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Tips For Pregnancy And Ortho. Hypotension?


jem15

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Hi,

I'm posting on behalf of a friend. She had orthostatic hypotension in highschool and then it eventually went away. She's now 35 and about 8 weeks pregnant and her OH symptoms have come back. I've heard this could happen. Her main symptoms are dizziness and her vision blacking out when she stands or sometimes randomly after she's been standing for a little. I didnt know if she could do the whole increasing salt thing when pregnant, or ha, really anything that could help her when preganant. Anyone go thru this? Any ideas on what might work? Right now I just told her to change positions slowly and if she feels like she's exerting herself standing to take breaks, but of course that's hard to put into practice. She works as a school psychologist. Any suggestions would be helpful!

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Hopefully she has a doctor she can consult with on how to safely relieve these symptoms. Most likely they will resolve after the 1st trimester (they do for most anyway it seems). My doctor told me to drink more fluids and increase salt and fats during pregnancy when I had these symptoms in the latter part of my pregnancy. I did not have a diagnosis at the time. But I think it would be best for her to get advice from a doctor for her specific situation.

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I agree, with the above. I hope she can find a doctor who knows enough about POTS to help her. I was pretty stable on an SSRI before becoming pregnant, and I have not found any worsening of symptoms with the pregnancy. Of course, I felt awful until about week 14-16, but then again, I always do when I am pregnant. I spent a LOT of time in bed. But now, (week 22) I feel better than I have in a long time. I almost feel like my POTS is gone! I have heard that increased blood flow during pregnancy helps some women with POTS.

I hope your friend finds relief soon!

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Thanks for the info! I'll pass it along. I know I keep telling her to make sure she mentions to her doctor her OH history, not just that she's dizzy. And I want her to eat more fat!! Funny that was mentioned. She's afraid of gaining weight and is always watching her fat but I feel like the baby might need more fat;-)

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