Biohacking my HRV: Does Breathwork really do something lol?

[Blazer95]

Hi guys.

I am a big fan of science and a strong enemy of any brain retraining nonsense so this post will not go in any direction like this. I hate the fact that they try to make money from sick people and even recommending to stop medication or to stop trying out medical treatments. I want to make absolutely clear that I am a big fan of evidence based treatment myself and I have profitied from things like minocycline (anti-inflammatory abx) and citalopram (an ssri antidepressant that can lower inflammation) etc etc.

However, because I am such a evidence believer I always tend to abandon "technique" type of stuff kinda ruling them out in my head before even trying them.

Yesterday for no obvious reason I said: Fuck it. I am on medication, I have a pretty good doctor that hates the CDC and "guidelined treatment" just like I do and is pretty pratical and evidence based. SO WHY NOT ADD SOME TECHNIQUE SHIT ON TOP OF MY MEDICINE I thought.

A stupid "breathing exercise" from Indiana University School of Medicine did this to me:

Translation: the HRV value above is the HRV average of the current day and the second value is the HRV during the exercise.

yesterday my day-average hrv was 36ms and it shot up to 81ms during the exercise.
today my day-average hrv is 44ms and it shot up to 47ms during exercise.

this shit actually calms my fucking wired brain and i feel better after it. holy fuck.

this is not a fucking course and this shit is free on youtube:
Belly breathing exercise: Calming the body and mind

 

[wabi-sabi]

Yes, I have found breathwork in yoga and meditation to be helpful and have relied on it for years. The key is that it is not retraining your brain or curing/healing your illness, as you know. It's just helping you to be more calm in the moment and get better rest.

 

[wabi-sabi]

This is the book my yoga studio used.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-breathing-book-donna-farhi/1129619082?ean=9780805042979

 

[hapl808]

These things always seem like they should help me. Just did that one - I like the format, although almost fell asleep sitting in my chair.

Garmin 60 stress, 95 HR at beginning. And 60 stress, 95 HR at end. (Maybe went down to 55, 90.)

 

[wabi-sabi]

although almost fell asleep sitting in my chair.

Good for insomnia?

 

[Blazer95]

These things always seem like they should help me. Just did that one - I like the format, although almost fell asleep sitting in my chair.

Garmin 60 stress, 95 HR at beginning. And 60 stress, 95 HR at end. (Maybe went down to 55, 90.)

its not only about the HR is about the HRV i could imagine?

does garmin track that?

but to be fair you cant go past a personal limit that is caused by inflammation etc.
If I have a flair up i wont go below 80bpm either while i usually have 65bpm after meditation when really not flared.

Physical inflammation is causing phsyical problems, we are no brain-retraining brainfarts that would doubt that

What are you doing for medication to lower your HR if i may ask?

 

[hapl808]

its not only about the HR is about the HRV i could imagine?

does garmin track that?

Stress and Battery are proxies for HRV on the Garmin app. There's no easy calculation and they don't give underlying HRV stats, but it's basically the same thing.

As for interventions - I've tried beta blockers, guanfacine, antihistamines, ketotifen, cromolyn, magnesiums, hawthorn, melatonin, lemon balm, passion flower, theanine, etc. I've only done one beta blocker - might try some other versions. A few other supplements that I can't remember at the moment.

 

[Blazer95]

hm.

here is a very risky option: trying an SSRI.

Serotonine interferes with a lot of stuff in the body, e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, pain, mood, and even the immune system itself.


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2600095/
"It is suggested that the disturbances in central serotonin production and regulation affects the blood pressure and heart rate. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) increase nerve communication and stimulation of the standing vasoconstriction reflex.26,27 This reduces venous blood pooling and increases orthostatic tolerance. This effect is beneficial in controlling the symptoms in patients with POTS. SSRIs have been used in the past for the treatment of neurally mediated hypotension and syncope.16 In symptomatic patients with POTS, the addition of an SSRI or a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (NRI) would be beneficial. An NRI is more beneficial in patients with POTS. Bupropion can be used and gradually titrated upward."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20955776/
"Citalopram reduces endotoxin-induced fatigue"

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165572813001653
"Citalopram suppresses thymocyte cytokine production"


personally speaking, I moved up from a 3/10 to a 5/10 with citalopram. By any means I am not blindly recommedning this, as it is a very harsh medication messing with a lot of stuff in your body and it may:
- worsen elevated HR
- give you cold chilles and dizzyness spells
- decrease immune system function
- cause sarcoid like reactions
- worsen OI
- interfere with a lot of medications that cause long QT-time

But I would carefully and under caution recommend this if you not only have elevated HR but also blood pressure issues like OI. Because for me it actually helped my OI a lot. my standing BP moved from 100/70 to 120/70 wich is pretty insane.

I could stop my betablockers because of this so it might be worth speaking this through with a medical professional and calculating the risks.