Height Weight And Gender

[deucykub]

I have been tall and thin almost all of my life. When I was a teenager, docs used to make me write down what I ate to prove I wasn't anorexic! Last year and this year I gained a total of 20 lbs because of two rounds of prednisone. Before that I was 125 lbs, 5'10 1/2". Getting rid of the excess weight has been really difficult with exercise intolerance.

Interestingly, sometimes tall and thin people are overlooked by the doctors, too. I have been "blacking out" when I stood up since I was very young, around 10 years old. I'd stand up and the world would fade to black, I'd get dizzy, a sudden headache would strike, and my ears would ring. My Mom took me to see a doctor at the time who said it was because I was... and I quote "tall and thin." I honestly thought up until about 2 months ago that this was normal for me - in fact, my doctor had to pry that symptom out of me because I never mentioned it - hmm... guess I didn't have "tall-thin" disease!

[MomtoGiuliana]

Deucykub--you sound much like me. I am also 5'10" and a 1/2. I was under 120 in high school. By late 20's I was around 125 lbs. When I joined the Peace Corps my doctor had to sign off that I was not anorexic. It was so frustrating--I always wanted to gain weight, but just couldn't. My parents are both tall and thin--genetics were playing a large role. Now I am 150 lbs (following pregnancy). It does not feel like much excess weight to me, except for the way it is distributed . I am actually glad to have the extra weight.

I had, rarely, black-outs from standing, in high school through my early 20's. This is not that uncommon for younger people (with or without a condition) and, actually, your doctor may have been right that just being tall and thin made you more prone to it (it is harder to maintain blood volume when you are thin). But it certainly is frustrating that it was chalked up to this without any further testing.

I also experienced POTS symptoms starting in late elementary school (in retrospect I realize this), just didn't realize it had a name until I was finally diagnosed.

Don't tell me you are also left-handed...

Katherine

[jesse1919]

Well, there's no obvious trend in the height or weight - more or less Bell curves.

The gender difference is statistically huge. Some have suggested that the "men don't go to the doctor" tough-guy aspect explains this. If the M/F ratio was 40/60 then maybe I'd agree, but 2/77 ?! No way. As a guy with POTS I can guarantee one thing: If you can't work you will go to the doctor. I have a desk job and I tried to go to work but I was a zombie, could hardly stay awake, saw stars when walking slowly up a flight of stairs- totally worthless. We all know that POTS is serious. It's not a toothache or a cold. I think there is some other fundamental reason for the gender difference.

Well, I guess if a single guy has to get POTS at least there's a 'good ratio'.

BTW- I'm 5'8" (sorry dionna) 140 lbs, fair skin, lost a few pounds since I got POTS, have always been fairly thin and athletic

[DADofPotsSon]

I added my #2 son to this posting a few weeks ago so you would have your first male, he has NCS, & POTS. He is 5'-11 1/2" tall and weighs 160#'s and is very athletic. He is in his second year at college studying civil engineering, but this last year the POTS has really kicked him in the butt by slowing him down. As Dr. Grubbs has said "take your time and pace yourself, if you need 5 or 6 years to get your BS degree then by all means take the time... don't burn the candle on both ends." I think that was excellent advice! Prior to the POTS he did burn the candle on both ends and sometimes even tried to light it in the middle.

DADofPotsSon

[deucykub]

Katherine:

Too funny! Well, if we are twins, we're mirror images... I'm right handed.

Pretty much the same progression for me except switch out having children with taking prednisone.

Happy New Year!

[bgsu4]

I'm 6' 2'' and was 188lbs at 8% body fat when this hit me. Because of my exercise intolerance I'm now about 196 at 11% body fat. I was very fit and probably in the best shape of my life when this hit me. I've read things where POTS can hit any gender at any fitness level at any age at any time.

As mentioned by DADofPotsSon I burned the candle at both ends too and this has been a very humbling experience for me. As a execise physiologist I loved to exercise and golf and also work on the house and work. I had a constant level of energy but learning how to pace everything has been a difficult thing.

[dmaejean]

Hi all,

What an interesting discussion. I never heard of tall and thin potsy. I am 5' 10" and was lanky as a teenager and young adult. I am 57 now and weigh around 185. Maybe the blood takes longer to get to our heads then someone shorter. I have always joked about that but it is a possibility. Since POTS, though, I am incredibly pale. Does anyone else have this symptom. I love this forum. Thanks, Donna

[Guest dionna]

i was also in the best shape of my life when it hit me!

dionna

[Rachel]

I too was in excellent condition when my POTS hit me hard. I was a year round swimmer. I swam 3 or more miles each day, 5 days a week. Plus, I did weight training 3 days a week. It was quite a shock to all of a sudden be weak and fatigued!

I've always been pale skinned.

[Jacquie802]

Since I was diagnosed w/ POTS my weight went up...I went from being 5'8" and 123 lbs. to being 5'8" and 150lbs.

