This past Sunday at church was a HUGE milestone for me! I was able to stand for the entire worship service! I know this may seem like an odd thing to celebrate, but I have not been able to do this for over a year. The simple task of standing is something I took for granted before I had POTS. I never thought I would have to fight daily to get that privilege back. So, in honor of conquering this milestone, I have decided to write a post about why standing is difficult with POTS.
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What is POTS?
In order to understand why standing is difficult with POTS, you first need to know what POTS actually is. POTS, or Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, is a chronic form of Dysautonomia, or malfunction of the autonomic nervous system, to which there is no known cure. Each one of the big fancy words in the acronym has a meaning:
- Postural- this is related to the position of your body
- Orthostatic- this is related to standing up
- Tachycardia- this is related to your heart rate
- Syndrome- this means a group of symptoms that happen together
In short, people with POTS have an exaggerated heart rate from sitting or lying down to standing up. This is a type of orthostatic intolerance. Generally, your autonomic nervous system controls your heart rate and blood pressure to prevent this from happening. However, this act of constricting blood vessels to control blood flow does not occur regularly in those with POTS. Unfortunately, this can lead to a long list of symptoms which can affect people differently.
Check out this post on What Is POTS and How Does It Affect People for more information!
How Does POTS Make Standing Difficult?
When you stand, the blood naturally goes down due to gravity. A normal functioning autonomic nervous system is able to constrict your blood vessels to help improve your blood flow and prevent pooling from happening. However, if you have POTS, your nervous system is not able to do this correctly.
Your body’s lack of ability to control the blood flow causes blood to pool in your lower extremities. When you stand, your brain then sends signals to your heart to pump faster in order to try and pull the blood up to the rest of your body. Heart rate spikes, dizziness, and blackouts can happen as a result of this process. So, unfortunately this means that a simple task, such as standing, now becomes a battle.
“A simple task, such as standing, now becomes a battle.”
Is Standing Possible With POTS?
You may be asking yourself if standing is even possible if you have POTS. Trust me, I’ve been there too! However, I could not be more thrilled to be able to now tell you that it IS 100% possible! It just takes a TON of work to make it happen.
Heart rate spikes, blood pooling, and dizziness all work together to create a an intolerance to physical activity. This is because your body has to work twice as hard to compensate for the lack of blood flow. In other words, your heart tells your body you are basically running a marathon the second you stand up. It will not stop doing this until you sit back down.
So, how can you improve your tolerance to physical activity and your ability to stand? Here are 5 simple suggestions you can try!
- Increase your daily salt and water intake (try these salt packets from LMNT!)
- Exercise daily with a physical therapy program, like the Levine Protocol, designed for POTS
- Wear your compression stockings
- Do daily Tilt Training exercises
- Be dedicated to your daily routine (Check out these 5 Simple Tasks That Will Change Your Life)
These five suggestions may sound simple when reading them, but they are very difficult to do if you have POTS. For example, the Levine Protocol is an 8 month intensive physical therapy plan that slowly increases your ability to exercise over time. This daily plan starts on whatever level you can handle physically and then ends with you doing over an hour of cardio. This takes time, sweat, and tears. Trust me, it’s HARD but well worth it!
Plan Ahead and Be Creative!
Also, plan ahead to help you do better in situations where you may have to stand for long periods of time. For example, I never leave home without my water bottle and LMNT packets. A shot of salt goes a long way when you are feeling dizzy!
Always get a shopping cart or electric scooter when you go shopping. You can lean on the cart whenever you need a break from standing and it can also help keep your balance if you get dizzy. If you are in the extreme phase of dealing with POTS, the electric scooters available at stores become your best friend! My youngest daughter actually loved me having to ride these because I would let her drive!
If you are waiting in line, try shifting your weight from side to side or bend and shake your legs as much as possible. Be creative in finding ways to move your legs around to help improve your blood flow and circulation.
Doing things like this may seem silly, but they can help a lot! Trust me, passing out would be WAY more embarrassing than doing a funky leg dance around complete strangers!
Closing Thoughts: Why Standing is Difficult With POTS
In closing, my personal experience of this battle is what forced me to step down from the job that I loved. I was a worship pastor so standing was a crucial component of my job requirements. I honestly thought I would never be able to stand for an entire worship service again. This past year has brought SO many victories, but standing seemed to be the one impossible task that I could not beat.
So, you can imagine my excitement when I was FINALLY able to stand for an entire worship service! This was such a big answer to prayer for me and I am extremely grateful I was able to beat this challenge.
Even the impossible is POSSIBLE With God!
If you are reading this and need some encouragement, please know that ANYTHING is possible with God (Luke 18:27). I have been honest in saying my faith is what has helped me with this battle. I do not discount the doctors, treatments, and therapy programs I’ve had along the way. They are all a vital and necessary part to any recovery!
However, my faith is what has given me the drive needed to continue fighting this daily battle. And trust me, you have to find the drive needed to fight the never-ending, daily battle of chronic illness. I have found strength, peace, hope, love, and joy through my faith in God and that is what has helped me fight each day!
I am SO thankful the victory of standing came while I was at church. To be honest, I have found being at church to be very difficult over this past year. Being there reminded me that I wasn’t able to do the job I love. Also, I hated having to sit down during the worship. Church honestly felt like a slap in the face that reminded me of my disabilities. Conquering this one task that seemed impossible while being at church allowed me to finally STAND and worship God with hands held high and praise Him for all He has done for us! I don’t think it was coincidence that God chose being at church the place He would allow me to reach this milestone!
If you have POTS, don’t give up! Keep trying. Find your drive and press on! Remember, even the impossible is possible with God!