Im not diabetic

[SweetyPie]

Hi all,
I had a question and wanted to know if any of you have  this. Lately, especially this past weekend I have been having dizzy spells. I usually push my problems aside a lot but i have tried things to help the dizziness but its not helping. I will be sitting and ill feel dizzy for a few seconds and this will happen a few times. I also noticed my hands and fingers shake a lot. Seriously, i thought i could gave low sugar but after drinking some soda the problems still remained. The doctor didnt come today but i will tell him when i get the chance. My diet has been the same btw

[Michael Murphy]

Any chance the dizzy spell starts when you stand up.  It the trigger is standing it can be caused by low blood pressure.  In any case take your concerns about this to your nephrologist.

[UkrainianTracksuit]

Hi Aisha,

Feeling dizzy and having moments of shaking can really have a variety of causes. It just so happens that a few of the general causes are pretty tied to dialysis life.

I’ve had low blood pressure since tx so I get dizzy while sitting down doing nothing, like you. Do you check your BP at home at all?

Anemia and low hemoglobin are another main cause of dizziness and shaking. How are your numbers?

Vitamin B 12 deficiency causes similar symptoms and that’s related to anemia, so who knows, right?

If you watch your fluid closely, many dialysis patients live in eternal dehydration. I tried to stay between 0.5 to 0.8 kg in between sessions so if I was “too strict”, I’d have dizzy spells. When your electrolytes are off, you can be dizzy too.

How are your Vitamin D and PTH levels? I know that too low Vitamin D, even with the usual supplements, can cause similar symptoms.

For my dizziness, I had cardiac stuff checked out and anything to do with circulation. All that was fine, thankfully, but I don’t know your whole case. Just throwing it out there!

And you’re currently as well as possible? No viruses or bacterial infection? When my husband had walking pneumonia, he had dizziness but didn’t know he was sick until his chest hurt to breathe in.

Not really sure what else to suggest. You are on the best track to talk with your doctor. That way they can look over your numbers and see if anything pops up. Let us know what’s the root of this!

[SweetyPie]

So the dizziness doesnt happen only when i stand up its both. I check my davita labs online and they so far my hemoglobin in 11.6. My pth is 140 which is low but my doctors dont seem concerned. They do not check my vitamin D but should I ask them to check it? This was over the weekend, so when I arrived at dialysis I only gained 1.5 so I dont feel I was dehyrdated.
I havent checked my heart in a while but maybe I should?

[Michael Murphy]

In my opinion every dialysis patient should see a cardiologist every year.  I reached that conclusion due to a massive heart attack in 2016.  A stress test and a ekg would have caught the attack before it occurred.  Removal of fluid causes strain on the heart.

[SweetyPie]

Ive been taking short breaths ever since yesterday a few hours after treatment. My right lung or rib hurts to breathe in. Laying down on my back is not doable because of the pain. I when i was 44 kg above my dry weight i did not feel like this so i cancelled out fluid.

[UkrainianTracksuit]

Hi Aisha,

To be honest, it doesn’t sound like fluid to me. You’re probably right about that.

You are on the right track with taking these concerns to your doctor. Only they can really look at your file and see if anything jumps out as something that needs attention.

It wouldn’t hurt to have your heart checked “just because” and a chest x-ray would be a good idea too (since you are having such pain!)

Please mention to your doctor about your pain breathing in. That really needs to be looked at!

I hope that your doctor comes in and you can share your concerns. Really hope you finally feel better soon.

[GA_DAWG]

Dizziness CAN come from BP medication. Before dialysis, the job I had started about 6 am, and I had to be there at about 5:30 ino rder to get work assignments filled out for the crew. I could not eat that early, and every day about 10 I had to stop and eat something, usually a pack of Toastchee crackers and a soda. If I waited any longer I got shaky, dizzy and sometimes felt nauseated. It was because my sugar would bottom out. Eating solved the problem almost instantly. If eating does not help, I doubt that is your problem.

