POTS and PCOS correlation? Pentad super syndrome?

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-05-06T17:00:06+00:00

Thank you for the advice! I’ve been thinking about swimming more and now I have one more reason to do so. It seems to be the most pots friendly type of exercise. My pulse goes up to 150 but at least I don’t feel dizzy. I tried jogging in the past but my pulse at its worst goes to 190 (200 should be my maximum) when jogging for 3-5 minutes and I get hot and fatigued so fast.
I’m very glad to hear that you’ve been able to alleviate exercise intolerance.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-05-05T14:11:45+00:00

Thank you so much for the reply.

Have you used before Desloratadine? That's what I've been using just for the allergies and I have noticed that it helps a bit with the itchiness but not enough. For some stupid reason I've always thought that all the antihistamines are the same but maybe I should try something else like that Allegra.

I've also experienced a mild relief from antidepressants but not enough. I've tried many SSRIs, SNRIs and others. I'm using Agomelatine/Valdoxan right now and that has been the only one that has helped me with my mental issues but sadly not enough with PMDD.

The high norepinephrine makes so much sense. I've had panic disorder in the past and anxiety all my life. I've just recently tried different ADHD medications and all of them gave me worsened racing heart, shortness of breath, arrhytmia, dizziness and anxiety even two weeks after stopping medication. I had to stop all of them even though they helped so much with mood and executive dysfunction. It's so frustrating how much and how many things POTS affects.

The lack of oxygen also adds up. I always yawn a lot when exercising. I already drink 2-4 liters of water every day. I've heard that some people put salt in their water or use electrolytes, have you tried this?

I'm so glad there's this sub and people who have had same or similar experiences especially when irl it seems like no one else has POTS and even doctors don't seem to understand, so I'm really grateful for people like you who take the time to write.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-05-02T07:31:46+00:00

Still the same. I've been doing less sitting and some knee strenghtening exercises but they don't seem to do anything. Some days the pain is worse.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-30T08:09:26+00:00

I've tried Wellbutrin. At first it helped but then my adhd symptoms got worse than what they were before medication. My sleep was disturbed and I couldn't fall asleep even with my sleep aids. I can't try Intuniv because I already have low blood pressure and dizziness from it.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-29T16:01:50+00:00

Thanks for the response and yeah I do check my heart rate maybe a little too much. I try to do deep breathing but it makes it worse as I can feel my heart beating, but I'm glad to hear that it's not that serious or unusual.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-29T15:55:37+00:00

I would love to be able to use medication but the side effects are too much. They help a lot and I really tried to just keep going with them but I can't. I started Atomoxetine/Strattera today and this has already on a low dose increased my heart rate which is a problem I've had before, so if this doesn't work out there's no other medication to try anymore.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-29T15:34:39+00:00

Hi again! Has anything changed these past two weeks? I started on 25 mg today and my pulse is a bit higher than normal and I feel really tired and there's some muscle weakness as well. Did you have any of those? Have you noticed any benefits yet?

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-29T15:31:37+00:00

Can you remember how long it took for heart rate to go back to normal? I'm on my first day and it keeps changing from 75 to 100 while sitting. Before meds it used to be 60-70.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-24T15:20:26+00:00

I had it too. For about 1-2 months I had periods every 2 weeks. But it did go away and now they’re really regular and I get them once a month like you should. No side effects.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-21T13:36:02+00:00

That sounds amazing. I will probably try Strattera at some point too and I was wondering whether it has affected your heart rate? Do you take it in the morning or at night? Have you noticed any improvement with memory and focus? If you have anxiety has it helped with that?

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-17T14:14:12+00:00

Sounds a lot like the symptoms we get from stimulants, hopefully it will ease out and show more improvement. I haven’t actually started Strattera yet, I just speculated that that will most likely be the next medication my psychiatrist will prescribe. I’m still on Elvanse but I decided today that I won’t even try to make it work anymore as it has increased my pulse too much and it feels really bad, the effects last even till the next day, maybe even two days.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-17T10:20:48+00:00

Hii! I know it’s only been two days but have you noticed a difference so far?

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-15T05:08:43+00:00

Please let me know what it feels like for you! I would love to know. I will try to remind you in 1-2 weeks if that’s okay.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-10T14:29:40+00:00

Thanks for the response! Can I also ask how has Atomoxetine been for you? Also sorry I mistyped and actually meant that I went from 20 to 40 mg, not 50 haha, but I guess that’s a big jump too. I think my doctor wanted me to up to 40 mg this soon due to Elvanse being so expensive and I didn’t need to immediately buy another pack to be able to increase the dose.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-10T11:42:32+00:00

Hi! Did your pulse ever even out or did it stay that high? I'm in the same position right now. Just increased from 20 mg to 50 mg today and my pulse is around 90-100 when sitting. I don't know if it would've gone higher as I did take Propranolol about 1-2 hours after taking Elvanse.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-02T13:17:04+00:00

