Article About Pots

[bella27]

Hey all,

I'm a freelance writer for various magazines and I've had POTS for 10 years. I would love to pitch a story on POTS to a newspaper or magazine to raise awareness about this horrendous disorder. I am having trouble coming up with an interesting/commercial angle though. I don't want the article to just be like, "This is what POTS is." I am hoping to do a kind of think piece that focuses on brain fog (which I think is a pretty unique symptom that non-POTs people find fascinating). Let me know if you have any ideas on how I can discuss POTs and brain fog in an interesting meditative way.

Many Thanks,

R

[juliegee]

Maybe focusing on before illness and after illness examples. There's a New York Times (I think) article floating around about a high school student who presented with almost alzheimer symptoms out of the blue- turned out to be POTS. It was pretty interesting.

[bella27]

That is such a good idea! I personally thought I had brain damage before I was diagnosed with POTs because I abruptly went from having an amazingly good memory to barely having a memory at all. I bet there are a lot of cases like this.

Maybe focusing on before illness and after illness examples. There's a New York Times (I think) article floating around about a high school student who presented with almost alzheimer symptoms out of the blue- turned out to be POTS. It was pretty interesting.

[babettess]

And how about adding something about the lack of knowledge among the medical community, the typical treatment of patients prior to diagnosis and the length of time and amount of doctors seen before a patient is diagnosed.

I wish you well with writing this article. Please let the forum know when it is finished and where we can read it. Maybe you could talk with the Dinet moderators and give info on listing this wonderful site as a resource.

Thanks for helping raise awareness!

Babette

[babettess]

And how about adding something about the lack of knowledge among the medical community, the typical treatment of patients prior to diagnosis and the length of time and amount of doctors seen before a patient is diagnosed.

I wish you well with writing this article. Please let the forum know when it is finished and where we can read it. Maybe you could talk with the Dinet moderators and give info on listing this wonderful site as a resource.

Thanks for helping raise awareness!

Babette

[firewatcher]

You could poll a couple dozen docs and ask if they know what POTS is, what the symptoms are and treatments. I'm betting that among GPs and even Cardiologists, there is almost NO awareness of it, if not outright dismissal of it. My doc had never heard of it until I suggested it.

Edited June 9, 2010 by firewatcher

[firewatcher]

You could also include a portion of how we've been "DYS-ed" or mislabled as crazy or malingering, anxiety prone, hypochondriacs, attention seeking, drug seeking, etc.

[toddm1960]

One other point to bring up would be the difference between teenage POTS and adult POTS. The few doctors that have heard about POTS advise no need to worry it will go away on it's own in a couple of years. Much of the research out there in on the teenage group, so it does make it tough on the adults who've been sick many years.

[Guest humanb4monitor]

I actually wrote a really great book about it. Long time now

But didn't follow through. It is ONLY autobiographical in reagrds to my life with POTS. But now I need to extend the bad sleep chapter X 100 and make new stuff about bad docs.

Title is hilarious and captive and each chapter's title is as well. I can be real creative if you need help.

Write a message.

Would love to help.

Often, A catchy title is a question.

Yup. Was taught that in comp. classes in ALL MY TRIES at College

[Guest humanb4monitor]

I have been coming up with great ideas since wed!

Serious. Phone?