It’s Common Knowledge That:
Living with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) can feel like an uphill battle. From sudden dizziness and rapid heart rate to chronic fatigue and brain fog, the symptoms can leave you feeling drained and out of control. For those who experience it, POTS isn’t just a condition; it’s a daily challenge that can disrupt work, relationships, and even the simplest tasks like standing up.
But there’s good news. While conventional medicine often focuses on managing symptoms, integrative health offers a holistic approach to address the root causes and help the body regain balance. In this article, we’ll explore how integrative health strategies can provide relief, improve quality of life, and empower you to stand strong against POTS. (Note: if you prefer podcasts over blogs, click here to tune in.)
What is POTS? A Quick Overview
POTS is a form of dysautonomia, meaning it impacts the autonomic nervous system—the system responsible for regulating involuntary functions like:
heart rate
blood pressure
and digestion
One of the key features of POTS is the body’s inability to properly regulate blood flow when changing positions. This leads to an abnormal increase in heart rate when standing, often accompanied by lightheadedness, fainting, and other symptoms like:
Fatigue
chest pain
and difficulty concentrating
While POTS can be triggered by various factors such as viral infections, trauma, or hormonal changes, many individuals struggle to find effective solutions through conventional treatments alone. Beta-blockers, increased salt intake, and compression stockings are often prescribed, but they don’t always address the underlying causes and can often cause symptoms to become worse.
Integrative Health: A Root Cause Approach
Integrative health is about looking beyond symptoms and digging deep into what’s driving the imbalance in your body. It combines conventional treatments with proven holistic approaches, focusing on nutrition, stress reduction, detoxification, and other slight lifestyle modifications.
Here’s how the integrative health process can help rebalance your body and alleviate POTS symptoms using our 5 R’s approach:
1. Reveal: Uncovering Deficiencies and Toxicities
The first step in integrative health is to reveal what’s out of balance. With POTS, many individuals experience deficiencies in key minerals like magnesium, sodium, and potassium, which play a crucial role in maintaining healthy circulation and nervous system function. On top of that, hormone imbalances—particularly stress hormones like cortisol—can exacerbate the condition.
At-home functional health tests, such as the Minerals and Metals (HTMA) test or saliva hormone tests, can provide a clear picture of your body’s nutrient levels and hormone balance. This data allows us to pinpoint exactly where the imbalances lie, rather than guessing.
2. Remove: Clearing Out What’s Holding You Back
Once we’ve identified the imbalances, the next step is to remove what’s harming the body. In the case of POTS, this could involve reducing inflammation, detoxifying heavy metals, or addressing chronic infections that are putting undue stress on the autonomic nervous system.
Proper detoxification is key here. A comprehensive detox protocol, like a 7-day or 21-day functional medicine detox, supports the liver’s ability to eliminate toxins effectively. This helps clear the path for better cellular function and overall healing.
3. Replace: Replenishing Nutrients
Next, we replace the deficiencies. Targeted supplementation with minerals like magnesium, sodium, and potassium can significantly improve blood volume regulation and alleviate some of the common symptoms associated with POTS, such as dizziness and fatigue.
Proper filtered hydration is another critical factor. Many individuals with POTS are advised to increase their water intake, but hydration alone isn’t enough. Adding electrolytes to your water helps ensure that your body can absorb and retain the fluids it needs to function properly.
4. Rebalance: Calming the Nervous System
One of the most powerful elements of integrative health is its ability to rebalance the body’s systems—especially the autonomic nervous system, which is directly impacted by POTS. Stress management plays a crucial role in this step. Practices like meditation, breathwork, Tai Chi, or Qigong can help calm the sympathetic nervous system (the body’s “fight or flight” response) and activate the parasympathetic system (the body’s “rest and digest” mode).
These practices are more than just relaxation techniques; they’ve been shown to directly affect the vagus nerve, which controls many autonomic functions and plays a significant role in conditions like POTS.
5. Retain: Sustaining Long-Term Balance
Finally, we want to retain the progress made. This step focuses on long-term lifestyle changes that support continued health and prevent POTS flare-ups. This might involve optimizing your sleep, continuing with balanced nutrition, incorporating daily movement, and staying mindful of stress levels.
You might be thinking that building new habits and routines takes time, and you’re right - however, integrative health along with clinical hypnosis has been shown to drastically reduce that time and provide relief. Our clients all agree that the payoff is well worth it—disappearing symptoms, more energy, and a renewed sense of control over your body, mind and life.
Real-Life Impact: Success Stories from Integrative Health
I’ve had the privilege of working with individuals who’ve been struggling with POTS for years, and I’ve seen first-hand the transformation that can happen when we take a root cause approach.
One client, who had been suffering from chronic fatigue, dizziness, and heart palpitations, found relief after beginning a targeted detoxification and rebalancing program. Within months, her symptoms had reduced significantly, and she was able to resume her daily activities without the constant fear of fainting or overwhelming fatigue. What made the difference? Addressing the underlying deficiencies and toxicities that were triggering her POTS symptoms.
Taking Action: What You Can Do Today
If you or someone you love is living with POTS, it can feel overwhelming to figure out where to start. But the steps toward rebalancing your body are simpler than you might think. Here are a few practical tips to get started today:
Prioritize Hydration:
Stay hydrated with electrolyte-rich fluids. Proper hydration helps support blood circulation and can reduce dizziness and fatigue.Test for Deficiencies:
Don’t guess what’s going on in your body—test it. At Love Energy Wellness, we offer at-home health tests that can help reveal any nutrient deficiencies or hormone imbalances contributing to POTS.Incorporate Mindful Movement:
Practices like yoga, Tai Chi, or even simple breathwork exercises can help reduce stress and calm the nervous system.Reach Out for Support:
Managing POTS can be complex, and you don’t have to do it alone. Working with an integrative health practitioner at Love Energy Wellness can provide you with the personalized guidance you need to find lasting relief.
Bringing it all Together for You: Standing Strong Against POTS
POTS may be challenging, but with the right integrative health approach, it’s possible to regain control over your body and improve your quality of life. By addressing the root causes of the imbalance— through the balance of nutrition, detoxification, stress reduction and more—you can support your body’s natural healing process and take steps toward a brighter, healthier future.
If you’re ready to explore how integrative health can help with POTS, schedule a free consultation with me at Love Energy Wellness. Together, we’ll create a personalized wellness plan to get you standing strong again.
Jeffrey Mort is a certified Integrative Health Practitioner (IHP) Level 1 & 2, a certified High Performance Health Coach, a National Guild certified Consulting Hypnotist, and the host of the "Breaking Boundaries for Entrepreneurs" podcast. Neither the podcast or this blog claim to provide any medical advice, medical diagnosis, medical treatment plans or medical cures.
Jeffrey specializes in helping female entrepreneurs reclaim their energy in the healthiest way possible so they can better serve their clients, their families, and themselves. You can learn more about him, Integrative Health and schedule your complimentary consultation atloveenergywellness.com.