Jacquie

[P SUDIK]

Since I was diagnosed w/ POTS my weight went up...I went from being 5'8" and 123 lbs. to being 5'8" and 150lbs.

Jacquie

Hi all,very interesting discussion! I hate to say but I'm5'6 and very overweight, been dieting since I was 12 yrs. old.When I first got POTS,I did lose 25lbs., a year later 1 of my doctors told me to eat potatoe chips ect. all the salt I could get.Another dr. told do not diet, now I gained all the weight back and am dieting again,but I never feel well especially,because of the low blood volume.Any suggestions ?

I am also extremely pale

Pat

[preacherswife]

Female, short, and fat... not your typical POTS patient.

[Heartwillforever]

I use to be skinny when I first got diagnosed with pots. Once he gave me the florinef I gained over 60 pounds in 3 months!

[Mrs. Burschman]

Wow, Heather, that's awful!

They wanted to give that to me, but I said no for now. Is that a typical reaction, I wonder?

Amy

[maryfw]

I am female. 5ft 6in and weigh 128.

[kballgetlost]

I am definitely the typical POTS patient.....female, 5'5'' and 120 lbs. Always fun to be called anorexic when you make an ER trip

And I'm also pale, occasionally blue, with yellow discoloration around the eyes. Also have episodes of red splotchy flushing.....very patriotic in my opinion

[mvdula]

just thought maybe we could add age - and age of onset to this survey-

[Sunfish]

as this is an old poll it wouldn't make much sense to add other options at this point. you are welcome to create a new poll yourself (anyone can do so at anytime) including anything you'd like. if you need help or have trouble along the way let me or one of the other administrators know & we'll try to help.

:-)melissa

p.s. i know there have been discussions & possibly a poll re: age &/or age of onset sometime in the past several years. doesn't mean you're not welcome to bring it up again but thought i'd let you know in case you'd like to do a search.

[belayergirl]

I am 5'7" and weight about a 134 lbs. When I was diagnosed I was around 125lbs. My weight tends to fluctuate season to season, because I spend my summers guiding backpacking trips or doing trail work in the rockies. I do have to be super careful when it comes to maintaining weight and hydration in the summers. I haven't had to give it up yet, but I know I'm walking a fine line each year.

[joiedevivre516]

Ugh I am 5'6" and my weight fluctuates from 95-100, which I can't stand. NOTHING I do helps me gain weight, and my doctors get so concerned. I'm eating as much as I possibly can, but when I try to eat the Boost or Ensure things, I just get sick. Doctors in ERs who don't know my history just assume I'm anorexic, when I've never had an eating disorder in my life. It just doesn't make sense to me!

[mrsdavidson8605]

I am very tall (6'0) and about 170 lbs.. I am "lanky" and have ver long fingers, joints. I was told this could be a cause of POTS.... I used to be an athlete in college (played volleyball) and ran 2 miles a day. I was told that a lot of women with POTS were young, and were athletic.. is that true? Oh yeah and since I had my daughter in June, I lost 80 lbs... didn't exercise either. Do a lot of people lose weight with POTS?

[jump]

I began noticing POTS symptoms after I had been tall & thin for a few years (after a highschool growth spurt). I was 5'7" and about 120 lbs for a long time, and a size 0.

Since being diagnosed, I've gained some weight (from the meds? from getting older? who knows!) and sometimes I wonder if weighing more helps reduce my symptoms. I'm taking meds for the tachycardia, but I don't take anything that might help with retaining fluids -- and I've noticed that since I've gained weight it's much, much easier for me to stay hydrated. When I was a size 0, I had to drink literally 7 or 8 liters of water a day. Now I can manage with just 3 or 4.

jump

[delphicdragon]

I'm thin now. Used to be a lot heavier. I was 5'3" and 150 before I started college, and before POTS. Now I'm 5'8" and 130. Not excessively skinny, but thin.

I've been told that gaining weight will help the POTS, but every time I try to gain weight, I actually wind up losing it - so I stopped trying that.

My weight has always fluctuated. I can lose more than 10 pounds in a day if I'm sick.

Sara

[Miriam Poorman-Knox]

When I first started to get sick was 149 and 23% body fat. Taught 2 aerobics classes 5x wk and did stairmaster4xwk for 45 min and demonstrated proper use of machines and was a personal trainer. Then the weight started adding on and as the meds increased, so did the weight. I became exercise intolerant. My highest weight was 250.....I had barriatric surgery due to liver (NASH) and because of my athletic build I was still in the high 20-31 % body fat. Now 184. 26% BF. size 12 . Still take the offending drugs. Can walk some short hart distances. It's hard but it works. Miriam

I also got info from the military about dysautonomia. There was and still is belief that soldiers for whatever reason were among the first to be tracked. There also fine shape get sick lose exercise tolerance... Not saying that this is the only group. My grandsons were quiet only long enough for me to read a couple studies. Peace...Miriam

[kitchmill]

I am skinny but not necessarily tall (5'6"), but I am under BMI. That's an interesting correlation.