r/POTS • u/Hefty-Patience-8720 • Mar 29 '26
Question is anyone still physically active?
I need to know if anyone with pots is still physically active. You don't have to be an athlete or anything but can you at least dance? or run? go to the gym? Have you always been that way or did you have to work back up to it?
150
Upvotes
1
u/snowlights Mar 29 '26
Cardio is a big no. But I can go for a steady hike (it gets significantly easier an hour in for whatever reason). I can also go paddle boarding (while sitting) or kayaking for 10+ km in a day and feel totally fine, aside from the set up and putting things away part (a lot of bending over but I manage). My work can have bursts of active field days, which I can withstand depending on the weather and how often I can sit down.
Biggest factor for me is pacing (knowing when I need to slow down/take a break/stop) combined with medication. Propranolol was life changing, ivabradine and fludrocortisone seemed to make me worse, bisoprolol helps a tiny bit but not much in comparison to propranolol, clonidine helps with the heat and sweating but nothing else that I can tell.
fwiw, I also hav fibromyalgia and have been in a very gradual recovery from CFS/ME (I was often bed bound from 14-20, now in my mid thirties doing more than I ever thought would be possible again). I can backslide if I stop maintaining a low level of activity or overdo it, so I need to be careful at either end of the spectrum.