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Symptoms worse upon walking...why a tilt table test when it's just standing?


Nin

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My symptoms are triggered from walking (just around my house)  I don't go walking outside as I just can't. So how will a tilt table test pick up if I have pots? I know they're looking for your heart rate to rise to 30 and above, but mine is when I start walking not standing on the spot. What I don't understand is when people get up they don't just stand on the spot, they get up and walk. I suppose I'm worried that I will get a false negative when I do get a tilt table test. Also my Resting heart rate is about 57 so it's on the lower side.

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I think it's more a safety thing if someone passes out or were going to fall. 

The way my cardio and neuro test me all the time is lying down, sitting than standing for a few minutes each. They say they could do the table test and potentially make me pass out, but it wouldn't change how I'm treated. Although, I may have to at some point if the diagnoses isn't being accepted in certain places without the TTT. 

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15 hours ago, Nin said:

I suppose I'm worried that I will get a false negative when I do get a tilt table test.

@Nin - according to what I have read a TTT can be both false negative and false positive. It is not the " Golden Standard " that many hope for.  Your tolerance to a TTT can change.  I had 2 TTT's, one I passed out during it and the other was considered "normal" by the performing cardiologist - but a autonomic specialist later said it was clearly positive for POTS.  I agree with @MTRJ75 - the reason for doing the test upright ( and tied to the table ) is most likely safety. 

15 hours ago, Nin said:

What I don't understand is when people get up they don't just stand on the spot, they get up and walk.

 The reason for doing it at all is that orthostasis causes our symptoms b/c the ANS attempts to compensate for being upright and fails to.  In most cases this is triggered when standing up.  This can happen anywhere within the first few minutes after standing up. It is possible that your symptoms start after so many minutes - and by the time you become aware of them you are already walking.  Personally I tolerate walking better than standing but cannot tolerate standing in line, standing at the sink doing dishes etc. Try to compare your HR after standing for  few minutes versus walking a few minutes. 

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Thanks for all your replys!

Is walking usually a big problem for people with pots? The stairs are the worse for me, my heart pounds so fast and I feel like I'm going to drop. This is the hardest thing for me not being able to walk far as I can longer take my children to school as I don't think I will make it to their class. If I push myself I will have a siezure or my legs will just go so weak that I will drop to my knees. 

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@Nin - walking is no fun for me - especially chairs. I used to go for walks all the time. Anything upright that is strenuous tends to set me off. I can exercise laying down without much problem. I do Yin yoga because I can sit or lie down the whole time. 

Some days I can walk without any issue. Other days I want to pass out or puke. I tend to do better when I am cool. Heat and walking don’t mix for me. 

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23 hours ago, Random-Symptom Man said:

@Nin - walking is no fun for me - especially chairs. I used to go for walks all the time. Anything upright that is strenuous tends to set me off. I can exercise laying down without much problem. I do Yin yoga because I can sit or lie down the whole time. 

Some days I can walk without any issue. Other days I want to pass out or puke. I tend to do better when I am cool. Heat and walking don’t mix for me. 

Funny you say that someday you can walk without any issues as today I felt like that and thought why is that. What have I done differently

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12 hours ago, Nin said:

Funny you say that someday you can walk without any issues as today I felt like that and thought why is that. What have I done differently

@Nin - when I asked my doctor about that years ago he said that our symptoms depend on our autonomic tone and that fluctuates in dysautonomia in an unpredictable pattern. Over the years I have found that to be true. 

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