Posted by Ilene on July 21, 2004, at 20:18:26
In reply to Dirty old TCAs and hypotension » Sad Panda, posted by Racer on July 17, 2004, at 14:07:20
My normal BP is also about 90/60, and I've had problems with low blood pressure, esp. with a TCA and an MAOI. I am actually doing better w/ the BP with the MAOI than I did on the TCA. Lithium brought the diastolic pressure way down.
I self-diagnosed neurally mediated hypotension as a trigger for my chronic fatigue syndrome. It hasn't been formally diagnosed (requires something unpleasant called a tilt table test) but my previous internist, who sees a lot of CFS patients, treated it with Florinef (fludrocortisone), based on my symptoms. What I noticed with the Florinef is that I can take a hot shower without getting light-headed for hours. He also recommended an electrolyte solution called E-lyte. It has no sugar and quite a bit of magnesium.
I've avoided exerting myself since I figured out what was going on. It means I'm out of shape but I spend much less time in bed. Another thing that helped was moving to a cooler climate. Hot humid weather used to do me in. Other tricks--not eating too fast or too much. Coffee sometimes helps and sometimes hurts.
Neither drinking lots of plain water nor increasing my salt intake helped.
I.
poster:Ilene
thread:364763
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040719/msgs/368764.html