HopeSprings Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Kind of a duh question just occurred to me. With all this vasoconstricting, dilating, pooling, red hands, purple feet etc. would a Vascular Dr. maybe know something? Has anyone tried that avenue? Would this be a vascular surgeon or some other specialty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliegee Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 The short answer, NO, or maybe I've had particularly bad luck I've seen several vascular surgeons (in and out of the hospital) as my Reynauds is so severe. None have had any interest in the big picture. They prescribe calcium channel blockers. When I can't tolerate those as they drop my BP too low and set off my MCAD, they wipe their hands of me. From what I've seen, they deal with high blood pressure, blocked arteries, blood clots, etc. Once they rule that out- poof- you're cured Lots of old, heavyset people in the waiting room- no interest in our population. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janiedelite Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 I have seen the best vascular doc at the hospital where I used to work. He checked me out to make sure I didn't have any blockages and then referred me to a neurologist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliegee Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Kind of backs up my impression. They rule out the scary stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubytuesday Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Kind of a duh question just occurred to me. With all this vasoconstricting, dilating, pooling, red hands, purple feet etc. would a Vascular Dr. maybe know something? Has anyone tried that avenue? Would this be a vascular surgeon or some other specialty?I did ask my PCP (Internal Med) to order dopplers of my lower extremeties (same could be done with upper extrems) before I had dx of POTS but was retaining fluid and legs felt like lead weights. She also did an abdominal and pelvic ultrasound and echocardiogram (again with fluid retention even in my face). These are things a vascular surgeon would probably do first line in checking things. I had also had MRI/MRA of brain + neck ordered by hospitalist on behalf of my PCP when I was hospitalized for the chest pain and syncope. So in my view, these are things your PCP should be able to check before going to a vascular physician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
issie Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Saw the best one available at Mayo and he didn't know, or want to address the NO (Nitric Oxide) issues or comment on anything in relationship to POTS. Had some testing done to determine if I had higher levels of bp in legs vs arms and I do - have higher bp in legs and the flow isn't right. But, as far as getting down to the WHY'S not seeming to want to address that question. They just put that I'm hypovolumic and that was the diagnosis. End of story - end of testing - end of review. So, no help there. Although, I really liked the doctor. His testing is good - but it didn't help give any other answers than what is already known. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopeSprings Posted December 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Well, that answers that! LOL. This so seems like their area. Sigh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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