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Increase In Sympathetic Symptoms While Sick?


peregrine

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Heading to my regular doctor tomorrow AM to talk about having been sick for a week and coughing up green stuff from my lungs (pneumonia? who knows). Ewwww! No fun.

I'm curious if anyone here has had an increase in "sympathetic" symptoms - specifically higher heart rate and higher blood pressure - when pretty sick.

Between guanfacine (similar to clonidine) and atenolol, my blood pressure has been a nice 95/60 lying down and 105-110/70 while standing up, and heart rate 55-60 while lying down, 70-80 standing. The fludrocortisone (Florinef) hasn't given me supine hypertension - it actually hasn't affected my blood pressure at all, though it does help my symptoms a lot!

With this sickness, though, my average lying and sitting blood pressure has been more like 125/75, and I've even peaked to 150/95 (scary for me), and lots of tachycardia and palpitations, plus the usual issues controlling body temperature and having strong tremor. I'm still taking my meds as usual and getting plenty of fluids and rest, so I'm not sure what's going on.

Is this a typical thing? How do you address it when you're sick with non-POTSy infections? My neurologist didn't seem to have much to say about it...

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I am in your shoes right now! My family all has had just a common cold. They all got over it in a couple days. For me today is day 5. I can actually breath this AM so maybe it's getting better? But the last 2 days I have had an increase in lightheadedness, tire very very easily, feel anxious, feel like my heart is racing even though I check it and its not. Just all over feel like I have had a pretty bad flare up! This is my 3rd sickness with this condition and this has happened every time. It always sets me back. Hope you feel better soon!

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Had this last winter with pneumonia, although I was having more trouble with low BPs but definitely all the other POTS symptoms were much worse. When I called my POTS neuro they seemed to think it was very normal to have the symptoms exacerbated with illness.

Hope you feel better soon!

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This is normal. Whenever Tyler gets sick the symptoms are worse and sometimes more symptoms show up along the way. New medications can mess with blood pressure and cause other symptoms. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Rachel

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