Other Low pulse because of PTSD?

[BlueBerry6999]

Hello there

I'm posting here because after countless medical exams that yielded no results, I'm beginning to think my problem must be of psychological nature.

I've had PTSD for 7 years now. The first couple of years were the worst.
The last two years were really great in comparison, I've been in therapy for almost 4 years now and it's really begun to work. Overall, my life has been really good lately, so I can't quite figure out why these issues are occuring now.

The issues:
I've been going to the gym for 1,5 years now. In the beginning, I did 30 min of cardio (running) without a problem. After a couple of months, I started feeling really cold when doing cardio, then I would get an itch like from blood that isn't flowing properly.
Then sometimes I felt really dizzy after cardio.
The worst thing was last December, when I felt extremely light-headed after doing cardio. Then I had like a circulatory collapse afterwards, with extreme fatigue, light-headedness, numbness in my limbs and mouth, brainfog, and irregular heartbeat. That state remained for 4 days then slowly disappeared.
A week later, I went to the gym again but reduced cardio. Still ended up having the same issues - this time for 7 days and not just 4.
I scheduled a doctor's appointment, but they were really busy and by the time I had the appointment, my symptoms had already disappeared.
They checked my heart, lungs and did lots of blood tests.
I got checked for PTOS as well as thyroid issues (all negative).
The doctor thought I was hyperventilating, but whenever I went back to the gym, I really watched my breathing and I can confirm that I was never hyperventilating.

I then bought a fitness watch and realized that my pulse is way too low (between 47 and 51). I know this can be normal for people who work out a lot, but I do not work out a lot and also when I do cardio, my pulse goes up to 170 bpm, which is an indicator that I'm not in good shape when it comes to cardio. My doctor thought at first that I must have been working out wrongly (whatever that means). Ultimately she decided it must be a psychological issue though.

In january I had a massive depressive episode (I have PCOS and when untreated, it gives me extreme bipolar mood swings).
During that time it happened four times that I stopped breathing at night. It happened twice that I nearly fainted - even though I was sitting down.

I've noticed that whenever I take a break from working out, I feel better.
Lately, I've begun having the circulatory issues even when only doing cardio for 5 minutes.
So now I've basically stopped completely, instead of running I only walk on the treadmill, but it makes me feel stupid, after all I'm young and overall in good shape - I walk my dog three times a day and have no problems when hiking - only when running.

Anyway, I googled reasons for low blood pressure and pulse, and it does in fact say that it can stem from stress or PTSD.

What I don't really understand is why I have these issues now that I feel so well psychologically. Yes, I had this depression in January - but it was due to hormonal reasons which I have figured out since. Since february, my mood has been absolutely great, I've never felt better.
And about stress: Yes, my coworker has been on sick leave and I've been doing his work for 6 months, but I don't feel that stressed. Once in a while I feel stressed, but I've experienced way worse than this earlier in life.

My therapist agrees that my low pulse might be a psychological issue. That basically I might be suppressing my breathing and that my body is in stand-by mode.
And I suppose this in turn might lead to my physical issues when working out.

But what can I do about it? I'm already doing breathing techniques, but they make it worse because most of them are designed to lower your pulse.
When my pulse is below 50 bpm, I get irregular heart beats and dizziness.

Are there any people among you with similar experiences who know how to deal with this?

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Kay21]

In regards to the circulation issues, I recommend looking into self acupressure (pressing and massaging pressure points). Traditional Chinese Medicine has greatly helped me work through some physical Cptsd issues. Unfortunately, medical doctors won’t speak on this (although to my surprise my new PCP was very supportive of finding out I do it). TCM believes all issues are emotional first off and that all physical pain is due to lack of blood flow. There are many books and free online resources on this.
I hope this is helpful and I wish you the best in finding solutions and help through your healing process.

 

[BuildingSelf24]

I kind of experience something similar but with feet swelling and tingling in my leg. There are rare cases of it being psychological and since my test results are normal besides a slight increase in white blood cells, I believe that might be the case for me too.

I’ve noticed there are times where I feel better emotionally but there are things I am suppressing or thought errors that I haven’t challenged yet. Maybe that could be the same for you.

Thanks for this post btw because I never thought the cause of my ongoing issues could be psychological just thought it was some unknown medical condition that would reveal itself eventually.

 

[Charbella]

Have they had you do a stress test? It seems odd that PTSD would cause a low heart beat especially if you aren’t having some sort of flashback with it. Also since it’s exercise related it seems like that would be a health issue. They should put you on a tread mill and hook you up to cardiac monitors and find out what’s going on not just say they can’t find the cause.

 

[BlueBerry6999]

Have they had you do a stress test? It seems odd that PTSD would cause a low heart beat especially if you aren’t having some sort of flashback with it. Also since it’s exercise related it seems like that would be a health issue. They should put you on a tread mill and hook you up to cardiac monitors and find out what’s going on not just say they can’t find the cause.

They actually did a stress test and also an ultrasound of the heart. I have a heart condition called bicuspid aortic valve, and my first assumption was that this must be the cause - but according to the tests (despite the bicuspid valve) my heart works normally and shouldn't be the cause therefore...
I do think it's weird because I also have circulatory issues when taking a hot bath for example. I get nauseous and dizzy afterwards.
And when I sit for a long time, my calves swell up.
But if mental issues cause the low pule, and the low pulse causes the circulatory issues, I suppose that might be the issue?

