Dizzy In The Shower

[holisticfox]

Hi, all.

I haven't been on this forum for quite some time because I've had a lot of life-changing events happening, and I'm just now getting settled back into my raw lifestyle with a boyfriend who has begged me to help him prepare food and join the raw revolution!

But I'm having this problem again:

I'm getting dizzy in the shower. My heart races, and I get very weak suddenly.

This only seems to happen when I'm eating raw.

What gives? I'd hate to think I'm doing something bad for me, but it really seems like being raw is crating a problem that I just don't know how to solve. Any ideas?

[commoncents]

I've been having a similar problem since returning to 100% Raw and for me it is that I'm not drinking enough water. I've noticed that whenever I get weak and dizzy are the days that I'm not consuming sufficient water.

I don't know if that is the case with you, but if so, try uping your water consumption and see what happens.

[Moretta]

Welcome and good luck on your rawness journey.


I'm getting dizzy in the shower. My heart races, and I get very weak suddenly. This only seems to happen when I'm eating raw.

It could be detox. Hoping it gets better for you.

[holisticfox]

That seems to be the general consensus... I usually drink a big glass of water right before my shower in the morning to wash down my probiotics, but maybe I'm just not drinking enough during the day. I'm not allowed to have water at my work station at Shaw's.

[commoncents]

That seems to be the general consensus... I usually drink a big glass of water right before my shower in the morning to wash down my probiotics, but maybe I'm just not drinking enough during the day. I'm not allowed to have water at my work station at Shaw's.

How much are drinking per day?

[holisticfox]

Two big glasses in the morning, probably 16 oz. during my work day, and a big glass at night.

[commoncents]

Two big glasses in the morning, probably 16 oz. during my work day, and a big glass at night.

That is quite a bit. Maybe it is detox then.

[TaupeRawMan]

I have read about this happening to people who are underweight.

[holisticfox]

I jut barely got within the "healthy" weight range for my height.

I'm 5'7" and 143 pounds.

[Rufassa]

My personal experiences may give insight. I went 100% for thirty days last summer and by the end I would get dizzy when I stand up suddenly, mostly in the mornings, or had been bending over for a while. This started to concern me so I sought help. First I went to an acupuncturist that relieved the symptoms quite a bit but was unable to eliminate them after over a month of treatment.

After that period I remained around 80% raw and I had the mild symptoms, similar to what the acupuncturist got me to, for a few more months. I went to see a Naturapath during this period and he told me to drink more water. I don’t drink a lot of water and really I get most of my water from fresh raw fruits and will grab water only when I feel thirsty which is not often. Drinking more water definitely made my symptoms milder and eventually they went away except for a very occasional occurrence that acted as a reminder for me to drink water.

I have been 100% now for 2 weeks and guess what reoccurred in the middle of my first week. You guessed it, and it was as strong as ever by the end of the week and water wasn’t helping. I happen to be going to see an acupuncturist at the end of the week and was thinking he was going to tell me that something was going wrong with my body. But instead he was almost applauding how much my digestive system and liver systems had improved. He seemed excited even. Before the best I could get out of him was, “Your doing better, but nobody perfect. OK.” And if I went after a cooked dinner the night before it was, “You digestive system is weak.”

At that point I figured out real quick what it was. DETOX. I hate how people throw this around for every single ailment but in this case I eventually came to that conclusion after thinking, just as you, that maybe this diet is not going to work for me. It’s the end of week two and the symptoms have reduced greatly although I rarely drink any water.

[3kidsmommy]

OMG!!! This has been happening to me too! I have been doing raw or high raw for 2 weeks. Yesterday was so bad that I was down for the day. The room was literally spinning. Not sure why. A little better today. Does anyone know if this is because of weight loss? I don't weigh myself but I do feel clothes are looser. I was wondering if it was detox too. This is interesting.

[HolyGuacamole]

If I don't make a point of eating a little salt each day, my blood pressure plummets and I have tachycardia.
Try making sure you get a little pinch of Himalayan or Celtic salt and see if that helps.

[Rufassa]

If I don't make a point of eating a little salt each day, my blood pressure plummets and I have tachycardia.
Try making sure you get a little pinch of Himalayan or Celtic salt and see if that helps.

If it is a matter of detoxin then salt, cooked foods, and some other things can slow it down and therefore make you feel a little better but at some point I think it needs to come out. As far as blood pressure issues, I am not certified to speak on that I don't check mine regularly so I wouldn't know I got it checked a few days ago at 114/86

[rkk]

I've had this issue as well for years, even before I started raw - although I find it much more noticeable with raw. In the past, I would also get it when I ate quite little. Maybe since I ate very little (even though it was cooked vegan junk food), my body was still trying to detox? I don't know, but maybe...

I remember some years ago, I didn't eat much all day, and by evening my head was spinning and I had to lie down. I thought I must be dehydrated, so I drank a few glasses of plain water, but that didn't help. My heart was racing. I ended up having to go to the emergency room. Nobody could figure out what was wrong with me and thought I was making it up... they figured I was just 'stressed' or emotionally upset. Even the man I was seeing at the time was pretty turned off thinking I was making up things for no reason... and he didn't want to spend much time with me after that. :( However, within a few minutes of the nurses putting in an IV line into me, I was perfectly fine. Since an IV line contains water, salt, and minerals - it was something in that mix that my body was lacking. Something was not right with me, and I wasn't making anything up.

