ramakentesh Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 In the past I have suffered from jitteriness and restlessness from POTS. I have the type of POTS some doctors would call hyperadrenegic. I only get this symptom when Im really bad, otherwise its one of the first to go away when i start to improve.However recently, Im having it quite a lot - and not just jitteriness, but full blown anxiety in the morning. Originally it was only after rising, but now its happening to me first thing in the morning at around 7.00am when I rise. That is when i normally take my beta blocker, but I try to sleep in a bit on weekends and this is being made impossible because I habe to wake up, take my 20m beta blocker and then i cant get back to sleep.I emailed my specialist and he told me that many POTS patients get this symptom and that it relates to the body trying to maintain blood pressure as a result of the blood pressure regulation abnormalities experienced in POTS. The adrenaline gets fired off but it doesnt actually do anything except add anxiety to your list of symptoms. My doc also saud that some POTs patients have comorbid panic disorders. But this isnt really panic, its more just a knot in your stomach that once you get up and active tends to lessen to a degree. The beta blocker works for it quite well but its strange that its coming on BEFORE ive even got out of bed and before ive stood for a length of time as in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarthMother Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Morning panic is one of my signs that I am in a crash. I wish I could say I found a "cure" for it ... as something eventually correlates with the diminishing of symptoms. But if I take an analytical eye on the past two decades, I'd have to say that it eventually just goes away on its own ... often as mysteriously as it came.From my vast repertoire of things that have "seemed" to help in the past ...* compression hose before getting out of bed* 16 ounces of water taken quickly before getting out of bed* eating a late night snack of protein, fat and carb (cheese sandwich, sometimes even with butter, on whole grain bread worked for me)* drinking 8 ounces whole milk ... before getting out of bed* Saltines and Orange Juice* Changing my thyroid level meds (up OR down ... didn't seem to matter which!)* Calming Tea (e.g. chamomile)Unfortunately more times than not ... it was only TIME that seemed to help. The only good news for me is that it does eventually go away, sometimes after weeks, or as with this last crash months ... but somehow the body figured out what to do and things shifted back to a more "normal" POTS cycle.Good luck finding something that works for YOU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzysillyak Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I get this some mornings too. And like you I find that the best thing for me to do is to stay busy till it goes away. Sitting at the computer would be difficult while this happening ... Once I figured out what it was, I decided to think of this as a good thing. It always goes away on it's own and I get a lot done while it's happening ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I get this too. It's uncomfortable and very hard to separate from emotion--even though I can "think" myself through it to some degree. For me it doesn't seem to be connected to standing necessarily. Like EM, it can signal that I am about to have a relapse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramakentesh Posted January 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Ive had three major POTS crashes and only in the first and this one have I had the symptom of anxiety. It was much more intense the first time but it wasnt as constant. This time its like clock work every morning (although for two days on holidays it disappeared) it comes on - its never REALLY intense, more just a knot in the stomach that wakes me and I cant get back to rest (i am on the later shift at presernt and thinking about reducing my hours for a couple of months til im over the worst).The anxiety usually goes around 10, and then I get dizzy about 11ish to 1pm, then its mild and im just the usual wired/tired but thankfull in the last few weeks ok.My fiancee has GAD so she knows all about anxiety so she is quite helpful.The symptom list with this disorder is pretty staggering! My doc is gonna trial me on injections of DHE as a peripheral vasoconstrictor to help with the dizziness. My usual concern is tha tit will - like all the other treatments - make my jitteriness worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzysillyak Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 What's a POTS crash ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramakentesh Posted January 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 a sudden increase in symptoms. Symptoms tend to wax and wane and I guess a crash would be the wax part??thanks for the replies. At least Im not alone on this one then thankfully.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valliali Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 i believe anxiety in the morning can be a sign of low blood sugar, obviously because you are not eating during the night when you are asleep. have you had glucose tests? with insulin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jump Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I get sensations like you are describing around when my beta blocker is starting to wear off. Maybe it's waking you up because the BB is out of your system and your body is responding? I always take my BB at night for this reason, so it's fully in my system by morning (since morning is my rough time, like so many of us). Have you tried taking it at a different time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramakentesh Posted January 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I have trouble sleeping if I take the BB at night unfortunately. My blood sugars were checked in 2004 and were fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramakentesh Posted January 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Morning panic is one of my signs that I am in a crash. I wish I could say I found a "cure" for it ... as something eventually correlates with the diminishing of symptoms. But if I take an analytical eye on the past two decades, I'd have to say that it eventually just goes away on its own ... often as mysteriously as it came.From my vast repertoire of things that have "seemed" to help in the past ...* compression hose before getting out of bed* 16 ounces of water taken quickly before getting out of bed* eating a late night snack of protein, fat and carb (cheese sandwich, sometimes even with butter, on whole grain bread worked for me)* drinking 8 ounces whole milk ... before getting out of bed* Saltines and Orange Juice* Changing my thyroid level meds (up OR down ... didn't seem to matter which!)* Calming Tea (e.g. chamomile)Unfortunately more times than not ... it was only TIME that seemed to help. The only good news for me is that it does eventually go away, sometimes after weeks, or as with this last crash months ... but somehow the body figured out what to do and things shifted back to a more "normal" POTS cycle.Good luck finding something that works for YOU.Yeha ill try a big breakfast and see if that helps. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarthMother Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 It would be interesting to see what a large meal does. If it is even minor fluctuations in blood sugar that could cause a rebound effect. See what happens, and if it seems to backfire try smaller (protein rich) smaller meals in the a.m.I totally over looked blood sugar issues as a culprit last spring because I had always been normal and had no signs of diabetes or any other blood sugar related issues.It wasn't until I was months into my crash that I stumbled onto some information on reactive hypoglycia and that 'what the heck I'm trying everything else'. The home glucose kit I bought at the pharmacy gave me good information (I was really LOW in the morning, with frequent crashes throughout the day) that I could talk with my Doctor about what to do.It took me 4-6 months of changed diet (small frequent meals etc.) before the blood sugar seemed to stablize.Let us know how it goes for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjb Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I primarily get the morning anxiety if I have taken a dopamine antagonist drug for two consecutive days or more.These drugs include many of the OTC sleep aids (such as tylenol pm), antiemetics (compazine, reglan, phenergan, dramaine) and antihistamines (benedryl and the older ones).These drugs will trigger and exacerbate any of my dys symptoms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw4790 Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Hi,My body will tense up and go into "fight or flight" type response if I was sleeping soundly and awaken quickly to the alarm. Also, could it have anything to do with losing fluid volume while sleeping? Would you benefit from raising the head of bed to minimize the amount of fluid loss to urine excretion through the night and first thing in the morning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramakentesh Posted January 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Nothing out of the usual as a cause.I dont think its blood sugar related - Ive had that tested a few times and eating does nothing to ease it. The only thing that does it time - after two hours or so it passes and then the day's dizzy phase commences.that being said, an already overly active sympathetic system could be hyper responsive to sugar level fluctuations even when these are not subnormal or prediabetic.Im doing a lot of research at the moment and im hoping to explain it all a bit better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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