Just wanted to write a follow up on what I said last year.
TL;DR: If you have POTS/Dysautonomia. Avoid living in high altitudes.
It seems obvious. I mean, not only because you have less oxygen, but because in general we as species wouldn't be able to evolve or adapt to the environment without our autonomic nervous system; If ours is impaired, we know —in our case directly— that we can't adapt that easy, or, at all, to summer, sometimes rain, sometimes cold, or in this case high altitudes.
Healthy people, or even athletes, do adapt to high altitudes, after several days (depending on how high the altitude). I don't know at all the physics of high altitudes, meaning I've seen soccer games played in La Paz, Bolivia, and they can kick the ball from 40+ yards, with so much violence and speed right into the net, that can't happen anywhere else let me tell you that. Everything changes so much, not only oxygen levels, if healthy people can get altitude sickness, if their nervous system is under stress, and struggle to adapt, on top of that altitude craziness add rain (changes in barometric pressure which already is hard to adapt to), or intense sunlight, well on top of all of it, add dysautonomia. At some point is just detrimental, you will notice something becoming 'progressive' in a bad way, in my case I never adapted fully.
Just wanted to say that I've been a week now in a different country, and I am doing extremely well. Not bedridden anymore, doing lots of stuff. Spo2 98-100 since I got out of the plane (never lower than that, I barely use my oximeter now, I just feel perfect in that regard). I can't walk that much because too many years being sedentary (my knees and feet are in pain, but they're getting in shape quickly), and here down south we are dealing with summer. Not as scary as I thought (my very first summer ever), but the first 2 or 3 days I did scared my girlfriend because my feet were very red/purple, and I was about to faint. I wasn't surprised. Still adapting. I need new, tighter, stockings. And better hydration.
The flight was a nightmare tho, specially when we were gaining altitude. I literally felt my soul escaping my body for 3 seconds. But I didn't passed out. It was almost like a psychotropic/paranormal experience. Fun to remember. Still felt like #$%!@ that moment. I had elevated HR during the full 6~ hours. never bellow 101. 140 the highest.
But I survived, and it only took me a few steps outside the plane to know I did the right thing abandoning my homeland (Bogota, Colombia), because it is not the highest country, but boy that it was high.
How are your feet doing now? I used to travel at least 10-20 hours on planes each week for years. When COVID began, I stopped completely. My legs now swell, and my feet and toes are often dark purple or red unless I put them up.
Slow, shallow breathing with oxygen level dips anyone?
in Dysautonomia Discussion
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How are your feet doing now? I used to travel at least 10-20 hours on planes each week for years. When COVID began, I stopped completely. My legs now swell, and my feet and toes are often dark purple or red unless I put them up.