Fatigue & dizziness/lightheadedness in 2nd Trimester?

[mamagingey]

I'm in the second trimester (19 weeks) of my second pregnancy, and not only have I NOT experienced that 2nd tri burst of energy that I remembered the first time around, I have spells of extreme tiredness & fatigue that last for several days.  I've noticed that these coincide with a tendency to become very dizzy or light headed upon standing.  I'm sure I don't remember this from my first, either.  Does this sound familiar to anyone?  Is there anything I should ask my midwife about being tested for, or are there dietary changes that might help?  I am vegetarian (& have been for 25 years), but do consume a fair amount of dairy, as well as taking good prenatals & a B12 supplement.  Thanks!

[cparkly]

Hmmm...maybe your blood pressure or blood sugar. I would ask your midwife. I hope that you are able to figure it out soon, that does not sound like fun.

[Smokering]

I had similar symptoms during my last pregnancy. Really bad fatigue, and dizziness that got worse when I stood up, moved too quickly, had hot showers, or went to the supermarket or fabric store (yup, those shops specifically!). It was unpleasant, to say, the least, and didn't significantly improve until a few weeks before I gave birth.

My MW had me tested for low iron (I was lowish, but not low enough to account for such extreme symptoms), GD (nope), low blood pressure (again, lowish but not low enough - in fact, higher than with my first pregnancy, in which I didn't have those symptoms), pre-eclampsia (not really the right symptoms, but I'd had pre-e before so they figured they'd better check!), and multiple pregnancy (nope - whew!). They eventually filed it in the "too hard" basket and said they hoped it would go away. :p It was most odd. Eating regularly and drinking a lot may have helped a little, but not a lot... I hope whatever you have is simple and fixable!

[Abraisme]

Yup, I get this all the time.  I have low pb, so I'm more prone to being light-headed and dizzy anyway.  I have noticed that if I don't drink enough water or forget to eat anything for more than 4 hours that I feel worse.  Sometimes I just need to eat a snack, drink a bunch of water and lay down for 15 minutes. 
 

Originally Posted by mamagingey 

I'm in the second trimester (19 weeks) of my second pregnancy, and not only have I NOT experienced that 2nd tri burst of energy that I remembered the first time around, I have spells of extreme tiredness & fatigue that last for several days.  I've noticed that these coincide with a tendency to become very dizzy or light headed upon standing.  I'm sure I don't remember this from my first, either.  Does this sound familiar to anyone?  Is there anything I should ask my midwife about being tested for, or are there dietary changes that might help?  I am vegetarian (& have been for 25 years), but do consume a fair amount of dairy, as well as taking good prenatals & a B12 supplement.  Thanks!

[APToddlerMama]

This happens to me, and in my case, it is because of low blood pressure.  I absolutely have to increase my salt intake to get it in a relatively normal range.  Other things might be iron, blood sugar.  Best to get it checked out. 

[MarineWife]

I had this problem and, in my case, it was from mild anemia. I started taking an herbal liquid iron supplement and felt 100% better within a few days. Floradix is a big one but that's not the one I originally took. I had been taking iron pills from the drug store throughout my pg (I take them all the time because I am always borderline anemic) but, apparently, they weren't helping because I still became anemic. I needed the herbal liquid iron.

[emmaegbert]

Well obviously talk to your MW, but definitely ask her to check iron which she probably will want to anyway (I was not anemic at all my whole life and have come up fairly severely anemic this, my third pregnancy). I am also a lifelong ovo-lacto vegetarian. I am taking multiple measures to help the anemia (floradix, iron pills spread out through the day, cooking in iron pots, and drinking a nettle/RRL tea daily). I do think my energy level has come back quite a bit and will be retested in about 2 weeks to see how I am doing. Also be sure to eat frequent small meals/snacks, try to include protein and fat in all of them. Eat at least every 3 hours. that will keep your blood sugar much more stable. I really feel it if I skip meals. Since I have diet-controlled (mild!) GD I really do make sure to eat even if I am not hungry, at least a handful of almonds or whatever because if I don't, I can see the blood sugar swings (and I also eat a pretty low-carb diet, almost entirely grain/starch/sweetener free, but that is probably not necessary for most people to maintain even blood sugar. However, all pregnant women have more swings in their blood sugar than they do normally which is why I think frequent small meals that are not so quick to digest are helpful for most people). Also plenty of liquids. Can't speak to the blood pressure issues but I know getting enough fluids and enough salt is important for all of us, so definitely don't limit any of that.

[Dov'sMom]

I'm in a similar place. Completely exhausted, falling asleep by 8:30 if I am remotely near a bed. 21 weeks, and it's been going on for almost a month now. I also get lightheaded/dizzy at times, but not as frequently, and I'm pretty sure that's related to low blood pressure, which I always have when I'm pregnant -- it's the exhaustion that's not normal!

I had my thyroid checked recently, and it was fine. My first GD reading was 61, so I thought maybe I was hypoglycemic. I borrowed a blood sugar monitor from my mother, who has diabetes, and nope -- between 75 and 115 at all times, over 85 only 1 hour after meals and never below 75, not even when I am at my most exhausted. Sounds perfect, right? I've been upping my iron intake from food, but have not noticed any improvement. I asked for a full blood count and will go for a blood draw Friday, but for now I'm just accepting that it's the way this pregnancy is going. I've started to wonder if this is what chronic fatigue feels like! I sure hope it goes away when the baby is born, if not long before that.

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by Dov'sMom 

for now I'm just accepting that it's the way this pregnancy is going.

Anemia in pg can be a serious problem for baby so it's not something to just accept. I didn't know that until after I found out I was anemic with this pg. I didn't think it was such a big deal because no one ever made a big deal out of me always being borderline anemic. I'm not saying you have anemia but I do think it's important to get that checked asap if you are having symptoms.

[JaciA]

im 21 weeks pregnant and ive had lightheadness/dizziness for acouple of weeks now. when standing up and getting the least bit active. i also have it to where my heart is pounding really hard and i cant breath.. im pretty much laying or sitting down more then half my day because of it lol. i finally went to the doctor and ive found i have low bp and aniema. you should ask you doctor about these conditions. =]