Symptoms
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Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia is a syndrome. As such, there is a collection of symptoms that distingui**** The symptoms are widespread because the autonomic nervous system plays an extensive role in regulating functions throughout the body. Many of these symptoms, such as low blood pressure,* may present only after prolonged standing. Symptoms will vary from person to person. The following is a list of symptoms reported by patients. When possible, we have included the percentage of patients that research reports have experienced a given symptom.

Symptoms presumed to be related to cerebral hypoperfusion:**

• Lightheadedness  77.6 % (Grubb, 2000)
• Fainting or near fainting 60.5% of patients report near fainting (Grubb, 2000)
• Generalized weakness 50% (Low et al.)

Symptoms presumed to be related to autonomic overactivity include the following:**

• Palpitations 75% (Grubb, 2000)
• Tremulousness 37.5% (Low, Opffer-Gehrking, Textor, Benarroch, Shen, Schondorf, Suarez & Rummans, 1995)
• Shortness of breath 27.6 % (Grubb, 2000)
• Chest discomfort and/or pain 24.3 % (Grubb, 2000)

Sudomotor symptoms include the following:**

• Loss of sweating 5.3 % (Low et al.)
• Excessive sweating 9.2 % (Robertson, 2000)
  Loss of sweating and excessive sweating are more common in patients with elevated norepinephrine levels (Thieben, Sandroni, Sletten, Benrud-Larson, Fealey, Vernino, Lennon, Shen & Low, 2007).

Symptoms that may reflect dysautonomia:**

• Delayed gastric emptying 23.7% of patients report gastrointestinal complaints, including bloating (Grubb et al., 1997)
• Bloating after meals (Grubb et al., 1997)
• Nausea 38.8% (Robertson, 2000)
• Vomiting 8.6% (Thieben et al., 2007)
• Abdominal pain  15.1% (Thieben et al., 2007)
• Diarrhea 17.8% (Jacob & Biaggioni, 1999) (sometimes with alternating constipation)
• Constipation 15.1% (Thieben et al., 2007)
• Bladder dysfunction 9.2% (Thieben et al., 2007) (this may include Polyuria (Jacob & Biaggioni, 1999) (excessive urination)
• Pupillary dysfunction 3.3% (Thieben et al., 2007) Pupillary dysfunction may or may not be responsible for some other reported symptoms, such as: Blurred Vision(Grubb, 2000) and Tunnel vision (Low et al.).

Generalized Complaint symptoms:**

• Fatigue 48% (Grubb, 2000) (which can be disabling) 
• Sleep disorders 31.6% (Low et al.) (can cause unrefreshing sleep and an increased need for sleep)
• Headache/migraine 27.6% (Grubb, 2000)
• Myofascial pain 15.8% (Thieben et al., 2007) (characterized by regional muscle pain accompanied by trigger points)
• Neuropathic pain 3% (Thieben et al., 2007)

Other symptoms reported in research that are not categorized above include:

• Dizziness (Grubb, 2000)
• Tachycardia (Grubb, 2000)
• Exercise intolerance (Grubb, 2000)
• Clamminess (Grubb, 2000)
• Anxiety (Grubb, 2000)
• Flushing (Grubb, 2000)
• Postprandial hypotension (Grubb, 2000) (low blood pressure after meals) 
• Blood pooling in limbs (Grubb, 2000) (can make legs feel heavy and appear mottled and purple in color) 
• Intolerance to heat (Grubb & Karas, 1999)
• Feeling cold all over (Grubb & Karas, 1999)
• Low blood pressure upon standing (Grubb, Kosinski, Boehm & Kip, 1997) (Some physicians feel orthostatic hypotension is a separate entity from POTS)
• Cognitive impairment (Grubb et al., 1997) (may include difficulties with concentration, brain fog, memory and/or word recall)
• Narrowing of upright pulse pressure (Jacob & Biaggioni, 1999)
• Cold hands (Low et al.) (and often feet & nose)
• Hypovolemia (Low et al.) (low blood volume)
• Chills (Low et al.)
• High blood pressure (Low et al.)
• Hyperventilation (Low et al.)
• Numbness or tingling sensations (Low et al.)
• Reduced pulse pressure upon standing (Low et al.)
• Low back pain (Mathias, 2000)
• Aching neck and shoulders (Mathias, 2000)
• Noise sensitivity (Stewart, 2001)
• Light Sensitivity (Stewart, 2001)
• Disequalibrium (Sandroni, Opfer-Gehrking, McPhee & Low, 1999)

The above are symptoms reported by POTS researchers. Other symptoms sometimes reported by POTS patients include:

• Arrhythmias (irregular heart beats)
• Chemical sensitivities (May have multiple chemical sensitivity and can be very sensitive to medications - may only need small doses)
• Easily over-stimulated 
• Feeling full quickly
• Feeling "wired"
• Food allergies/sensitivities (some foods seem to make symptoms worse)
• Hyperreflexia
• Irregular menstrual cycles
• Loss of appetite
• Loss of sex drive
• Muscle aches and/or joint pains
• Swollen nodules/lymph nodes
• Polydipsia (excessive thirst)
• Weight loss or gain
• Feeling detached from surroundings
• Restless leg syndrome