Saw a psychiatrist today

[DSM3KIDZ]

Well I finally saw a psychiartist today. She prescribed Zoloft 12.5 mg and to increase each week by 12.5. Till 50mg I'm hoping I don't get all the bad side effects that I had with my few days of Lexapro. Does this one help anyone?

She kinda made me mad because she asked about my illness and I gave her some paperwork from this site. I said it was autonomic dysfunction and she said " well, that's just a general term since they don't know your etiology" Kinda like saying yeah that's just a label because the doctors don't know what's wrong with you. So that part sucked.....it's been awhile since I had to validate myself. Oh well I only need to see her for the meds because she's not a therapist.

She does highly recommend me to see a bio-feed back dude ....but couldn't quite explain what he will do. Do you know anything about this? Or does anyone see one of people.

Dayna

[PattiL]

Hi Dayna,

Although I don't have POTS, my daughter does, so I try to chime in when I might actually know something. My son went to bio-feedback for chronic stomach problems and it seemed quite helpful for him. I was able to sit in on all the appts. with him and basically he was laying down in a recliner and was 'almost' put into a semi-hypnotic state, through deep breathing, thinking about a pleasant place to be, etc. The Dr. said it's to try and calm your entire body and focus on your breathing, relaxing. My son's Dr. was awesome, his name was Dr. Howard Hall at University Hospitals, here's a web-site with some info on biofeedback that he co-wrote, although he is a pediatric Dr., I hope this helps.

Patti

My Webpagewww.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/46/20.cfm

[blackwolf]

i have also learned biofeedback. i learned it originally for migrains i had as a teenager, but use it now to deal with my general pain and sleep issues. i learned it in a pain clinic back when i lived in Iowa.

i was placed in a dark room, in a recliner, with a choice of pictures, or my own imagination. then i was given a choice of music or silence. i was hooked up to a pulse/ox. monitor and was told to try to relax and get the machine to read within a certain area. these days, i work on "point relaxation". i pick certain areas on my body and work on relaxing them and try to keep them relaxed as i work to get my whole body relaxed. reciently, this hasn't helped as much as i would like, but i know that i do get some benifits from it.

best of luck, and i would give it a try, if you can get it payed for.

blackwolf

[DSM3KIDZ]

Thanks for the responses and the website. I guess I'm up for trying anything.

(As long as it's covered through insurance)

Dayna

[michiganjan]

I did biofeedback for a period of several months a few years ago. I was hooked up to monitors and used relaxation to change the reading of the monitors. In my case they measured heart rate (pulse-ox on a finger), hand temperature and skin wetness (monitors on other fingers), and muscle tension (electrode stuck to forehead).

I got pretty good at warming my hands, but couldn't learn to warm my feet. I think it can be done but it is harder than hand warming. I was taught to warm my hands because the hands warm as part of the relaxation process, so if you achieve hand warming, you also achieve the other parts of relaxation.

I worked for quite a few sessions on lowering my heart rate. I never could get it. The whole process is helpful in that it does teach you relaxation techinques.

Michigan Jan

[Radha]

is there any way to do this biofeedback from home? without a professional with you?

radha

[JaneEyre9]

Dayna-- let us know how bio feedback works for you if you try it. I understand your irritation about the doc's reaction to your autonomic disfunction comment. I've had things I've said received the same way.

Thanks for the interesting link, Patti! Wouldn't it be nice if we could get mental control over our heart rate and BP!? Ah well, I'll settle for being able to relax and go to sleep at a decent time.

Kristen

[Ernie]

I did something similar where I was hooked to monitors and I had to learn to relax. I had to pace my breathing and relax my muscles one group after the other. It helped some but I would have needed more sessions to be fully satisfied.

Ernie

[Evie]

Would biofeedback be similar to hyptnotism? (but with monitors)

From reading that page it does sound a little similar.

I found hypnotism has helped me with sleep trouble and has also helped me with some pain management. In hypnotism i have to get my mind to the state where the subcouncious is listening and then i think of the one part in my body that is not in pain... my bodies most comfortable part (it may be my ear lobe or some really random usually insignificant part)... and then I try to transfer that feeling onto a part of my body that may be in pain. I was suprised that it worked. However at the time i was not in a great deal of pain so im not sure how i will go if i break a leg or anything like that heh.

Of course there is more detail to it. I have only just started to learn about it. Just thought it sounded familiar so i would let you know that it has helped me