AshleyPooh

I have some breathing problems when I get too anxious. Sometimes, when I'm trying to fall asleep, my breathing would cut off as I relaxed, and I'd have to wake up and breathe. We came to realize that this was anxiety caused by random noises in the house. Could be POTS related though, b/c it felt like any adrenaline rush would create this situation when I relaxed to sleep.

Hi all, I told you I would report back on my tilt test results, but I'm afraid I can't today. My father passed away on the 7th, the night before my test. I had to reschedule. He had a massive heart attack, induced by a drunk wandering into our house and threatening him. The drunk ran off, but we know who he is (he bicycles around the road every other day), and we are pressing charges. I've discovered that severe grief and stress can bring on heart flops quite badly, but thankfully I think the worst of that is over with. Ironically, I was having severe problems with my symptoms the day of the test, but I'm sure there will be plenty of that left on the 31st when I do the reschedule. I will keep everybody informed when my test come back around, in a month. Thanks.

I'm sure if i react to the TTT tomorrow the way i am today, I have no worries. Went from 90/66 sitting to 120/94 standing lately, my heartbeat has been resting at 90+. it's driving me crazy because normally isn't that high. This past week, the sonogram guy said that he could tell my bp was normally low b/c my heart walls looked thin, the only thing he could see on the sonogram that was wrong with my heart. He says the TTT will help determine that though and help me get treatment. Hope so! I desperately need to live again!

Has anyone with POTS ever failed a tilt test? I mean, have they ever had a test where their blood pressure was just fine that day? I just ask b/c some days I don't feel so bad, so I don't know if a negative tilt will be ' the end' of inquiry in this area for me. I still pretty much think it'll be positive though.

My tilt table test is on monday, so reading this is certainly educational. I know on some days, my symptoms are worse, and some days almost nonexistent. I'm afraid my symptoms will not be dramatic on monday, but we'll see I suppose. I know if they inject me with adrenaline we'll get to see fireworks, but besides that Im not too sure how I'll react. My bp readings at home tend to be pretty low, although I have days in a row where my bp seems to go up to an almost normal level. I wish i could invite them over to check my blood pressure/ HR when I'm standing outside watching my dogs play. My pulse goes up to at least 120 ( i only ever check after I go inside, so the cool air might lower it to that and it's higher outside). I don't think I'm getting a valsalva bp profile, unless that just comes standard with the TTT? I don't know much about what things they will check, just that I'll be moved around on the board and hope to get a response!

I would consider a metabolic panel. The reason I say this is that if your kidney is affected, you could be losing out on important electrolytes that could make your pots worse, and could treat with supplementation until then. You might want to get your sodium, albumin and stuff checked. Sodium clearly we all know why that's important, but Albumin is a good indicator of dehydration among other problems. I actually found a blood work results from back in 2010 showing out of range high albumin, but the doctor never said a word to me about it. makes me wonder what it is nowadays. (btw i have dehydration problems all the time lol, even though i drink tons of water)

this is pretty interesting. I always say " i don't hyperventilate", because I don't have anxiety attacks that cause hyperventilation. However, sometimes when my blood pressure messes up, I feel like I can't take in deep breaths, and when I try my lungs sort of protest it. Also sometimes the fatigue makes my breathing slow down, to where I kinda breathe in small short breaths. maybe this is the reason for the co2 readings. I will ask my cardiologist about this next time I see her. My tilt table test is on Monday, and just can't wait to get this over with. For some stupid reason , I am afraid that I won't fail the tilt test. Like I'm worried I'll get there, do the test, and react fine to it. I say this is stupid b/c I react badly to posture and standing up on a daily basis, but I guess I'm just terrified of not getting a diagnosis or answers , or treatment! I'm on a deadline, as I'm working through a charity to get this paid for, so I fear that if I don't find out what's wrong soon, I might never find out. Meanwhile, I've discovered that other people who don't see me on a daily basis, do NOT understand what the heck i'm talking about. I keep getting things like " maybe if you moved around more, exercised some etc etc", as if I enjoy laying around not doing much. I'm 26! If I could exercise, believe me I would!! Sorry, non related ranting just kinda burst out of me :/

