The Problem With Morning Pulse Pressures

[Machair]

I wonder how many of you have this problem. By the evening I am sometimes feeling not too bad as far as OI is concerned. Last night for example I took my BP before bed and it was 100/60 lying and standing,- great, I thought - a good sign things are improving. Then this morning lying BP was 89/65 and standing was 79/60. This is a bad day for me as of course it causes headaches and dizziness. As usual I made sure I hydrated fully before I got up properly for the day, but these mornings are such a trial. I know Dr Bell has commented before on these low pulse pressure readings being indicative of low blood volume, and I was wondering if you all find yourself seeing these numbers doing these strange things?

I have had ME/CFS for 15 years with the same set of symptoms, but it is only in the last three or four years that I decided to investigate the pulse pressures and BP changes more often, and have really noticed this morning problem in particular.

Does anyone else have these low pulse pressures when they stand - especially in the morning and any ideas how to treat it? I am having more salt and fluids and am keeping off nitrates and garlic.

The other thing I have noticed is that a bad morning like this often follows a restless night. I wonder if it may be related to overdoing things the day before in some way. Any ideas would be really helpful.x

 

[curry]

Does anyone else have these low pulse pressures when they stand - especially in the morning and any ideas how to treat it?

Yes, I do. What significantly has helped me is to take supplements which feed the mitochondria, and thereby increase energy.

When I get up in the morning, before I eat breakfast, I take the following supplements:

2 x 200 mg coQ10
L-acetyl-carnitine, 2mg, dissolved in a glass of water
D-Ribose (if you have a fermented gut, take only a low dose)
A cup of green tea (or any other drink with caffeine)

The other thing I have noticed is that a bad morning like this often follows a restless night. I wonder if it may be related to overdoing things the day before in some way.

A good nights sleep is essential, else your body will suffer from 'stress symptoms' the next day. I also feel dizzy and have a low pulse if I haven't slept sufficiently.
I've been forcing myself to go to bed at a reasonable time, and also take some (herbal or antihistamine) sleep aid to get a good rest.

 

[Sallysblooms]

Yes, I agree that the right supplements and doses are so important! I take the ones that Curry mentioned and many more. Adrecor has been great. I take a lot of supplements. My doctors set up a regime, three times a day. My POTS is improving nicely.

Balancing hormones and giving the body what it needs for support is so important.

Testing for B12 and Vit. D levels etc is needed too. Our body cannot heal if the building blocks are not strong.

I also agree with getting good sleep. I stay on a good schedule with a nap. I sleep nine hours a day and I rest or sleep another hour in the afternoon.

 

[karynwolfe]

My pulse pressure is atrocious in the mornings as well. A cup of coffee helps with no adverse affects. I'm prepared for tons of people to come and say that caffeine will make it worse, but it helps me, so you could give it a shot.

 

[helsbells]

My pulse pressure is atrocious in the mornings as well. A cup of coffee helps with no adverse affects. I'm prepared for tons of people to come and say that caffeine will make it worse, but it helps me, so you could give it a shot.

or two...coffee helps me also as it is a vasoconstrictor (Sp?) and helps force a bit of blood up to my noggin. people who are helped might want to check out the POTS/EDS angle. I was "told" i had floppy blood vessels as a result of poor quality external sheething due to the connective tissue problems, hence coffee actually has a short term therapeutic effect. incidentally when they told me to drastically increase my salt because of blacking out i found that just made me feel worse because that actually just widened my pressure pressure rather than binging both up in tandem.

 

[karynwolfe]

or two...coffee helps me also as it is a vasoconstrictor (Sp?) and helps force a bit of blood up to my noggin. people who are helped might want to check out the POTS/EDS angle. I was "told" i had floppy blood vessels as a result of poor quality external sheething due to the connective tissue problems, hence coffee actually has a short term therapeutic effect. incidentally when they told me to drastically increase my salt because of blacking out i found that just made me feel worse because that actually just widened my pressure pressure rather than binging both up in tandem.

Or two! I try to cut it off at one because any more then I have to constantly drink all day to avoid the caffeine's dehydrating effects. (I dehydrate so quickly it's absurd.) I think it helps because it raises blood pressure, by the vasoconstriction like you said, because my heart then beats much stronger (well, it starts to beat like a normal person's, I should say!) after the coffee, instead of my pulse being so dreadfully weak. :Retro smile: Then again, caffeine stimulates cardiac muscle, so perhaps it just wakes up our heart!

Now, all of that said, I've read from just about every place I can find that if your POTS is due to a hyperadrenergic state, caffeine will make you worse. I guess mine is not!

 

[ukxmrv]

I don't know why but drinking fluid (even water) has a very goof effect on my morning low blood pressure. I imagine that the low blood volume problem gets worse over night and this may contribute to the morning BP problem. I keep a large glass of water by the bed and as soon as I wake up I drink the whole then. Then coffee. More water if I can. Helps a lot but I still need to move slowly/carefully to avoid fainting.

 

[helsbells]

i would agree that keeping pure fluids up with the caffeine is also very wise - i too think this is a blood volume issue. I think my problem with a massive increase in salt was that i wouldn't say my Bp is universally low like some just very unstable and massively increasing salt seems to do that no good at all.