@BioEclectic
Thank you for that link. Very interesting. That description of POTS sounds exactly like what I was feeling that first week. Like adrenaline was constantly being dumped. Trying to sleep at night, wanting to sleep and knowing I needed it, but never feeling tired. Like constant fight or flight state. I will give the 7-keto-dhea a try, worth a shot.
Here's that excerpt from the article:
Dysautonomia and the Adrenal Burden
The situation is further complicated by dysautonomia, a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system that affects up to 70% of Long COVID patients. Conditions like Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) leave the nervous system stuck in a perpetual "fight-or-flight" sympathetic state. Because the autonomic nervous system is misfiring, it places an immense, continuous burden on the adrenal glands to pump out adrenaline and noradrenaline just to maintain basic functions like standing up or digesting food. This constant adrenaline surge further depletes the adrenal reserves, exacerbating the HPA-axis dysfunction and the depletion of vital precursor hormones like DHEA. The body is effectively flooring the gas pedal while the gas tank is completely empty, resulting in severe autonomic crashes and a deepening of the metabolic crisis.
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@sunsunsun said:
i think your body is processing something out. maybe there is some tissue that your body is restoring and sculpting differently and in the process it is releasing stored catchelomines. something like this can take like 3 weeks to get over. i reccomend cyproheptadine, and adding electrolytes to water. if your urine was cloudy i think it’s stuff getting processed out.
if you want relief from the muscle pain in your right quadrant and it feels too tender to massage that muscle directly, rolling a baseball or lacrosse ball or whatever on some other area of your body can help. like on your shoulders or bottom foot or anywhere else. i got relief from that by using a roller on my calves when i experienced something similar to what you’re describing.
but really try cyproheptadine , it can get rid of that doomy adrenaline dissasociation feeling pretty quick
I did have this thought as well. As for cypro, I don't know if I need it but I will keep it in mind. I started taking Zyrtec and Pepcid AC (both antihistamine meds), a lot of people with POTS reported success with those and I started feeling a lot better the day I started them.
@ThinPicking said:
What about plain water. Roughly how much and when? And are you eating routinely or because you're hungry? Thirst and hunger can be strange.
I'm not exactly sure on my exact plain water intake before this, I just know I was definitely not drinking enough. I drink a lot of iced tea (black tea) with meals, like 2-3 16 oz glasses a day.. That's one reason I was concerned about a kidney stone, because I know tea has oxalates that can cause kidney stones. Ultrasound cleared me of kidney stone issue though. I still cut way back on the tea and coffee and am drinking a lot more plain water during the day, and I got a big bag of those Liquid IV packets from Costco. Been adding that to my water. Really good electrolyte mix, I always feel really good after drinking it. Gets my potassium levels up, which I was concerned about because of the muscle pains, fatigue and heartrate.
I am happy to report that overall I am improving a lot and some days I have been well enough that all symptoms seem to be gone or massively reduced.
One of the biggest things is my sleep has returned to normal. I can lay down and zonk out within a few minutes. No more hypnic jerks, no more insomnia.
Other big thing, is I don't have that fatigue and overall terrible feeling like I'm dying. It's like whatever hormone/adrenaline/cortisol whatever it was that was flooding my body is gone. I can relax. I am not having feelings of doom. I can sleep. Feels good man.
Making new PRs every week with sitting and standing resting heart rates. I had a 59 sitting resting heart rate 2 days ago, which was impossible when this started. I would be at 85 just while sitting before!
Last few weeks I have seen standing heart rates as low as 80, whereas at the start of this it would be 110-115 every day just from standing (it would jump by about 30-35 bpm)
I've been able to do more strenuous activities/work. Been walking every day. I tested doing some sprints during my walk the other day, and heart rate only went to 130-140, whereas when this started I was going to 130 just while peeing in the morning.
The only thing is I still do have some pain in my right flank, but it's less of a internal organ feeling and it's feeling more like some kind of muscle/tissue thing again. The right flank feels sore when I twist to the right. I might have something screwed up in my right muscle chain, psoas/QL/glutes, maybe it's aggravating my sciatic nerve. Not sure if that could have caused all the symptoms I experienced though. I will be doing stretches and exercises to try to address those muscle issues.