This is interesting and I just posted a topic similar to this. I have good oxygen, but low CO2 levels. I believe the low co2 is where my breathing symptoms come from. If anyone has gotten their blood gasses checked, look at your co2 levels and see if they are below normal. Also look up symptoms of low co2, they are very similar to that of low blood pressure

Hi all I wanted to ask you about this. Some time back, before my dysautonomia stuff was being checked, my blood work showed that I had low Carbon Dioxide levels (outside normal range). It was a bit low, but because no other blood work came back abnormal they dismissed it. Well i was digging around in some paperwork and found an old blood test results sheet from 2010. There, my carbon dioxide was just inside the normal range, but almost too low. I know low carbon dioxide causes symptoms and problems, but I was wondering if this had anything to do with the low blood pressure or POTS? my oxygen always looks fine when they test it, but clearly something is a bit wonky on the CO2 side of things...

I'm actually pretty new to the pre syncope/ black out thing, but here's my list: First experience was in a doctor's office. I had a back strain and needed and anti inflammatory shot in the hip. It hurt like crazy, and a few minutes later I was blacking out, chest crushing sensations, etc, had to lie down and control my adrenaline rush from the pain. Everyone assumed I was bad with needles ( I had no previous history of having problems with shots). After that, it was all about feeling 'heavy' and short of breath when standing, in the heat, or during any exertion. Lately my bp has crashed twice, both times right before I realized I had a cold virus. First time, I was standing over my computer , bent a little forward looking at my facebook. straightened back up , and boom dizziness. Second time was in the shower right after waking up. felt dizzy, very weak, had to lay down. So I'm thinking yeah I have some orthostatic problems, but clearly have an issue with adrenaline as well.

Yikes, it can take weeks to stop having issues from it?! That's just not right! Sounds a lot like how chronic fatigue syndrome functions. I imagine the two are more closely intertwined that it first seems.

Lol Katybug, I know exactly how you feel. First we had tons of thunderstorms this week, and i swear the thunder was making my eye twitch from anxiety, felt shaky. Then the fireworks today had me scowling too. I just can't handle that kind of stress anymore. I felt that way this past year at the fair too. I almost got in a wreck on the way up to it ( stupid crazy guy in our lane), and then one of the roller coasters there had a board fall off and slam down onto a cart right after we'd gotten off( the family, though shaken, was unharmed). By the time we left the fair i felt like I never wanted to see it again. Adrenaline definitely has an impact on me like it does you

I have recently begun experiencing migraines too, Agreeky. I never had them in my life, although my mom has them. Then lately, I started noticing vision problems, strange light issues/ wavy stuff in peripheral vision. Not long after that I had a headache. It wasn't super bad, but it wasn't nice.I'm assuming this is a Pots issue because it didn't start until all of this started happening to me. My mom actually experiences some sound issues with hers. Sometimes she says she has almost electrical charges or something on the top of her head she can hear. It's weird lol I know but that's what she says :/

My blood pressure fluctuates a lot, but loves to drop down by at least 10 but almost always more than 20 when standing. I can go from a nice 105/64 sitting to 85/50 standing, and if i wait just long enough, it'll creep down much further. Sometimes it doesn't budge much at all though, depends on how I am that day :/ And unfortunately, if my sitting bp is already low into the 80s/50s, my bp can drop to 75/40 or lower. Just depends

Will definitely keep my appts for the tests. I'm hoping that by the 8th it'll have gone away, but if not i'm still going, b/c i doubt it would affect the results that dramatically by then! And yes, definitely staying hydrated!

Hi all, quick question. Does getting a cold virus, or any other illness i suppose, make your POTS worse? I'm just asking b/c for the past two or so days I've been super weak and dizzy, and then my mom realized she has bronchitis, and I realized that I probably do too. I've never really experienced dizziness before with a bug , or blood pressure problems, so I am definitely curious.

Wish there was an option for ' all over the place' lol. My resting pulse can be anywhere from the 50s to the 90s in the same day. This is probably because it's constantly trying to correct my blood pressure, which is also all over the place. When my bp gets too low, it tries to speed things up, hence the higher heart rate. Then once my bp chills out, it goes back down, sometimes too far down. My body constantly feels like it's on a roller coaster

I saw this before I ever came to this site. I was like ' wow something that actually sounds like me!'

