Therapy – What helps with dizziness after eating?
Dizziness after eating is treated depending on the cause. If the patients suffer from diabetes, the patient receives insulin as medication. Depending on the type of diabetes, the insulin is either injected under the skin (type 1) or can be taken in tablet form (type 2).
In addition to the controlled intake of insulin, it is important that diabetics monitor their blood sugar levels closely. Home monitoring devices, which measure the blood sugar level with a drop of blood from the finger, make this monitoring easy. If the dizziness after eating has other causes, i.e. a too high or too low blood pressure, medication must also be used.
High blood pressure is treated with different groups of medication. Examples are beta-blockers or ACE inhibitors. Low blood pressure can often be treated by changing one’s lifestyle (exercise, change of diet, etc.
), and so-called sympathomimetic drugs are used to increase the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. If a histamine intolerance causes dizziness after eating, it is advisable to avoid foods that contain a lot of histamine. Furthermore, antihistamines can be used as medication.
A change of position can often bring about an improvement in acute dizziness attacks after a meal. It can help to lie on your back and slightly elevate your legs. Exercise after a meal often helps with light dizziness.
Walking in the fresh air will get your circulation going again, you can breathe deeply and the symptoms will usually disappear on their own. Whether you lie down or prefer to move depends on the individual situation. If you notice that the dizziness gets worse while lying down, you can try out whether exercise helps by taking a few steps around the room.
If the dizziness is prolonged or worsening, it is advisable to consult a physician in order to gain clarity about the cause. If dizziness gets significantly better or even disappears after eating, the cause was usually hypoglycaemia. This can have various causes.
For example, some people have an excess of insulin after a very sugary breakfast. This body hormone ensures that sugar is absorbed from the blood into the body’s cells. If too much insulin is released, the blood sugar concentration can drop too much.
Besides trembling, lack of concentration and sweating, dizziness is a common symptom. Eating causes the low sugar level to rise again and the dizziness subsides. In such a case, one should change one’s eating habits and eat food that leads to a slower rise in blood sugar levels (for example, replace white bread with wholemeal bread).
Dizziness, which improves significantly or even disappears after eating, can also be a sign of a very rare disease called insulinoma. This is a benign tumour (not cancer), which is usually located in the pancreas and produces large quantities of the hormone insulin. This leads to an unnatural drop in the blood sugar level.
An improvement of the symptoms is achieved by eating. In particular, carbohydrate-rich food (a component of potatoes, noodles or rice, for example) or sweet foods such as fruit, juices or baked goods cause the blood sugar level to rise. If you notice dizziness and possibly other symptoms of hypoglycaemia, which improve after eating, you should consult a doctor immediately.
Even if other causes are possible, the suspicion of an insulinoma must be investigated.People with diabetes who are treated with insulin may also experience dizziness if the dosage is too high, following the same mechanism, which will improve after eating. Dizziness, which gets significantly better or even disappears after eating, can also be indicative of a very rare disease called insulinoma. This is a benign tumor (not cancer), which is usually located in the pancreas and produces large quantities of the hormone insulin.
This leads to an unnatural drop in the blood sugar level. An improvement of the symptoms is achieved by eating. In particular, carbohydrate-rich food (a component of potatoes, noodles or rice, for example) or sweet foods such as fruit, juices or baked goods cause the blood sugar level to rise.
If you notice dizziness and possibly other symptoms of hypoglycaemia, which improve after eating, you should consult a doctor immediately. Even if other causes are possible, the suspicion of an insulinoma must be investigated. People who suffer from diabetes and are treated with insulin may also experience dizziness if the dosage is too high, according to the same mechanism, which will improve after eating.
If you notice dizziness in yourself and possibly other symptoms of hypoglycemia that get better after eating, you should consult a doctor immediately. Even if other causes are possible, the suspicion of an insulinoma must be investigated. People who suffer from diabetes and are treated with insulin may also experience dizziness if the dosage is too high, according to the same mechanism, which will improve after eating.
