Went to Shopping Mall and !BANG!

[guvna2004]

I know i post alot of questions, but i need alot of advice to help me. I went to the shopping mall the other week on my own, befor i went in i was fine btw. I walked around for 5 mins and i started feeling weird, lots of people were there, and it felt like they were all looking at me ( they wernt but it felt like it ). My HR Was high, i kept thinking, what if i collapse and die, what if die, oh no i dont want to die, then my head goes into ALERT PANIC mode, and i start looking left ot right really fast, and look for a place with no people, a shop or toilets. I got to a shop and started walking round pretending to look, in reality i was calming down, then my heartbeat skipped an beat and went irregular and i was REALLLLLYYY Scared, so i stoped and coughed, its supposed to create electrodes in the nervouse system to put my HR back to normal , but it never worked. And everytime i enter a shopping mall or a huge super store, this happens, it happens all the time if im on my own. Why does this happen and can i control it?

Love JAMES x

[MomtoGiuliana]

I completely sympathize. I continue to have moderate problems with crowded, noisy places or places with bright artificial lighting. It is somehow over-stimulating to my nervous system, I suppose. Over time this has improved for me--but I still sometimes have weird vision or can feel a bit light-headed. I don't know if you can completely control it. I always make sure I have had a good drink of fluids and extra salt before a shopping expedition--also I used to bring a drink (gatorade-type of drink) with me if I needed it.

[calypso]

I also get spaced out/lightheaded when shopping and in busy places. But I think you need to not freak out about it -- just try as best as you can to relax. Getting nervous just feeds the autonomic system to go even more haywire.

Amy

[dream02]

I'm sorry you had such a hard time. I am not comfortable in really crowed places and it causes increased HR but unless my BP drops I do OK. A couple of weeks ago I was in a grocery store and my BP dropped, my mind went fuzzy and my speech started slurring. I was accused of being drunk. Thank goodness my son was there and got me out of there and back home. I don't know what I would have done had he not been there.

Were you eventually able to gain control? Have you tried breathing exercises. This helps me to gain some control when I'm in pain..perhaps it would help you.

Good luck,

Denise

[Susan Lake]

James,

I really can sympathize with what you were going through. A couple of years ago I was at a mall and started to have that spinning sensation along with loss of breath and chest pains. Before to long I left the mall walked to my car and called my husband to pick me up. While I was waiting I started to vomit and layed on the ground in the parking lot unable to get up. The security officers stoped to help but I told them not to move me. My husband arrived and I went to the ER. All they did at the hospital was to give me IV fluids and valium. Eventually I felt well enough to go home.

With all that said, I avoid the mall and other places with crowds and escalators. It is a shame for many of us that we have had to change our ways of life. Not going to a mall is not a critical problem obviously but I am 35 years old and I am afraid what happened before will happen again.

My heart goes out to you and everyone who deals with the symptoms that go along with POTS and OI> I will pray that one day we can all lead a normal life again.

Susan

[Jersey Girl]

I get dizzy from the overstimulation in any crowded place or any place that is noisy or has bright lights or even if the aisles are too close together in a store. I shop for short periods of time in a small grocery store that isn't usually crowded. I have taken Xanax on occasion and it settles my heart down a little but doesn't take the dizziness away. On occasion I have to run to the bathroom because I am so distressed. I wish I could offer you suggestions that work but this has been an ongoing problem for me. Martha

[yogini]

I have this symptom too in stores and walking on the crowded streets. It has gotten better over time, and you also start to get used to it a little. In the beginning I avoided going places alone. Now I just make sure I have my cell phone with me in case I get scared or need help, along with water and extra beta blockers. It also helps to dress in layers because it can get really warm inside some of those stores, and heat makes everything worse.

And remember that POTS is very uncomfortable, but not a life-threatening condition as far as I know.

[Gena]

James,

I have experienced this a couple of times and I know how scary it can be. I have MVP (mitral valve prolapse) in addition to POTS. POTS and MVP are both associated with an increase in axiety and panic attacks... I don't mean to say that we're crazy or that it's just anxiety, because it's not that simple. There are a lot of physiological/biochemical things going on in our bodies that can contribute to skipped heart beats (which is common with MVP as well) and then leading to anxiety or panic attacks. It may well be that you were just over-stimulated by the lights or crowds, or you didn't have enough fluids and electrolytes that day. Once you've had an incident like this happen, according to the research I've read, it's common to then have "anticipatory panic attacks" whenever you return to the place in which you intially experienced these awful symptoms.

I highly recommend a book called Survival Guide for Mitral Valve Prolapse and Dysautonomia (even if you don't have MVP). It can give you a lot of reassurance and insight into these types of episodes and how to handle them, as well as preventative measures to take.

Hang in there, and know that these skipped beats and racing heart are scary but common among us. They are almost always harmless, especially if you've been given a clean cardiac bill of health!!

[Guest GayleP]

I also have problems in malls and any place that is loud, crowded and brightly lit. I start to feel physically ill. If I do have to go shopping I bring Gatorade, my cell phone and do the best I can. I also find it helpful to go when the mall opens, it's not crowded and less stimulating.

[lalalisa]

I'm with you on this one! I've even had to get down on the ground in the grocery store in order to not pass out!

It's amazing how many of us are bothered by stores and the over-stimulation!

Lisa

[walstib9]

ditto ditto ditto ditto ditto..........ALL my life those "detached from your surroundings/audio "far away" feelings. AWEFUL when upright AND in these places. that has gone on since my childhood. Is worse than ever now as I am having spiritual amd emotional stress. I am GLAD in a weird way to see posts about this finally. People say they don't feel they have cognitive impairment but that's exactly what this is. That is the worse area of POTS for me. I have had zillions oftimes hwere Iknew people could see/feel that I was a wreck. Sometimes I think they can as my/our pupils dialate at these times and we give off a vibration. Feeling on the "outside/not fitting in." See the post I did aboput it on the cog page. It's a long one. Thanks so much for sharing. THIS symptom is by far my worst and most constant. Sitting as well now. Feel free to e-mail me and talk more about it. Surfing the site can be difficult at times cause my computer is old and ancient. Again--THANK YOU!!!

[walstib9]

((GUVNA))) you should post this on the cog page.

Hi Jersey Girl! Are you on Springsteens page as well !!!! (:

[walstib9]

I would do just about anything to find a med that would help THIS symptom. NOTHING helps this one. Florinef did UNTIL I was put in a real real yukky enviro. with a yukky person for a few wks. and.....believe it or not......the stress of that enviro overode the Florinef and it never worked again. NICE ):

[geneva]

Like many others, my brain/nervous system is easily overstimulated. At Mayo one of the ENT I saw said that little things in a mall like patterns in the tile on the floor can trigger vertigo in many patients. Often the overstimulation triggers the flight/fight response which may be the reason for the panic attack.

I don't try to go to movie theaters because of overstimulation and instead of walking through a shopping mall, I only go to one or 2 stores which I can access from the street and don't have to go into the center of the mall. When I do this , I have few problems. Of course, I go at the least busy time of day as well and this helps.

You may find that this problem gets better over time. good luck.

[walstib9]

I had to go to a couple stores today and I SO LOVE IT when numbers on price tags move by themselves round and round! I try to access from the outside as well to get in and out as fast as possible but it's funnee cause the POTS can hold you captive sometimes and make you belive that you can do 1 more store.