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Mood/temper Swings?? Is This Normal For Pots?


Katybug

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Hi everyone. I am finding that when I am feeling particularly "POTSy", it takes very little to make me short with people. I'm not totally off the map, I just don't really have a filter and I get snappy pretty fast. It's like I can't control my tone and bluntness.

For example, my mom called to check on me today and asked if I opened all the windows in the house. This has been a topic the last two days since I didn't open them because I was comfortable without them open. My response today (I was feeling shaky and have not been able to eat normally in three days due to POTS induced vomiting and diarrhea) was to snap back at her that I didn't understand why she cared if the windows were open when she isn't here and I'm comfortable. (It was not a nice tone.) It came out before I even knew what I was doing.

I don't normally act like this and really find it embarrassing and it feels like a lack of control. I find that it only happens when I am feeling shaky, dizzy, brain foggy. Is this something that others experience with their POTS? I immediately feel bad and apologize when it happens as I recognize the change in behavior. I just can't seem to make it stop. It is so disturbing to me. I feel like my evil twin takes over for 10-20 seconds and blurts out whatever she feels like then she leaves me there to pick up the pieces.

Any feedback is appreciate. I've had a particularly bad day emotionally and just need some support on this one.

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I think too it changes our whole viewpoint.

Our main concerns are can we breathe?

Are we feeling alert and able to function and walk to the bathroom if we need to go.

You know it's bad when you keep your phone with you at all times just in case you might need to dial 911.

So are the windows open-yeah I get it who really cares. It's like on the bottom of your list especially if you are really stressed.

I just don't think anyone can quite get it unless they experience the intensity of these episodes.

They leave you on edge and feeling like you don't know what's going to happen next.

It's a sure recipe for irritability.

I think what is really amazing is that you're able to catch yourself and apologize.

I hope you feel better soon related to the upset stomach you've been having.

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I've been wondering the same thing about my behavior, as well. I experience what you are describing, too. I feel like a totally different person when it happens. Before I got my POTS diagnosis, I thought I'd turned into the biggest B of all time. Since the dx and noticing the correlation between changes in my behavior and POTS symptoms, though, I've come to think that my irritability occurs in relation to POTS. Its like a switch flips inside me and I just explode sometimes. I, too, feel horrible about it and then apologize when my POTS symptoms have decreased again and I can be reasonable.

When I've tried to explain this to others, they think I'm talking about being irritable because I don't feel well. Nope. That's not it. Its more like something that just happens and I can't control it. I find that sometimes I can catch myself beginning to become irritable and immediately stop what I'm doing to go rest quietly and I can control it. Other times, the irritability seems to come on so rapidly that I don't recognize it before its too late.

I'm really glad you posted this topic, because I haven't read anyone else describe feeling this way with POTS. I feel better knowing I'm not the only one.

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Ohh, I totally understand. Crankiness is usually the first sign I get when my body's decided it's done trying to regulate itself for the day. It's so frustrating. I hate how snippy I get. Some days it seems like a miracle that I haven't slapped anyone.

It reminds me of how I get when I'm really hungry (and I think that's why, for the longest time, I just assumed the POTS was low blood sugar), which I guess might make sense. The brain's not getting all the blood it wants, so in addition to oxygen it's probably being deprived of glucose too.

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I am really slow to anger... but when I had adrenal surges ( before I was diagnosed ) I would get suddenly angry. For anyone who knows me well they would see a big disconnect. i am very mild mannered by nature and really don't get angry. Now that I am on a beta blocker I am back to normal in terms of temper.

I don't know if it is just hyper pots- but adrenal surges are all about fight or flight. I kicked my kitchen trash can in front of my children once. I had to apologize and fix the dent. They thought it was really funny. I was mortified. I know without POTS, anger is not my thing. I am more likely to react to things with hurt feelings :(

I have never even honked my horn at someone!!! I have thought about it though :D

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Libby, you were talking about circulation to the brain and glucose, while I was talking about the same thing on another thread earlier! I just read this one and see this! LOL.

I ONLY get snippy when my blood sugar drops. I then am a different person. I get very irritable, and can only focus on eating. If someone is talking, I totally tune them out and am "driven" to eat.

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Thanks everybody! I really appreciate everyone letting me know I'm not alone. I was so sad yesterday about getting snippy with my mom because she is trying so hard to take good care of me (and I'm 36 and should be taking care of her by now and was before stupid POTS :( ). But, really, everyone on this site really helps me feel better about myself these days. Just knowing I am not alone...

And YES, YES, YES to everything everyone said. Yes to oxygen deprivation and glucose deprivation of the brain! It really feels like I'm having both when these ugly little moments happen. I am not officially hypoglycemic but I always run borderline when tested through the years so the docs have said to assume I am and act accordingly (I don't think they meant yell at your mom when they said this :D ). I have been crabbier this week than usual and I haven't been able to eat properly at all (today I didn't even attempt food until 3pm because of the GI issues.) I didn't think about the sugar issues also contributing this week.

