Pots And "girl Issues"--Article

[firewatcher]

Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2012 Sep;118(3):242-6. Epub 2012 Jun 20.

Gynecologic disorders and menstrual cycle lightheadedness in postural tachycardia syndrome.

Peggs KJ, Nguyen H, Enayat D, Keller NR, Al-Hendy A, Raj SR.

Source

Paden Autonomic Dysfunction Service, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, USA.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To assess differences in gynecologic history and lightheadedness during menstrual cycle phases among patients with POTS and healthy control women.

METHODS:

In a prospective, questionnaire-based study carried out at Paden Autonomic Dysfunction Center, Vanderbilt University, between April 2005 and January 2009, a custom-designed questionnaire was administered to patients with POTS (n=65) and healthy individuals (n=95). The results were analyzed via Fisher exact test and Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTS:

Patients with POTS reported increased lightheadedness through all phases of the menstrual cycle phases as compared with healthy controls. Both groups experienced the greatest lightheadedness during menses, and a decrease in lightheadedness during the follicular phase. Patients with POTS reported a higher incidence of gynecologic diseases as compared with healthy controls.

CONCLUSION:

The severity of lightheadedness was found to vary during the menstrual cycle, which may relate to changes in estrogen levels. Patients with POTS also reported an increase in estrogen-related gynecologic disease.

Copyright © 2012 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

PMID: 22721633 [PubMed - in process] PMCID: PMC3413773 [Available on 2013/9/1]

[hholmes13]

Well at least here's some validation to what a lot of us experience!

[puppylove]

Is it normal for a symptom of POTS to have really irregular periods or none at all?

[Batik]

When I did that poll about other medical conditions recently, I noticed that about a third of us here have migraine. I wonder what proportion of that is menstrual migraine? I've been getting menstrual migraine since I was 15, and that's when my other health problems also started. I also developed PMDD about five years ago.

Puppylove - what diagnosis have you been given for your menstrual cycle irregularities? PCOS, anything like that?

[HopeSprings]

This is definitely true for me. I'm drastically dizzier the week of and into the week after - and less so the week before. When I was pregnant my dizziness was off the charts. I wish they could figure out specifically what hormone issue is causing this.. too much of this, too little of that? If I had that answer, I might be able to fix some of this.

[Batik]

I remember being diagnosed with migraine-with-aura when I was in my late teens, purely because I'd said to the specialist, on being asked if I experienced any warning signs, "Well, I feel migrainish." I don't think I do have aura, actually. Most of it was a sort of strange dizziness, a fuzzy feeling, that I always get around my period. It doesn't necessarily herald a migraine, it's just how I feel around then. Photophobia tends to go with.

[puppylove]

I haven't been diagnosed with anything besides POTS. That's why I was worried if POTS can't cause it.

[Batik]

Have you tried doing some reading about the common causes of this sort of thing, to see whether the patterns fit you at all? I'd start by googling PCOS. I have absolutely no idea whether it's common in POTS. I'm more familiar with ME, where hormonal disruption is pretty common. I think it might be the case that hormonal stuff and ANS stuff frequently occur together?

[roxie]

Puppy love- I really don't know if it is connected but when you consider hormones are wild as a teenager and POTS make things wacky it'd seem possible. I'd encourage you to be honest with your dr even though it is uncomfortable to talk about. I had a few ruptured cysts when I was a teenager but they seemed to be overlooked bc I had regular periods. Now, a few later I'm finding out my cysts should've been watched and taken more seriously.

If you search the board you'll see that a lot of us have had ovarian cysts & a common sign of polycystic ovaries is missed & irregular periods. Studies may have not been published directly linking them for us but many of us have had it happen so all that to say talk to your dr, you may be able to fix it early.