POTS episodes can often involve palpitations, dizziness, nausea, trembling, shakiness, and sweating.
An episode of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can often involve symptoms such as palpitations, weakness, shakiness, sweating, lightheadedness, and hunger.
See the similarities?
Reactive hypoglycemia is a problem that’s not that unusual in POTS patients. Reactive hypoglycemia is low blood sugar that occurs a few hours after eating a meal. It usually happens within 4 hours after eating.
Coincidentally, many POTS patients struggle with symptoms after meals since all of the blood is pulled towards the gut to aid in digestion.
A possible explanation for this correlation lies in the autonomic nervous system, which plays a key role in regulating blood glucose.
It's normal for blood sugar levels to fluctuate through the day, but in this case, the autonomic nervous system seems to overreact to normal changes in blood sugar levels.
As the blood sugar dips, your body tries to bring it back up by activating a hormonal response which includes a release of adrenaline. Adrenaline tells your liver to make more blood sugar, but it's also the fight-or-flight hormone that triggers palpitations and sweating.
Here are a few tips that might help with reactive hypoglycemia:
Although these are the general recommendations, every person reacts differently, especially in terms of diet. So experiment, try to find your triggers and don't give up.
If you’re looking for more tips about diet and POTS, make sure to watch my 3-day video masterclass on POTS.
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