Horrible Morning Symptoms (what's Worse In The Am For Everyone?)

[iheartcats]

When I get up, my HR is off the charts and I have weird joint/muscle pain (the newest thing) and dizziness/brain fog.

I take my meds and wait for an hour or so for them to kick in and they help a lot. As my meds wear off (I only take them every 6-7 hours and they are low dose compared to what is normally given) my symptoms are better later in the day.

My first couple of hours are just awful (no matter what time I get up). I prefer when I can get myself up earlier as the worst wears off earlier, if that makes sense. But while I'm not working I seem to sleep in a lot.

Anyway. What symptoms do you notice in the morning that are just awful? Do yours improve through the day? I really don't get why the AM is just so darn difficult. I try to explain it to people and it makes no sense to most - if you're sick, you're sick. You shouldn't be more sick between 8am - 10:30am. Sigh.

I'd say it almost feels like my ANS system needs a reboot sometime! LOL

[kayjay]

Cat Lady... I'm sorry that mornings are hard for you too. For the past week I have done much better in the morning. I have been drinking a LARGE can of V8 and a G2 or large glass of water with a Nunn in it before I even get out of bed. I try to wait as long as I can to get up and as soon as I empty my bladder, I lay back down and put on Spanx higher power panties. This has helped me so much. I also do wear shoes with rocker bottoms from the MOMENT I get up. I used to love to go barefoot but I do much better with the so called "exercise" sandels. Also when I get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom I drink something. I hope some of this helps you. I realized this morning when I took my children to the bus stop that I am doing much better in the Am than I was a week ago.

What do you think about tilting the bed? I was told to do this and I haven't.

[Guest tearose]

Well, I don't say I'm sick. I say I have a physical disability. My body is in manual not automatic. I have to get up slowly and slowly hydrate, eat, wash up, compress, dress, and snack and then if I can maybe exercise or do some house tidying...

It takes alot of energy to get "up to speed" and then am good for a few hours. In the winter I only have about 3-4 good functional hours per day. I need to live at 73 degrees to function. Forget about regular night activity! In the spring and fall, my best seasons, I have more normal looking days, I can do more and nap and maybe have 6 functional hours per day, though not day after day for more than a three day sequence. In summer, I am okay until it gets to about 83 degrees and then I melt!

There are other threads as to why mornings are hard for many of us. My bp is low, I have not had recuperative sleep due to dysfunctional sleep pattern, I need to hydrate...if I go more quickly I risk triggering SVT's, heart arrhythmia, migraine or loosing my small breakfast before digesting it!

I had to step away from thinking of myself as "ill" and finally accepted that I have "physical dysfunction" due to medical problems.

best regards,

tearose

[kayjay]

Oh also What about allergies? They can be worse in the am. I am very allergic to dust mites so I have to take care to change my sheets and pillow cases a lot and wash them in HOT water. - Could you be allergic to something in your bedroom making things even worse? KayJay

[Guest tearose]

That is a good point, if you have dust allergies, you should consider a mattress protector to cover the boxspring and mattress.

Also, I can not recommend tilting the bed. It make me very ill. In my body, it forces fluid, lymph fluid to pool in the lower extremities.

tearose

[iheartcats]

I'll try the V8/G2 first thing. I usually go to the kitchen and chug a milk, but something salty may be more beneficial.

On my old mattress, I had a dust mite cover. Don't have one on my new one, so I can try that. I do try to wash my sheets/cases every 10-14 days, per the allergist.

I don't like the bed tilt as I have trouble keeping things up to my brain. I still don't understand the mechanism of that with POTS.

Spanx power panties? How far do these go down on the leg? I could give these a try. Compression hose drive me batty and are too hot. I do notice Spanx Tights have a bit of help for me if I go out in the evening, though.

Disability rather than sickness. I guess that's a better way to look at it. And explain it.

Mornings. Bleh.

[janiedelite]

In the mornings I drink either two cups of water with 2 chicken bouillion cubes in it, or 20 oz of G2 with 1 teaspoon of salt added. I mix one of these up the night before, and have it at my bedside so I can start drinking it as soon as I wake up. Also, any time that I have to wake up earlier than 8am I have worse fatigue, headache and nausea. Otherwise, in the morning I have nausea, body aches, headache, body heaviness, dizziness and palpitations. Basically, my usual symptoms only they are worse in the morning.

