Survived tilt table test

[jenwic]

Well, today I finally had the tilt table test I've been dreading for months. I went to Lexington, KY to Central Baptist hospital. My dr. had already said that I didn't have to have the injection of isoprotolol (sp?) after I told him how my heart raced when I had a dental injection. My heart rate was already flying when I got there because I was a nervous wreck, then I started shaking all over (after the major adrenalin surges). They strapped me down and told me I had to be upright for 30 minutes. I asked what if I start feeling really bad and they said I would still need to stay upright unless I passed out.

As soon as they tilted me up my heart rate went up even more. At one point I told the nurse I bet my heart is going at least 145. She told me it was 156. I felt so bad. I was sick at my stomach and I kept trying to talk to the nurses to take my mnd off the test but I was short of breath. They made me stand the whole 30 minutes and my heart flew just as fast the whole time! My blood pressure varied between 120-130 (the top number) the whole test.

Did the rest of your heart rates stay up high the whole time or go up and down?

They did not take any blood tests for catechlomine (sp?) levels or anything else. When I asked if they thought I had POTS the nurses said "What's POTS?" I couldn't believe it! They told me they do 1-3 tilt tables every day and they had never heard of POTS. So I showed them some of the articles I got off the internet. I thought I'd better educate them

Oh, and they ran my husband out of the room. He was only allowed in there during the description of the test. I don't know if they thought he'd make them take me off the table or what.

I'm so glad it's over. I just hope my dr. knows enough to interpret it correctly.

[morgan617]

They don't want anyone in the room, because they want it very quiet and undisturbed. Why did she think they were doing a tilt test??????? That's incredible to me. I'm glad you survived it.

I'm taking it you did not have syncope. Don't be surprised if they say it was negative. But not passing out doesn't mean negative. hopefully your doctor will know more than the nurse and techs doing the test!!! morgan

[Sophia3]

Didn't they have you lie flat and quiet for a long time before you were upright?

That way, your HR may start out lower.

Then when they tilted me (in my case) my HR rose 55 beats in about 45 seconds...less than a minute it jumped. Then stayed there and up and down a bit.

My BP changed but never plunged. BUt I WAS SYMPTOMATIC and ill, hot, nauseated, sweatym I rarely sweat now, I felt stressed. The idiot attending doc said it was INCONCLUSIVE ...I needed a coke to recover and then my friend drove me home. I was despondent and depessed by the cavalier attitude of the doc.

THEN I saw my then REAL CARDIO who said the tests confirmed my endocrinologists suspcions of Autonomic dysfunction...aka POTS. So INTERPRETATION of the test is everything. Nobody called mine POTs though I knew it was, until I saw Grubb. He said w/o question POTS.

So I am sorry you had a bad time and no real answers.

NOBODY should EVER be in the room except the techs..the lights should be dim and no music...my techs and doc chatted softly...when I tried to talk to complain, they told me not to talk as it AFFECTS the test results.

Anyway, get a COPY of the test and see for yourself what it says! Get the entire printout..it is easy to read.

Good luck.

[jenwic]

No, they did not make me lie quietly first. They just laid me down, strapped me in, put the i.v. in, put the heart monitor on, and then tipped me up. I just felt like they didn't know what they're doing.

My cardiologist (rhythm specialist) gave me a prescription for atenelol before I even had the test, but told me not to start taking it until after the tests. I thought, what if the test results make you decide I should have a different medicine?

So I don't know if I should try the beta blocker or wait to see if he calls. They didn't set up my next appt. until May 12.

[Poohbear]

It is probably a good idea to go ahead and start on the med your Dr. gave you since your TTT is over. It would still be one of the first meds of choice most Dr's try regardless of if your BP dropped or not. The med will help with your tachy if you can adjust to any side effects.

As for the TTT it sounds like they did not do it right. You are supposed to lie flat, still and quiet for 30 minutes prior to being tilted up.

[Lulu]

I agree w/Poohbear....it's probably a good idea to start taking that med. it also sounds like they didn't do it right.

the second tilt i ever had done was "inconclusive"--and i wonder why? the tech jammed her shoe in my shin during the upright part and kept telling me "Don't pass out! Don't pass out!" Like they had a betting pool to see how many pts they could keep upright that day. ARRGH! It was awful because i was nauseated and feeling awful and couldn't pass out from them torturing me after tilting me up.

you might have to get another tilt done. but at least you know what it's about now. glad you survived it and i hope your doc is able to make some sense out of your results.

keep us posted!

