Bicksa Posted January 17, 2019 Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 Hello! I was diagnosed with dysautonomia (we suspect I have POTS but have not yet diagnosed that) in December, and started on Bisoprolol to lower my heart rate. I suffered with symptoms for over seven months, during which time I was unable to work. I just started back to work but I am struggling! I wear compression stocking, eats lots of salt, spend 90-95% of my shift sitting, and make sure I have cooling packs. However, my symptoms (nausea, dizziness, pre-syncope, and overheating) plague me throughout the day. Any tips? I can't work more than once a week for 8 hours. I spend the next 2-4 days battling horrific symptoms and extreme fatigue. Help! Any tips to help survive working? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted January 17, 2019 Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 IV saline helps me a lot. When I went back to work after my last bad relapse, I continued to get IV fluids once a week for a few weeks. Are you able to put your feet up, even though sitting? I know for me, sitting for too long with my feet down on the floor, can trigger symptoms when I am in a relapse. Hopefully your doctor can confirm if you do indeed have POTS as that may be helpful for treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicksa Posted January 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 1 hour ago, MomtoGiuliana said: IV saline helps me a lot. When I went back to work after my last bad relapse, I continued to get IV fluids once a week for a few weeks. Are you able to put your feet up, even though sitting? I know for me, sitting for too long with my feet down on the floor, can trigger symptoms when I am in a relapse. Hopefully your doctor can confirm if you do indeed have POTS as that may be helpful for treatment. Thanks! I'm waiting on my doctor to call to give me some advice/possibly change meds and dosages. Do you do saline infusions at home with home health care or do you have to go to the ER for that? My doctor and I talked about IV saline while I was at home on medical leave, but we felt that since I can drink a lot of fluids, it wasn't necessary. Now, with working again, it might be necessary! I'll try to get my feet up more often if I can. It seems that being on an incline (feet above heart) helps, but I can't really do that where I work. Thanks for the reply! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potsiebarbie Posted January 18, 2019 Report Share Posted January 18, 2019 I don't have any advice, but I have been struggling for a similar amount of time and haven't been able to go back to work. Yet! I'm still holding out hope. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek1987 Posted January 18, 2019 Report Share Posted January 18, 2019 On 1/17/2019 at 2:30 PM, Bicksa said: Hello! I was diagnosed with dysautonomia (we suspect I have POTS but have not yet diagnosed that) in December, and started on Bisoprolol to lower my heart rate. I suffered with symptoms for over seven months, during which time I was unable to work. I just started back to work but I am struggling! I wear compression stocking, eats lots of salt, spend 90-95% of my shift sitting, and make sure I have cooling packs. However, my symptoms (nausea, dizziness, pre-syncope, and overheating) plague me throughout the day. Any tips? I can't work more than once a week for 8 hours. I spend the next 2-4 days battling horrific symptoms and extreme fatigue. Help! Any tips to help survive working? Wouldn't it be more be beneficial to go on disability? I'm out of work and I'm not so sure my PCP really understands how bad off I am. I'm waiting on her to write restrictions for me to continue my short term disability hoping she does the right thing. There's no way I can go back to my job in this condition. My job consists of standing and walking the whole day. I've fainted from sitting and standing. It's been hard for me to accept I might not be able to work anymore. My wife doesn't seem to think I'll be working anymore. Sorry that I don't have any tips. I'm new to this. But hey you aren't alone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted January 18, 2019 Report Share Posted January 18, 2019 Hello @Bicksa - I also get IV fluids for my POTS symptoms. I used to get them as needed for flares and my PCP gave me a standing order for them . I had to go to an infusion center ( in our rural area this was the outpatient surgery center ) or to the ER. They helped but we found that if I get them too fast they were useless, I needed them over 8-24 hours to have lasting relief. But I ended up going so often that I now have a port and get weekly infusions at home with a nurse. The current consensus is to do short term infusions for the immediate relief of POTS or for prevention but discourage long term infusions like in my case. However - my case is so severe that the risks outweigh the benefits ( and I have been very stable on the weekly infusions ). There is an excellent article about this on the main page. first one on the right under study results, about pharmaco therapy for POTS. It has a section on this subject. You can take it to your doctor - it will justify the fluids. And - unfortunately most doctors still believe that we do not need fluids if we can drink. That is nonsense!! Most of us drink like fish but when we are bad that does not help. In my case I have been admitted to the hospital many times in bad shape and left hopping and skipping after IV fluids. I wish you luck and agree with @MomtoGiuliana that IV fluids could be helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily Posted January 18, 2019 Report Share Posted January 18, 2019 It helps me to put my feet up on a high footstool in front of my chair, right away before I start to feel lightheaded. I also noticed a definite difference when I started taking some of my fluids and salt as Pedialyte. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted January 18, 2019 Report Share Posted January 18, 2019 I was able to get IV saline at infusion center at local hospital. It seems to be a standard treatment for POTS in my community now. While I was there I met 2 young women also getting IV saline due to POTS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StayAtHomeMom Posted January 19, 2019 Report Share Posted January 19, 2019 Instead of working a full 8 hour day can you try half days? Honestly working 8 hour days are hard for me. 4-6 hour days are much easier to manage. I may be tired that night but the next day I can do it again. Also make sure you are getting plenty of sleep and try to stay on the same sleep schedule throughout the weekend as well. Congrats on a "quick" diagnosis. Honestly there is no magic cure for POTS. But be patient and flexible. Things get better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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