POTS patients often say (and many doctors agree) that hot weather can be the worst for POTS symptoms. But for many people, cold temperatures cause an equally aggravating slew of reactions, such as a decrease in circulation, which leads to more blood pooling, pain, etc. Then, when they warm back up, a flushing effect can occur, and that can trigger more reactions. So, other than watching the weather and trying to stay at just the right temperature all the time, what can someone with POTS do to lessen the sensitivity to temperature changes? One big factor is--you guessed it--exercise.
Why exercise? Exercise has been shown to improve one major thing that helps regulate body temperature: blood vessel flexibility. As blood vessels are more flexible, they can respond quicker and keep blood flowing where it should be going at all times, and lessen the effect of pooling which can decrease body temperature on it own simply because the blood (and it's heat) isn't flowing well through the body. Exercise also creates body heat by burning calories, and helps stimulate proper function of an important regulator of the body's temperature--the hypothalamus.
The hypothalamus is like a thermostat. When it senses a rise or fall in body temperature, send the appropriate signal to the body to either cool it down or heat it up (by shivering). When your core temperature goes up, the hypothalamus directs more of your blood flow to the skin and signals the body to start sweating which evaporates water and cools the skin. When your temperature goes down, it tells your skin to create bumps and start shivering to increase heat. And as you exercise, stop, exercise, stop, etc, this trains the body's heating and cooling systems to maintain proper function. This could be pretty helpful for someone with POTS that is sensitive to temperature changes, wouldn't you say?
To be fair, exercise is known to be extremely important for POTS patients, but if you can't stand up or have pain that prevents you from doing, what do you do? Well, like common sense would tell you: you start where you are, do what you can, and gradually increase what you can tolerate. Just moving your limbs for 15 minutes, even while laying down, can help a lot and be a good place to start if that's all you can do. Staying hydrated really helps reduce pain, too.
Many people are more dehydrated than they realize and endure a lot of pain and lack of mobility that they don't have to deal with, if they would just stay hydrated. Sure, drinking half your body weight in ounces of water per day is a great place to start, but don't forget to add some quality carbohydrates (not sugar or white flour products) during the day as these help water get into the muscles and into the cells. If you can stand up and tolerate it, you can start by walking for 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, increasing to your tolerance level up to 20-30 minutes.
Of course, to best figure out the exercise plan that will give you best results for your personal situation, it's best to seek out a world-class POTS clinic where the doctors are specialists in this area. One great POTS treatment center that is becoming known nationwide for solving problems that others can't, is Dysautonomia-MVP Center, LLC in Birmingham, AL. This clinic features two world-class POTS doctors, Dr. Paula Moore and Dr. Susan Phillips. These doctors are not only autonomic disorder specialists, but they also bring internal medicine and other disciplines to the table for the most comprehensive, smart diagnostics and treatment you can get. Wherever you are, if you have POTS, do yourself a favor and call today for an appointment at 205-286-3200. You'll be glad you did.
Dysautonomia-MVP Center, LLC
Accurate Diagnosis & Treatment for Better Results
2470 Rocky Ridge Road Vestavia Hills, Alabama 35243
(205) 286-3200
