Re: Why Pots Patient Can Walk But Not Run

[spinner]

Strange. I had sudden onset and was a tennis player. Havnt hit a ball since, because tennis requires extreme bursts of sudden blood pressure spikes. Immediate flare following.

Ditto, can weight lift. Pick up fairly heavy objects standing in place and lift.

BUT, cannot lift something heavy and CARRY it--in particular upstairs. Such as a 50 pound suitcase. Again, another 24 hour flare.

*one day at work we went to the warehouse unexpectedly and climbed 3 flights of stairs. Immediate flare-like symptoms. Lymph nodes rock hard, dizzy, weak, out of body experience, short of breath. Strange given that i walk SLOWLY 4 miles a day. Im not out of shape, just cannot "suddenly" spike my BP.

Anyone else? Any meds that have helped? Blood vessel articles?

[angelloz]

I have wondered the same thing. Any type of sudden change can bring on symptoms...the scariest of which is feeling like my heart is forcefully beating..struggling.

Even sudden emotional changes cause problems for me. I do have problems lifting even from a fixed spot . Walking can be fine but if I add in a quick jog to say the mailbox..mistake. I think I really need try try bicycling. My blood vessels in my hands can really pop but they do that all the time since my illness. I think mine is a blood volume issue since I showed up as being hypovolemic. So far haven't found what helps but I wish I had some advice.

[MomtoGiuliana]

I am pretty much unable to run. I agree w angelloz, for my situation as well. I am hypovolemic and I think running is more stress than my system can handle for long. I do OK with a couple of flights of stairs but more than 2 and I don't feel well often. Yes lifting heavy objects can send my hr through the roof.

SSRI helped me, to some extent, although I doubt would get me back to running. Fluids help (me).

[Katybug]

Yes. I'm right there with you. I can walk the dog around the flat area at the park but can't take her back into the hiking traiks because it involves steep hills to get in or out. Stairs are hard but the recumbent bike is no problem. Lifting is fine, carrying anything heavy is not.

[*Merlin*]

I think it has something to do with whether our cells are using aerobic or anaerobic respiration when performing a task and how efficient our body is at accessing and processing our energy reserves.

Anaerobic exercise would require a sudden, intense response from our body, eg running up several flights of stairs.

Aerobic exercise is of a lower intensity, eg walking, long slow running or cycling.

I can manage a little of the latter, but the former is out of the question at the moment!

[Alison]

Am I the onlyone who feels the opposite - I can manage a slow run, but when I walk I feel lightheaded. I'm also a tennis player, I played tennis tonight.

[yogini]

For me I am certain it is my body's ability to maintain BP. I can do yoga, which can be quite intense, without much problem and walk around the city all day, but can't tolerate cardio. But suddenly when I wear compression hose cardio becomes much easier for me.

When we exercise, our bodies (heart rate/blood vessel constriction) adjust to ensure that there is enough blood going to the brain and to the muscles. Blood pressure is supposed to increase during exercise. For some of us maybe our bodies can manage the increase and we feel better. For others (like me), the increase doesn't happen as it should and that is why we feel worse.

[corina]

I can walk but have lots of problems using an (exercise) bike, my hr when biking is much higher than while walking, which is strange as walking is much harder on the body. Biking makes me feel very dizzy and unwell. Hr goes up and HRV is very unstable. I wish I knew why!

[yogini]

Corina fpr me walking us much easier on the body because there is less exertion. At this stage, I can usually walk all day without compression and with few symptoms but can't bike.

[spinner]

Ive become acquainted wiht the word SUDDEN. Anything SUDDEN or EXTREME is bad in general. I can walk at a pace, but if i climb a hill or speed up, mayhem. Have no idea why. Cannot exert and call it exertion syndrome. It must be the vagus

quotient, or constriction/BP. The body is not compensating for that sudden strain.

[Aeris5000]

Corina, I'm kind of the opposite! I can go on a 20 min. walk during lunch hour and feel awful afterwards, even though my HR goes no more 115 bpm on these walks. But I can ride my semi-recumbent bike for 50 min. with a HR around 135 and feel okay afterwards (not great, just okay).

I can't run either. Even hustling across the street gets me out of breath, and a set of ten steps will get my HR up to 170. I would love to do dance aerobics again, but I don't know.

[DeGenesis]

Standing still is the worst thing I can do. Walking is probably the best.