I usually take a couple of hours to slowly adjust to upright posture in the mornings, then I take a bath (standing in the shower is too tough) after which I lie down for a bit and put on compression hose. Then I can do what I need to do around the house.

[potsgirl]

My allergist told me not to go longer than 7 days between washing sheets. You may want to try to wash yours a little more frequently and see if that helps. I also wash my towels after every 2, sometimes 3 uses. All in hot water, and totally drying them in the dryer - never outside.

Cheers,

Jana

[giftcreations123]

Hi..

I am horrible in the morning....I never know how I will wake up or feel..

I never wake up feeling rested, always tired, unbalanced, tachy, eyes feel funny , internal shakiness...BUT I have kids to get to school and I have no choice but to keep going.

It does get a bit scary whenI have to drive and take them into camp or school..

I sometimes have to hold the walls so I dont pass out...its terrible...

afternoons are better..

Let me know if you find anything that works for you

[Janey]

When I get up...

Crazy HR, 65 lying down, 150 standing. BP something like 90/50

ALWAYS dehydrated, no matter how much water I've drunk during the night

Headache

Brown urine

Dizziness

Mild nausea

From about 1pm-4pm I'm fine with just the usual symptoms: sweating,mild nausea, brain-fog, tiredness.

Then from 4pm onwards the major gastrointestinal problems kick in: Stomach pain, BAD nausea, dizziness, constipation, sore intestines, bloating..

Janey

[Janey]

Oh and I forgot to add that coffee helps me in the morning, two cups, black. It really messes up my bladder and my hydration, but if I HAVE to go to work, it will get me out of bed..

Janey

[runningshoe]

I am great most mornings - feel terrible in the evening. We are all different. Hang in there.

[iheartcats]

Oh and I forgot to add that coffee helps me in the morning, two cups, black. It really messes up my bladder and my hydration, but if I HAVE to go to work, it will get me out of bed..

Janey

Same here. When I work or have to do things, I get a Starbuck's on the way. Makes a major difference. My EP and I did a test (while working, sigh) of a month w/ no caffeine. I was WORSE OFF. He said Dysautonomia is so varied he's seen that response before but wanted to make sure.

So I'm allowed my caffeine. I told him the milk in the Latte helps balance the dehydration. HA!

[ajw4790]

Hi,

For the joint pains etc. with your recent move did you get a new bed? I just moved and am sleeping more on a different bed with out the mattress pad it used to have etc... Anyways it is way too firm, and caused me many days of pain, before I fully realized what had happened. Sometimes, I was getting stuck in positions sleeping that I had to use my arms to pull myself out of because my back and legs were in excrutiating pain and I was otherwise unable to move.

Otherwise, as mentioned there are many previous posts about why for the majority the AM is worst for us.

Tilting the bed is one of the dr's go-to prescription for feeling worse in the AM. The theory is the if tilted the 6-10 inches, you will allow the majority of the fluid in your body to pool in your legs and not be filtered out by the kidneys and have to pee it all out at night. Therefore you wake up with a larger fluid volume. Also, when tilted at that degree it keep some of the autonomic nerves in your legs firing overnight, so that it doesn't take as long in the morning to get everything up and pumping again. But, I have not gotten it to work for me. But, I have never really fit the classical description of one that this might help.

[ramakentesh]

I think last time this topic was discussed the following ideas were suggested:

- dehydration from sleep

- melatonin levels lowest in morning (melatonin attenuates tachycardia in POTS)

- bed rest can excaccerbate the skeletal muscle pump deficits in low flow POTS

- norepinephrine stores are highest in the AM after sleep

a few others.

The cycle is pretty standard in POTS.

[potsgirl]

The first couple hours in the morning I can barely function. I come downstairs at 5 or 6 in a stupor, grab my cup (albeit large) of coffee, and get on the computer. Nope, not a singing, cheery, top o' the morning kind of gal. I make it to physical therapy around 10 - 10:30 in the morning, and am pretty good until 4. Then I start heading downhill again. I would love to have a larger window of 'good' time, and to get out to dinner/shows. Someday, hopefully, this will happen. And then I'll make the most of it!

Cheers,

Jana