Blood Pooling

[cma]

I am trying to get as much information as I can about this disorder. Since I have not been officially diagnosed and probably will have to wait much longer, because the health sector isn't the strongest here in Ireland I want to be as much educated about this as I can.

So I feel that I have some degree of blood pooling in my legs, because if I sit still my feet get purplish red. I also have ache in my calves and since no doctor can explain me why I am having it I assume that it will be part of the blood pooling too. If I understand correctly this happens because the valves don't close properly and the blood leaks back down instead of going back up to the heart. So my question is about the recovery. If someone with POTS also has blood pooling how can one hope for recovery. Is the blood pooling curable. I know that this question might not be the most serious one, but it seems that after finding a lot of info on this website I still get these kind of questions once in a while and I can't find the answers for them. So I thought I'll just ask

[flop]

It is not yet known exactly what different sub-groups of POTS exist (there are specialists with different opinions on the causes and mechanisms of POTS) but pooling does seem to happen in more than one group. That suggests that there may be more than one cause for pooling.

Possibilities include over-stretchy veins from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and also faulty autonomic control over blood distribution (the ANS can control constriction and dilation of blood vessels).

People do recover from POTS, some make full recoveries others find a balance that allows them to enjoy near-normal lives with only occasional symptoms. This would suggest to me that pooling isn't necessarily permanent and may be part of POTS rather than the cause of POTS.

There are some things that help with the symptoms from blood pooling - maintaining good muscle tone in the legs helps as the muscles pump blood back up the veins when you move. In the same thing keeping moving is important to maintain blood return - sitting or lying still is not good for us, it helps to be a fidgiter and keep moving and clenching muscles. Wearing tight surgical stockings can also help as they reduce the pooling. The medical reports suggest that thigh or waist high stockings at least 30-40mmHg work best (my doctor only prescribed knee length ones for me but the do seem to help at least a bit). This last bit is something that I came up with myself (no medical evidence for helping blood pooling) - wearing MBT trainers. They have rounded soles to throw you off balance and therefore increase muscle contraction in the legs whilst walking and standing, my theory is that this increased muscle work helps to overcome pooling by increasing venous return.

Flop

[cma]

This last bit is something that I came up with myself (no medical evidence for helping blood pooling) - wearing MBT trainers. They have rounded soles to throw you off balance and therefore increase muscle contraction in the legs whilst walking and standing, my theory is that this increased muscle work helps to overcome pooling by increasing venous return.

Flop

This is so interesting, because some time ago I was also wondering if the MBT trainers would do any good for people with this condition. I've heard that first it is not very comfortable to walk with them, but when you get used to them they are the only shoes you want to walk with. There was a doctor in ER wearing them and she told me that she feels like flying when she has them on. For me I've noticed that even high heels help me some what, I guess it is because the calve muscles contract more with them then with flat shoes.

[mkoven]

I once tried a pair on and feared that with my unstable, eds ankles, I might do more harm than good. Cool concept though. I've been in physical therapy for my unstable hips and have really had to build up muscle--maybe that's helping?