Question:
I get light headed & almost black out. What could be wrong?

I am 2 months & down 50 lbs. Thousands times a day I get light headed & see black & white fuzzies. I come close to blacking out. Some worse than others. What could be wrong. It has gone on for about a week.    — Paula G. (posted on March 28, 2003)

March 28, 2003
Dehydration, low blood sugar or possibly anemia etc. It's nothing to discount, and you shold get this addressed ASAP! You've lost a lot of weight- are you getting your blood levels drawn & checked? Have you contacted your Surgeon/Doctor?
   — Karen R.

March 28, 2003
It could be low b-12 also. I have been dizzy, and my labs show a b-12 deficiency.
   — fropunka

March 28, 2003
See your doc ands get blood work. BUT I had this early on and it was worse in the late afternoon. It eventually went away. It takes time for our bodies to adjust to such alarge fast loss. Do get it looked into but its pretty common, so dont panic... Stand up slow and getr your BP checked when it occurs.Mine was once 85 over 58. If uyour on BP or diabetic meds they may need reduced or elminated altogether.
   — bob-haller

March 28, 2003
Another possibility is low blood pressure. Were you on any BP meds pre-op. If so and you're still taking the same dose, that may be too much for you. However, the advice about contacting your doctor is excellent. While we can give you some possibilities, this is something you should have checked out.
   — garw

March 28, 2003
I think it may be your blood pressure as well. Although there are many things that can cause them to happen, but only a doctor can know for sure. Just like Bob, mine was 80/50 for a while. Now it's 90/70, better, but still very low. Better than being high b/p, but still hard to get around when you feel dizzy and black out sometimes. If that is the case, eat more salt (but salt wont help w/o alot of water as well) That is unfortunately all my docs said to do, it is helping a little. Goodluck to you, hope you feel better!
   — Lezlie Y.

March 28, 2003
I have gotten light headed especially the first 3 months or so. No getting enough water was the problem. For me, I really need all 64 ounces. Try that, if your not already. Best of luck!
   — Stacy L.

March 29, 2003
I'm almost 23 months post op and have been having this problem constantly since WLS. I'm come very close to passing out but so far have managed not to. I take B-12 shots, potassium and I'm sligthly anemic. But the real problem seems to be LOW Blood Pressure! Often it's 80/40!
   — Danmark