Whenever I get up real fast my head hurts then my vision gets real dark. what do!
Question:
Whenever I get up real fast my head hurts then my vision gets real dark. what does this mean? any doctors here
Every morning I wake up then rise up then I have a small headache first then I see the room darkening then comes back to normal, then I get back to my life. I'm just worried that it's something neurological and my vision(I wear glasses.)
Answers:
You describe a common phenomina called orthostatic hypotension. In fact it's so common, I've responded to two others in the past few days with similar complaints, so if you don't mind, I'll do some cutting and pasting since I take a while to type (hunt and peck method you see...)
Standing up and feeling dizzy is a common thing called orthostatic hypotension- leave it to docs to come with fancy names- it's just to sound smart you know... Anyway, when you stand up suddenly , the blood takes a little while to get up to you brain- after all- gravity works. You then get the feeling of dizzyness, lightheadedness,and darkening vision- like you're gonna pass out as you describe. In fact you may pass out a time or two, especially if you're dehydrated etc...This is not to be confused with vertigo, which is also dizzyness, but this is more the sensation of the room and things around you moving, people often describe the walls and tables moving- which can be associated with a problem of the inner ear as an above respondant mentioned, as well as other "problems" with your brain stem.
Orthostatic hypotension can be a sign of other diseases such as disease of the heart valves, heart arrythmias (irregular heart beating) and can reflect neurologic issues such as autonomic dysfunction, that is- your nerves have trouble regulating your blood pressure. For that matter, blood pressure medications, dehydration, or anything else that causes your blood pressure to be low can cause this.
However, if you are otherwise "healthy" your blood pressure may just be naturally low, and considering that high blood pressure puts you at risk for strokes, heart attacks, etc. and that blood pressure goes up naturally as we age and our arteries get stiffer, I'd enjoy the low blood pressure while you got it and just get up more slowly, so you don't pass out...