Very low blood pressure post exercise (unable to complete workouts), have you experienced this?

CroLifter

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Greetings,

For the past few weeks i have been unable to finish my workouts due to malaise i start to feel while i exercise. I am working out at home, resistance band pushups, inverted rows, dumbbell exercises...
But after few sets i start to feel tired and dizzy and have to stop. When i measure my bp right after exercise (i have bp monitor) my bp reading is sth like 100/50. This lower number freaks me out a bit, especially since i dont feel ok and cannot finish my workouts.

I have contacted my physician and told about the issues but of course, she tries to shrug it off by saying its normal. However, yesterday my bp reading after exercise was 98/57 (heart rate 90) and today it was 100/44 (heart rate 83). So me being me, i called another doctor, at the ER, and asked whether or not i should be worried. He said most likely I shouldnt worry, but it needs to be checked out. He says thyroid could be an issue. So I am taking measures as we speak.

I have to say that I get hypo episodes post exercise where my arms start shaking uncontrollably but a few bites of chocolate relieves that. This is inspite of me eating before a work out. I still need to eat sugar when this happens.

Just wanted to hear whether someone else is/has ever experienced something like this, very low bp post exercise and unable to complete the workout due to sudden onset of malaise.

And if this means anything (idk tbh if it does), few weeks ago i noticed moons on my nails are completely missing. And I usually had those.
 
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CroLifter

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So I am chilling in my bed and resting heart rate is 37 bpm. I never had it that low and am actually scared of how low it may go while i sleep. When i was at top aerobic condition it was around 50 resting and would get to 42 while asleep.

and i aint even in that good shape right now, with all the laying around because of the quarantine.

Made an appointment with cardiologist, but no sooner than mid next week is possible
 
HIT4ME

HIT4ME

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Not really sure where to go with this - good idea to get checked out. But if it makes you feel any better, that blood pressure does not scare me at all. The 40 readings are a bit low.

As far as the heart rate, I had something similar happen last year. I had gone through an extremely stressful 6 months and about 2 months after it was over I felt really run down and exhausted and just horrible. Then one day I was sitting on my couch and my fitbit was showing 37 bpm and I went to the doctor, cardiologist, everything. Turned out I was healthy and fine...got tested for all kinds of things including lyme and had ecg's and sonigrams, etc.

Have you been under stress? Could you be dehydrated?

Do you have any other times you feel dizzy?

Sorry I don't have a lot more but maybe I at least can tell you that while your numbers are low they aren't concerning and you can relax a bit.
 
HIT4ME

HIT4ME

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Also, thinking some more...have you just been lounging around a lot more or maybe sleeping a lot longer? It is normal for blood pressure to lower during periods of prolonged rest.

Also, there is a phenomenon called post exercise hypotension, which I just found, and it seems like it may be normal for blood pressure to be lower after exercise.
 

Brain5ick

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Hey man, sorry to hear you’re still going through it. Don’t worry too much about your BP, mine is a constant 100/50 or 110/70, somewhere between there. Bpm for me has been down to 53 but never lower. Maybe you have an awesome heart! Don’t stress too much, that will kill you before anything will! Trust me, I stress out wayyyyyy too much and have more issues until I finally just say **** it, it’s in my head.
 

CroLifter

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Yeah I feel weak and short of breath when this under 40 bpm heart rate happens, hence the reason I check it out.

I actually detrained somewhat in the past few months and my rhr was around 65 which was higher then when I was training intensely but that is OK considering that I am less active.
But in the last 2 weeks I feel fatigued, I can't do more than a few sets and now this very slow heart rate.

Could be also hormonal (thyroid), the doctor said.

One day I simply woke up feeling like sh1t, morning Wood and libido are completely gone. Then I felt anxious for a few days and now I feel fatigued.

The doctor recommended echo of the heart because of pneumonia I had in November and TSH test due to fatigue and slow rhr.
 

JoePaul39

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Do you take Viagra or Cialis by chance? These lower blood pressure.
 

CroLifter

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Do you take Viagra or Cialis by chance? These lower blood pressure.
No, i did try cialis a couple of times last year but never got anything out of it. And yes, it did lower the bp for me but like i said, didint take it for over 6 months.

The issue is this low heart rate. The lowest I measured was 36 when i felt like sh1t. Never had it this low. Wore a holter last year when i was in good condition (training regularly) and resting heart rate was 54 and it touched 44 while asleep.

But this 36 while i am awake is plain unhealthy.
 

