Low blood pressure is not something that can be ignored. I had to go through a gamut of symptoms to realize this the hard way.
In the early ’90s, I had developed a habit of jogging every morning. This cardiovascular exercise felt great at first, until I started experiencing symptoms that became somewhat alarming.
One morning while jogging, I suddenly had to stop as my heart began palpitating excessively. I had no idea what was happening to me. I remember feeling the discomfort of severe dizziness. I had difficulty breathing as well. My chest became tight as my solar plexus (an area in the chest that holds massive nerve tissue) became affected. I could hardly focus, if at all. I remember that I suddenly became very thirsty and though I was jogging in a well-maintained city park that had water fountains every 100 ft. or so, the next water fountain on route seemed to be an impossible task to reach. The inevitable thought that crossed my mind was, “I don’t want to lose consciousness here”. I needed water more than usual, for some inexplicable reason. What baffled me was the sudden onset of these symptoms. No warning. Nothing. The symptoms came faster than the snap of a finger.
I remember feeling a sense of “no-time”, almost like a floating sensation. The need for water became imperative. This was not a ‘normal thirst’, meaning where one begins to feel a dry throat giving indication that the body needs to be replenished with fluids. This was a strange thirst. My whole body felt like it was literally crystalizing, for lack of a better word. Naturally, with the tightness in my chest culminating, I began to have a tense nauseated ‘burning’ feeling.
I found myself eventually buckling and lying on the grass. My heart seemed to be skipping a few beats in its constant palpitation. I laid there, looking at the sky in a haze. My vision became slightly blurred. It became an obsession for me in not wanting to lose consciousness. I was virtually fighting for this not to happen. Somehow, I remembered thinking what I had read in a medical journal a few years back, that forcefully coughing tends to keep the heart going. I made an effort to cough repeatedly, but the palpitations kept going with a sinking feeling in my chest.
As I laid on the grassy earth, I began to sense a strange ambiance taking over to the surroundings that I was in. Though my blood circulation had reduced because of my sudden need to stop jogging, and even with my lying on the ground wishing a soul would pass by in this very sunny early morning, the symptoms continued irregardless. I remember my muscles beginning to abnormally tighten, and I thought that I might be going through some type of a seizure.
The ‘floating sensation,’ as if I were leaving my body, just wouldn’t go away. I knew I had to reach the closest water fountain, so in my determination I tried to slowly get off the ground but not to much avail as I became subjugated to a ‘spinning environment’. My vision became more blurred and eventually all became a ‘fogged distortion’ of all elements around me.
In the midst of all these symptoms, suddenly, I could barely see a man kneeling down next to me. He kept repeating, “Are you alright?”. I tried to focus my eyes upon him but with each turn of my eyeballs, I could feel an inexplicable dryness in their sockets.
The next thing I knew, the man carefully lifted my head and put water to my mouth. He wanted me to drink it slowly but I urged him in panic to give me more. And so, the watery substance slipped down my esophagus and I felt like a dried sponge being revitalized again. With his assistance I tried to slowly get up, but the dizziness remained. The next thing I knew, an ambulance had arrived and I was escorted to the nearest hospital.
Upon entering into emergency the bright fluorescent lighting disturbed me. I felt weak and so disoriented. The intravenous bottle the ambulance attendants had plugged into me, began to supply my metabolism with proper fluids. I managed to regain a bit of focus, but many of the symptoms were still existent. Whilst lying on a stretcher in the Emergency ward, I could smell the aroma of toasts and whatever other foods were being served to the patients who were just beginning to wake up to the morning routine of the hospital.
For some reason, the aroma of food made me feel more weak and faint. The nurses passed quickly and drew blood from me for analysis. I don’t know how much time passed before the attending medical practitioners came to see me with the results. One of them caught my gaze and asked, “How are you feeling?”. I weakly responded, “Not so strong…what’s happening to me?”.
It was then that his colleague announced, “You have low blood pressure. We’re waiting for the lab tests to determine what might have caused you to fall down”.
The Diagnosis
Once the blood analysis came in, the medical practitioners returned asking me more questions. “What did you have to eat this morning?”, one of them asked. I replied, “Nothing”. He stopped and looked at my blood results on his chart. He then resumed, “You had an attack of low blood sugar … your sodium levels have gone down as well… explain to me what you normally eat when you do”.
I then began explaining that I was a vegetarian. Immediately, one of the practitioners spoke up and asked, “Do you eat any protein-based foods such as poultry, meats, nuts, fish… do you salt your food on occasion?…. do you eat potatoes or bread, rice… foods rich in carbohydrates….
When I explained to one of the practitioners that I never salt my food as I believe there’s natural salt in foods to begin with, he advised that for a while I should put a little table salt on occasion in order to raise my sodium up more as well as my blood pressure.
He continued explaining, “What happened to you this morning is not something that you neglected to do for just one day….this is something that you’ve been doing to yourself for a long time and your system finally couldn’t endure the stress of neglect”.
He looked at my chart again examining the figures. “We believe you’re hypoglycemic, and we’d like to take more tests to find what might have caused your pancreas to malfunction and to cause such abnormal levels of insulin ….but by what you’ve explained to us about your daily food intake, being a vegetarian is not going to help you….but we do suspect that you may have a thyroid condition.”
According to what these medical practitioners explained, many people believe that eating only vegetable-based foods will sustain them and keep their bodies working normally and with better health. Alas, so is not the case. Being a ‘vegetarian’ is a very misunderstood and confusing term nowadays. It’s essential to keep one’s metabolism functioning with varying nutritional ingredients. Protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, and fruits – amongst many other types of food – are all part of a well-nourished individual. As too much of anything is not healthy, so is too little.
Their last analysis about the ‘thyroid condition’ didn’t exactly appeal to me. One of the practitioners was convinced that this was the root cause. I disagreed with him for some reason. Perhaps I was in denial, but I personally opted to believe that my early morning ‘low-blood-pressure-attack’ stemmed more from my not properly eating what I should have. Still, I was convinced that being a vegetarian was not wrong, as well. However, after eating the hospital’s version of a “lunch”, which consisted of soft chopped chicken, potatoes and mixed vegetables, I felt completely re-energized.
After my test results came in for my thyroid in the weeks thereafter, despite some mild controversy, it was analyzed that there was no existing anomaly.
Conclusion
There are many reasons which can offset or create low blood pressure. I’ve written my account, which I hope will help benefit many people. Point being? Understanding what type of foods are needed for your metabolism is a daily task that no one should ignore. Today, when I sense I’m going to be more stressed and physically active, I carry a small bottle of water in my purse. It helps.
