Extreme Pressure

[valliali]

just wondering if anyone else has severe pressure in their necks and heads? it feels like my blood is tar. i am not exactly sure it is my blood or blood vessels, but it sure feels like it. it's not ever painful, i never have a headache, but the pressure is overwhelming. it feels like the blood is stuck in my neck and head. kind of like if you hung your head over a bed for hours. only in my neck too.

i haven't had this for awhile, but i have it again today after stopping taking propranolol for the last four days because the side effects were too much for me. could my blood vessels just be out of control from norepinephrine?

[Ernie]

Hi,

This is called coat hanger and it is common in POTS.

[ramakentesh]

POTS pretty much works two different ways but the result is the same:

1. your veins dont constrict properly in your guy and pelvis or legs, when you stand blood pools away from your brain, your BP drops, and then your system kicks off norepinephrine to stabilise this - excessive heart beats, etc, but as norepinephrine is a vasoconstrictor it constricts your carotid arteries and the arteries around your brain making your vision weird, making you feel migrainey and ultimately making you dizzy or syncopey.

2. The same as above but without the veinous pooling caused by an excessive norepinephrine response to standing - same symptoms pretty much.

In either the body can also shoot of loads of adrenaline to increase blood pressure - so you feel out of it, dizzy and now also scared, anxious, fearful etc.