You guys are great! Thanks again!

P.S. Mom, in usual Mom-fashion, didn't even remember it happened when I apologized again when she got home from work. She's pretty great, too! :wub:

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I'm so glad you posted this topic.. It's something that's been on my mind lately. My son isn't a Potsy but does have dysautonomia and we have noticed over the past few years that he goes thru periods of bad behavior.. Moodiness & just not at all himself. He recently went thru one a few weeks ago (we had a big cold spell) and I noticed that his pacemaker was pacing ALL THE TIME which is unusual so I wondered if it was related since obviously his heart was having a difficult time maintaining his normal rate. We are back into nice weather and he's back to his normal happy self. He's only 5 so he doesn't really express how he feels inside yet. I assume it's normal to him so he doesn't understand to tell someone that he feels 'off'. Anyway, it's nice to know that others are having similar difficulties.

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Besides losing temper easily I get emotionally devastated easily also.

We went to pick up lamb today...

I called the same number I did...left my order went to pick it up nothing there.

I'm not sure exactly what went wrong but I'm out and won't feel good about life until I get more,

This is not logical at all,

If the lamb meant that much to me why did I let myself run out?

I have not had communication with the farmer to know if he has any or not so I don't know what is up-if I will be able to get any.

When I have so few foods to eat it is devastating to not have one that I can.

How could I let that happen.

I feel so overwhelmed and challenged everyday just by that days tasks it's difficult to plan very far ahead.

And I had the impression that the meat would be easy to pick up whenever I needed it.

I got the wrong impression obviously.

I left my number but have not gotten a cal back either way and I hate to call and bug them.

I'm worried though that if I wait till morning that he will be out taking care of his livestock and I'm not sure what is the best way now to contact him,

They have a website maybe I could leave an email.

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I hate that we are all having to deal with this but it makes me feel so much better to know that I am not alone with this symptom. Usually though I get really anger just before a bad flareup but since last night I have been so depressed and lethargic. My mom thinks that I haven't slowed down since my father's death and now it is all catching me. ( I do that sometimes. I'm ok during the time of stress but right after I crash for several days). Any tips to get out of this funk? There isn't any pain yet but my skin feels like it is starting to burn so I know its coming.

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This may sound lame but drink lots of water to flush all that nasty stuff out of your body and try to find a calm and peaceful state of mind. Just any stress at all can really take us down a notch even if it's normal life stuff.

Losing your father I'm sure is a huge impact.

I am very sorry for your loss.

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I totally relate to this thread, every bit! I am usually such a sunshine-y, happy, positive person. But when my symptoms really flare, I tend to loss my reign on my emotions and whatever one pops up is expressed at 150% of its usual intensity. Sometimes that's okay, because the emotion I am feeling is more or less positive. But sometimes it is soooooo not okay. I had to break up with my church last weekend, (very long story short is that they have not only abandoned me as I grew more ill, but actually became critical!) When I finally lost it I was sobbing and cursing and behaving really badly to someone I really love. When I got home I completely fell apart to Marty (fiance extraordinaire!) to the point where he told me later he had never seen me so broken. It was a terribly painful experience, for sure, and some of my reactions were valid and appropriate. But for the most part, I was just far too emotional and my internal censor checked out completely, sleeping on the job I guess! :unsure: I have found that frequent apologies are a part of my "new reality". So good, as everyone seems to have said, to know I am not alone!

GingerA, no matter how old we are, it seems to me that losing a parent always leaves you feeling a bit orphaned in the world, and a bit lost. Like one of the points connecting you to earth came unstaked, and so you are left feeling slightly unglued. Or at least that was how I felt when I lost my Dad. I think it is in so many ways easier to focus, almost obsess, on anything else. because that is easier than dealing with such a big loss. And if, like me, the relationship was less than perfect, everything is such much harder, and therefore that much easier to ignore! Throw in your own illness to cope with, and you have all the ingredients for disaster. I would strongly encourage you to lean heavily on your support network, and make every reasonable effort NOT to isolate yourself. Every person's experience off grief is different, so give yourself permission to grieve in whatever way and timeline that is natural for you. Please feel free to PM me if you would like to talk further. :wub:

Sandy

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I definitely experience these swings, and it gets worse the closer I get to blacking out. I am also extremely joyful and mild-mannered, but as my hr spikes and all the other symptoms come rushing in, it's like someone else takes over my body. I don't like being short with people, and it gets to the point where I literally cannot even smile. I do notice, too, that it also happens in direct correlation to how bad my mental fog is as the acute symptoms pile up....i.e. If I can't add two single digit numbers together, it's pretty likely that I'm really, really snippy too :). I really do feel that it's part of the oxygen deprivation, because I feel markedly better in this area within a few minutes of getting horizontal. It's like your body needs to use every resource to stay vertical, and so all of the non-mandatory things go out the window,,,

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