janet26

Actually, I don't think it's orthostatic hypotension at all, because I used to have it once in a while a few years ago and what is happening now is COMPLETELY different. I only saw ONE post on the whole internet that described what I have, and that person didn't get any response, so I'm trying my luck here...
For a few weeks when I stand up I get a feeling of strong pressure in my head (sometimes I'm close to fainting), 2 or 3 seconds after I stood up, it lasts for another 2 or 3 seconds and then all is back to normal. (ETA: The head pressure is not a headache, only the "hanging upside down for too long"-like feeling.) However, it NEVER happens when I stand up after I've been lying down (whether it's because I've been sleeping, or lying down for an hour or lying for a minute, and no matter how quickly or slowly I stand up - it simply never happens). But it ALWAYS happens when I stand up after I've been sitting. (Well, sometimes I can control it when I tighten my leg muscles when standing up, but I still feel for the 2 or 3 seconds that the pressure "wants" to appear, it's just not quite as strong. And when I stand up from lying down there's no sign of the pressure nor any other wrong sensation whatsoever.) And I mean always - whether I've been sitting down for 20 seconds or 2 minutes or 5 hours, and no matter how quickly or slowly I stand up, it will appear just the same. And it's even worse when I've been crouching, even for a few seconds, and then stand up or kneel. Yes, crouching. And it NEVER happens when I bend over. So all the advice for relieving orthostatic hypotension that says "crouch, don't bend over!" and "after lying down sit for a while and then stand up!" are total bull**** in my case, they're the total opposite of my symptoms. (And I know they do work for actual orthostatic hypotension, because I used to have it - but I only used to have it once in a few weeks, not 30 times a day, I had dizziness and black in front of my eyes instead of head pressure and it indeed only happened when I stood up really quickly and it didn't matter from what position I stood up.) It feels like it has nothing to do with the position of my head whatsoever, it's like it has everything to do with the position of my legs before standing up - mostly that if they've been straight, then nothing happens.
Oh, and nothing bad ever happens when I'm already standing, even when I stand for hours.
I've been under extreme chronic stress for the last two years (including family deaths (or near deaths), abuse situations and other serious issues) and I had virtually no emotional rest or relax. Could this weird symptom be stress induced? For example I read that stress can make blood circulation in legs go all wrong, could this be related?
Oh, and my blood pressure is usually normal and has the tenency of being too low, but once when I checked it right after standing up (the head pressure was already gone - it only lasts those 2-3 seconds) it was minimally too high.