Stress And Pots?

[lavender]

Can POTS or similar autonomic conditions affect how your body responds to stress?

I'm a pretty layed back mellow person. I'm noticing though that my body seems to really overreact to any kind of stress. All it takes is getting just slightly overwhelmed, upset, or even excited and my heart starts to pound hard and fast, I get really hot or cold,and sweaty, my stomach gets upset and I get really bad diarrhea, sometimes my body shakes or my teeth chatter. It also feels like I get suddenly really dehydrated, even though I drink a LOT. It feels like I'm full of adrenaline. This leaves me totally wiped out. Once all of this starts it's hard to get my body to calm down. I have an overwhelming feeling that I need to lay down. I can understand all of this happening if I am REALLY upset or under a ton of stress, but it happens so easily, even if the issue is no big deal.

Does this type of thing happen with POTS?

[taylortotmom]

It certainly can- I have had it happen pretty frequently. I have now learned how to control it somewhat better (for me, taking my beta blocker the second I start feeling tachy- this is with my doctor's recommendation)and trying to calm down the best I can. But here lately it can happen with minimal external stress and it is so frustrating!

Carmen

[Maxine]

Yes it certainly can---------------I get that way even on my beta blockers.

Heck---I could have a good hand in euchre and get excited----and that is too much for me---leaves me feeling like the wind is knocked out of me. Fortunately this doesn't always happen with happy events that make me excited, but bad stress is the devil for me.

Maxine :0)

[spinalremains]

I used to have the same stress reaction for years. My doctor put me on a low dose of phenobarbitol. It has worked wonders for me. I have not been able to stop my beta blocker completley, but I have been able to lower the dose. Its worth mentioning to your doc.

[SunsetParadise49]

Stress defiantly makes my POTS worse. I crash, and stay there for a while. Avoiding stress when at all possible is a good idea. I know it's kinda hard, but it does help!

[Ernie]

Hi,

Yes for sure.

[India]

Aloha,

It must be the bb's but sometimes I feel exactly the way you describe--heart pounding (so much that I think other people can see it!), shaky, stomach cramps etc, sweaty. We had a very small fender bender the other month, for example, and I was completely a wreck. But at other times when I should feel stressed, I feel almost numb--well, not literally, just kind of emotionally numb. I think I should be feeling the heart pounding and the sweating, but it does not come. I am remarkably, and almost eerily calm. I guess the varying reactions are just reflecting how my body has decided to respond to POTS that day!

India

[Tanzanite]

Very much so. It's so bad for me, I actually have to block my emotions all the time. Even if I am the slighest bit sad, upset etc I will always get the most horrendous stomach upset sometime in the next 12hrs.

I can't even allow myself to cry anymore when sometimes I really need too because I just can't face going through the most agonising stomach pains and being on the loo for hours, vomiting and nearly collapsing.

Because of having to block feelings of sadness and being upset, I am quite irritable and snappy to family, I hate what this illness has done to me.

In times of acute stress, I have exactly the same symptoms as you do. Immense stress is what brought my POTS on badly.

[bttrflyamby1981]

I know for me I feel that my body is working hard as it is just trying to function, so any added stress makes it work that much harder. Being ill all the time makes it hard not to stress. I take deep breaths when I feel agitated.

[Rachel]

Lavender,

Yes, this happens to me too. I'm a very laid back person and have never really been stressed in my life. But for the past 3 years especially my body has responded to stress in the way you just described. Sometimes just a small disappointment will wipe me out.

[Guest tearose]

It is not emotional stress that does me in. It is physical activity!

I can deal with flooding basements, family challenges, financial worries...without triggering.

Give me three consecutive physical activities in three hours and I'm out of commission for a week!!!

Additionally, I do clearly see that if I have been sleeping poorly or have a cold then EVERYTHING is a trigger.

tearose

[JaneEyre9]

I have an extremely heightened reaction to stress as well. It's gotten to be a real annoyance because "little" stresses make me shake and tremble (teeth chatter, the whole nine yards). I think now that i know why it's happening (because my body is flooded with adrenaline), it helps me to cope. Before, when i didn't understand, i thought i was having panic attacks, and it just made me feel more anxious because my body was out of control. Now, I just think "here we go again!" and try to lie down, take deep breaths, drink peppermint tea to calm my gut, and wait it out. I've learned the more upset i get about my reaction, the longer it goes on, so i just try to minimize the damage!

Kristen

[DADofPotsSon]

Son #2 is in his second year at college, and during his first year, nearly everytime at finals he ended up in the ER, due to his POTS. A couple of weeks ago he came home for the weekend after an exam, it took him til 400 am the next morning before he could go to sleep, the adrenaline had him wound up tight! His tachy is the worst at these times.

[lavender]

Thank you all so much. Hearing from you helps me sort through all of this and try to understand what may be going on. So, do you know WHY there is a connection between POTS and stress? What is going on in the body to cause this inability to handle stress...emotional or physical?

I have always had a sleep disorder....according to my Mom, since I was born. I have a lot of trouble falling asleep and keeping on an even sleep cycle. I lay awake sometimes most of the night, even though I'm exhausted. (you know the story) This tends to happen after I've over done it durring the day physically, or had a reaction to stress like I described. I've always said it feels like my body is full of adrenaline, from overdoing it in one way or another, so it can't shut down and sleep. From reading here, this may actually make sense! Does this sound familiar? I've learned a lot over the years in figuring out what my boundaries are, how to live within those boundaries (to help keep from "crashing" as much), and what the signs are of when I've over stepped them and am headed for big trouble. At times though it's impossible to avoid overdoing it, especially if you have times where your energy level is zero!

Tanzanite, I feel for you especially. It's hard to deal with life if your body can't handle processing the emotions of it.

Spinalremains, what is phenobarbitol?

[SunsetParadise49]

Phenobarbital, a barbiturate, is used to control epilepsy (seizures) and as a sedative to relieve anxiety. It is also used for short-term treatment of insomnia to help you fall asleep.

This medication is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginf...682007.html#why

[Tanzanite]

The endocrine system can be messed up in POTS so it's possible the adrenals struggle to cope with physical and emotional stress. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me, but I believe the adrenals is where all the adrenaline comes from.