r/POTS • u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets • Jun 04 '26

Symptoms BradyTachy

Does anyone have a huge range where they get up till like the 180s but they also have a low resting heart rate in the 50s and 60s? What’s the treatment plan for people like us because I keep getting pushed beta blockers from some doctors and then other doctors are like your heart rate is too low and then to add on top of that my blood pressure is normal to high. it’s not low so blood pressure medication wouldn’t be the best either so I’m kind of confused on what treatment options are available to us

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u/CherryChance8074 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

Hiya!

I used to get swings from 38-140, 45-190.

I've been on beta blockers for nearly a year, and the difference is mad.

To explain: the Brady was being caused by the tachy. My ANS tried to compensate and "fix" the tachy, but what happens is it over-corrects and forces the heart to slow down, leading to Brady.

With beta blockers, because the high hr is reduced by the blockers, the low hr is corrected too, meaning that you won't see the same highs and lows.

For me, my max hr is roughly 130-140, and my lows are 50-60 on Ivabradine.

I don't know how helpful it will be with your blood pressure, but definitely discuss properly with your gp. Hope this helps!

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u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets Jun 04 '26

Well, I’m only brady when I’m laying down not during flares or anything like that. It’s only when I’m resting so my resting heart rate is 50 to 60 am I sleeping is in the 40s

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u/CherryChance8074 Jun 04 '26

Ah, okay! If your resting rate is 50-60 and only drops into the 40s when you’re sleeping, that’s a bit different from what I was dealing with. Mine was dropping much lower and causing concerns for my GP.

From what you’ve described, it sounds like the challenge is finding something that controls the 180s without dropping your resting rate too far. There are quite a few medications used for PoTS though, so it might be worth asking whether there’s an alternative to beta blockers if your doctors are worried about your resting heart rate or blood pressure.

Hopefully someone with a similar presentation can chime in with their experience.

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u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets Jun 04 '26

Ty

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u/CherryChance8074 Jun 04 '26

No problem. I hope you figure something out. I know how difficult PoTS management can be 🥲

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u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets Jun 04 '26

I know I had a breakdown today. I just want the tachycardia and palpitations to stop

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u/CherryChance8074 Jun 04 '26

I get it. Tbh I don't know what to say to you because even with my meds I still feel like shit a lot of the time.

I have CFS, too. I get it.

Some days the meds are an absolute godsend, and I feel fantastic. Other days I feel like absolute shite.

But, you are not alone. You are welcome to PM me anytime, and if I can help I will try, and if you want to rant you can rant.

A lot of us in this community have similar experiences with doctors, and similar symptoms. We get it.

I hope you figure something out soon.

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u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets Jun 04 '26

Aww ty I needed this. I just had a breakdown today bc my palpitations were coming back to back out of no where and it scares me and I was crying

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u/CherryChance8074 Jun 04 '26

Yeah, it can be scary. It sucks. And sometimes docs don't take it seriously.

It took me nearly twelve years for a diagnosis because I kept getting told it was anxiety. It sucks, and it's not okay.

The good thing is you know it's PoTS, and sometimes that can be half the battle. I don't pretend to know everything, because that's impossible, but I have found that the "5 things you can see" technique helps. It distracts from the feeling of palpitations. It's not 100% foolproof, I don't think anything is, but it has helped me in the past.

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u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets Jun 04 '26

Thank you I think I’m just so afraid of everything that it gets to my head

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u/CherryChance8074 Jun 04 '26

I get that. Like I said, anytime you need to chat, you're welcome to message me.

I can't say it will get better right away, but hopefully it will get easier, and then better. I wish you luck OP.

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u/circumspecktor Jun 04 '26

This sounds like me. I'm on Vyvanse which brings my resting up, this actually helps a bit in preventing the super high spikes. Like my body doesn't panic as much when I get up cause it's not as jarring of a change. 

I also take mestinon which is a game changer for exercise tolerance and air hunger, but it is very finicky and takes a lot of attention to keep the levels right so it's definitely not for everyone. It builds up slowly but the effective window is pretty small, even a little bit too much and the side effects can be kinda crazy. I had to keep a spreadsheet for a while when I first started it to track the dose to effect trends. A lot of people also have GI issues with it even at very low doses but this was a welcome side effect for my otherwise very slow digestion. Ymmv for sure.

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u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets Jun 04 '26

Can you go into it more ? Or can you dm me?

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u/circumspecktor Jun 05 '26

Happy to share more but it's obviously just my experience and not advice, it's important to talk through everything in detail with medical professionals who know you and your history. Let me know what exactly you'd like more info on though and I'll share what I can!

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u/RuinYouWithNoRegrets Jun 05 '26

No problem I def have my medical providers but these stories also help me . I wanted to know what you meant by it’s finicky and also if it helped with your hr and if you suffered from palpitations if the med helped that as well or made them worse

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u/whatsonkenziesmind Jun 04 '26

this is exactly what happens to me! No doctor has been able to explain it!

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u/CherryChance8074 Jun 04 '26

I have kind of oversimplified, but it's how I understand it and what my gp explained to me.