[SweetyPie]

Dizziness CAN come from BP medication. Before dialysis, the job I had started about 6 am, and I had to be there at about 5:30 ino rder to get work assignments filled out for the crew. I could not eat that early, and every day about 10 I had to stop and eat something, usually a pack of Toastchee crackers and a soda. If I waited any longer I got shaky, dizzy and sometimes felt nauseated. It was because my sugar would bottom out. Eating solved the problem almost instantly. If eating does not help, I doubt that is your problem.

you make a good point. Especially in the morning for dialysis i get up at 5 am and I dont eat until i get back home which is probably 11 or 12. Other days I wake up 11 or 12 and eat fruit or dry cereal no milk. Now that I look at it I dont eat a lot in the morning sometimes I do but its at 11 or 12 like mac and cheese.

[GA_DAWG]

When I was in the hospital, they came to take me to a session just as lunch was coming, so I went without as they had previously said they did not want people to bring food to the dialysis ward. At the end of that session, I blacked out, fell against the machine and cut my head. That opened a whole new can of worms as far as testing, but the Dr who was overseeing my case in the hospital told me never to go again without eating, no matter what the people in the dialysis ward said.

[SweetyPie]

When I was in the hospital, they came to take me to a session just as lunch was coming, so I went without as they had previously said they did not want people to bring food to the dialysis ward. At the end of that session, I blacked out, fell against the machine and cut my head. That opened a whole new can of worms as far as testing, but the Dr who was overseeing my case in the hospital told me never to go again without eating, no matter what the people in the dialysis ward said.

Oh my goodness, that is extremely sad. I cant explain how I felt reading your experience. How long ago was this? What happened to your head afterwards? Even if i do eat I still feel a bit dizzy, does that mean I just need to eat more?

[GA_DAWG]

It was about 6.5 years ago now. The biggest problem was thaey had told me I would be getting out of the hospital the next day, before I fell and hit my head. Because they needed to cover themselves, they ordered every test they had, from CAT scans to heart monitors, and I wound up staying another week. Everything checked out though. Later, during the first few weeks at the center, I blacked out a couple more times, thanfuly sitting these times, and my neph kept working on the setting for the machine until he found a sweet spot. Since then, no problem. Another thing that helped me was Fresenius, at the time, n ot sure about now, had a program called Right Start. This program had a nurse call once a week and she explained the entire process of dialysis and asked if there were any problems or questions. I had a really good nurse calling, think her name was Linda, and she helped me greatly, even calling the center and my neph to help me communicate better with them in those first few weeks. I have been veey fortunate, mostly through blind luck because I knew nothing about making the choices, in the Drs. I have including the ones assigned in the hospital, the techs and nurses at our center, and other doctors I have been sent to. I wish everyone could be so fortunate.

[SweetyPie]

Wow what a tough time you were going through. I feel hemodialysis has given me the most problems. It will be 2 years in Feburary ive been doing hemo. Peritoneal went smoothly for 6 and half years. I know my body to be difficult and not like change. I feel maybe its my body still adjusting but who knows. Its also depressing how i used to be able to pull much more fluid and now my max is 1.5 to 1.7.  Ive said this many times but im depriving my body from water and I can see im clearly dehydrated but on the other hand if I dont care and drink i have trouble at dislysis. Really, I hope I get this transplant once my semester ends.

[GA_DAWG]

It was hard to start for sure, but since then it has become a routine. As I said, I believe I have really good people looking after me as far as techs, nurses, and doctors, and I have been able to make it a routine. I also believe I continue to have some residual function that makes it easier. I hope you receive the transplant. It has to be especially hard at a young age to go through this. Iwas early 50s, and had much more I wanted to do. It has to be so much harder to cope and to accept at your age. Prayers for you.

[SweetyPie]

Thank you, it gets tough at times but I get through it. Also, thanks for the prayers they are very much appreciated.