katyroq Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 I'm wondering if anyone here has dysautonomia or knows how it may affect a whole30. I did my first Whole30 3 years ago and never got to the Tiger Blood stage. I had a surge of energy in the middle of the 30 days, but then it leveled off and I felt basically the same as I always did - tired all the time. Recently, I was diagnosed with a form of dysautonomia called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and one of the main symptoms is fatigue. I'm wondering if this is why I never got the energy last time. I'm on Day 3 of a Whole30 right now, so I guess I'll see. Basically, POTS is a condition where my autonomic nervous system does not respond properly to standing up. Becuase of gravity, when you stand the blood pools in the legs. The ANS triggers the blood vessels in the legs to constrict so that enough blood remains in the heart and brain. For people with POTS, the blood vessels don't constrict, causing the brain to be at a shortage of blood. That sends the message to the heart to beat faster, and eventually can cause fainting in order to get back to a horizontal position. So basically standing up my heart is working too hard, causing every day to be extra tiring. Exercise is especially difficult, as even jogging gets my heart rate up to close to 200 which is way higher than my "target heart rate". Just standing and wlaking around gets me in my target heart rate easily. There are some known causes of POTS, but mostly it's not known what causes it. Eating a gluten free and dairy free diet does help many people, so that's one reason I'm trying Whole30 again. Anyway, there have been a couple people on the dysautonomia forum who mentioned Whole30, so I'm just trying to see if anyone is here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfeldman Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Hi!! So glad to see your post. I was recently diagnosed with POTS too and was hoping this round of Whole30 would help me feel a little better. This is my 3rd Whole30 but the first one with a POTS diagnosis. I am only on day 2. Interested in hearing how you are feeling and if it is helping with your symptoms at all. Hard to tell which is POTS fatigue and which is Whole30 fatigue/brain fog... I do think this way of eating will help our bodies concentrate less on digestion and more on staying upright. That is my hope at least. Anyway, I am here if you need support or just need to vent. This diagnosis is very frustrating and life changing in every way. Wishing you all the best!! Lauren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katyroq Posted July 10, 2016 Author Share Posted July 10, 2016 Hi Lauren! Sorry about the POTS but always good to meet someone who understands the challenges. I'm feeling great after the 3rd week of my whole 30. My morning POTS symptoms are almost nonexistent and my heart rate is generally lower when standing and walking. I'm starting to get more energy as well but still needing about 10 hours of sleep a night. That i can manage if it helps me feel more normal! I hope you're seeing some results soon! I didn't notice anything until day 6 when I woke up without nausea and racing heart. Then I cleaned all day and didnt have to take breaks to lie down and sleep. Since then I've felt pretty consistently good as long as i get enough food and sleep All the best! Feel free to comment back and let me know how you're doing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.