I know that when i'm relaxing in bed, sometimes my arm just flails up into the air like it was zapped with electricity. Also have raw patches on tongue, was told some random stuff like oral allergy syndrome. If i stick my bottom lip out, it tends to tremble lol. Also, I feel myself swaying quite a bit

I remember the brain fog starting with my thyroid disease, got a good bit better after my medications, then I started getting it again with the blood pressure drops. Problem is my blood pressure isn't just dropping sometimes, but quite often, so it's daily brain fog At 26, I wonder if my best 'brain' days are behind me...

Thanks Katybug. I honestly never thought of Neuro-cardiogenic Syncope, because I've never had fainting problems. When my bp goes too low, i just get really sleepy/stupid, never had it progress to full on dizzy/weak near fainting before now. I read that this stuff wasn't a progressive thing, but then why does it seem like my bp is getting worse over time?

Hi all, I forgot to ask in my new thread the most important question I have about POTS and dysautonomia! How does blood pressure usually function in someone with POTS? The reason I ask this: I know people with high blood pressure, I know people with low blood pressure. What I have yet to find, is someone who's blood pressure acts like mine does! I have chronically low blood pressure. It started out mild, but as time progresses it's gotten lower and lower. That's probably typical for POTS. My problem is this: My blood pressure can be normal one minute, drop to 75/45 another minute, then back up to 106/64 the next! It fluctuates like this CONSTANTLY. It would be one thing if it was only small changes in bp, but it's pretty large changes. Today... I almost fainted. The first time I almost fainted without a real reason. My only other experience with this is from a shot in my hip that caused an adrenaline rush. Today though, I was getting dressed to go to the store. I had my facebook open, and was looking at my messages while getting ready. I suppose I had been leaning over a tiny bit to read the messages, but when I straightened back up, I became weak and dizzy really bad. I checked, and my blood pressure was 72/27. I went to my mom's room, told her about it, and we agreed I should lay down lol. I did, and she checked again... it had gone back up to 117/64 wtihin a minute or two. She checked again eventually when i sat up, and it went down to 80s/50s (typical fluctuation for me). I have never had my bp go down past the high 30s, so this was pretty scary for me. I didn't completely faint, but it was a close thing, and I felt terrible for hours afterward. My blood pressure fluctates a good 20 points or more all the time, without significant symptoms from it. I don't know why, but it doesn't want to stay near one place. I don't fluctuate high, just from my normal low to a worse low, then back up. Is this just a normal sign of an abnormal nervous system? Does anyone else do this?

Hi looney, thanks for responding. I am looking at your blog, and I noticed that your son has myofascial pain syndrome. I have that as well, although it sounds like a good degree less severe than your son's. Mine started around the time of my thyroid disease, just muscles in my shoulders and back aching a lot, needing massages. Started getting knots in my back that needed working out. I feel for him, it can be pretty hard dealing with it, especially when everything you try to do to help it seems to hurt it. My main source of relief is my heating pad. That and massages are the two main things I can think of. I hope your son finds relief soon!

It's interesting, but way before I knew about POTS, about a year or two ago? I was at the urgent care center for a bad back strain. They gave me a shot in my hip called Toradol. The shot hurt really bad.. and when the nurse left the room, I started to feel queasy. I started off to the nurse's desk t ask them about it, and the closer I got, the darker my vision got, until when I got there I was like " Am I supposed to see black everywhere?"..... they dragged me back to my room and laid me on the bed, and I proceeded to have a god awful episode of almost passing out. Afterward, they tried to say I had triggered my vagus nerve. I asked my cardiologist about this recently, and she says more than likely it was an adrenaline rush reaction dropping my blood pressure. So I suppose... that is a vasovagal reaction lol.

Well, I definitely know where you are coming from here. I live in Florida, and the heat right now is ridiculous. I need to dig my turtle's pond, but even stepping outside makes me have to sit down lately, so that pond is... not dug yet lol. I keep tossing him in the kiddy pool instead, but maybe if I start really early... Anyway, since I'm new to all of this, I don't have much advice on this subject. I just know that when I get in the heat, I feel like my body weighs a lot more, and it's all melting downward. I don't particularly like the cold either. There seems to be a very small range of temperature where I feel comfortable