preacherswife Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 My name is Valerie. I'm 27 and was diagnosed with POTS in March of 2006, but I know I had it long before my diagnosis. I have taken Metoprolol since my diagnosis (with a brief break to have a baby). The beta-blocker has significantly improved my quality of life.I decided to register with the forum because yet another person asked me today, "POTS? What? Huh?" I just thought it would be nice to mention it to some people who know what I'm talking about. In addition, if any of you ladies have ever heard of or had a condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum, I had that while I was pregnant with both of my boys. I love to talk to anyone who knows anything about HG.Thanks for letting me come play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Burschman Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Welcome aboard! I'm glad you found a drug that helps you! And you're right, it's really nice to meet others who understand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Welcome! Glad you found us. I didn't have HG but I had POTS-related problems throughout my one pregnancy.Katherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flop Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Hi Valerie,welcome to the forum and DINET. If you want to chat to people who understand POTS and other forms of dysautonomia then you have found the right place! We're a mix bunch but all very friendly. When people have questions there is usually someone on the forum who knows the answer or is searching on the same topic. As for just chatting and being there for support, we're pretty good at that too, if I do say so myself!!!Flop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaJoy Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Hi, Valerie, and welcome. I'm glad you've come to join us, even if it is because of POTS. Flop said it all--it's a great group here. You'll get loads of all kinds of information, support and hugs. It's an awesome place to be when you're down. (People here don't really let you be down for too long, so be warned. )Take care and feel free to ask questions. We have sooo many informed people here, it's wonderful.Lindajoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryfw Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Welcome! I assume from your forum name that you are a ministers wife and I am too. I joined about a month ago when I was diagnosed with NCS and I know I have had it for years too. This is a great positive, supportive and informative place. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM3KIDZ Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Welcome and I'm glad you have found a med that helps so much. It's like a family here so feel free to ask any questions or vent we'll always be here for you.Dayna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Welcome, Valerie! I'm glad you have decided to join this bunch! I hope find the forum to be an informative, caring, and helpful place. Sorry, I've never heard of HG.Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsdmom Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Hi Valerie,I had a little girl last November (can't believe it's almost been a year!) and I, too, had hyperemesis. So I can relate - it was beyond awful! When do you think your POTS started - do you think it is at all related to your pregnancies? I belong to another forum about dysautonomia as well and there's a handful of us on that site that had hyperemesis. I don't think there's a connection, but who knows! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherswife Posted September 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 I had POTS before I got pregnant, but I wasn't diagnosed until after my first son was born. As far as an HG/POTS connection, when I told my neurologist (an autonomic disorders specialist) that I had HG during my pregnancy (before baby #2), he said, "Of course you did. You have POTS," like it was quite common. There are a few girls on the hyperemesis forum that have POTS, but I'm the "old one" of the bunch because I've had it longest. There's no confirmed link, but it seems pretty common to have both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masumeh Posted September 17, 2007 Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 I find the religious life in this forum interesting...and wonderful too. My cousin is a Lutheran pastor, and my husband is a Khateeb (Muslim term for a person who delivers Friday Congregational Prayer sermons). I'm a Muslim too. Well...I also suffered hyperemia in both pregnancies (first one miscarried), and some of the common complications too. With my daughter's pregnancy, I was underweight before pregnancy and continued to lose about 15% of my body weight in the first trimester. But she and I both turned out fine in the end. No more pregancies in my near future though, I hope! I love children and I love being a mother....but the nausea and vomitting I can do without! I really wonder about people who are hyperemic in pregnancy and have more than one child....like, if you know what's coming, how can you submit to it? People (family members, mostly mother-in-law) try to convince me that a third pregnancy could be different entirely....but I doubt this, since I'm nauseous all the time even when not pregnant....and during pregnancy is too late to change one's mind in case the hyperemia recurrs....and....well...then I've deprived my daughter of a mother for about a year because I'll be completely incapacitated.... How did you cope with your second pregnancy and small child simultaneously?