Have You Wondered if POTS Can Cause Pain?

Yes, uncomplicated POTS patients can experience pain. Many POTS patients suffer with an assortment of pains. The most frequent pain recognized is headache. Additionally, more than half of POTS patients endure some kind of abdominal pain and less than half experience chest pains.

POTS-Associated Pains

Headaches

The majority of POTS subjects report having headaches. They take on a variety of forms. Most often the headaches occur during standing and frequently are preceded by dizziness. Headaches may be localized (behind the eyes or back of head), or migraine-like (associated with nausea, dizziness and vomiting). Headaches may occur daily or irregularly. For most the headaches and associated symptoms occur early in the day, for others they are worse as the day progresses. Lying down or going back to bed often relieves most POTS-related headaches.

Chest Pains

Those challenged with a frustrating and poorly treated illness like POTS can suddenly become anxious and stressed-out. Emotional stress sets off involuntary brainstem signals that tighten one’s muscles – all part of the “fight or flight” preparation for battle reaction. This generalized muscle tightening includes tensing of the diaphragms (muscles that move air in and out of the lungs). During normal abdominal breathing the diaphragm muscles (one on each side) contract downward drawing air in to fill the lungs. Tensing (locking the diaphragms in the down position) forces one to utilize the muscles of the rib cage to lift the ribs and draw air into the lungs. Whereas chest breathing is less efficient than diaphragmatic breathing, chest breathing requires faster shallow breathing. This rapid shallow chest breathing is known as hyperventilation. Unlike calm abdominal breathing, rapid chest breathing associated with stress puts strain on the 48 joints of the rib cage resulting in characteristic rib cage pain. The most common chest pain experienced by POTS patients is rib cage pain, localized to the rib cage joints and is associated with tenderness of the effected joints (costochondritis). Whereas many POTS patients are overly stressed, hyperventilation, pain and tenderness of the joints of the rib cage are common. My book POWER over POTS provides Tips for Learning Healthy Breathing and overcoming hyperventilation.

Abdominal Pain

Many POTS patients report experiencing abdominal pain, described as nausea, cramping, bloating and pain. These symptoms occur most frequently with standing and/or following a large meal. With both standing and large meals, a large volume of blood shifts from the chest towards the lower body. How this volume shift disrupts normal intestinal motility (movement of intestinal contents) is unclear. Among some POTS patients, the symptoms can be quite severe and debilitating. Thus, many POTS patients prefer to recline instead of standing and/or avoid eating so as to minimize their abdominal discomfort. If untreated, ultimately avoiding eating can result in weight loss.

Those patients with medical conditions that frequently co-exist with POTS experience pain in additional body organs. Those with POTS and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) are prone to recurrent sprains, dislocations, chronic arthritis and joint pains. Those with POTS and Chiari malformation suffer with neck pain In addition to headaches. Those with POTS and Celiac Artery Compression Syndrome suffer with right-sided upper abdominal pain primarily following a large meal. Those with POTS and Mast Cell Activation Disorder (MCAD) can have painful head, chest, muscles, bones and joints. POWER over POTS describes these conditions in greater detail.

Dr. Scheldon Kress is a specialist in Internal Medicine with over 30 years of clinical experience caring for patients and pioneering behavioral management strategies to help patients make healthy lifestyle changes with respect to weight loss, stress management, diabetes management and smoking cessation. Passionate about helping patients manage difficult to diagnose medical conditions, he became interested in POTS when several family members and friends struggled with the symptoms, proper diagnosis and effective management of POTS.

Observing the challenges of POTS first-hand, he began to provide POTS patients and their families with a better understanding of causes and potential treatments, while at the same time teaching them how to utilize an effective behavioral change program to manage their POTS symptoms. This self-directed program is a must-read for patients and families dealing with POTS to empower them to take back their lives and achieve POWER over POTS.

Five Star Reviews

Extremely helpful and informative

My daughter has been suffering these symptoms for months. She, like many others, has been misdiagnosed with neurological diseases and mental illness. Even with her heart rate being 30 beats different and multitude of symptoms, doctor was still skeptical because of her blood pressure not changing. Doctors are not educated on this syndrome and it’s extremely hard to find one that is. This has brought a lot of stress to our family, however, as her mom, I persevered, held my own and kept on researching. I came across POTS, educated myself and now we know what’s wrong and how to fix it. This book was one of the books to help us get there. Thank you for publishing this extremely helpful information!

- Praha2014, Amazon

I would like to thank Dr. Kress for writing this book and bringing much needed attention to this illness. POTS is something I have struggled with for many years and I appreciate how thorough and descriptive the book is. The first part of the book expertly describes the ins and outs of finding a diagnosis and how to recognize POTS in a patient. The second section of the book is perfect for families trying to navigate the lifestyle changes that a patient and the rest of the family go through in order to make recovery easier. The book covers all the bases for someone who is looking for more information about POTS. I will most definitely be sharing this book with friends and family and continue spreading the word of this most amazing book.

- Mary Beth, Amazon

The Best POTS Book Available!

This book was extremely helpful in helping my family understand and navigate POTS. The medical information is outstanding and the explanations for the behavioral changes necessary to improve POTS symptoms are easy to understand. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about POTS or wants to lessen their POTS symptoms to feel better. It really is a fantastic book and I like that it is written by a medical doctor who really understands how POTS affects every aspect of a patient's life.

- Angelina, Amazon

This book was incredibly helpful in educating me and helping me manage my child's difficult medical condition.

- Karen, Goodreads

Additional Information

I hope you find my book to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. The book is not meant to be used, nor should it be used, to diagnose or treat any medical condition. For diagnosis or treatment of any medical problem, consult your own physician. The publisher and author are not responsible for any specific health needs that may require medical supervision and are not liable for any damages or negative consequences from any treatment, action, application or preparation, to any person reading or following the information in this book. References are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute endorsement of any websites or other sources. Readers should be aware that the websites listed in this book may change. The author is no longer in private practice and not in a position to respond to any medical inquiries.