Adventures with blood pressure - low blood pressure

Always had low blood pressure, even in childhood, so I know that if you leap out of bed you'll end up fainting, which is not as glamorous as it sounds (for instance, your elbows hit things on the way down, and you land in a heap).  With PD, this has gotten worse - now there's a BIG drop in BP when I stand.  It's called orthostatic hypotension.

So I added compression thigh-highs at my neuro's suggestion.  Also not glamorous, and a b*tch to put on, but they feel good!  My legs don't feel tired and full of fluid; my ankles haven't expanded.  And I don't feel like I have to faint all the time.  (Now I only feel that when I'm showering and can't wear the hose, for obvious reasons).  I learned that, yes, rubber gloves really do make these easier to put on.  Yes, there are meds for this, but they can result in HIGH blood pressure, so I want to avoid these.

But then came hot weather.  I was feeling really rotten two-thirds of the way through a strenuous exercise session, even though I was drinking plenty of water (and promptly going to the bathroom - like beer, I was only renting the water).  First I thought I was just running short of dopamine, because that happens.  But then I thought that I felt rotten because of hydration, but I was already hydrating, wasn't I? 

The compression stockings get hot when I exercise, hotter when I wear full-length pants/jeans.  So I wear what we used to call "pedal pushers" and now call "capris."   Shorts show the tops of my stockings when I exercise - so attractive - so they're out.

Hydration is critical in hot weather, because you sweat more.  But if I drink even more water, it just goes through me and I'm peeing more than once an hour!  Um, help.  And with exercise comes even more sweat.  So I re-read all the orthostatic hypotension advice, and notice they talk about salt.  I already add extra salt during meals and cooking (which feels weird because we were always avoiding salt when I was a kid.), but what I read mentioned "salt tablets."  Well, what the heck - I'll try that.  So I take a tab with a glass of water when I first get up; I notice that makes walking around before my shower a bit easier - and I don't instantly have to pee as the liquid makes a beeline for my bladder!

I also take a salt tablet every time I drink a glass of liquid, all day.  This is helping.  I'm back to peeing once every hour or two, and I can live with that.  But now I'm peeing a couple of times a night, which interrupts sleep, and I don't need to lose any more sleep.  One of my Rock Steady coaches suggests that I stop taking salt late in the day.  So the last salt tab is right before late afternoon exercise, and none with dinner or later.  After one night's experiment, I only wake up to pee once, so we'll try this again.  I'm hopeful.

Images from Pixabay