Newly Diagnosed With Pots And Hoping Someone Can Assist With Question....

[abnel]

Hi everyone, I was diagnosed with POTS in August this year and was wondering if anyone ever experiences the same symptoms as me.

I almost constantly have a very uncomfortable feeling in my chest, like a gorilla has my chest in a vice and is squeezing as hard as it can, making it difficult to breathe.

Recently I had to move offices where I work and I noticed that constant repetitive bending and lifting heavy arch lever files made my symptoms much worse, such that my chest felt like there was a heavy ball of lead in the centre, weighing me into the earth. Consequently I had a major relapse in my symptoms that seemed to last for 3 weeks, with little or no improvement.

Does anyone ever experience these symptoms? I would love to know if this is "normal" for POTS sufferers, although "normal" could never be a word used to described what we all go through!!

Thanks for any help or advice you can give!!!

[Guest tearose]

Welcome newbie!

I hope you find many helpful suggestions here to help you manage better.

You must learn how to "read" and understand what is happening in your body and then work to figure out a treatment plan.

With constant chest pain as you describe I suggest you go to the doctor...soon.

A gorilla on your chest in not the norm in my opinion.

[Sarah4444]

Hi there - I won't be much help because I have just been diagnosed too and am still trying to figure this all out, but chest discomfort has been a big problem for me. At it's worst I had severe and worrisome chest pain, but generally I just have a really uncomfortable feeling in my chest and lower neck. I love your descriptors and find myself using similar strange images. I feel like mine is more like having a hard ball the size of a grapefruit stuck in my esophagus. I feel worst when I try to lie flat on my back. The feeling of being sucked into the earth has gotten a bit better for me since I started treatment. This is all so strange and frustrating - I hope you get some help soon.

[janiedelite]

I agree with Tearose that a serious symptom like chest pain should be checked out by your doctor. I've had varying degrees of chest pain with my POTS as well and have been helped by low dose carvedilol/coreg.

[abnel]

Thanks so much for all of your tips. Glad to hear I am not the only one as sometimes I feel so alone. My doctors have asked me to take salt tablets first before trying any meds and so far the salt has helped a bit with the fatigue and dizziness, but not greatly with the chest pressure. If this doesn't improve I will take your advice and raise it with my doctor next time I see him.

Sincerely, Lotusflower