Reading?

[masumeh]

Does anyone else here faint after reading for a long period?

In the beginning, when I was bedridden etc., I couldn't read at all...now I can read, but it usually makes me dizzy and often fainty afterwards; it makes for a potsy day I guess. Just wondering if anyone else gets affected by reading. I read that concentration in general lowers heart rate, maybe a contributing factor.

[DancingLight]

One of the hardest parts of the dysautonomia (and probably Lyme too, for me) is that I cannot read hardly at all.

Just posting on the board is a struggle--and reading posts is very, very hard. I can type easier than read b/c I don't really have to look at the screen much.

I cannot read hardly at all--like as in a few paragraphs that I need to read. On a really bad day, I might get a postcard in the mail from my cousin and it might make me feel so sick just to read that little bit.

As for true reading, I cannot read at all, and rely completely on books on tape and books on cd. It's very frustrating!

But, you are definitely not alone. I remember when I first saw my POTS doc and he said, "How much can you read before you start to feel sick? A paragrapah?" I'm like, yup.

So, I'm just hoping with all hope that soon I will be able to read again....until then, I get books from the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped as well as books through our local library's homebound service.

Sorry you are having so much trouble with the reading...it's a hard joy to have taken from you!

Emily

[Jacquie802]

I get very dizzy AFTER reading, which I always thought was a weird symptoms. I never thought POTS could cause it, but it most likely does, now seeing that other ppl have the same prob!

[Lukkychrm42]

I guess I'm wondering if you're just lying down reading, and then you faint while lying down? Or sitting? or actually getting up after reading?

Even though it seems very sedentary and therefore un-active, concentrating takes up a lot of energy, so in some respects it might be compared to light exercise. I don't know how it affects the heartrate, but I'd suspect that the stress that this "exercise" puts on your system might put your body into fight-or-flight mode.

It really stinks, too, when you love to read! While it doesn't make me faint, I'm unable to read for as long of periods as I used to. But the Paxil has helped me a bit with that (SSRI), and it's helped me with brainfog in general, which is good as I'm a student. Anyway, I'm sorry, and I hope that the fainting doesn't put you off reading! Good luck with finding a system that still lets you read!

Hugs,

Megan

[DancingLight]

Concentrating has the same affect on me as overdoing physically--I feel ill, go white as a sheet, have an ANS storm etc, even if attempted lying down.

Em

[jenwclark]

Like the others said, reading, studying, or thinking has the same effect on me as light exercise. I am usually able to read, but it's hard work and not something I can do for relaxation. I have to take it in short stretches. When I was in school, I just couldn't seem to grasp that 15 minutes of homework done while seated with my feet up took a significant amount of energy.

Spike

[masumeh]

THank you all for sharing!!! The more I learn about how others feel living with this disorder, the less alone I feel with the challenge.

I tried to look up the part on how/why concentration lowers heart rate in my biological psyc textbook (that I know I read it in originally) but couldn't. If I find that tidbit, I'll post it here.