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejohnsongang Posted September 17, 2007 Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 Hello and welcome to the forum. I'm glad you found us and hope that you find all of us here helpful and supportive. I have 2 children and had HG with my second child. I only had minor vomiting with my first. My fist was born early at 32 weeks. A small 5lb 12 oz girl. I had pre-term labor for 5 month with her and was on complete bed rest with IV medication to stop my labor. I spent most of the 1st pregnancy in the hospital. My second child I had HG with. The doctors here never dx me with it, but from day 1 I knew I was pregnant. I vomited day and night and lost so much weight. I was at the doctors or the ER very often to get IV fluids. They had me take some over the counter medication to try to help with it, but it didn't work. I can't remember the name of the medication, but it was liquid that tasted horrible. I went into pre-term labor again during my 5 month. Around my 7-8 month the vomiting started to go away and I finally gained a few pounds back. I ended up gaining only 6lbs during my 2nd pregnancy. My son was born at 36 wks and weighed 6lb 4oz. Small guy, but healthy. I decided not to have anymore kids. I managed to get 2 here and I suffered with both of them. I was lucky to have them. I didn't want to test the waters anymore. I never knew there was a relation between HG and POTS. I knew I had POTS all my life, but I wasn't dx until 2006. I use to pass out all the time when I was a kid/teenager. The doctors told my mother that it was anxiety and then later my diet or lack thereof. Now we know the real truth. My mother, myself and my daughter all have pots. You can trace the tree in our family for sure.I will have to do some research on the HG and POTS link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havefaitherin Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 Hi there. I too was very, very sick with both my pregnancies. I had my first baby 11 years ago and had to be hospitalized for a week because I had lost so much weight. They sent me home with oral meds and I made it through. During my last pregnancy almost 5 years ago the same thing happened, only this time they sent me home with a Zofran pump for a month and a half after that. It was amazing and made me feel better. I was not diagnosed with POTS (Hyperadrenergic form) until last September. So, I had this condition at that time, but didn't know what it was.When I went to my specialist is Toledo all of that made complete sense to them also. Also, I breastfed my little girl for 6 months after she was born and felt great. 2 weeks after I stopped I started getting every symptom back. They said that also made perfect sense. I found it all very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lalalisa Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 Hello,I just wanted to say Welcome!! We are happy to have you here!Take care,Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted September 20, 2007 Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 Welcome to the forum! It's so exciting meeting new people and all these new ideas. When you mentioned Hyperemesis Gravidarum, I found it interesting as I had this with the child I miscarried before I had POTS. I never put the connection together, but could be one. However, my sister who does not have POTS or any type of dysautonomia, all of her 8 children she had severe Hyperemesis Gravidarum. It seemed to be worse for her when she was pregnant with girls but it was pretty bad with the boys too from my view. She's still thinking of having more kids and I have no idea how she continues to tolerate being that sick for all those months at a time. I know she loves kids so I guess she must rationalize it in knowing that the outcome outweighs the many months of pure nightmare! - Tammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherswife Posted September 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 Welcome to the forum! It's so exciting meeting new people and all these new ideas. When you mentioned Hyperemesis Gravidarum, I found it interesting as I had this with the child I miscarried before I had POTS. I never put the connection together, but could be one. However, my sister who does not have POTS or any type of dysautonomia, all of her 8 children she had severe Hyperemesis Gravidarum. It seemed to be worse for her when she was pregnant with girls but it was pretty bad with the boys too from my view. She's still thinking of having more kids and I have no idea how she continues to tolerate being that sick for all those months at a time. I know she loves kids so I guess she must rationalize it in knowing that the outcome outweighs the many months of pure nightmare! - TammyI'm glad for her sake that she has made it through all eight pregnancies! HG is ROUGH! My health has been significantly decreased after each pregnancy, to the point that all my doctors are just saying, "Please, please don't get pregnant again." I am not quite sure I'd survive another pregnancy, to tell you the truth. (So I'm a little jealous of your sister, as my husband and I always wanted more children than two.) Has your sister heard of www.hyperemesis.org? There is tons of good info about HG there, and there's a really active forum that helps women through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherswife Posted September 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 How did you cope with your second pregnancy and small child simultaneously??I got pregnant with my second the day after my first turned a year old. Thankfully he was still little enough to spend some time in the playpen watching movies. It's not my ideal form of parenting, but you do what you have to do. Also, he still took two really good naps during the day, and I'd sleep when he slept. Luckily my mother-in-law lived right next door and could take care of him on her days off while I went to the hospital to get rehydrated. It wasn't easy at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becca_7706 Posted September 20, 2007 Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 Valerie,I only recently joined myself but I can say that I have found it to be a really supportive place. I hope you enjoy your time here!Becca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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