After that point in time, whenever I would get that feeling, I would always keep Emergen-C packets available near me as they contained a combination of salt, sugar, and minerals, mixed with water. However, now that I'm into raw foods, it's easy to make a similar mix with water, agave nectar, mineral salt (like Himalayan or Celtic), and a spoon of greens powder. I still haven't figured out what the heck was making me feel that way, but at least I know how to help myself feel better. I've been reading up a lot on this issue over the last few years, though haven't found anything too conclusive. If it's just temporary, then it might be just detox. However, if someone start getting dizzy for a long time, then that person might want to get his/her adrenal glands checked, as I read that can often cause some dizziness. For people who have adrenal issues, having a bit of mineral salt can help.

[RawSar]

Here's what I've noticed for me..
Ya I tend to get dizzy if I've been hanging upside down for awhile or get up too fast, this happened even before raw. Its not something that ever really concerned me. I just always thought that I was dehydrated and would then drink more water.
But when I drank more water I got even dizzier! I would drink 3.5 cups (that's the size of my water bottle) of water in a very amount of short time (maybe a min.). And then go fill it back up with water and do the same thing right away..I would even get that panic type feeling that something was seriously wrong which made my heart race.


Now I do not drink a lot of water really quickly. I haven't had this problem since. I still jug back a cup of water here and there but never 3+ cups in a minute :D lol

[pixie_333]

isn't this a lack of an iron issue for some? i remember someone saying this to me and it matched me and i felt better after taking some pills about 7 years ago.
and to exercise more helps prevent this.

now my ex has a major problem with this. i forget the name of her condition, but if she stands up too fast she'll faint! i looked up some natural remedies and the only one i can remember right now.. it was suggested to take beet juice. they sell it in powder form... or can be juiced.

[oceanluv]

if your dizzyness only happens in the shower, maybe the water is too hot, or you might be reacting to the chemicals in the tap water. Also, you might not be eating enough calories

[holisticfox]

I think it would be quite easy for me to mix up some mineral salt with water and honey if that would help. I'll try that in the morning first thing!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's seen this problem because knowing it can be overcome is very reassuring.

I know I shouldn't let myself be swayed by people who haven't done their research, but every now and then when this happens to me I hear the echoes of the people who say "are you sure you're getting enough to eat?" and "are you okay? Are you sure you're healthy?"

Of course I'm healthy. I'm not eating garbage. :)

Thanks everyone!

[holisticfox]

if your dizzyness only happens in the shower, maybe the water is too hot, or you might be reacting to the chemicals in the tap water. Also, you might not be eating enough calories

I had wondered about there being too many chemicals in the tap water effecting me. Filtered shower heads are so expensive, but if it would mean not getting dizzy in the shower, I should probably get one.

And the other part of your reply brings me to another question... How many calories should a 100% raw foodist eat in a day? I eat until I'm stuffed, but I know fruits and veggies aren't that high in calories. Maybe I should eat more nuts? I eat so many already...

[holisticfox]

isn't this a lack of an iron issue for some? i remember someone saying this to me and it matched me and i felt better after taking some pills about 7 years ago.
and to exercise more helps prevent this.

now my ex has a major problem with this. i forget the name of her condition, but if she stands up too fast she'll faint! i looked up some natural remedies and the only one i can remember right now.. it was suggested to take beet juice. they sell it in powder form... or can be juiced.

I'm putting wheat grass juice in my green smoothies, which has lots of iron... Never tried beet juice, though...

[HolyGuacamole]

If it is a matter of detoxin then salt, cooked foods, and some other things can slow it down and therefore make you feel a little better but at some point I think it needs to come out. As far as blood pressure issues, I am not certified to speak on that I don't check mine regularly so I wouldn't know I got it checked a few days ago at 114/86

In my case, as I said, this is an issue of blood pressure and tachycardia as confirmed by testing, not an issue of "detox."
I mentioned it because I thought it could be helpful to the original poster, not because I needed it confirmed or denied or questioned or validated.
It is what it is, and I'm quite certain I am not occupying the only physical body on this planet which experiences it.

Further, I don't concede that Himalayan and Celtic sea salts are "toxins" which would slow detox.
In fact, if anything, salt has been shown and used over and over as something to accelerate detox - it is a detoxifier which will flush out your digestive system (every heard of a "salt water flush?") when consumed in great enough quantity and which pulls toxins from your skin in a bath.
I don't know where this whole wacky idea that salt is evil came from, but it's simply a complex of naturally occurring minerals - minerals which may no longer be present in significant quantities in our soil.
Table salt, yeah, that's poison, but real salt is most certainly not.


Carry on. :)

ETA:
OP, I have also struggled with issues of iron deficiency anemia in the past. I make sure now to always (having read Aleesha mention it here) put citrus in with my greens (HUGE green juice and green smoothie every morning) and haven't had any trouble since I began that practice.

Hope whatever it is, it is resolved for you soon. :)