CroLifter

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Right, today i did weighted pushups, inverted rows, lateral raises and biceps curls. Actually a pretty good workout, ws going to failute on every set.
I used bottled oxygen (dont laugh! 😆) after every set, few puffs and i felt fine. First time in about 2 weeks that i didnt collapse after just few sets, actually felt good after the workout and even worked in the shop after that.

Sth having to do with the oxygen transport within my body is fuked.

Also, heart rate drops really fast to about 80-90 after few puffs of oxygen whereas without oxygen it stays over 100, even after i stop working out. Takes me about half an hour to feel somewhat fine again. Like i said, today i went straight to my garage to work after the work out.


I am starting to worry that the severe pneumonia i had back in november was coronavirus and that now my lungs are screwed.

It was weird my dudes. I came to the hospital in the am with persistent high temperature, spo2 was 96.
That evening spo2 was 90% and they contemplated whether to put me on oxygen or not. I couldnt effin breathe i was scared i would pass away during sleep.

Next day i felt better and the day after spo2 was 94-95 and i no longer had elevated temp. I received azythromycin IV and it seemed to help.

They told me it was "atypical viral pneumonia".
 
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mastah

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I had same problems for like 1-2 years (didnt check up.. dumb I know) but Im sure it was cause I was training fasted + pump products that lowered it to much. Today I train fasted with pump products with no issue.. dunno why it works today
 

CroLifter

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I had same problems for like 1-2 years (didnt check up.. dumb I know) but Im sure it was cause I was training fasted + pump products that lowered it to much. Today I train fasted with pump products with no issue.. dunno why it works today
Sounds like low blood sugar level issues in your case.
 

seanmitchell12

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I often felt chills, so i was also worried about that, but my doctor told me that sweating is the main reason. He advised me to take proper diet for managing my sugar level.
 

CroLifter

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Hey

I have been supplementing with liquid iron for some time now, been taking it on empty stomach for over 2 weeks now, almost 3.

Feeling much stronger, do not have spells of dizziness throughout the day any longer. Still takes some time (15-20 minutes) for weakness to get away post workout but i dont collapse anymore as i used to.

So this is a huge problem guys. My hematocrit is 45% and my ferritin is low, but I have had and am having symptoms of anemia! And this is a huge problem because doctors are inept and most are not even aware that iron deficiency WITHOUT anemia can cause anemia symptoms like dyspnea, weakness, fainting etc.

And the shaking arms happened despite me earing carbs throughout the workout. It is connected to the extreme farigue and shortness of breath i feel. However, supplementing with iron helped resolve , i would say, the majority of the problem.
 
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HIT4ME

HIT4ME

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Hey

I have been supplementing with liquid iron for some time now, been taking it on empty stomach for over 2 weeks now, almost 3.

Feeling much stronger, do not have spells of dizziness throughout the day any longer. Still takes some time (15-20 minutes) for weakness to get away post workout but i dont collapse anymore as i used to.

So this is a huge problem guys. My hematocrit is 45% and my ferritin is low, but I have had and am having symptoms of anemia! And this is a huge problem because doctors are inept and most are not even aware that iron deficiency WITHOUT anemia can cause anemia symptoms like dyspnea, weakness, fainting etc.

And the shaking arms happened despite me earing carbs throughout the workout. It is connected to the extreme farigue and shortness of breath i feel. However, supplementing with iron helped resolve , i would say, the majority of the problem.
Did you get bloodwork? What does your CBC look like in addition to the hematocrit?

If you had your ferritin levels tested and they were low, like out of range low, doctors should know that needs to be corrected. If you don't mind sharing your MCV, RBC, etc. That could be enlightening.
 

CroLifter

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Did you get bloodwork? What does your CBC look like in addition to the hematocrit?

If you had your ferritin levels tested and they were low, like out of range low, doctors should know that needs to be corrected. If you don't mind sharing your MCV, RBC, etc. That could be enlightening.
Mcv, mchc and rdw are in range, rbc is 5.3 x 10^(12), hemoglobin is 164 g/l and hematocrit 0.458. These is the latest bloodwork from 10 days ago,

Ferritin was 45.7 (range 30-250) before draining 200ml of blood late in march (hct was 0.507). At first i felt better but started experiencing weakness about a week post donation. Btw this hematocrit of 0.507 was after about 10 days of 1 grapefruit a day which always lowers my hct, before grapefruit hct was 0.52.

I dont know where my ferritin is now but hae been supplementing with iron for a little over a month and taking on empty stomac for the last 2.5 weeks. Only when i started taking on empty stomach did i start feeling better.

Iron, tibc and uibc were all in range.
 
