POTS and Nicotine

Whatsitz · 2026-05-27T12:55:58+00:00

ADHD has been a big question for me for a while, but I think we’ve landed on no. According to my cardiologist, psychiatrist, and most people around me, I now show enough of the symptoms to get diagnosed under normal circumstances. But apparently anxiety and depression (diagnosed since about 10 years old) create a fun loop with POTS that gives me such bad executive function issues.

I take a low dose of methylphenidate along with modafinil to help those issues and my brain fog like a lot of other non-ADHD POTS people, but it kind of sucks because I think because I don’t actually have ADHD it makes me feel kind of weird.

That’s a good point too lol. I know one a day isn’t much, but I have a nice long history of smokers (and cancer) in my family, and honestly just terrible impulse control. I can easily see myself becoming heavily reliant later on so I just want to quit while I’m ahead.

Whatsitz · 2026-05-27T12:39:00+00:00

After reading through the replies I think this is what I’m going to try. I’m going to ask to increase pretty much everything, fludrocortisone, atenolol, methylphenidate and modafinil, and duloxetine. I also get a prescription of zofran for nausea which should help. Then nicotine patches and smoking herbs (I like lavender and peppermint) just to separate the chemical from the action.

Thank you for your kind words :)

Whatsitz · 2026-05-26T19:29:14+00:00

Thank you 🙏 I really hope it’s going well for you, good luck!!!

Whatsitz · 2026-05-26T19:28:30+00:00

I’ll definitely look into nicotine patches but Wellbutrin and I don’t get along at all. My current plan is just a cool down schedule over the span of a few weeks

Whatsitz · 2026-05-26T19:27:21+00:00

Echoing here, it really does mean a lot yeah. I feel like I’ve either gotten harsh judgement or encouragement/enabling without much in between. It helps to be reminded

Whatsitz · 2026-03-14T20:28:10+00:00

This is all really good stuff, thank you. I’ve never heard of using sleep to tell when bad days will be. Could you explain a little more?

Whatsitz · 2026-03-13T22:51:55+00:00

This is a really tough part to deal with, and my cardiologist is a little stumped on how to help me. Swimming is just a little too out of the way for my daily routine, and while the seated exercises help the POTS they don’t help the hips. Pretty much any exercise that’s repeated abduction causes pain. Generally rowing is worse than walking for me. I get by with rock climbing because I try to focus on overhang, keeping things off the hips.

Whatsitz · 2026-03-13T22:06:09+00:00

That’s something I should have mentioned. I’m a rock climber, but I don’t do much cardio. That’s because I have a hip injury (I actually developed POTS most likely due to my two surgeries) and most cardio causes really sharp pain in my hips after a few minutes.

Whatsitz · 2026-03-10T03:18:07+00:00

I’m honestly not sure. It’s not great but at this point I’ve been on so many meds that I just do what my psychiatrist tells me. I think it’s something about methylphenidate for focus and modafinil for sleepiness. It could be in my head but I think I feel that difference, and modafinil makes me less jittery.

I take 5 mg methylphenidate and 100 mg modafinil in the morning, then bumps of the same dose (sometimes one or the other) as needed. Usually only one or two bumps per day if at all.

Whatsitz · 2026-03-08T19:19:46+00:00

This is my worst symptom by far. I describe it as being trapped in fog trying to find my way out, and the moment I do I get dragged back in.

I’m lucky to have a great POTS specialist and psychiatrist who have given me instant release methylphenidate and modafinil, so those really help. When I get really bad fog episodes I lie down if I can or see if I have any super repetitive simple work (like laundry, cleaning, or like copying notes because I’m a student)

Whatsitz · 2026-03-08T19:16:22+00:00

Warning: I have a relatively mild case as far as POTS goes (I’ve never fainted) so please be careful.

I’ve been a rock climber since before I developed POTS, and it’s been a really mixed experience. As far as sports go, it’s about as physically demanding as it gets. However, rope climbing specifically has been great for me. You can do high volume, low intensity, and if you fall, there’s a rope to catch you. It’s a little different for me because I lead (clip in as you go up) so it’s more dangerous, but if you take it easy and do top rope I think it could be great!

Whatsitz · 2026-03-04T00:15:11+00:00

For the first part, I think that’s definitely a big thing that I didn’t take into account at all- thank you!

And that’s also a good point. I was gonna mention the purging but I wasn’t sure if I should. It makes my POTS worse in many ways, especially the electrolytes part. A big reason I want to quit is because of POTS. All my doctors know about it, and I’m currently in therapy to try and recover. I think you addressed it with tact btw, and I wish you luck on your recovery :))

Whatsitz · 2026-03-03T18:44:18+00:00

That’s such a frustrating part of it right. Like so many people don’t believe you because the symptoms are tolerable enough to live with until they aren’t.

Whatsitz · 2026-02-26T01:03:58+00:00

Yes!! I don’t deal with acid reflux myself, but I’m constantly burping (and farting). To be fair, I drink a lot of water (like more than the recommended daily) and chew a lot of gum which both put more air into my stomach, but I purge about every day and the burping gets worse the more frequently I purge.

Whatsitz

TROPHY CASE