Unhealthy first gym experience - Advice please?

First off - a bit about me - I am 20 years old, 5'4 and currently 135lb aiming for 125lb.  I have never joined a gym before and have not played sport since school so about 3 years(!!)  I do however, walk EVERYWHERE and work in retail at the weekends - otherwise known as sweatbox minion, though I understand that this is no scratch on proper sporting activities.  Until recently I lived in an area where I felt comfortable going running - I wasn't brilliant and could only do about 10 mins at 7mph but it was ok until I moved to a crappy place where I decided to join the gym.

Today I had my induction at the gym, which involved about 20 mins of low intensity cardio with a bit of strength training.  During this I felt fine - I was pushing myself, but it was achievable and I could definitely have gone on longer - in other words I did not feel at any time like I wanted to die.  About a minute after stopping (with no cool down) I felt like a was experiencing a massive headrush, I couldn't hear properly and everything was going white.  So I drank a bit of water and asked to sit down outside for a bit.  I then fainted and when I came to, I just remember that my jaw was clenched, as were my fists and that I was shaking side to side. 

Anyway, I had a powerade drink thing and felt better and went home (I now have to be referred to my GP before returning), but  I just don't understand why this happened - I had eaten and drank before hand and never at any point felt like it was too much - it wasnt even that big a workout!  The only thing I can think of is that I made myself ridiculously nervous before - to the point that I could feel my heart pounding in my chest just standing still! 

I'm kind of worried now about diabetes and blood pressure....the trainer lady also used the word 'epilepsy'  which scared the hell out of me so obviously I'm going to go see a doctor though I need to register with one first so finding out the reasons could take some time - hence the speculative forum post.

So if you have actually managed to bother reading my life and times, by Caitlin and if you have any knowledge, experience, random thought on the matter please comment....

Thanks!

Hi Caitlin, the exact same thing happened to me, a few times actually, but each time something different was going on! The first time it happened I was in school watching a movie in class, started to feel sick, my ears were ringing, went to the washroom and fainted. The second time, I hit my shin on a set of stairs, sat down on the stairs, and all I can remember is my vision was going and my ears were ringing again and then I woke up on the floor at the bottom of the stairs! The next few times were all associated with blood/getting hurt, because I fainted and was shaking violently after getting blood taken (apparently my vein collapsed?!) and then another time I accidentally cut my thumb open while slicing some veggies, and I fainted almost instantly.

Anyway, when I went to my doctor to see what was up, she suggested that it could just be something called "Vasal vagal".. which she described as a reaction to pain, but I'm pretty sure that's just a reaction to seeing blood, right? So why would it happen when I hadn't seen any blood before? Same thing goes for you; why did you faint just like I did without the sight of blood, hmm?!?

Someone also told me it could be anemia.. but I had my iron levels checked and they were fine according to my doctor, so I'm not sure what to think anymore.. I'm just as lost as you are, really. Lol.

I hope some other people comment here and explain to us what it might be!

<3

EDIT: also I forgot to mention, I almost fainted once after using the elliptical machine in my house.

I have had these "spells" many times in my life.. sometimes just standing up for a long time will trigger it. It is usually just a drop in blood pressure, and when you faint, it's called Syncope. When this happens, your body isn't getting enough oxygen. This can also be a sign of Hypotension (low blood pressure) and your doctor will tell you right away. My doctor had advised me to increase salt because it increases blood pressure, and drink plenty of water.. also when you feel one of these spells coming, be sure to sit down right away so you don't fall.

I have had blood tests to detirmine whether or not I have low blood pressure (which I don't), and I was told that this is pretty common for children and young adults. You may have just been pushing yourself too hard and not properly breathing, but check with your doctor just to be safe.

What you experienced does sound a bit like a seizure (especially when you mentioned the part about clenching your jaw and your fists when you woke up).  My son suffered from idiopathic epilepsy as a child, which he outgrew, and I learned that seizures don't always manifest as jerking fits like they are depicted on television. 

Just for your own peace of mind, go to the doctor for a thorough physical.  It's probably not epilepsy, but you want to be sure for your own sake.

Good luck

i used to have these and went through numerous tests to rule out epilepsy, head trauma, diabetes, hypertension et al~ though i never did receive an official  diagnosis, my doctor at the time figured it was anxiety. once in a while i can feel on coming on with the whine of rising blood pressure in my ears and my vision begins to brighten ans i just breathe deep and decide i am So Totally Not Having An Attack Right Now and it goes away. i do have borderline anemia and low vitamin K which may exacerbate this problem... but the doctor decided it is not the cause~ so......

still, get a battery of testing. blood tests, EKG, EEG, what have you. it is worth it and then you can safely return to the gym. no worries! just get many opinions!

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who replied!!  I'm registering with the doctors today (it was closed last night) so I imagine I won't get an appointment until next week but I will be demanding lots and lots of testing - considering I haven't seen a doctor in 3 years this could be quite good for me. 

To be honest, I do think it was anxiety based as I had been working myself up about it all day before and I probably wasn't breathing properly.  I spoke to my sister who recalled having exactly the same experience when she had to give blood and was trapped in a tiny box-room with a 'huge lady with a needle coming at her'

Anyway, I won't know until I've seen a doctor but thank you to everyone for replying and helping out!!

Don't you have walk-in clinics where you are?

I wouldn't think this is the kind of thing a walk-in clinic would manage very well since you will likely need various visits and tests and appointments to figure out what went wrong exactly.

I'm not sure about the clenched jaw/fist part or the shaking...

But the fainting part does sound familiar to me. Were you doing any overhead lifting prior to the faint? Sometimes that can create a drop in blood pressure and result in passing out - especially if you naturally have low/lower blood pressure than average. Just something to consider... I generally have to avoid most overheading lifting because otherwise I have to fight passing out.

Dr's recommend avoiding overhead lifting for pregnant women too so that you don't drop mom's/the babies blood pressure too low - so overhead lifting is a proven issue to be aware of - regardless of pregnancy status!

Good Luck finding the answers. Could be a tough one though.

I wouldn't worry about diabetes.  This sounds very much like an episode of low, not high, blood sugar.  I'd have your doctor check you for hypoglycemia.