samemmycatsmom Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Good Evening,I have been reading this forum for a year now. It has been very helpful and I just wanted to thank all of you. It is comforting to know there are others with the same situation. I was just diagnosed with POTS last month. I developed POTS after childbirth. It presented itself with dizziness and a extra slow heart rate after childbirth.I had a few questions for all of you if you don't mind. Were you an athlete before diagnosis?What was your presenting symptom?Did you develop POTS after childbirth?Do steps make your heart go crazy?Thanks again for your openness. This website has been very comforting this past year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Hi,Welcome aboard,I was an athlete before. I used to teach swimming and dancing.I got POTS and NCS at conception!My symptoms are mainly all those listed on the site.Going upstairs is a trigger for me.I got disabled after taking a vasodilator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanzanite Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 I used to be very active and used to swim competitively. Although I've had POTS all my life (yet in a milder form) it did start getting worse after pregnancy and childbirth but there were other factors that also made it a lot worse, a period of extreme stress, a general anesthetic.I can't so stairs at all (I'm bedbound with it anyway) my heart goes crazy and I get severe breathing difficulties.When it started to get worse I had a variety of symptoms, heart was constantly racing and pounding, I had breathing problems (still do at times) I was constantly in a state of adrenaline surges. I was peeing literally every 2mins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flop Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 I also used to be very athletic, I swam competitively and did a lot of dancing and played hockey.My presenting symptoms was recurrent syncope.My symptoms became severe after a viral infection but I think I had a mild form prior to that.Steps - heart rate of 150 is normal for me after climbing stairs (60/min at rest, 90-120/min standing).Flop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roxie Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Welcome! I was very atheletic before I got sick, I played soccer and softball, and was one of the fastest runners I know. At 10 years old I ran a mile in just under 7minutes! I got sick when I was 12, so no childbirth didn't bring it on, but it started out w/a broken femur bone and a simple virus and within a few days I couldn't stand up. I don't remember the biggest symptom but I was just in a giant fog.Even the simplest movements get my heart going madeline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren78 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Hello and welcome!!Yes, I was very athletic...volleyball, softball, track, soccer, and cheerleading. My presenting symptom was tachycardia and fatigue. I have never had children, so that's not a factor for me. The thought is that mine was brought on by a viral infection. Steps make my heart go crazy for sure, I am 55/bpm at rest, and once going up stairs I am about 160/bpm. Just standing and walking will get me to 90-120/bpm.Glad you have found comfort on this board...everyone here is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Hello, and welcome! I'm glad you joined.Yes, I was an athlete before I got POTS and NCS. I was a year-round competitive swimmer. My presenting symptom: It is hard to just pick one. I'll narrow it down to fatigue, weakness, a fast pulse, difficulty breathing, lightheadedness, and occasional faints.My symptoms first flared when I was 14, but I'm pretty sure I've had it from about the age of 10. So for me it was not due to child birth.Steps are almost impossible for me now. I'm too weak to do them on my own, so my husband has to help lift me up. But we avoid steps if at all possible. But even when I could still walk up stairs by myself they were a huge trigger. I could make it to the top okay, but would have great difficulty breathing (no asthma) and my heart rate would sky rocket.Hope this helps. Again, welcome! Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corina Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 hello samemmycatsmom!i am really glad this site has helped you, so i wanted to welcome you as well. hope all your questions will be answered!i have never been an athlete but i loved different kind of sports. my most favorites were roller skating and tennis. i still love to watch tennis on tv.there are several people around here who developed pots-dysautonomia after or during pregnancy. i think i?ve been having this all my life with good episodes in between. after the last surgery in 2001 it hit me full blown and i slowly got worse. i can?t do the stairs anymore and when going outside i use a wheelchair or my scooter. take care and do feel free to ask all your questions. we are here to help you answer them!take care,corina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Hi samemmycatsmom!Welcome a board. I have not been an athlete but loved dancing for hours with friends, walking a