[Tuesday]

Not all POTS and Dysautonomia patients have problems running. I know several of us have competed in many races, and Angela Yendes completed a 50 mile run last year. Here's a link to an interview with her:

http://transpersonalradio.com/interview-angela-yendes-dysautonomia-international-73/

That's not to say that it's easy, or that all patients are affected the same. There are days when I simply can't run, and days when I can. I ran a half marathon back in February of this year, but the last time I tried to go out for a short mile last month I had to turn around halfway and walk home.

It's just another area in which everyone's results are going to vary. I do think it's important to show that exercise is possible, although difficult. A lot of doctors will seem to chalk Dysautonomia up to deconditioning - which just isn't true, and can be proven by those of us who still do exercise and are still symptomatic.

[kayjay]

Spinner are you a hyper pots person? You sound like me with the tennis thing. I just got a new racquet and bag for my birthday a few months before I was properly diagnosed. I gave all of my tennis stuff away.

Tennis and jumping jacks were pretty horrible for me.

Some yoga, Pilates and swimming in the pool have been the best.

I can walk and walk. The only thing worse than running is standing. The only thing worse than standing is standing with my hands over my head.

Also caring loads up stairs is harder on your heart. A cardiologist at mayo told me to be careful about carrying things up stairs.

Edited to say - I am very out of shape but I was very much in shape before my diagnosis. I was always embarrassed to be slim and fit yet I would huff and puff walking up stairs. I had so much trouble with tennis it was crazy. I decided I was unfit and worked out harder. One day I just cried and cried because I couldn't do a DVD Jillian Michaels shred. I also passed out on my elliptical. My house is filled with exercised equipment and fitness dvd's. Excessive exercise made me worse.

Mild consistent exercise is helpful. I'm a type A person by nature. Moderation is something I am learning.

Diagnosed in 2009, sick for at least 15 years.... Right now the best treatments for me are

1) low dose nadolol

2) gluten free diet- the stricter the better for me.

3) mild consistent exercise. Swimming is the absolute best. I have leg weights for the pool.

4) (I'm female) hormonal regulation with birth control pill

5) careful supplementation. Now small dose q-10, D, and magnesium as well as others. I don't take them every day. More is NOT better. I mix up my supplements

6) jury's still out on dairy. It's not helping me to eat it but I not sure how bad the damage is.

7)I still take medication to sleep. No meds would be best but sleep is better than no sleep.

8) TREATING/PREVENTING allergies especially sinus rinse

9) compression

10) rocker bottom shoes

11) seat canes needed

12)stopping medications when able. I was on Klonopin, antidepressants, etc. as soon as I felt stable I would try to safely reduce medications. I may always need some- but again less is more IMO. I

I hope you find some relief.

[angelloz]

It is interesting to me what kJay mentioned about supplements. I too take small doses and rotate or I begin to feel horrible. Any of our supplement experts have thoughts on that??

[yogini]

Kjay I was very fit but couldn't do the stairs either. This thread really shows how different we all are. I wish rather than a single POTS exercise protocol, that doctors would better outline available options for different people based upon how we react to exercise. There are many alternatives for people who can't ride a bike or run a mile.

[jknh9]

I can run, and I think exercise is one of the things that helped me most. It has been an uphill battle, and I've had to force myself to work out when I felt sick and didn't want to. But in the end, even if it made me feel bad for that day and even the day after, I think it has improved my overall condition. Three years ago I was barely able to get out of bed for several months, and now I exercise 5-6 times a week, including a walk/jog of 4-5 miles at least once a week. Interestingly, yoga gives me issues and I have to be careful doing it, even though I used to be a yoga devotee some years ago. I think cardio and strength training, combined with low doses of Zoloft and Wellbutrin, the bc mini-pill, vitamin B supplements, and eating as clean and organically as possible (low sugar, hardly any processed foods) has been what's helped me.

Edit: Oh, and just for the record, I didn't start running until a year and a half after my worst. Right after diagnosis when I was not able to do much, I stuck with a recumbent exercise bike and taking walks around the neighborhood when I was able. The recumbent really seemed to help.

[Joeywop]

I can run quite comfortably for 5-6 miles, but cannot stand for more than a few minutes or walk far at all. Slow walking is as bad as standing. For me the faster the better. I cannot slow walk. My kids are always running to keep up with my fast walk! I figured that running gets the blood pumping around the body faster. Strange how differently we are all affected.