micky2

I'm from Ohio too!! Born and raised on the east side of Cleveland. I see Dr. Fouad as well. Someone mentioned the nuclear plant... there's Perry Nuclear Power Plant on the east side.

I have never heard of making this tea... but I need sleep!!! Can you tell me how you made it?? Thanks! Micky

I developed POTS about 2 months after I gave birth. My doctor mentioned blood volume and I lost all my baby weight too fast. She said pregnant POTS women tend to feel better because of higher blood volume. She said if I got pregnant again, I would probably feel like I don't have POTS during pregnancy, but after, I could be worse. So, no more babies for me.

Hi Holly. I am pretty new to POTS and very new to this site. I had a pretty quick diagnosis as well. I had my baby in July, felt symptoms in September and was disgnosed with POTS in March. I too went through what you are going through. I am a fast moving individual with a fast paced job requiring multi-tasking and lots of decision making (advertising). Having POTS made my life and job so difficult. At first, everything I used to do normally, I couldn't do. Planting flowers caused me to be in bed for 2 days. At one point, I had brain fog so bad, I was driving and when I "came to" I was in a different city and had no idea how I got there. Thank goodness I was by myself without my kids in the car. I cried alot. My positive attitude went down hill. I too felt exactly what you explained... lost, scared, and "will I ever feel normal again". Now, a year and a half later, I rarely have symptoms for POTS. (Although, my doctor is trying to control my heart rate, which is making things worse rather than better, but that's a different story.) I don't have great advice seeing as I am new. But, for me it's all about management. Eat lots of salt and drink LOTS of water! (I drink about 3 lliters a day.) I drink Gatorade as well. Knowing limitations is key. Prepare for big events by taking it easy before. I can still plant my flowers. I just have to go about planting differently. I can still go out with my friends, play with my kids, do all of life's enjoyments. You just have to prepare and think differently. It has to be a life change. My POTS came along suddenly, like yours. And 1 1/2 years later, I feel like I have my life back (aside from the heart rate issues). This site has helped me out a lot, along with a friend who has had POTS her entire life. Reading and learning helped me control this. You can too! I have a few things that helped me that my friend with POTS wrote me at the beginning. I can type them out, but I would rather in an email. So, if you want to hear them, I can type or copy some of my friends emails to you. Take care of yourself.

Thank you all! My gosh, it feels so nice to be able to talk to people who knows what I'm going through! My heart rate while standing never goes above 100 (that I know of). After making salt a huge part of my diet and taking Florinf, I feel pretty good (as well as I could). While on the low pressors, I felt worse. Very tired. I felt like I just couldn't get going to do anything. The headaches were the main thing. I had an awful headache every day. And my digestive issues got so bad. Since I've been off the low pressors, I feel better. The headaches are gone... I have some energy. But, I don't want to make my heart work harder than it has to. So, do I go back on the low pressors and feel bad? Or do I try to manage this with my diet or who knows what else? Can I control this with my diet (besides the high sodium... I got that going). Reading other posts, I realize my heart rate doesn't make it up nearly as high as others. Will it get worse in time? Reading the posts make me understand what my doctor is trying to do for me (seeing as she doesn't explain the whole picture to me). Thank you all again for your welcomes! I'm going to do some more research and read more posts. It's helping me so much. Thanks again!

This is my first day on this forum... so, I'm new to all of this. I was diagnosed with POTS in March 2005. Recently, my doctor put me on beta blockers to try to slow down my heart rate. I couldn't handle being on them. Too many side effects. I would rather deal with the symptoms. I could at least function. On the beta blockers, I just wanted to sleep and it seemed to lower my heart rate too much. Since I'm pretty new to all of this I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing. My doctor doesn't explain things very well to me. I go in with a list of questions and come out more confused then ever and on another prescription of some sort. My heart rate is high in the morning and gradually slows down as the day goes on (all while I'm sitting). In the morning, it's usually between 80 and 90. By the time I come home from work, it can be anywhere from 60 to 70. And then before I go to bed, it is between 50 and 60. Is this something I should be worried about if I don't continue taking the beta blockers? Sorry if I seem clueless! Like I said, I'm new to all of this and am finding it difficult finding sites to do some research myself. I've read some thing on this site that have helped me out a lot. Thanks, micky2