lot, beach-tennis and swimming. I was a basket player of the High School?s Official Team but had to stop it because I was unable to follow my studies at the same time. At the same time, I started having some "strange" reactions while doing gym and my GP recommended to avoid it, though they did not investigate why I was feeling so bad, etc.As Tanzanite, I think I had POTS all my life (in a milder form too). I have never been a strong person and it seems that I have had allergic reactions soon after birth...Furthermore, I started passing out since I have knowledge (when I was 5 or 6 years old) and even though this does not happen now, other symptoms got worse over the time (no idea why). For instance, one day after playing beach-tennis I had a terrible headache, vomits, weakness, etc. The same happened after dancing on Christmas Eve at home with my sister in law... Stairs make me feel really bad. My heart goes crazy, I feel exhausted, with chest discomfort, a racing heart (not so racing now with the Betablocker) and with breathing difficulties. (Not asma).And it takes a lot for me to feel right again.Welcome,Love,Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxine Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 WELCOME! Steps make my heart go crazy, feel like I'm going into heart failure ect.I'm 48 now, but I recall some mild problems after my son was born. Otherwise my health didin't crash badly until late 2000.I have been very active all my life, walked miles, exercised regularly, danced, but I could never run.Struggled with very aerobic activity. I'm a hyper person locked up in this mess of a body. I have other health problems along with POTS as you can see on my signature line.Maxine :0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfish Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 hello!just wanted to add my welcome. sorry of course that you have reason to be here, but glad that you've found the site helpful & that you've now introduced yourself too...many people (myself included, though quite some time ago now) lurk for some time before joining in themselves.POTS is no longer my diagnosis (b/c, amongst other things, my HR no longer compensates when i'm upright) but i was definitely an athlete before my first diagnosis in the "dysautonomia family" so to speak. i continued - intermittently - to be able to be pretty active at times post diagnosis as well as my symptoms weren't constant at first (or rather not enough to keep me from continuing in activity/ athletics at times). competitively i swam, rowed (crew), ran cross country, did triathlons (swimming, biking, running), & played softball. i also coached & taught swimming for years, lifted weights pretty regularly, rollerbladed, etc.my first symptom is a toss up between syncope/ fainting & stomach issues (likely the start of my gastroparesis). the fainting was what brought about my initial diagnosis of NCS but in hindsight unexplained stomach issues & dizziness from years back was thought to then be explained as well.i haven't had any children & don't expect to be able to, but as others have mentioned there are a few others on the forum for whom pregnancy/ childbirth seemed to be a trigger of sorts...either in regard to it bringing on the onset of initial symptoms or else increasing them to a significant degree. you may want to do a search to find some past discussions about this.last but not least, i'm unable to walk up more than about two steps these days, which is actually "good" for me. it's not a heart rate issue for me but rather that i can't be upright long enough to not black out...so essentially a BP issue. the only way i can navigate steps these days is via creatively scooting down & crawling up, but there are times when i can't do that either & when i can it's - at most - once a day & really wipes me out. there were times in the past when steps weren't an issue for me at all, but also times when i could do them with much effort. physiologically they are more cardiovascularly stressful on the body so it's logical that they wear people out more.hope this helps, melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samemmycatsmom Posted July 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Thank you very much. Your openness has been very helpful. You are all in my prayers and I think we should all be hopeful that more and more will be learned about dysautonomia in the future.Thanks again!Marie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardiactec Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Were you an athlete before diagnosis?not necessarily an athlete, but was able to do more/accomplish more without the fatigue factor.What was your presenting symptom?was/is my presenting symptom - worst one - nausea....also shaky limbs with standing too long.......Did you develop POTS after childbirth?I dont have any children, so the answer would be no to this question. lol. Do steps make your heart go crazy?anything makes my heart go crazy. doing steps sends me to about 200 BPM, shakiness, SOB, nausea. horrific.welcome to the forum. hope you find it helpful.-cardiactec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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