POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)

General Discussion
#1

I was just diagnosed with POTS recently after having terrible long covid symptoms for 5 years. I think I had it before, very possibly caused by finasteride and continually got worse over time.

The basic idea is that my autonomic system fails to regulate my blood vessels which causes terrible circulation. It can be caused by many different things and can get worse over time but the basic idea is that blood pools in your legs and when you stand up, it doesn’t circulate the rest of your body.

A major part of the treatment is to load up on sodium which increases blood volume by pulling water into your blood and to drink water to prevent dehydration. It has seemingly helped my erectile function which has been beyond terrible for 15 years. Will update more later if the benefits hold.

Just checking to see if anybody else has this. There is an easy test that you can do at home to see if you have problems if your heart rate spikes and your blood pressure drops when you stand up quickly after laying down for awhile. The heart rate surges in order to compensate for a drop in blood pressure from bad circulation (often caused by neurological regulation).

The test is the NASA Lean test. I got diagnosed by a neuroimmunologist.

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#2

I think I have this problem my legs are red when I wake up especially my knees and I have severe pain as if the blood didn’t feed them. What therapy are you taking besides sodium and hydration? How do you think it can be solved? Do you think it’s a neurological problem? Thank you

#3

There are many different types of POTS which is just a syndrome. In many cases it is caused by a neurological problem. I think I had it mildly after finasteride and then it got severe after I got sick with covid and it overwhelmed my nervous system.

There are other medications like beta blockers to adjust your heart rate but salt and water is the most important thing to start with.

What’s really surprising is that my blood has been pooling in my legs so I wasn’t getting circulation in my muscles and they deflated. It wasn’t muscle atrophy it seems but dehydration so the sodium + water intake has really plumped up my “muscles”. I’m still working through this but there is something here that matters, at least to me.

#4

POTS can cause sexual dysfunction but it is not the main symptom. I am not sure that what I had was fully POTS until I got this post viral illness from COVID.

POTS is a form of dysautonomia — a disorder of the autonomic nervous system. This branch of the nervous system regulates functions we don’t consciously control, such as heart rate, blood pressure, sweating and body temperature. The key characteristics of POTS are the specific symptoms and the exaggerated increase in heart rate when standing.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/postural-orthostatic-tachycardia-syndrome-pots

I saw a neuroimmunologist who diagnosed this immediately but we are still working out what else is going on because I might not just have POTS.

Some people can make a full recovery with POTS by doing the right forms of exercise and strengthening autonomic and vagal tone. It is not the case for everybody though.

#5

I think I have some sort of POTS so this is helpful to explore

Can you explain what you mean by ‘loading up on sodium’
Is it something as simple as taking spoonfuls of table / himalayan salt daily

#6

Try the NASA Lean Test to see if you have it.

It’s not healthy for most people to take a lot of sodium because it can lead to high blood pressure, if you actually have POTS, which is a specific condition, then it helps balance your blood pressure.

I take 10 capsules of the product below which has both sodium and potassium in it. But make sure that you have POTS first because it can be bad for you if you take this and you don’t. You need potassium too so this is a good product. But you take a lot more than most people would normally in order to expand blood volume.

I’m doing this with the oversight of a doctor so I strongly advise against messing around with this by yourself.

#7

You might find this information interesting:

The herb licorice can lower potassium and cause sodium retention. Furthermore, it can raise blood pressure and blood alkalinity. Fascinatingly, licorice mimics aldosterone and lowers it at the same time. Also fascinating that it can reduce inflammatory swelling yet it can cause water retention swelling.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8126388/
It is a natural corticosteroid. It is to methylprednisolone what saw palmetto is to finasteride.

Roasting it with honey until it caramelizes converts the key chemical glycyrrhizin into glycyrrhetinic acid, thus bypassing a metabolic process. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874122001465

I use it as a spice, not to treat anything. The flavor pairs well with the combination of herbs: marshmallow, sage, and tulsi.

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