Lily

I'm seriously considering embracing it and converting to a biphasic sleep schedule. Plan for 4 hours of sleep, then 1.5 hours of awake time in which I engage in mental prayer and rosary, and then another 4-hour sleep period. The down side is that I will need about 10 hours of bed time to account for the wakefulness period. Has anyone else tried this? I read that the medieval Europeans slept like this, and it is why monks and nuns had a Liturgy of the Hours session in the middle of the night.

Hi there! I haven't posted in quite a while, but I'm back because I would like to know if anyone has information that will help me with sleep. I fall asleep easily, but often wake up after about 4 hours. After about a minute I realize that I feel way too hot. Usually it takes at least 90 minutes to fall back to sleep, and that sleep is usually light and fragmented. Does this sound like a POTS-related pattern to anyone? If so, can you point me toward resources that will explain the mechanism?

How much does Florinef depress the immune system? I have gotten conflicting information from the internet versus my doctor.

ADHD is much more than brain fog, so I am not convinced that POTS causes ADHD. Surely POTS can cause some symptoms that overlap with ADHD, but not all of them. I have had ADHD symptoms back as far as toddlerhood. I was diagnosed in my teens, but nobody thought to try medication until much later. I didn't have any symptoms consistent with POTS until about 3 years after I started taking Strattera, a non-stimulant ADHD medication. I recently switched from Strattera to Adderall for ADHD. Interestingly, I am feeling 100% better POTS-wise. I do not know if it is because I am no longer taking a norepinepherine reuptake inhibitor (NE was leaking out of the synapses into my blood perhaps?), or if the Adderall is helping my poor deficient veins to constrict properly. Both are possible. Adderall has fewer side effects than Strattera, but I liked the 24 hour activity of the Strattera. I'm learning to deal with it, though.

Yes, the meds he prescribed and the lifestyle changes he recommended have been helpful in decreasing symptom severity.

I see Dr. Tullo. He's great.

I have always been able to see surface veins (very light skin), but when I stand up you can see the veins in my feet distending and standing out from my skin. Its pretty nifty to watch. My hand veins do it, too.

Interesting. When I overdo it, I get all the physical symptoms you mentioned but not any emotional symptoms. Just normal annoyance at my body. When I do get depressed is during a migraine.

I would tell all this to your doctor at your next appointment, or even call and leave a message about it today. You made a reasoned decision to try Midodrine, and it doesn't work nearly as well as Florinef, and you want to go back to F. Since it works so well for you, perhaps increased attention to weightlifting and intake of calcium, and vitamins D and K would be a reasonable alternate to not taking it. My mom managed to reverse osteopenia by eating lots and lots of dairy products, so surely we younger folks can, too!

I take the XR version, which lasts for 8 hours or so. I also take Wellbutrin, and taking a non-stimulant along with a stimulant can help decrease the necessary dose and also make the wear-off period more gradual. I usually do not notice when it wears off, but it is noticable when it gets to my brain in the morning.

I take clonidine to knock my sympathetic nervous system down a little.

I'm also on Adderall, which is in the same class as dexamphetamine. It works well for my ADHD, and I think it helps my poor deficient blood vessels to contract more than they otherwise would. It does not cause tachycardia episodes for me.

I tend to have sleep maintenance insomnia. Why? Stress is definitely a factor, but also I'm in perimenopause, I have to pee frequently (I take desmopressin at night for that now), and I have 2 cats.

I have ADHD. The medications help immensely. It is all about executive functioning. With meds I can easily see how tasks should be prioritized. It is much much easier to get started on tasks, too. It is easier to not be impulsive and to sustain my attention span on only one thing at a time. Everything is clearer. ADHD symptoms feel very different than POTS-induced brain fog.

Probably you should do whatever you can, even if it is only the tiniest amount of recumbent exercise. Alternating leg lifts while lying down, add one more each day. Something like that is better than nothing. You might feel terrible at first, but exercise helps in a long-term manner if you're consistent.