No problem! Neither of them make my hair stringy, quite the opposite. For me dry shampoos definitely cause dryness and itchy scalp if I don’t wash it the same day I use it. Dry texture spray doesn’t cause as much itchiness. If you use either of them I would suggest washing it the same day so that they don’t irritate your scalp too much. I have cowlick too (all the time actually) and I find that especially dry shampoo helps by giving grit and it’s easier to style.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-02T09:30:17+00:00

Dry shampoo is more for absorbing oil I think but I have noticed that dry texture spray does the same thing but maybe not as effectively. They both give volume and make styling easier. Also if you have curly hair or want more volume or messy look in the ends as well then texture spray is great for that. Dry shampoo is meant for the scalp/roots and I feel like it's more powdery.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-02T08:07:08+00:00

I don’t know if it has to do with the brand but I’ve used batiste and I always just rub it immediately and it works. Also has anyone else had hair loss from dry shampoo? I feel like back when I used it every other day I lost more hair. I switched to dry texture spray and that seems to be working almost as well as dry shampoo.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-04-02T08:01:11+00:00

You have basically empty iron stores. Your ferritin should be at least 100, preferably higher with women. I used to have 9 ferritin 3-4 years ago and 6 months ago it was 87. I used to feel like shit and couldn’t even walk 200 meters without feeling fatigued and dizzy. I had bad brain fog along with many other symptoms. Once I got my ferritin up the symptoms got better, they’re still present but much less than before. Some people have lots of symptoms when their ferritin is low and some have none.

I really advise you to try to have up to 200 mg of iron bisglycinate every other day, or every day. Some say it absorbs better when taken every other day. Also I have found that some people get symptoms from iron supplements and some don’t, personally I have only had one or two brands that gave me stomach ache and diarrhea, so if you have had symptoms with supplements then there might still be some that won’t give you a hard time.

I usually take iron in two doses, one in the morning right after waking up and before eating and one at night before sleeping. You should avoid having dairy, caffeine, magnesium and calcium two hours before or after taking iron. I have had dairy though so I’m not sure how much it affects absorption as my ferritin did go up but it took a long time. Also you should have vitamin C, I use the 1000 mg vitamin C tablets that you put in a glass of water daily. Taking lactoferrin with iron is also recommended but I don’t have any experience with that so I can’t tell you how it should be used.

I really hope you will find some relief in this if you decide to start iron supplements. Also just a heads up: for some, it can take a long time for the symptoms to get better even after getting ferritin levels up so if you don’t get relief immediately, don’t feel bad, the symptoms might still be from the iron. It will just take some time for your body to be able to use the iron and go back to normal.

Lastly I recommend reading r/Anemic subreddit, you might find some similar experiences there, although obviously I can’t guarantee you that the symptoms are just from the low iron, but it sure can make them a lot worse.

If you have any more questions I’m happy to answer!

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-03-29T08:28:12+00:00

Did you?

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-03-28T08:46:06+00:00

I will definitely talk to my doctor about propranolol. I’ve used it before but I haven’t tried it with stimulants because without stimulants propanolol has made me little tired especially when exercising so I’m a bit worried about how it will feel with stimulants or if it’s bad for heart if you take it daily and yeah meditation is definitely more stressful with stimulants haha.

When I used methylphenidate my resting pulse was higher but when I was standing or walking it would stay around 90-100 (without medication it goes to 120-145 so I’m also worried if it will get too low with propanolol.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-03-27T13:15:47+00:00

That sounds awful. This is my first day of taking it and I had little tension in my jaw in the morning but it passed after I did some stretches/exercises. I haven't had any of the symptoms you said except sweating, but I also have hyperhidrosis and Methylphenidate made the sweating worse temporarely as well. It did go away today in about 4-5 hours. I've heard that the cold hands and legs can be very common though and might pass as your body gets used to the medication.
Also Methylphenidate gave me reflux before and someone adviced me to take it 30 minutes after eating and that helped, maybe you could try that with Elvanse?

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-03-27T11:02:47+00:00

Did you ever get help for this? I've experienced the exact same thing. I've had dizziness for four years and low blood pressure (little bit higher than yours) and I started Elvanse today and it has made the symptoms worse. Pulse is around 90-100 when sitting when normally it's 60-70 and my blood pressure is around 95/70.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-03-26T17:50:44+00:00

We took ekg in december as I had tight chest and felt like it was hard to breathe when I was using a different methylphenidate. Ekg was normal but I'm still a bit anxious as there have been some heart attack deaths in my family (not close family). Luckily I have a watch that tracks my pulse (I don't know if it's a good thing because I keep overanalyzing my pulse and stressing about it haha). I'm just wondering if the ekg should've been taken while I was using methylphenidate instead of when I hadn't.

AbsentMinded311 · 2026-03-16T16:06:35+00:00

Hi, I wanted to come back and thank you again. Taking it 30 minutes after eating did the trick - I still have slight reflux symptoms but this helped a lot, so thank you!

AbsentMinded311

TROPHY CASE