Pots And Adrenalin

[carinara]

Hello everybody.

Living with POTS and lots of orhostatic Problems for many years, i do now know many of my triggers.

But there is one thing were i am kind of helpless and dont really know what to do and how to behave.

I know that my body overreacts to any kind of stress, positiv and negativ. When iam aware of a upcomming situation that can set me off, i try to prepare myself for it. But sometimes this just doesnt work.

Yesterday for example.

Monday is the day were i have to work for 8 hours (the rest of the week i work 5 hours a day).

I work as a secretary and iam so glad that i can sit down allmost all the time.

With many tricks and a lot of adjustments i can manage my job ok most of the time.

I felt quiet good yesterday and didnt have to many symptoms. Then all of a sudden i wittnessed how somebody got fired. I felt sorry for that person but tried to stay calm and get on with my work (I didnt even know that person anyway). All of a sudden i could feel the adrenalin shooting in. My heart startet to pound like crazy, my hands got cold and sweaty, i had bad visual problems and i felt very very dizzy. It feels as if my body got ist own brain and reacts how it wants to. I think i can handle most situation in life if it comes to handling them psycholocically but how my body reacts is a different story.

Because i experienced these symptoms so many times before, i usually dont panick. But they still scare me.

I really dont know how to behave when these episodes occur. They make me want to jump up an run around but this is not possible with POTS it would make it much much worse. I have to keep sitting down whilest my body goes mad. Afterwards i feel bad for a few hours. Thank god, i didnt have to drive home yesterday. Any ideas on what else to do. to make them episodes go away quicker? To me, it feels, as if lots of adrenalin is shooting out in my bloodstream triggered by a emotional, stressfull, exciting situation and that i have to wait until it gets out of my system again.

Is that right? Is there a way to get rid of this adrenalin shot quicker? Does this have to do something with POTS? Do we handle adrenalin different then healthy people?

It also seems, that if i had one adrenalin situation, that for a few days, my body seems to let go of adrenalin (or whatever that is) more easily, like as if my body then gets reminded to produce more adrenalin or so.

Does anybody else experience these sort of episodes? Is there something i can help to make it pass away easier and faster? When i get orthostatic symptoms due to being to long in a upright position, i know i have to sit down because thats the only thing to make me feel better. But what can i do when this adrenalin thing happens and iam sitting already? Why does my body overreact in that way! Is it to much adrenalin that flows into our bloodstream or do our bodys react in a wrong way to even a little bit of adrenalin???

Thanks a lot for your help

[Guest Sandy Sims]

This is going to sound a bit--well--odd.

But its the ONLy thing that helps I've found.

4X4 breathing--an old meditation/Yoga trick for realxation.

It's simple. And FORCES you body into a less adrenal place. Start this IMMEDIATELY when you think you may be getting stressed.

Breathe in counting slowly to 4--hold it for a 4 count--breath out slowly to a count of four--then wait for a count of four before breathing again.

Sounds easy--but REALLY isn't when you're surging.

Takes a few minutes--try for no less than 20 repeats even if you start feeling better. 5-10 minutes is best --longer if you can arrange it.

Ok I KNOW you think I'm nuts--but PLEASE try this!!!

It can NOT hurt and you may be amazed at how much it helps!

XOXOXOX

Sandy

[HoudiniCat]

I get this all the time too. I don?t panic anymore but can actually feel the adrenaline coursing thru my veins, setting off all kinds of symptoms and would love to find a better technique to make it go away faster.

My POTS doc explained that many patients have increased adrenaline production and/or sensitivity to adrenaline. Sometimes POTS symptoms will show up as an ?autonomic manifestation? as in the case where you?re standing too long and get tachy, etc. Other times symptoms show up as a ?neurological/cognitive manifestation? wherein triggers can be many things such as light/noise sensitivity or emotional overload. There are many others ways symptoms come out (fatigue, heat/cold intolerance, etc.) and they can overlap each other and be different in each and every patient.

In a normal person, you could exercise/move around to get rid of some of the excess adrenaline but POTS patients have to be careful doing that as the emotional/stress demands will sometimes take away from ability to do anything physical. Sometimes I can get up and take a short walk to relieve it somewhat ? other times not because I?ll also feel weak and shaky. At those times, I mostly just have to just ride it out. I also agree with Sandy on the 4x4 breathing (also called ?square breathing technique?). I?ve used that many, many times.

[Tammy]

Ugh, I hate when that happens. I just had that about 1/2 hour ago, and yes, the breathing thing really does work, but you have to get your mind to relax (think happy thoughts) while you do the breathing trick (which is hard to do). Are you on a beta blocker or benzo? These can both help lessen (doesn't completely fix) the frequency of adreanline rush symptoms.

[EarthMother]

My cardiologist explained this just last week to me as hyperadrenic pots ... I don't have it all the time but last spring I sunk into a deep hyperarousal stage. Dropped almost 20 pounds in a matter of a couple weeks.

In my case, since all my tests like pheo tumors came back normal ... he said my body was not over producing adrenaline but rather over reacting to it.

Which made sense. I also just came through a hyperadrenic flaire this morning ... tried to fill up our hummingbird feeder and simply got over heated. One of my triggers.

I like the 4x4 breathing suggestion. I will try that next time. For now I have been using cold water or ice on my pulse points and breathing really slowly. In some cases even slow and shallow helps for me, since I tend to over breathe.

