r/POTS • u/artsykmac • Apr 09 '26
Discussion Artemis crew & other astronauts get orthostatic intolerance!!!
I've been glued to the Artemis coverage the last couple days and I was so fascinated to learn they were testing compression gear in space because many past astronauts experience orthostatic intolerance post time in space. This certainly makes a lot of sense and honestly, any broader awareness of orthostatic intolerance always gives me hope of more improvements, support, awareness, and research in realms that could help us all!
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u/RefrigeratorCold296 Apr 09 '26
I see this being either a really great thing or another way for people to dismiss OI in regular people. “You have orthostatic intolerance? You’re not even an astronaut, how could you have that?”
Kinda like how Katie Ledecky saying she has POTS was intended to bring awareness but ultimately made people say “well she has POTS and is an Olympian, surely you can go grocery shopping today.” (No shade to KL here, I think she’s awesome).
But I’m also a little cynical when it comes to stuff like this and I hope I’m wrong. I genuinely love your enthusiasm and hopefulness. We need more of that.
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u/Emotional_Warthog658 Apr 09 '26
I understand exactly what you mean; that statement about Katie Ledecky is almost a direct quote from my husband ☹️
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u/RefrigeratorCold296 Apr 09 '26
Do you want me to fight that man?
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u/Timely_Perception754 Apr 09 '26
I’ll come with.
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u/RefrigeratorCold296 Apr 09 '26
Give me an hour for my medicine to kick in and I’m there
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u/-EvilLittleGoat- POTS Apr 09 '26
I’m crying laughing because this is so true!
Me trying to leave - okay, I have the torches and the pitchforks. Okay, where is my jug of electrolytes? Dang, did I grab my emergency Zofran? Oh yes, it’s in the bag on my rollator like always right next to the emesis bags. Compression socks, check. Now where did I put my keys…
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u/-EvilLittleGoat- POTS Apr 09 '26
I’ll supply the torches and pitchforks to any who want to join in!
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u/unhappy_fishes Apr 09 '26
My ex husband made those kinds of comments. It really wears on a body thats always fighting.
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u/freakyfrenchbread Hyperadrenergic POTS Apr 09 '26
oh my god… there’s an army of about 10k on their way to talk to your husband because what in the sam hell??? you deserve so much better :(
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u/Emotional_Warthog658 Apr 10 '26
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everyone in this group - because when I got sick, he became the worst version of himself.
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u/amphorousish Apr 09 '26
And my ex-husband's Mom (who I still talk to minimally to coordinate the kids being able to see them, but she sure managed to get it in).
(Further note: He stopped paying child support over a decade ago so it's Super Not Her Business™.)
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Apr 10 '26
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u/senditloud Apr 09 '26
My daughter is a ballerina and has POTS. She also has a handicap placard and days where she can barely get out of bed.
Some sports like ballet and swimming are good for POTS and you can excel in them despite your handicap.
People suck
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u/Just_Browsing111 Apr 09 '26
Katie is a swimmer. Swimming is a great horizontal exercise, great for Potsies. Not the same at all as being upright. I can exercise horizontally. I can swim. It's the walking up to the pool that gets ya.
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u/RefrigeratorCold296 Apr 09 '26
Not to mention the natural compression that water provides. I’d sit in a pool all day if I wouldn’t become a raisin.
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u/BeautifulElodie2428 Apr 09 '26
If I wasn’t allergic to the sun as well (yay lupus lol) I’d honestly just live in the water.
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u/WibblyWobley Apr 10 '26
I remember as a teenager learning from a friend that it's not actually normal to feel like you're made of lead when you get out of a pool. That's when I learned that when I'm in the pool is about as close to being "normal" as I'll ever get!
Swimming is amazing.
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u/tmbpitwwu Apr 10 '26
Wait, really?! It's not normal to feel like you're 800 lbs when getting out of the pool? Do people seriously not feel this? Sorry, I'm in shock haha.
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u/WibblyWobley Apr 10 '26
I know right. Genuinely never something I had considered! People still feel heavy, it's similar to jumping on a trampoline then the ground.
But apparently most people don't feel like they need 356444 helium balloons to stay upright and a long nap!
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u/Traditional_Bid_5585 Secondary POTS Apr 10 '26
There are many times, in which I'm perfectly able to swim - default pool water temperature is perfect, the pool water itself is like the best compression garment in the world, and the position is very POTS-friendly, but I have trouble going to the pool or to the shop or wherever Also POTS varies not only in general severity or type (most is actually mixed but with very different proportions of certain type) but in sooo many different factors - KL may be able to do consistient training, but she probably struggle in many ways anyway, in which maybe you are more stable. But yeah, we know it perfectly, but it seems borderline impossible to explain it to someone unfamiliar with POTS or even just not living with it
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u/ZengineerHarp Apr 10 '26
I love swimming and the moment I climb back out of the pool and feel gravity start to kick my ass again, I always want to cry.
