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Lightheadedness when exercising, please help!!

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/1/2012 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone,

The last 5 or 6 times I've played basketball I've had mild lightheadedness, dizziness, and weakness kick in. When I tried playing today I even felt much more out of breath than usual.

I'm a basketball player in college so this is very bad for me!!!

I take mesalamine enemas nightly and have been doing so for a year. I also take balsalazide, which I believe I started not too long before this problem emerged.

I also have mild colon inflammation.

Could either of these medications or the colitis itself be the culprit? Or do you think it's unrelated.

PS: I saw a doctor who measured my blood pressure, which is normal.
Posted 12/1/2012 12:11 AM (GMT 0)
it's the UC. it makes me lightheaded sometimes, too. i only get lightheaded during exercise if i'm pushing myself too hard or am hungry. i always drink coconut water during my workouts and take my heartrate every 10 minutes to make sure i'm not killing myself. i also do a simple 1-10 exertion scale in my head which makes me slow it down or take it up a notch.

do you keep in your target heartrate range or just go all out? i'm sure basketball is very tiring (i've never played).
Posted 12/1/2012 12:15 AM (GMT 0)
You could be right but I've had UC for over a year and have been mildly enflamed most of the time, yet basketball never bothered me. It is definitely vigorous and high impact, however my colitis is relatively mild.

ugh...
Posted 12/1/2012 6:45 AM (GMT 0)
Does anyone else have an idea of what's going on?

thanks!
Posted 12/1/2012 7:15 AM (GMT 0)
basketball + uc = mild lightheadedness, dizziness, and weakness & much more out of breath than usual -
Posted 12/1/2012 7:43 AM (GMT 0)
Is this a permanent thing or will I be able to play basketball normally once my inflammation is better controlled?

Thanks,
Dan
Posted 12/1/2012 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
Once the inflammation is gone you should be better!
Posted 12/1/2012 2:52 PM (GMT 0)
Have you had your blood tested lately to make sure you don't have anemia?
Posted 12/1/2012 2:53 PM (GMT 0)
Have you had your iron checked?
Posted 12/1/2012 3:20 PM (GMT 0)
I used to feel this way when weight lifting or doing cardio last year. You could buy those little Emergen-C packets of 'Electrolytes' and fuel up before and after your workouts. They seem to work for me, other than that keep a bottle of Gatorade handy.
Posted 12/1/2012 3:53 PM (GMT 0)
so when you say you're a basketball player, what exactly does that mean ? are you on a full ride scholarship or some variation of that ? or is it just a rec league or something ?

you have a pretty significant thing going on with your body - if you want to help with healing, rest is probably your best ally - a lot of people can and do fight through this thing, but many, including myself had to face the harsh reality that life has to be a bit different when you're sick - it sucks big time - but assuming you're a young guy witha fairly healthy baseline, given some time, you should be able to "rebound" from this fairly well -

good luck -
Posted 12/1/2012 4:56 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you.

I play club basketball.

So no one thinks balsazide could cause dizziness during exercise?

And yes, my iron levels are normal.

Best
Posted 12/1/2012 7:06 PM (GMT 0)
For me, as I am tapering my meds to a remission therapy dose, I have really low blood pressure, which makes me light headed and "fuzzy". I was told to double my water intake-

Carlie
Posted 12/1/2012 9:13 PM (GMT 0)
Once the flare is controlled you should be fine.

I should be able to recognize the signs better, but never do. I exercise rigorously 6 days a week. 3 bootcamps, running, etc. about three weeks ago I started getting light headed, and short of breath. I wasn't putting things together. Happens evertime before I start flaring. Sure enough things progressively got worse. When I'm not in a flare, one would have no clue I have UC. I run (8:30min/mi) and take bootcamp classes. Got so bad this past week, I finally gave in and took the week off in hopes to give my body a rest and the focus to heal.

Things are not getting better. Have a sigmoidoscopy on Monday and remicade on tuesday.

Keep your head up. Work with your doctors, take suggestions from this forum, and get your flare under control and you will be back to playing basketball like your old self in no time. Let's go LAKERS!!! 

Posted 12/2/2012 1:46 AM (GMT 0)
How long have you been on Colazal? I know when I first started it, it made me feel fuzzy, sort of light headed. But after about 3 months it leveled out.
Posted 12/2/2012 6:18 AM (GMT 0)
Red,

I have been on colozal for 2 months. I think this issue started around the same time. However, I don't generally feel lightheaded, only while playing basketball.

Thanks
Posted 12/2/2012 2:52 PM (GMT 0)
Have you had a CBC done lately? Are you experiencing bleeding?

I just went thru this myself...I teach high impact aerobics and one of my last classes I was so winded and lightheaded and nauseous.  Was also flaring, bleeding, and plain feeling terrible.

My GI Dr drew my CBC and my Hemoglobin was a 6 and my Hematocrit was 21!!  He had me go in for a blood transfusion. Felt like a million bucks after that :)

Posted 12/2/2012 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the thought. I haven't had a CBC, however I'm not having any bleeding. I just have very loose stools and intestinal discomfort as my symptoms.
Posted 12/11/2012 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
I have the same thing and it was because my red blood cells were low. Apparently that is quite common in people with colitis. I take an extra iron supplement with along with prescribed meds. The better my colitis is the less light headed I am!
Posted 12/11/2012 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
I have the same thing and it was because my red blood cells were low. Apparently that is quite common in people with colitis. I take an extra iron supplement with along with prescribed meds. The better my colitis is the less light headed I am!
Posted 12/11/2012 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
I was a college swimmer and on scholarship. My diagnosis fell right in my sophmore year. I went off all meds until I was out of school because it hampered my performance. I would not recommend it though. I felt pretty terrible and I think the UC was probably more of an issue than the meds. You may have to switch meds. Have you tried asacal? or Lialda? They may not give you these side effects. And REST!! Get plenty of rest.
Posted 12/11/2012 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
I know that my levels of almost everything were off when I was in the hospital but the thing that made me the most dizzy was low blood sugar. For me it was a result of not being able to eat for 9 days but I think it might be related to UC and some medicines too. At least, I remember the docs saying something about it regarding workouts. Was told to bring electrolyte drinks with some sugar. I'll try to dig up that reference. I seem to remember it being kind of specific.
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