For Those That Had The Halter Monitor...

[lauralulu]

Did it help you in the path towards obtaining a diagnosis?

This is the first test I am having done with my Cardio (who I've yet to meet).

And, would you recommend that I mention POTS and ask him if he knows about it? My biggest fear really is being tested by someone who could miss the diagnosis. I have, thanks to persephone pointing out the STARS website, discovered that there is a cardio with an interest in POTS who works locally (not the one I'm referred to unfortunately) so if things don't seem to be going well with this one, I can always ask to be referred to the one that knows stuff about POTS. I really want to make sure I get tested for POTS properly because when I've done my 'poor man's tilt table' tests I have consistently had a heart rate increase of 30bpm or more. Plus I have lots of other wacky symptoms that it could explain. I just want to MAKE SURE I am being tested thoroughly and that nothing is missed! So any advice those who've been through this already (especially in the UK) can give, I'd appreciate very much! xx

[Angelika_23]

Well, yes and no.

My holter showed my GP that something was wacky with my HR, so he referred me to a cardiologist. The cardiologist put me on Atenolol for IST, which did not work for me. I ended up in the hospital, and it was there that I was diagnosed with POTS. The doctor who saw me at the hospital just happened to have been to an inservice or something on POTS. How lucky was that?

Angela

[erikainorlando]

Yes. My holter monitor showed a very high heart rate frequently. So much so that they called me back immeditately and told me to go the EP right away...it helped a lot!!! It had been the only test that began to show how bad I felt!

Erika

[jump]

Yes, the Holter Monitor was how I was diagnosed. I had a TTT, but because I didn't faint (even though my hr went from 60 to 140 and they had to stop the test) it was considered negative for POTS (obviously that doctor wasn't a specialist).

The HM test showed that my hr was high doing every day things like brushing my teeth (standing), and very low when I was at rest (45 sleeping, 60 sitting).

Also, it showed a big jump from when I first woke up in the morning to when I stood up and started moving around. Apparently this big morning jump is the "hallmark" of POTS on an HM test, and it allowed my doctors to diagnose me without doubt.

I wouldn't be too afraid to mention POTS to your doc. Simply say that you've been very concerned so you looked up your symptoms on the internet. Bring in a printed list of POTS symptoms and highlight the ones that apply to you. That way, even if your doc decides you don't have POTS, he or she will have a highlighted list of all the things that are interfering with your help, and will be more likely to help you pursue a diagnosis, instead of just sending you on your way.

Good luck!

[lauralulu]

Thanks for the replies everyone; jump- that's really great advice I will do just that!

[poppetkazutaka]

Nope. Because they told me that the issues were just random and a part of life. Nothing serious. I also had a big test coming up and on that day, so I'm pretty sure they wrote it off as stress as a part of that test and didn't retest me with the Holter and reschedule even though I had told them about it before hand. Kinda like everything else I was just waved aside as 'borderline this and that'. Because I never present on monitors.

[Nikki]

Well, I had one done years ago & the family doctor I was seeing at the time said everything was normal, but the papers said abnormal..but she said it wasn't anything major. In October of this year I ended up going to the ER cause my dizziness was so bad and I wasn't eating and they suggested I see my family doctor later that week. (I got a new one since years ago - that one didn't know what she was doing lol). So I did and she just said to wait and see how the tilt table goes (I already had that scheduled). Then I was waiting in the waiting room in her office cause there was a line of people waiting to get blood drawn and I almost passed out waiting. They had to take me back to a room and told me to lay down for a bit and she hooked one up to me then that I had to wear for a day. It did show that things were changing a lot when I wrote down my symptoms were really bad.

I wouldn't really say it helped me get a diagnoses though, because I had probably 3 of them done in the last 8 years..and no one thought anything of it till they already knew I had a tilt table scheduled..

[icesktr189]

i had the halter monitor for about a month.. for me it was more a pain in the butt than a help mainly because when my cardiologist gave me it i already knew i had POTS! by the time i was done with it, he just looked it over for about a minute and told me that it was POTS. i just felt angry because i put so much TIME into it and he just says a couple words. i mean i didnt know what to expect or how to react but i though he would have gone over it or something but o well

but if you DONT know you have POTs then i would def. give it a shot!