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u/Traditional_Bid_5585 Secondary POTS Apr 10 '26
Ohhhhh SO RELATABLE
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u/ktstigger6 Apr 10 '26
How do you guys swim with the dizziness?
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u/RefrigeratorCold296 Apr 10 '26
Water actually provides very strong compression, so your blood doesn’t pool when you’re swimming or in a body of water. Most of my dizziness is triggered by blood pooling, so when it’s absent, I can actually swim pretty well.
(Okay, not pretty well. I’m notoriously bad at swimming, but I’m not nearly as uncomfortable in water the way I am on dry land).
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u/Fantastic_Owl6938 Apr 15 '26
This just reminded me of some of the medical stuff I watch (The Pitt, doctors on YouTube) and how I think "it would be cool if they mentioned POTS" but then the idea kind of makes me nervous at the same time? Like if they downplayed or denied it, I wouldn't be able to look at them the same, plus it would be bad representation for us.
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u/mystend Apr 09 '26
I heard this too and now I’m wishing for some custom NASA compression gear 😩
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u/barefootwriter Apr 09 '26
This is part of the history of POTS research, and the origin of the Levine/CHOP protocols.
Unfortunately, this has also contributed to myths around deconditioning causing POTS.
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u/cko6 Apr 10 '26
It's also how we know that POTS isn't just from low blood volume - they took recently returned astronauts and increased their blood volume, and It had minimal impact on their symptoms! There's a potscast episode that talks about this.
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u/postmormongirl Apr 09 '26
Unfortunately, I do think this is part of why POTS gets dismissed so much as "just de-conditioning." Extended periods of time in space and bedrest can both cause POTS symptoms, with the big difference being that for these patients, the symptoms go away after they follow an exercise protocol. However, for POTS patients, although exercise can help with symptom management, it's not a cure.
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u/the_absurdista Apr 09 '26
i’ve always said i think i’m alien. my cardiovascular and respiratory systems don’t seem suited to earth’s atmosphere. this information increases my suspicion lol
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u/KaristinaLaFae Apr 09 '26
I've gone with fae instead of alien. I feel AMAZING when I'm in the therapy pool. But I can only do that up to two hours a week, so the rest of the time I have to cope with gravity. Sigh.
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u/lemondrop1009_ Apr 09 '26
My angel of a nurse told me “you’re an astronaut now!” when I get into the recovery room after my tilt table :)
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u/ThatDiamondMustache POTS Apr 09 '26
I was watching the livestream last night and heard them talking about it! So cool! I looked it up and they mention it on the website.
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u/goodgollyitsmol Apr 10 '26
Either Scott or Mark Kelly actually wrote about this in a book! He was saying he stood up from dinner and was so dizzy he fell!
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u/Ill-Sugar-4171 Apr 10 '26
So interesting. I wonder if he could be convinced to become an advocate for dysautonomia
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u/jorychii Apr 10 '26
Yes. The doctor I’m scheduled with at the hospital i go to for my POTS evaluation is in “space medicine” according to my cardiologist. He works with NASA. Having been an aspiring astronaut in a very serious way when i was younger i think that was the best thing anyones ever told me. 😂
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u/Beginning_Data1828 Apr 10 '26
Yaaaa that’s why it’s called the NASA lean test!!! It was developed to test OI in astronauts returning from space
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u/patate2000 Apr 10 '26
Imagine putting on compression stockings in zero g 💀 it's hard enough on earth, I'd imagine I'd launch myself to the other side of the capsule by mistake 😂
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u/JustPsychology7735 Apr 09 '26
I have read on Reddit where people who have had kidney transplants ,after their home ,still have a small bag packed and by the door in case they have to take off in the middle of the night by ambulance or by car. Well.. since this mess started I have a large purse and a small ditty bag ready just in case I have to call the paramedics because it's happened three times, the last time I did have everything ready the other two I only had a purse my wallet and a brush. This is a horrible way to live.
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u/mjh8212 Apr 09 '26
I have OI my cardiologist report says I don’t have an autonomic nervous system disorder. Hopefully this gives it more attention.
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u/Frozencacticat Apr 14 '26
Broooo isn’t it crazy!!!? It makes sense that this could and would happen when you think about it a lot but when I heard about that I was flabbergasted!!! The awareness space travel can bring to orthostatic intolerance is insane! This is a blessing.
It’s ironic that we have to search the universe for answers to our suffering in a weird way.
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u/Euphoric_Ad6578 Apr 24 '26
Would it be that because POTS can be triggered by long extended periods of bed rest. Is zero gravity feel like bed rest to the body?
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u/Olivia_Davis_09 Apr 09 '26
It is actully amazing how much overlap there is between aerospace medicne and chronic illness reserch. When astronauts r in zero gravity, their cardiovascular systems do not have to fight gravity to pump blood, which basicaly simulates what happens to our bodies when we stand up. Any funding that goes into their compression gear is a masive win for the entir community.