Peace and light,

Lulu

[laila]

I also survived a test yesterday. It was done in the cath lab at Prince Georges County Hospital and my doctor was right there. The nurses were nice, had me lay flat for the 30 minutes, etc. Doctor was right there taking pulses and pressures along with the machines, and nurses. He actually yelled at the poor nurses and techs(outside the curtain) to be quiet as it was not in a dark room. I am normally on anxiety meds, but was told not to take any that am. I guess i had enough in my systom or I would have been shaking. He uses sub lingual nitro glycerin instead of that other stuff,.... I noticed a slight pounding of heart and yucky feeling but no major episode. Oh, first they tilted me to 30 degrees and I did feel hot, the nurse was like, well you don't feel hot, I said well I feel hot inside, then the doc walks in and I told him. After the test he said I have "POTS" his words! He wants me to try midodrine though, and Im afraid to. Hopefully when your doc looks at your results, he can make a decision. My blood pressure got low and pulse wasn't as high as it is usually in the am but I am going to ask for a printout next week, I can't remember. They let me lay there for a while and gave me food too! I think I would feel more comfortable trying the beta blockers, they are good for anxiety too. Good luck and sorry it wasn't a better testing situation.

[Dizzy Dame]

I'm glad you survived the test (and didn't faint or throw up). I actually threw up in my test at Vandy. Poor Bonnie had to hold a bucket up to my face because I wan't allowed to stop the test

From the sound of it, you have POTS, but don't be suprised if they say the test was negative. My first TTT, my HR went up to 210 and they still said it was negative.

I'm glad it's over for you, and hopefully you'll get a diagnosis and treatment soon

[Clairefmartin]

I have a TTT coming up on Friday....and I just requested the report from my first one taken almost 4 years ago, which came out negative, but after reading all this I want to see it myself and take it to the Dr at UVA.

Sorry you had to go through all that - it really sounds like they did it wrong, mine was in a dark white room that was very quiet.

Good luck!

[DSM3KIDZ]

I'm glad to hear that you survived your test. My hr went up high and then leveled out and then went up real high toward the end of the test again.

I would also start the meds. Let us know how it goes and what the doctor says your results are.

Now you can relax since the test is over.

dayna

[jenwic]

I forgot to add that when they put the table down my heart rate went down to 104 very quickly and then continued to drop.

[MightyMouse]

The correct way to perform the test is to have the patient lying flat and quiet, with the staff in the room remaining quiet as well. This is to get a stable baseline--it doesn't always need to be a half hour--I was only kept flat for about 5 minutes, with the baseline bp/hr staying in a close range for 3 or 4 minutes before they put me up to 70 degrees.

Also, it's usual for them to ask the patient not to talk at all during the test. I was not permitted to speak during my test except in an emergency to tell them I was going to lose consciousness.

Nina

[Lukkychrm42]

You weren't allowed to talk at all, Nina? Yikes! In my two TTTs they have told me to tell them what symptoms I start to get when I get them... This last one I talked a little bit to pass the time until I was yucky enough to be put back down ) She also said I wasn't supposed to move, but this one wasn't to diagnose me so I think she was a little less strict.

That's crazy to think that they do 1-3 TTTs a day and the nurse didn't know what POTS was!

My goodness, Lauren, I can't believe they didn't put you down when you started vomiting- oh well, all in the name of research I suppose. If your HR went up to 210 and they didn't dx you with POTS does that mean they didn't think you could have it if you didn't pass out, or that they were looking for something besides POTS?

In my first tilt while on the Toprol, my HR went up pretty slowly, but eventually went up over 50bpm... Now without meds, it's immediate and usually doubles, or sometimes triples... stoopid blood vessels. (and BP went from 115/70 to 160/120ish to 55/33... so sometimes we do crazy stuff!)

I think it's pretty normal to be really nervous for diagnostic tests and have a higher than usual resting HR at the beginning. It's annoying sometimes if we're afraid that our bodies won't 'perform' like they usually do unsurveilled, but sometimes when we're nervous, the stress exacerbates symptoms into what they'd be like on a worse day, so that can be helpful.

I hope the meds help, and good luck!

[Lulu]

i threw up too at my first TTT. and passed straight out, just like lightning. the first one they did right, i guess....i didn't talk and it was quiet. too bad those results got lost and i had to take the other one with the evil pointy-toed tech!

glad to learn i'm not the only one who threw up. i was so embarrassed. they didn't even have time to get me an emesis basin. gross!