POTS only when Poor Sleep/Stress?

[WanderWonder]

I've noticed that when I sleep well - my O2 meter doesn't dip up and down, and I don't have any sleep disturbances. I wake up feeling refreshed - my heart rate is steady when I stand up.

However when I have trouble breathing while sleeping and toss and turn throughout the night, that's when in the day my body feels more stressed, tired, and I get the POTS symptoms - heart rate shoots up when I stand.

I've read that people with POTS are more susceptible to poor sleep and stress. For me it's the other way around: I think I've figured out that my poor sleep and stress has to do with nighttime allergies, which then leads to POTS? I'm not sure if I really have POTS then, or something else.

Anyone have any experience with that?

 

[Pistol]

@WanderWonder - I had a similar experience this fall. I could not sleep, my nose was stuffed when in bed, I became generally ill with POTS. Then I realized that it was Ragweed season and that the stuffy nose/ sleeplessness could have to do with allergies. I started taking Flonase and Antihistamines and got better. I also had to increase my IV fluids for POTS flares ( I get them weekly and as needed ) until allergy season was over. Researching I found out that Histamine release ( whether from allergies or insect bites or other reasons ) can make POTS worse, and it did for me. Now that allergy season is over where I live I am greatly improved.

[WanderWonder]

@Pistol Thank you for your experience! Flonase alone didn't do much, so I'm trying a different steroid spray along with an antihistamine spray. That combination seems to be working better. Unfortunately I suspect I have an indoor allergy, so there's no "seasons" for me. Ill be reading about histamine soon.

 

[Delta]

@WanderWonder I absolutely get more symptomatic when I have not had enough sleep or have been stressing/worrying about something. I take a beta blocker daily that helps (knock wood!!) but some things bring on "breakthrough" symptoms, and one of them is definitely if I didn't sleep well. I've heard the same thing - that people with POTS generally don't sleep well but, honestly, I think I sleep better with POTS than before I had it! At least since I've been on meds. When I was first diagnosed, my POTS doc did tell me to expect a flare if I got sick, such as a cold, so that could be what's going on with your allergies. Like @Pistol I, too, am affected by ragweed in the late summer/early fall.

[yogini]

9 hours ago, WanderWonder said:

I've noticed that when I sleep well - my O2 meter doesn't dip up and down, and I don't have any sleep disturbances. I wake up feeling refreshed - my heart rate is steady when I stand up.

However when I have trouble breathing while sleeping and toss and turn throughout the night, that's when in the day my body feels more stressed, tired, and I get the POTS symptoms - heart rate shoots up when I stand.

I've read that people with POTS are more susceptible to poor sleep and stress. For me it's the other way around: I think I've figured out that my poor sleep and stress has to do with nighttime allergies, which then leads to POTS? I'm not sure if I really have POTS then, or something else.

Anyone have any experience with that?

 

 Ihad severe POTS following a virus and now I am better and don't take any medicines.  But when I get my period or I am stressed out at work I still get POTS symptoms,.  Stress and lack of sleep make things much worse.

But certainly what you are experiencing could be from your allergies and not dysautonomia. Did you ask your doctor what he or she thinks?

 

[Random-Symptom Man]

For me, poor sleep definitely increases my POTS. Stuffiness and pots are correlated too. My ENT prescribed Olopatadine. Now, my stuffiness is a lot better than on Flonase or Nasacourt. 
 

My docs think that my body’s overproduction of mucus is just another form of autonomic dysfunction. One of them was saying that it’s just like dry eyes, dry mouth, or sweating dysfunction (all of which I have).

Also, controlling my GERD helps both my breathing and my sleep, which in turn helps my POTS.

[Super_tachy_1]

I have IST (tilt table for POTS is pending so I'm currently not sure if I have POTS in addition to IST or not) and I definitely get worse when I don't sleep and/or am stressed - my whole baseline/resting heart rate shifts up even further and my heart gets even more "reactive" to movement, stress, etc. than it already is.  I can clearly see the difference in the heart rate data recorded by my Apple Watch and Fitbit, so I'm pretty sure it's not all in my head lol.  My monthly female hormonal shifts seem to affect it as well.