Good luck on your healing journey.

~EM

[Ernie]

Hi,

Xanax

[sandy]

Boy can I relate. I have suffered with anxiety and adrenaline rushes all my life. Even the phone ringing can set off a major adrenaline rush. It's scary and very uncomfortable. My doctor told me that my ANS is overactive. So it is in constant flight or fight mode. I do get brakes every once in awhile, where I don't get as many rushes. But I always know that they can pop up at any time.

[mom4cem]

I have a touchy system also. Someone could jump at me and I'd be fine or climbing the walls. When I know something that is stressfull for me is going to happen etc., I really try to deal with it, but for some reason, even though I know nothing will happen and that I can handle anything, I almost always have a tachy reaction. For me the negative thought about having a reaction must always be there and no matter how much talking, self assuring, breathing etc, I can react, react like the first time I ever had a tachy episode.

I too can relate and I think that keeping the thought that you will be fine and you will get through this episode helps.

[jenwic]

Here's something I've found recently that helps when my system is all hyped up. I do this at night if I feel too full of adrenaline.

I lay on my back and use my arms or hand to press on the top of my head. I read somewhere that pressing on the top of your head will relax you. If I cross my arms over my head and apply pressure, my arms don't get so tired. If I can hold the pressure for 5-10 minutes, less sometimes, I can just feel my system settling down.

[corina]

overreacting is/was a major issue for me. not so much adrenalin rushes (i think) but more in movements and shreeks that i hadn't planned to make and that made me feel very ashamed. when i talked this over with my doc, we decided to try antidepressants as they slow down reactions. although not completely gone, my overreacting is much less now and i am more in control of myself, which makes it liveable (hope i spelled that right )

hope this helps,

take care,

corina

[icthus]

My first line of defense is folic acid and "B6". If that doesn't give relief within 20 minutes, I take clonazapam - 1/2 tab. I don't know why these two protocols work. My neuro endorses this course of action, but I don't really know why or if it's the best. I am very thankful that the P5P works most of the time - especially if I catch it as soon as the reaction starts.

NOTE: I do not take B6 but P5P - a bioavailable B6 that does not deplete the liver enzymes like B6 does. P5P is only available at full-line vitamin stores and many stores don't carry it because P5P is not widely known. (It was one of my doctors that put me on it.)

Thanks for this post. I'm going to try the breathing, too, as well as the head and arm approach. I'm so thankful for Dinet and all of you. My quality of life is so much better because of the posts and research sites. Thank you!!!

[valliali]

i also suffer from extreme adrenaline rushes. i know that my normetanephrine and metanephrine levels are low - these are the metabolites of norepinephrine and epinephrine - which means that i am not really breaking down the stress hormones when they are released. have you all been checked??? a 24 hour urine test will show these levels.

does anyone know or anyone's doctor suggested what causes the overreactive ANS? i am so sick of being told to take medicines to cover symptoms, but no one can offer me any explanation as to WHY this is happening.

i used to drink so much coffee, exercise like crazy and i was an adrenaline junkie. all of a sudden, i am hypersensitive to it and any little excitement or scare sets me into a full on panic mode?! it doesn't make sense. something happened in our bodies, and i'd like to know what. anyone have ideas???

[ramakentesh]

When Im bad i find that any kind of stressful stimuli brings on POTS - I find that as it gets better Im able to handle more and more but that when its not good stress can bring it out.

The hardest thing is sitting still when your like that - i sit there talking to someone and i literally cant sit still because if I do i just feel like i will either faint or just maybe explode with adrenaline or something Uncomfortable...

beta blockers can sort of help but only for a short while. I once tried kava which also helped somewhat and I aim to try gaba supplements on doctor's advice when im up and running again (not literally running)

[ramakentesh]

I had to change my liking for a lot of things - scary movies, loud environments, etc. I used to deal with concerts by drinking a beer before hand which did help with this symptom but i could see that it would very easy to move into a place where I was relying on alcohol so I stopped.

[godslyric]

I have been dealing with this adrenaline aspect for years. I have tried everything from street drugs in my youth, to 15 years of Doctors pushing meds at me till I just broke down. Literally. I had a POTS crash in 2001 that almost did me in. (However I didn't know it was Pots at the time). I went from 185 fighting weight to 128 in a matter of 3 months. All the classic POTS symptoms. And I was also trying to get off the Beta Blockers at the same time. The ER visits were many. Heart rates of 180. PVC's PAC's SPVC's The works. I couldn't get off the Atenolol. The Adrenaline would serge up and push my heart rate up like a rocket every time I tried to cut the dose. After being totally drug free for a number of years now the Adrenaline is still the demon that just keeps coming at me. I find Chi Gong helps, healthy Carbs help keep the Adrenaline in check, and walking 3 miles a day. But I still haven't found the silver bullet. Vitamins are a crap shoot for me, I have sever reactions to B-12, Folic Acid, and other supplements bind me up. So, I just make sure I sleep the same times every night, eat whole foods only, and exercise. And pray when ever I can. The Lord is the great Physician for sure.

PS. Dose anyone else here have adverse reactions to B-12 or Folic Acid???

[sandymbme]

Hi,

Xanax

BWAH HAH HAH HAH!!!!!!!