The Orthostatic Tremor Forum (archive)

I sometimes find myself out-of-breath, breathing heavily, and I sit down and notice my heart is racing a bit. It's as if I'd run up a hill, when all I did was sweep the kitchen. And sometimes there's some lightheadedness or disequilibrium. These aren't necessarily just side effects arising from the muscles trembling. It seems I have some "orthostatic intolerance" (OI) which is a malfunction of the cerebellum &/or brainstem. Almost certainly the cause of OI is somehow related to the cause of OT.

The forum has lots of folks commenting on general fatigue and incapacity. If you search our forum for "heart pounding" or "out-of-breath", you'll find plenty of entries. We notice things are worsened by anxiety and/or shallow breathing &/or overworking muscles &/or discouragement &/or low blood sugar. AND it's worth noticing that many of us might be struggling with Orthostatic Intolerance, which is it's own medical phenomena.

Here's some info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthostatic_intolerance
http://www.cfids.org/webinar/cfsinfo2010.pdf - really helpful
http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2860.htm - technical

I think our susceptibility to adrenaline is related also. "Dysautonomia" is the broad category that encompasses Orthostatic Intolerance. I'm too 'wired', physically high-strung (even though often fatigued). My sympathetic nervous system (the alerting adrenaline system) is over-active. My para-sympathetic nervous system (the relaxation system) seems like the underdog.

Here are some quotes from the second article above: "Following the episodes of lightheadedness, most people feel tired for several hours (sometimes lasting more than a day) and their thinking can be somewhat foggy." "The mental confusion takes the form of difficulty concentrating, staying on task, paying attention, remembering, or finding the right words. Some describe being in a “mental fog.” Some develop worse fatigue after mentally demanding activities, such as reading and concentrating. This may occur because the blood vessels of the limbs dilate rather than constrict in response to mental tasks, allowing more blood to pool. In persons with POTS (a type of Orthostatic Intolerance), a fast heart rate is a defining feature, and awareness of vigorous or skipped heart beats (palpitations) is common. In addition, patients can experience lightheadedness, intolerance of exercise, fatigue, visual blurring, weakness, imbalance, headaches, shakiness, clamminess, anxiety, shortness of breath, and the same type of mental fogginess previously described."

Thanks,
Jenna in Portland

Here's some more quotes from the article on Orthostatic Intolerance:
http://www.cfids.org/webinar/cfsinfo2010.pdf

Do these ideas / statements seem true or useful to you?
Hot environment can make things worse.
Alcohol can make things worse.
High carbohydrate meals can make things worse.
Dehydration and/or inadequate salt intake makes things worse.
Isometric exercises and/or sitting with a contracted abdomen can help.
"Building up leg strength has been found to be helpful in combating orthostatic symptoms."

Jenna.......thank you for your thread, was waiting for others to respond ?

SHORT OF BREATH ...HEART POUNDING ...almost always , but have noticed it is worst when I'm with other people ? makes me more aware when I see the look of panic in their eyes waiting for me to keel over ...eg. panting as I`m talking to them while walking along .....tell them its normal for me `have a brain problem`,don't worry about it [way back , had all the heart tests all OK ..touch wood]
LIGHTHEAD ,MENTAL FOG...often , but stop and let it pass ..almost enjoyable now,as long as I`m in a safe place [at least sitting down ].....................

Alcohol can make things worse?. for Me no but ,am diluting my evening wine with water and drinking more water thru the day ..................
Have started adding salt [again ] to cooking after many years of cutting back ...decided on that after
reading all your suggested articles and links ...
So Jenna again thank you .....what say others ?
Didi NZ