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How Low Is Too Low?


potsgirl

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Good morning everyone~

I had some very odd BP readings this morning, and was wondering if others have experienced something like this...

Supine: 83/61 and pulse 65 (felt like it was going to be high - usually runs about 95-100/70)

Standing, 30 seconds: 65/58 - machine erred; 1 minute: 83/65 and 126; 3 min: 74/62 and 118 (I'm usually in the high 60s to low 70s when I stand)

I would have taken a five minute reading, but I couldn't stand any longer. These numbers are definitely odd for me, although I do have OI/POTS. Anyone?

Thanks!

Jana

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hey pots girl

PAF is Pure Autonomic failure. If you go to the main page of dinet's website it is listed there as one of the forms of dysautonomia. I can't imagine how tough it is to have such low blood pressure. I only get that way before I drop and I get awful sick while it's happening. I think maybe the orthostatic hypertension, you can still force yourself to be somewhat functional.

Hope you can find something that works. Since your in arizona have you thought about trying to see Dr. Levine at Phoenix Neurology? If you haven't had a skin biopsy or ruled out all those other tests, maybe you should consider seeing him.

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Besides your BP being being low..... it also looks like your pulse pressure is narrow in some of those readings.

My BP can get as low as 70/40 and many time it's 80/50. I'm not on any meds so the only thing I can do is to drink a lot of fluids when it gets low like that. Same thing when I get the narrow pulse pressure.. The combo of narrow pulse pressure and low BP can make you feel pretty yucky.

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Well, awhile back I would have said that "too low" is "low enough to make you feel bad". These days, I'm not so sure. I posted a little over a week ago about my sudden hearing loss. Most evidence is pointing to this being due to my blood pressure and heart rate dropping too low while I slept and depriving my auditory nerve of the needed oxygen for a period of time. So, I'm rethinking the whole thing. Sure, low blood pressure is uncomfortable and makes functioning difficult...however, we're rarely told that going too low can be dangerous. I would consider losing almost full hearing on one side and half my hearing over all as being more than just uncomfortable or presenting difficulty in functioning.

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My primary dx is POTS. MY BP plummets if I'm coming down with anything. I had mono a few months ago and it dropped and didn't come back up for weeks. For me the #'s don't matter as much as how I feel. When my BP's that low though that's a gauranteed fainting moment. If I lost my hearing that would cause me to panic too ... I'll keep that one in mind!! Good luck!

Brye

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My primary dx is POTS. MY BP plummets if I'm coming down with anything. I had mono a few months ago and it dropped and didn't come back up for weeks. For me the #'s don't matter as much as how I feel. When my BP's that low though that's a gauranteed fainting moment. If I lost my hearing that would cause me to panic too ... I'll keep that one in mind!! Good luck!

Brye

We don't know for sure that the blood pressure/heart rate going low is the cause, but being that I woke up with extreme pre-syncope and had the low blood pressure dream, it's a top possibility in my book. Now, will the medical establishment ever totally agree with me? I don't know. Part of me thinks they are too locked into their "there's no such thing as too low" arguments. So, they'll nod and sympathize and agree that I might have a point, but when saying anything more declarative, well, I'm not holding my breath.

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From a medical perspective we are taught that as your BP drops your body starts to "steal" blood from non important functions in order to put it where it needs to be. You should be able to feel your pulse in your ankle/foot pulse point until your BP drops below 80 but still feel it elsewhere and as it drops each 10 points after that you lose other pulse points moving closer to your core until the only place that you can feel one is your caotid(neck) pulse.

Basically you lose proper circulation to you extremities first and your skin, which is why you get pale, and it works it's way inward from there. This lack of peripheral circulation is only a problem if it lasts for a long period of time - several hours. It's worth mentioning that this applies to people without POTS - if you have POTS then the blood sits in your extremities but there is still not enough for your brain so the body compensates the same way. My son's doctor told me that the first internal organs to have their blood supply taken in order to compensate is the stomach and intestines - hence the GI upset caused by POTS, and then the kidneys.

All the blood that is shunted from these areas is given to the brain but it still may not be enough as you found out in less than 5 minutes. Your heart is also struggling to build up enough blood to pump out into your body which is what causes the narrowing pulse pressures - normal is 40 pts. between the top and bottom number. My son's BP does the same as yours but not as drastic lows. I can "fix" his BP with copious amounts of fluid- I read an article that said consuming 16 ounces of fluid in 15 minutes can raise your BP 20 points - don't qoute me on that but that was the just of it.

You may want to consider chugging some water before you get out of bed in the am. Like filling up your empty gas tank before starting your car. There is gas in your car but it's in the wrong place in the morning.

Too low really is when you feel bad.

Hope you feel better and I hope this helps.

Serena

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Hello All~

Serena - That was an excellent explanation - thank you for writing. I'm in the high 60s and low to mid 70s quite a bit in the mornings when I'm standing, and of course I'm a fainter, too. I'm always surprised to see a BP of 100 or more from laying down, which isn't too often. Sorry your son is suffering from some of the same symptoms.

Thanks also to everyone else for their input and suggestions. They're all valuable to me. Arizona Girl, how long did it take you to get in to Dr. Levin?

Skyblu, Brye, KarenSch (I can't believe 'PAF' didn't register - brain fog! Now I wonder if I have that?), bjt22, persephone, and if I missed anyone else, THANKS!

This site is so great. Cheers,

Jana

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