For many residents in St. Augustine and across St. Johns County, the simple act of standing up can feel like a feat of endurance. You might experience a heart that suddenly starts racing, a wave of dizziness that forces you to sit back down, or a strange sense of “heavy” legs after a walk through the Historic District.
If your heart rate skyrockets when you move from a sitting to a standing position, you aren’t just “dehydrated” or “out of shape.” You may be dealing with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a specific and often misunderstood form of Dysautonomia.
What is Dysautonomia and POTS?
Your autonomic nervous system is the “Software” that runs your body’s automatic functions—your heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and temperature regulation. Dysautonomia is a state where this software glitches. It’s like a computer program that can no longer correctly interpret the data coming in from the environment.
POTS is a subset of this dysregulation. Normally, when you stand up, your body automatically constricts your blood vessels and slightly increases your heart rate to ensure your brain gets enough oxygen. In POTS, this coordination fails. Your heart begins to over-compensate for the lack of blood flow, racing at 30 beats per minute (or more) faster than when you were sitting.
The First Coast Connection: Heat, Humidity, and POTS
Living in St. Augustine provides beautiful scenery, but our coastal environment can be a major “Lead Domino” for those with Dysautonomia.
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The Humidity Factor: Florida’s heat and humidity cause blood vessels to dilate (widen). For a POTS patient, this makes it even harder for the body to push blood back up to the brain, worsening dizziness and fatigue.
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The “Toxic Bucket” Spillover: We often find that POTS doesn’t happen in a vacuum. If your system is already under Biological Siege from hidden mold in a humid Florida home or systemic inflammation from food sensitivities, your nervous system loses its resilience. The “software” becomes so overwhelmed by the toxic load that it can no longer manage your heart rate.
Common Signs and Symptoms of POTS:
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Cardiovascular: A racing heart upon standing, palpitations, and chest pain.
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Neurological: “Crushing” brain fog, headaches, and a feeling of being “lightheaded” or faint (Syncope).
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Physical: Extreme fatigue, exercise intolerance, and tremors or shakiness.
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Temperature Sensitivity: Feeling excessively hot or cold, or experiencing “purple” or mottled skin on the legs after standing.
The Foundational Health Approach: Beyond the Beta-Blocker
Standard medicine often approaches POTS by trying to force the heart rate down with medication. At Foundational Health, we take an investigative approach to find out why the software is glitching in the first place.
1. The 500+ Marker Audit (Hardware Fix): We go deep into your biology. We look for the triggers that are irritating your nervous system. Is there an underlying viral “ghost” (Long Covid)? Are hidden mycotoxins or heavy metals “clogging the drain”? We identify the physiological stressors that are filling your “Toxic Bucket.”
2. Resetting the Software (Neurological Anchoring): If your brain is stuck in “Danger Mode,” your autonomic nervous system will stay dysregulated. We utilize Vagal Tone exercises and Limbic Retraining to manually signal safety to the brain. By calming the “Software,” we allow the heart and blood vessels to begin communicating correctly again.
3. Airway & Oxygenation: Oxygen is the most basic fuel for your brain. As a Certified Buteyko Breathing Specialist, I work with you to ensure your respiratory patterns aren’t triggering further autonomic stress. Correcting your “breathing hardware” is a critical step in stabilizing your heart rate.
Ready for Your Breakthrough?
If you’re tired of being told it’s “just anxiety” and you’re ready for a provider in North Florida who understands the complexity of the autonomic nervous system, let’s start the investigation.
Schedule Your 15-Minute Discovery Call Don’t let Dysautonomia keep you on the sidelines of life in St. Augustine. Let’s find your Lead Domino.
Dr. James Roman, DC
Functional Medicine Provider
Author of “The Foundational Breakthrough”
25 Years Clinical Experience
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