# Excerising with 'low blood pressure'



## LilLady (Jul 20, 2021)

Hi,

I am a new member, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes five weeks ago.
I am doing great since diagnosis, I've got an ideal cholesterol 3.5, BG in target now and blood pressure 90/60. I've lost a stone since diagnosis and need another 2 off to get me to the NHS healthy weight bracket.
Since my diagnosis I have made drastic lifestyle changes, excerising (walking), eating low carb, I've seen great results and feel fantastic.
My problem is, my low blood pressure, it's a great healthy blood pressure and I am pleased it's low, always has been, but it is low to the point where it can cause me to feel light headed sometimes.
I struggle to do any high tensity exercise without becoming extremely dizzy and feeling like I am going to faint, I've tried yoga but have the same issue when my head is upside down, I lose balance and become really dizzy. This is normal for me, standing too quickly, looking up, backwards all make me light headed.
Ordinarily I walk the kids to school in a morning which gives me a good brisk 30 minutes of walking every day (i drove prior to my diagnosis) I am fine doing this.
I work full time but try to fit in another walk at lunchtime or after work, to reach my 10,000 steps.
We are now into the 6 week holidays. I am working from home, the kids are in the house and I don't know how I can get enough walking into the day. I don't want to wake my kids up ridiculously early for morning walks before I start work, I can't physically get enough in on an evening when I have to prepare their tea.
Can anyone relate and recommend something I can do at home which isn't going to make me feel like I am about to pass out?
I am considering an exercise bike, but they take up so much room.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Thanks


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## Chris Hobson (Jul 21, 2021)

I don't know how relevant this is to your situation but I had a similar problem with low blood pressure causing me to feel faint. Like you I worked hard to get fit after diagnosis and, for about four years, things went really well. But then I started getting this intermittent problem with feeling faint when exercising. It started early in the year when I was beginning my build up to a triathlon that I had entered which was to take place in July. I  had to withdraw as I was unable to do the training needed to compete. Meanwhile I had lots of scans and tests to try and work out what was wrong, the doctors never did get to the bottom of it. In the end the problem slowly went away over a period of a couple of years.

I can't really offer any other advice, I'm retired and my sproglet is all grown up now. I love triathlons but I can't do them at the moment due to having a slightly duff knee.


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## trophywench (Jul 21, 2021)

I do not know how to increase BP deliberately.  @mikeyB  - that even possible in the first place?  (the person I have just tagged was a GP so hence medically trained, which the bulk of us are not)


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## LilLady (Jul 21, 2021)

trophywench said:


> I do not know how to increase BP deliberately.  @mikeyB  - that even possible in the first place?  (the person I have just tagged was a GP so hence medically trained, which the bulk of us are not)


Thanks, the aim isn't really to raise my blood pressure, it's a healthy blood pressure.
I am just looking for exercise I can do at home which doesn't make me dizzy.


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## Pumper_Sue (Jul 21, 2021)

LilLady said:


> Thanks, the aim isn't really to raise my blood pressure, it's a healthy blood pressure.
> I am just looking for exercise I can do at home which doesn't make me dizzy.


What about an exercise bike, would that be an option?


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## kentish maid (Jul 21, 2021)

Had you thought of skipping? Inexpensive, and no large equipment to worry about. Not sure how old your children are but they might have fun joining in


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## LilLady (Jul 21, 2021)

That's a good idea  
We have a couple in the shed too


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## LilLady (Jul 21, 2021)

Pumper_Sue said:


> What about an exercise bike, would that be an option?


Possibly, it would be my preferred choice but they do take up a lot of room.


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## kentish maid (Jul 21, 2021)

The other thing that has just crossed my mind is a mini trampoline. I think the indoor ones can be folded up when not in use. The advertising says  '10 minutes of jumping exercise is equivalent to 1 hour of jogging, 30 minutes of cycling or 20 minutes of swimming. Jumping for a short period of time every day is of great benefit to physical and mental health'


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## Chris Hobson (Jul 24, 2021)

At the time when I was having this problem I wrote about it. There is a thread below the article about how the problem progressed and gradually went away.



			https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/slightly-troubling-news.71239/


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## mikeyB (Jul 24, 2021)

The only thing I would say is that 90/60 isn’t a normal BP it’s low. It’s at the *lowest* limit of normal, so if it goes any lower symptoms of light headedness  will be inevitable. One of the commoner causes is pregnancy. And at my age, if I had a BP of 90/60 I wouldn’t be able to stand up or think straight.

Some things you can do to help is make sure you are well hydrated, but in situations where you get symptoms, compression stockings can help. So can slightly increasing the amount of salt you consume. Medication can help, but that has its own side effects. It is likely to change as you get older anyway, it’s just a question of managing it in the meantime.


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## mikeyB (Jul 24, 2021)

By the way, using a trampoline is the very worst thing I could imagine you doing.


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## LilLady (Jul 25, 2021)

mikeyB said:


> The only thing I would say is that 90/60 isn’t a normal BP it’s low. It’s at the *lowest* limit of normal, so if it goes any lower symptoms of light headedness  will be inevitable. One of the commoner causes is pregnancy. And at my age, if I had a BP of 90/60 I wouldn’t be able to stand up or think straight.
> 
> Some things you can do to help is make sure you are well hydrated, but in situations where you get symptoms, compression stockings can help. So can slightly increasing the amount of salt you consume. Medication can help, but that has its own side effects. It is likely to change as you get older anyway, it’s just a question of managing it in the meantime.


It's funny you mentioned pregnancy because it was very low during both my pregnancies. My midwife asked if I'd fainted at all, I hadn't. But she said no exercise other than walking and no flights of stairs.
I do have spells of feeling really rubbish, I feel off today, tired, low energy, lightheaded and think it could be down to that.


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## LilLady (Jul 25, 2021)

mikeyB said:


> By the way, using a trampoline is the very worst thing I could imagine you doing.


I agree lol.
The thought made me heave.
I think 5 jumps and I would pass out.


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