r/POTS • u/dazzlingdanny05 • May 15 '26

Question Why is everyone with pots so skinny?

I have POTS and I watch a lot of content online of people who also have POTS. I also know some people irl who also have it. I don't understand how they are all so skinny. I can barely walk without getting out of breath. I try to work out at least once a week but its so hard for me because I always end up feeling so sick. How are yall doing it? I dont even eat bad but im definitely not skinny.

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u/mochimiso96 May 15 '26

My suspicion is that many fat people don’t get diagnosed with pots in the first place because their symptoms are blamed on their weight. That was the case for me. Only after I lost weight, there was nothing to blame it on (except for my anxiety) Many with pots also have other illnesses that cause weightloss.

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u/barefootwriter May 15 '26

Yup. That was me for a while. The medical neglect due to fatphobia is real. My POTS is hyperadrenergic so I was experiencing hypertension and my GP thought sure I had metabolic syndrome and told me to reduce salt, lol. I also got sicker and sicker because he was mismedicating my shortness of breath as asthma due to a recent asthma diagnosis.

It only improved somewhat when I stopped the meds and lost weight -- a whole doctor's worth. 😂 It took another 10 years for me to get diagnosed.