In regards to the circulation issues, I recommend looking into self acupressure (pressing and massaging pressure points). Traditional Chinese Medicine has greatly helped me work through some physical Cptsd issues. Unfortunately, medical doctors won’t speak on this (although to my surprise my new PCP was very supportive of finding out I do it). TCM believes all issues are emotional first off and that all physical pain is due to lack of blood flow. There are many books and free online resources on this.
I hope this is helpful and I wish you the best in finding solutions and help through your healing process.

Thank you! I will look into it! I was already planning to ask my doctor about TCM, but I didn't know what kind of therapy to look for...

I kind of experience something similar but with feet swelling and tingling in my leg. There are rare cases of it being psychological and since my test results are normal besides a slight increase in white blood cells, I believe that might be the case for me too.

I’ve noticed there are times where I feel better emotionally but there are things I am suppressing or thought errors that I haven’t challenged yet. Maybe that could be the same for you.

Thanks for this post btw because I never thought the cause of my ongoing issues could be psychological just thought it was some unknown medical condition that would reveal itself eventually.

I suppose it could be... I've been doing trauma work lately which caused nightmares at first, but only for a week or so...
I mean, I've always been suppressing things - that's kind of my main problem. I have a dissociating disorder on top of the PTSD, where I dissociate from my emotions most of all.
I should also still be grieving my dad who died two years ago, but I'm really bad at this...

Glad my post could help you too! It's crazy what kind of connection psychological issues and physical symptoms can have... it's also really complicated... especially because doctors are only specified in one thing...

 

[Freddyt]

Anyway, I googled reasons for low blood pressure and pulse, and it does in fact say that it can stem from stress or PTSD.

It can also stem from a host of chronic illnesses.

Some are difficult to spot without the correct testing. I have addisons disease and symptoms you describe without medication. I take meds to get BP up to normal. Unless your doc does some specific tests they won't spot it until it gets bad.

Are there other physiological changes? Skin color, weight loss, etc? I would make an honest assessment and go see your doc.

Even better - get a referral to an Endocrinologist.

 

[arfie]

i gave up on medical doctors way back in the last millennium and never did manage to master even a fashion level of medical dialect, but. . .

i believe my own low blood pressure (dizzy spells, etc) is connected to my being underweight and hyperactive. the forgetting to eat strongly connected to my cptsd. food was not steadily available to me as a child and the family dinner table was stress city. i never did develop a comfort level with food.

when i can manage my psych symptoms far enough to remember to eat and keep my weight up, my physical symptoms improve immeasurably.

 

[brokenpony]

i have read somewhere that PTSD can be linked to low heart rate variability but nothing about low pulse rate. some googling does show a possible connection, interesting.

i can share anecdata that my heart rate (resting at 57ish which is lower side but not terribly so) rarely rises with anxiety. even when i’m in a state of panic/distress or flashback. fitbit often thinks i’m sleeping in therapy. and then sometimes when i’m sleeping at night, my fitbit thinks i’m awake. it is curious!

i have high dissociation so perhaps that is why. i don’t know. i have found it kind of confusing how sometimes i can even feel like my pulse is increasing but the data shows it isn’t.

i do have lowish HRV. it is usually about 15.

 

[BlueBerry6999]

i have read somewhere that PTSD can be linked to low heart rate variability but nothing about low pulse rate. some googling does show a possible connection, interesting.

i can share anecdata that my heart rate (resting at 57ish which is lower side but not terribly so) rarely rises with anxiety. even when i’m in a state of panic/distress or flashback. fitbit often thinks i’m sleeping in therapy. and then sometimes when i’m sleeping at night, my fitbit thinks i’m awake. it is curious!

i have high dissociation so perhaps that is why. i don’t know. i have found it kind of confusing how sometimes i can even feel like my pulse is increasing but the data shows it isn’t.

i do have lowish HRV. it is usually about 15.

Interesting!

I'm in no way an expert, but I would assume that the PTSD causes some people to be in a constant state of "freeze" - which causes the low heart rate...

I scheduled acupuncture therapy now, hoping it'll help.

It's weird that fitbit doesn't think your pulse quickens when you feel like it does... but sometimes I feel like my heart is beating "harder" somehow, maybe not faster necessarily, but like when you feel it beat against your ribs and your face gets all flushed... maybe fitbit doesn't register that?

What's interesting is also that I got pregnant a couple of weeks ago and my pulse immediately went up from around 48 to 56! Sometimes I even have a pulse above 60 when resting. But the dizziness got worse instead of better. I guess my heart is pumping all the blood into the embryo. I even fainted two days ago.
So obviously fitbit now thinks things are normal when they're actually worse ^^

 

[Friday]

What's interesting is also that I got pregnant a couple of weeks ago

Talk to your OBGYN, pronto.

Heartrate, BP, & Blood Volume all change during pregnancy.

Hormones also fluctuate wildly, and hormones don’t just regulate mood, but literally every single function of the body.

Rule out the physiological, before turning to the psychological.

 

[Sideways]

Talk to your OBGYN, pronto.

This.

HR and BP are on the “must watch closely” list with pregnancy, for both mum and bub’s welfare.

 

[BlueBerry6999]

I will absolutely bring it up at my next appointment, which has already been scheduled. Thanks for your concern :)