slowly. If I move around too quick, I get dizzy. I have never heard about the salt thing, that suprises me. I try to not eat too much salt cause I retain water like crazy. I'm going to ask my OB about that too.