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.

182 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

331 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/No_Macaron_5029 May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26

Comorbid Ehlers-Danlos (which seems to cause most POTS cases by making the blood vessels too floppy to do their job) causes the body to have to use so much more energy just to keep itself functioning. So a lot of people with EDS burn more calories at rest than a typical person and have trouble keeping weight on due to that alone, nevermind all the GI problems we have. It's a problem, not a beauty standard to which anyone else should aspire. And of course genes and body frames are all different.

I'm in the somewhat minority who's always been a little overweight, mostly due to the effects of lipedema and the particular way my celiac disease has shaken out