JaneEyre9 Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 So Saturday I was feeling rather POTSy...which is pretty much the norm for me before my period. I had no appetite, but was trying to push the fluids as usual. Around 11pm I started to feel a little better, so I sat up in bed and worked on my computer. At midnight, I decided to try 3mg of Melatonin for the first time, as was recently prescribed by my sleep doctor to treat a circadian rhythm problem (a whole other post). Well, by 12:15am, I started to have a sudden, bad reaction. At first, I thought i was just really sensitive to the supplement and was feeling the effects quickly since my stomach was empty, but my heart was racing and that familiar nausea wave came over me and I knew I was crashing. So my heart rate was sitting in the 120 range (lying flat) and my BP was all over the place for about 2 hours before we finally called 911. The EMT guys came in and asked what POTS was, and there on my bookshelf were the DINET Brochures!!! My mom pulled them out and I tried (in my half conscious state) to conduct a little education about POTS in my bedroom. Well, the lead paramedic impressed me by calling a doctor at the ER and asking specifically what all these symptoms meant and how specifically to deliver the IV fluids that I had asked about.Because I didn't improve with the fluids (HR was around 140 lying flat with my legs up, lots of shaking, flushed face...etc.) they took me to the hopstial. On the trip over I saw the paramedic reading the entire brochure and asking me about the info in it. When the nurse came in to see me, he asked, so what does she have? And the paramedic handed him one of the brochures and said, "this!"Long story short, 3 paramedics, 2 doctors, several nurses and a dispatcher (and a partridge in a pear tree) all learned about POTS early this morning! The word is spreading! As for my trip to the ER, they gave me 3 Liters of IV fluid, got my heart rate down from 140 to 100, and discovered I was running a fever. A fever? I'm still not sure what to make of that POTS episode, but according to the ER discharge papers, I have a nice generic "virus." Gotta love the generic virus diagnosis.It has been one long, long night/morning. But as soon as I was able to type, I had to share about the good response from the brochures. Thank you so much, Michelle, for making them available to us!Has anyone else had a reaction to Melatonin that came close to mine? I read a lot of the older posts and it sounds like such a harmless pill. I'm still left scratching my head! It seemed like more than mere coincidence.Kristen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzygirl Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Kristen..WOW!! while I have no pointers on melatonin.. I do hope that you are feeling better this afternoon. then you were about 12 hours ago!!.. gota love those "viruses" that we apparently just happen to have when ever we got to the ER!! Lol... the whole fever thing.. I think is more of a reaction coming from your body.. pots..uh the ans system controls body temp.. so it makes sense to me that you were tachy and having a reaction to meds that you temp is going to go up.. just b/c our body.. thats how things react...But Kudos on doling out pots brochures!! I know i'm running low on mine.. I hand them out to everybody... pretty handy!hang in there and I hope you are feeling better soon!!oh yes.. and i just realized that you were talking about menstration too.. shoot that will cause a temp as well.. and will also knock your potsy body thru a loop too...feel better!!HUGsLinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Dame Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Kristen,My body temp goes up when I crash too! On my bad days, my temp is around 99-99.5 degrees farenheit, and on my "good" days it's around 97-97.6 degrees. They noted this at Vandy, but didn't have much to say about it other than it was "abnormal" (isn't our "normal" abnormal?).Anyways, I'm so glad you had a good experience at the ER, and that the brochures came in handy. Hopefully you're feeling better now.Hugs, Lauren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurehope Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Kristen,What a night you had! I can't remember my reaction to Melatonin, but I could not take it. I'm so sensitive to everything. Most people can take it. I know.You might never know what caused your crash! Maybe it was the Melatonin. Feel better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJVDK Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Wow, what a night! I am hoping you are feeling better now! I am very thankfull for the brochers too. It was nicw to hear about more health care workers learing about POTS, who knows maybe some day, many will understand what it is like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfish Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 aw man kris...i mean i know the brochures are nice and all but you really didn't have to go and test them out for all of us! you'd better know i'm just giving you a hard time seriously, though, i'm SO sorry about your rotten night. the whole scenario - trying to explain to people even while feeling so crummy - totally seems like what i would have been doing. except that i would have probably been too stubborn to call for help. not that i'm recommending that.....i am glad to hear though that you were treated decently and that people were open & willing to listen & learnd. sorry you had to test them out but glad they came through for you...re: the melatonin of course there's no way to no for certain, but obviously you can't help but wonder given the time proximity. i'm not sure how much i posted in the midst of it but i "think" that melatonin didn't sit well with me either. i may have only posted about it in passing as there was a lot going on at the time, but my reaction - if it was one - wasn't nearly as quick or severe as yours. for me it was more gradual in that it almost seemed to build up in my system over the 2 weeks i took it until it knocked me over like a ton of bricks. i can't say for certain that it was the melatonin but i stopped it and was back to my "baseline" of the moment within 3-4 days.hang in there. you know where to find me if you need to vent. melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Hi,I have been taking Melatonin for about 15 years and I have no side effects. Everybody reacts differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaneEyre9 Posted March 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Hey gang,Thanks for all the support. I'm still feeling lousy...fighting the fever and exhausted. It's funny, but thinking back on the experience, it really meant a lot to me that the people at the hospital and the paramedics especially took me seriously. I felt sort of infatuated with the lead paramedic for taking such good care of me. It's funny what this illness will do to you...it even changes the qualities that make you most attracted to people...compassion goes a long way with me ;-)Thanks for the feedback about the Melatonin. You're right, I probably never will know for sure, but i think i'll stay away from it; don't want a repeat experience!Kristen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Be Still Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 So . . . I'm exploring this site and on the "What's New?" page there is a link to an article entitled, "Melatonin attenuates the sympathetic nerve responses to orthostatic stress in humans," no less!http://jp.physoc.org/cgi/content/full/551/3/1043 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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