Low Blood Pressure today

[Mbritt724]

I had been managing my random drops in blood pressure well with salt stick pills, drip drop, nuun and tons of water... but today kicked off with a bang when I woke up to feeling like I was fainting in my sleep. Strange, but only way to describe & I could tell instantly it had something to do with my BP. Sure enough,  blood pressure has been low (93/59-ish) most of today (this is low for me), with a few lower swings...despite all the water & sodium, I’m feeling super weak & dizzy.

Questions:

- should I have blood work to ensure this sudden onset of more sodium in my body isn’t causing an electrolyte imbalance (like causing potassium levels to be off)? Does that happen?

- And does anyone have any tips for days when BP swings?

- Any idea what could cause it to be lower today after so many good days? Maybe hormones? Or is this simply part of living with dysautonomia & never really knowing? 

[MomtoGiuliana]

My specialist has told me not to "over do" salt bc it can cause the kidneys to waste potassium and some people are more susceptible to this.  It seems that I am.  Also if you are drinking tons of water that may cause your electrolytes to become imbalanced from what I understand.  I would ask your doctor if you should have these tested when you are having significant symptoms.  I try to keep my potassium up by eating potassium rich foods like fruits and veggies.  V-8 juice contains high potassium as do some other juices such as orange and prune.  They can also contain a lot of sugar which may not be good for some people.

My BP can be variable anywhere from 90s/50s to 120s/80s to even higher if I am in a bad flare  I think what can be helpful too is to know what it is when standing vs sitting--is it changing a lot, along with hr.  Personally I don't have any significant symptoms based on BP alone, but if my hr high, or if my BP changes a lot from sitting to standing, I am typically symptomatic.

[yogini]

Do you live in an area near bad weather?  There is a hurricane approaching and this can affect BP even a few days in advance. Even without a storm you will have natural,fluctuations in BP - it might not be the salt intake that is causing the low BP. Menstrual cycle is another common factor, for example.

[Mbritt724]

10 hours ago, MomtoGiuliana said:

My specialist has told me not to "over do" salt bc it can cause the kidneys to waste potassium and some people are more susceptible to this.  It seems that I am.  Also if you are drinking tons of water that may cause your electrolytes to become imbalanced from what I understand.  I would ask your doctor if you should have these tested when you are having significant symptoms.  I try to keep my potassium up by eating potassium rich foods like fruits and veggies.  V-8 juice contains high potassium as do some other juices such as orange and prune.  They can also contain a lot of sugar which may not be good for some people.

My BP can be variable anywhere from 90s/50s to 120s/80s to even higher if I am in a bad flare  I think what can be helpful too is to know what it is when standing vs sitting--is it changing a lot, along with hr.  Personally I don't have any significant symptoms based on BP alone, but if my hr high, or if my BP changes a lot from sitting to standing, I am typically symptomatic.

Thank you, that's super helpful. I think I will ask to have my levels tested simply because I went from a normal diet to a high-salt diet in a very short amount of time. I just want to ensure i'm not completely out of balance. Thanks for tip on V8, I had actually randomly thought of that the other day and will definitely grab some. 

Thanks, also for tips on what your BP is here and there! Also helpful

[Mbritt724]

7 hours ago, yogini said:

Do you live in an area near bad weather?  There is a hurricane approaching and this can affect BP even a few days in advance. Even without a storm you will have natural,fluctuations in BP - it might not be the salt intake that is causing the low BP. Menstrual cycle is another common factor, for example.

I live in North Carolina, so the hurricane is definitely heading our way! These strange BP changes started before the threat though, so not sure if it's tied to it this time... that said, VERY interesting to note on the menstrual cycle. I had read some study a while ago about estrogen influencing BP, so that would make sense. I guess I should be aware/more sensitive to water & salt intake during that time of the month.