how you feel not correlating with bp numbers?

[Radha]

sometimes how bad i feel will make sense when i take my bp, and see thats its lower than usual, and other times i will feel just as bad and the numbers arent too bad on the monitor, just wondered if this was true for any of you, how you feel not always going together with what your bp reading is, and why it they dont always go together, nothing about POTS ever makes sense!

radha

[Poohbear]

This happens for me too sometimes. For me, I've kinda learned that usually one of two things has happened. I either #1 had an extreme, very rapid spike in blood pressure and heart rate or (a extreme rapid drop) and my body seems to take a lot longer to recover. Even though my vitals may return to normal within a 1/2 hour or so I feel awful OR #2 it's the catecholamine levels/hormones that are surging and all messed up in my body and if I pay really close attention I can tell the difference between the two now.

[Sunfish]

radha -

i definitely have this at times.

one of the explanations i have been given through the years from docs that "get" autonomic problems is that my body is having to work a lot harder than the average bear to keep my numbers where they need to be & thus i can feel bad b/c of that extra work going on "behind the scenes."

another issue can be decreased blood flow to the brain which - if things are "okay" in the other parts of the body - will not show up in the measurement of standard vital signs. while this isn't a standard test to do, studies confirming this blood flow issue have been documented for some patients...

like pooh said, the body "recovering" from huge changes - up or down - could also seemingly make one feel rotten after the fact.

hope this helps,

melissa

Edited September 20, 2005 by Sunfish

[JaneEyre9]

This is a great question. I had a BP reading of 96/60 today before rehab and felt awful. Last Friday i had the same reading and felt better than usual. It makes no sense. Plus it seems to have nothing to do with how i'll do during or after exercise. Sometimes I want to give up on the numbers. I just feel how i feel.

Kristen

[faithinspires]

I have this too, the numbers are frustrating and at times seem to make no sense.

I figure if I feel bad but the readings are ok, that i must be symptomatic from being off earlier. My doctor tells me that I should ignore the numbers, be in tune to my symptoms and adjust my meds, activities etc. accordingly.

[Lukkychrm42]

Yeah- I find that when I feel the worsT, I often have high to normal BP, with a fast heart rate (yeah ok duh), but when i'm the most lethargic and brain foggy, my bp is very low, and my HR low or normal for me (40-60)... Even before I was diagnosed, I told my PCP that I thought my BP fluctuated and was actually normal, but she didn't believe me and sent me in for an echo for hypertension. I still don't think she believes me, but luckily I won't have to see her for another year or so.

[Aprilmarie52]

sometimes when I feel like poo, I take my bp and it is normal. Go figure.

[Ernie]

Hi,

My BP can be all over the place and I will feel presyncopal but OK.

My BP can be in the normal range and I will feel really crappy and be on the edge of fainting and eventually faint.

I think in my case it is the catecholamines that affects how crappy I feel.

[momofpreciousboy]

Does not make a difference for me--which always surprises me!! Especially since I thought that bp was making me feel bad. I have wondered this too. JenniferTX

[yogini]

I was diagnosed with POTS early last year and was put on a beta blocker and florinef. These meds brought my BP and HR into the normal range, but I kept having symptoms. My doctors kept insisting that I was fine and my symptoms could not be related to POTS because my numbers were "normal". But after going through a million other tests and reading the forum, I figured out that my POTS symptoms are not always tied to my BP or HR. I definitely feel awful when my BP or HR are off, but sometimes I also feel awful when my numbers are fine. It's just another weird part of POTS, but not sure exactly why...

[Dizzy Dame]

I've noticed this as well. I'll feel dizzy, and short of breath; my heart-rate will be through the roof but my bp's normal. Other times, I'll feel really crappy and bp and heart are normal (heart rate can be a little low). I've noticed that I tend to feel crappy w/ normal bp when I'm laying down with my legs up. I have no idea why this is, but judging from the responses of others, this isn't out of the ordinary.

Hopefully someone has an explanation for this, although sunfish had a good point.

[Radha]

thanks so much to all of you for replying, although we dont always have an explanation for why things happen, at least i know i'm not the only one experiencing this! thanks

radha