Question about vasovagal issues

[vep123]

Hey. I’m 23, healthy, 5’10” and 120 lbs. Perfect blood work, super strong—but I can’t seem to stay awake through the day or even get through moderate activity without fast heart rate and exhaustion. I’ve had symptoms for years and years, but was just diagnosed with vasovagal/autonomic dysfunction after a positive tilt test. Apparently, my heart rate drops when my blood pressure does—but at the same time, when I stand up, my heart rate shoots up about 30 bpm immediately and sticks around there for a few minutes before going down. It goes up to about 150 sometimes when I’m just moving around, and forget about exercise. I’ve always loved running but even as a kid would get sick for days if I tried to go more than a lap around the track at a time. It’s getting worse, though, and the last time I tried to exercise I lasted a minute before almost passing out. It’s so bad that I’ve been unable to stand/hold my own weight and have such excruciating headaches that I can’t move an inch. Sometimes I get so disoriented after walking around that I forget things like my phone pass-code, words like "meeting," my birthday...  just for a few minutes, until I rest for a bit. Every day is like a continuous fight against gravity—I’m heavy and dizzy and tired.

So, what is going on?  I don’t totally buy that this is just a problem with low blood pressure or vasovagal dysfunction, since fast heart rate is such a constant problem. This is really messing with my life and I want to know what’s going on so I can work with it. Can anyone shed some light?

Thanks!

[Pistol]

When I started to pass out I had a TTT which showed Neuro-cardiogenic Syncope (NCS) and was told that it is vaso-vagal syncope - or the common faint ( as one cardiologist called it ). However there was nothing common about it. I had to research a long time and fire 5 cardiologists before I got proper treatment and was diagnosed with POTS. Please - do yourself a favor and seek out a physician familiar with POTS. Many cardiologists resist  recognizing or diagnosing POTS, therefore it is essential that you find someone who knows about it!