light headed during workout

i've been lifting off and on for about 5 years. about 4 months ago i experienced  a very light headed sence, jitters and occaisional heart racing. a knowledgable friend said it was a reaction to the arginine in the nitro tech i was using. i was not over-training and i never have felt this feeling. after a few months off, i still experience the same feeling, even without using any supplement. any advice?

personaly i would go see a doctor.  maybe it was what your friend said or your just not eating enough or not drinking enough water. 

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it seems like a possible sugar issue instead of a side effect to a supplement. when i'm lifting, i eat plenty all day, especially when i didn't use a protein shake. it doesn't happen every time, but when it does it's on the days i ate less than others. i'll probably start back with eating plenty and using a more simple protein shake.

getting light headed could be a number of things. I had a few idea's when I read the topic

Are you getting enough sleep?
Are you doing anything to keep oxygen from getting to your brain? certain exercise? cleans have a tendency to do this to some people
Are you sure your eating properly? on days where you eat less...how much less? many women pass out at gyms because they hardly eat anything and then go in for cardio. Perhaps pay more attention to pre/post work out meals.

I wouldnt think it would be the arginine. I would ask a doctor if it keeps ocuring, could be something more serious going on.

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I can say with fair certainty that it is the arginine causing those symptoms.  Arginine is a typical vasodilator used in many performance products.  It is basically used because it gets converted to NO once in your body.  Anyway, what vasodilator's do is they relax your muscle wall/walls which increases synthesis of different compounds among other things, one being that it lowers blood pressure.  If you have a normal or slightly low blood pressure, releasing even more pressure would obviously cause it to lower even more.  Now on to low blood pressure symptoms - lightheadedness, jitters, etc.  I think you see my point.  Go to a doctor like the others have said and I'm sure they will check you out and tell you to lay off the whatevertech that you are taking.

Just ignore my post then, I didnt know arginine would do that :P

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I can say with fair certainty that it is the arginine causing those symptoms.  Arginine is a typical vasodilator used in many performance products.  It is basically used because it gets converted to NO once in your body.  Anyway, what vasodilator's do is they relax your muscle wall/walls which increases synthesis of different compounds among other things, one being that it lowers blood pressure.  If you have a normal or slightly low blood pressure, releasing even more pressure would obviously cause it to lower even more.  Now on to low blood pressure symptoms - lightheadedness, jitters, etc.  I think you see my point.  Go to a doctor like the others have said and I'm sure they will check you out and tell you to lay off the whatevertech that you are taking.

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then can you explain why it happens even without arginine in several months? plus i used a whole container of nitro tech before the first symptom. i do agree that a visit to the doctor is the best idea.

plus it only happens during weight training. not at all during cardio.

Well if you're saying that you haven't been taking the arginine some time before it happening again then I think it's going to be caused by something else. It's not lot arginine has some sort of long lasting effect.
 
Thought there might be a number of causes. It acctually sounds a lot like you're going into hypoglycemia, especially since you are saying that sugar intake is corralated with this happening. I would say you should see a doctor and get some bloodwork done if you haven't done so in a while.

is there any reason why this only happens during my workouts? i agree with the hypoglycemia but it never occurs any other time. even if i go half a day without eating, or if i drink a 20 oz soda and eat a candy bar.

If that is the case then it could just be a lack of oxygen which would cause the same symptoms you described.  Make sure you are breathing properly in between and during sets and make sure you are hydrating yourself efficiently.  When you lift your body focuses on sending oxygen to your muscles and your brain gets the short end of the stick, causing a feeling of faintness or light headedness.  Either way, see a doctor.

rt


is there any reason why this only happens during my workouts? i agree with the hypoglycemia but it never occurs any other time. even if i go half a day without eating, or if i drink a 20 oz soda and eat a candy bar.

What about aerobic excercise? Does it happen then?
Or does it only happen during certain excercises like say deadlifts?

only during weight training, but to be perfectly honest, i probably don't do enough cardio to stimulate it. the most i do is 15 minutes because i can only run on a treadmill or stationary bike for so long.  no time for dvds at home with 2 kids. for me, cardio is a spring/summer routine when i can go outside. i'm still going with hypoglycemia. just found out my dad and gramps have it. i just don't understand why it showed up all of the sudden.