Aleksandar37

Aleksandar37

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Sorry I'm just now seeing this thread, OP. Do you notice a difference between exercises while lying down vs standing? A quick test you can do is lie down for 5 minutes and take your blood pressure and heart rate. Then stand up for 3 minutes and repeat those measurements. You don't want to see a significant difference between lying and standing, but this can rule out some things like POTS or orthostatic hypotension/hypertension.
 

CroLifter

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Sorry I'm just now seeing this thread, OP. Do you notice a difference between exercises while lying down vs standing? A quick test you can do is lie down for 5 minutes and take your blood pressure and heart rate. Then stand up for 3 minutes and repeat those measurements. You don't want to see a significant difference between lying and standing, but this can rule out some things like POTS or orthostatic hypotension/hypertension.
I usually measure blood pressure seated. Didnt measure both lying and standing however yes, there is a marked difference exercising laying down and standing, laying down i can go on and on, but if i stand up i feel extreme fatigue.
 
Aleksandar37

Aleksandar37

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I usually measure blood pressure seated. Didnt measure both lying and standing however yes, there is a marked difference exercising laying down and standing, laying down i can go on and on, but if i stand up i feel extreme fatigue.
I would test yourself just to rule some things out. Do you notice this any other time? Sitting in a chair and standing up? Getting out of bed in the morning?
 
HIT4ME

HIT4ME

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Mcv, mchc and rdw are in range, rbc is 5.3 x 10^(12), hemoglobin is 164 g/l and hematocrit 0.458. These is the latest bloodwork from 10 days ago,

Ferritin was 45.7 (range 30-250) before draining 200ml of blood late in march (hct was 0.507). At first i felt better but started experiencing weakness about a week post donation. Btw this hematocrit of 0.507 was after about 10 days of 1 grapefruit a day which always lowers my hct, before grapefruit hct was 0.52.

I dont know where my ferritin is now but hae been supplementing with iron for a little over a month and taking on empty stomac for the last 2.5 weeks. Only when i started taking on empty stomach did i start feeling better.

Iron, tibc and uibc were all in range.
Yeah, so, generally a lot of the symptoms of "iron deficiency" aren't actually direct symptoms of iron deficiency itself. For instance, fatigue is really a sign of low blood count or small cells. This situation, of course, is caused by low iron - but the fact that you are low in iron doesn't generally cause fatigue I don't think. This isn't to say you are wrong - just that taking iron would take weeks or even months to correct this situation, since it would take time to start making new blood cells, etc.

What is interesting though - is that while you're pretty much in range on your iron (so you're not really low) - it is on the lower side. Do you eat meat? If you are a guy, taking iron can be iffy. Really, we don't actively eliminate iron from our bodies - we need to bleed it out, or slough it from our intestines, etc. Being tired, low-ish on iron, etc. - do you take any medications that may prevent absorption - like calcium or antacids?
 

CroLifter

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I would test yourself just to rule some things out. Do you notice this any other time? Sitting in a chair and standing up? Getting out of bed in the morning?
Often times, yes, but it goes away quickly. It has gotten better since i started taking iron on empty stomach.

Actually the only time i dont get this while standing up is when i get up in the morning. If i have any amount of food in my system, i feel dizzy standing up.
 
Aleksandar37

Aleksandar37

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Often times, yes, but it goes away quickly. It has gotten better since i started taking iron on empty stomach.

Actually the only time i dont get this while standing up is when i get up in the morning. If i have any amount of food in my system, i feel dizzy standing up.
could be postprandial hypotension, so if you have the means, it wouldn't hurt to test BP/HR before and after a meal or test if there is a difference between a smaller, protein-rich meal and a larger, carb heavy meal. Have you spoken to a cardiologist?
 
HIT4ME

HIT4ME

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Sorry I'm just now seeing this thread, OP. Do you notice a difference between exercises while lying down vs standing? A quick test you can do is lie down for 5 minutes and take your blood pressure and heart rate. Then stand up for 3 minutes and repeat those measurements. You don't want to see a significant difference between lying and standing, but this can rule out some things like POTS or orthostatic hypotension/hypertension.
I would test yourself just to rule some things out. Do you notice this any other time? Sitting in a chair and standing up? Getting out of bed in the morning?
Good thoughts here. At the very least you will get data to rule it out, and it is a simple way to test.
 

CroLifter

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could be postprandial hypotension, so if you have the means, it wouldn't hurt to test BP/HR before and after a meal or test if there is a difference between a smaller, protein-rich meal and a larger, carb heavy meal. Have you spoken to a cardiologist?
Yes he couldnt find anything structurally wrong with the heart.
 

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