Different Autonomic Responses To Stress

[DizzyGirls]

My youngest daughter asked me today if extreme fatigue was an autonomic response to anticipating the excitement of the Christmas season. My oldest daughter can't get excited about things because her POTS symptoms just go haywire. Her hr was up to 105 today just sitting on the couch. My youngest daughter is thinking that her response to the anticipation of the holidays is extreme fatigue. Neither one has many responsibilities as they aren't up to doing much. We are trying to save all of their energy to do a couple of things, that, for them, is the most important events to spend their energy on.

Does anyone else experience extreme fatigue in lieu of an adrenalin response? She was just wondering.

[Katybug]

I don't think this is necessarily specific to dysautonomia, although I think we may see it in more exaggerated ways in dysautonomia patients. For example, I have one family member that is frankly just a spazz when she is stressed while I have another that is withdrawn and tends to be more tired when there is stress. They don't have dysautonomia.

I think the other thing that is hard to gauge for us is that dysautonomia waxes and wanes in a lot of us. So sometimes, clearly discerning patterns/triggers to flare ups is difficult. I have times when I know what set me off but other times when I have no clue. It's another facet of this illness that makes management difficult.

[Debbie Rose]

GREAT QUESTION !!! Before my dysautonomia I was quite a chilled person. Urgent situations did not cause a stressful response-ie: I was a cardiac nurse for years and ran codes when peoples hearts stopped and I simply helped solve the problem that caused it and bring the patient back when we could. The worse response to those adrenaline rushes was a headache an hour after it-nothing more. Now anything and everything "can" set my symptoms off-but not always. So frustrating when I think I am fine in a situation and "BAM!" my heart races and I get Short of breath and dizzy, shaky...you can never predict when it will or will not happen

It is definitely hard to explain to others sometimes. I also experience fatigue after an episode that is more severe than my usual fatigue. And when I manage a situation and don't have an episode I still have that fatigue for several hours

Hope this hopes

Debbie

[ks42]

My spouse and I both have dysautonomia (POTS specifically). I am like your one daughter - I can't get excited about anything, I actually have to tamp down my emotions (both good and bad) and stay in pretty low key situations or it kicks up my adrenaline and flares my POTS big time. However, my spouse is the opposite and has profound fatigue, which we think is directly related to stress instead of adrenaline, but we're not entirely sure - it could just be that something like CFS could be complicating things, it's hard to say.

[DizzyGirls]

Thanks for all of your responses! Dysautonomia - it is a finicky thing! I have a wonderful chiropractor who is not like most chiropractors. She has this ability to retain much of what she learned in college, umpteen years ago, and she studies all the time. She's also certified in sports medicine, so she's great with the joints and stuff from their Ehler's Danlos issues. Anyway, asking her about this, she mentioned possibly her brain was producing too much cortisol in these instances. You know, like in hyperPOTS where there's too much adrenalin (my oldest daughter), the same can happen with the cortisol. It would make you very sleepy. Sounded logical to me going on what I've researched. Most people, I guess, don't need to know the "why" of everything. That's not me. I need a full scale explanation of why everything is happening. It helps me put the pieces together. I'm glad she's not the only one, and it is interesting to see how you and your spouses react within the same household.