deucykub

Hi, Cardiatec: You just described me! When I first started getting sick, all I noticed is that I was very, very fatigued. Docs thought it was a flare of my fibro until one noticed I was short of breath (and I quote, "Are you short of breath just from sitting up?!?" Um...I didn't even know I was short of breath). Then, they diagnosed me with asthma, based on spirometry (I was at about 25 - 30%). Finally, the asthma got under control, but I was still fatigued and short of breath. It wasn't until they did a pulmonary function test that they monitored my heart rate over a period of time. While I sat during the test it went from about 100 to 120. When they stood me up to walk around a bit, it jumped to (what I saw) 155. Apparently, it went to about 200, though, according to the interpreting doctor's email to my doctor. That's what tipped them off - I had no idea my heart rate was THAT fast. The pulmonary tech asked me (in terror), "How do you feel? Is this how you usually feel?" I felt fine, really tired and short of breath, but not as terrible as I thought I should have felt with that heart rate. Later, I started wearing a heart monitor to see what my heart rate was doing. With only the symptom of fatigue and shortness of breath, my heart rate hit 164 after grocery shopping and 169 after doing a few dishes! You're not alone on this one! Weird, isn't it? All my best, Deucykub

Hi, Dizz: Your description of the flushing that occurred after you took a night dose of your antibiotics really caught my attention. Have you been checked for Lupus? One sign of Lupus is a Malar Rash, commonly referred to as a "Butterfly Rash." There are other conditions that can cause a similar rash, but if you haven't been examined for Lupus, might I suggest you let your doctor know immediately about the development of the weird flushing you experienced? This synopsis briefly mentions a predisposition to antibiotic allergies as being common in Lupus. I'm sorry I don't have access to the full article. Antibiotic allergy in systemic lupus erythematosus: a case-control study. Here's a Mayo Clinic article on Lupus, showing common symptoms: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lupus/DS00115/DSECTION=2. The reason I know about this is the doctors thought I might have had lupus - there's a lot of overlap with POTS symptoms, too - dizziness, fatigue, raynaud's... Also here is a picture of the "Butterfly" Malar Rash from MedicineNet (source: http://www.medicinenet.com/systemic_lupus/page2.htm) and another picture from diseaseeducation.com (I'm not sure how credible this site is, but it had a good picture). It may be worth getting checked out if you haven't already done so. Another common finding in Lupus is an elevated ANA (Anti-Nuclear Antibody, if I recall correctly), which can be found with a blood test. I hope you are feeling better! Deucykub

Hi, Jacquie: I am so, so sorry that you are feeling discouraged. How frustrating is it when the illness actually gets in the way of our being able to get the help we need! I am keeping my fingers crossed that the doctor will be able to reschedule you for a date in the very near future. Is there someone who might be willing to drive you in to your next appointment so you don't have to worry about feeling particularly well to be able to go? Also, can the doctor provide some alternate fasting instructions to help you get the hydration that you need the morning of the test? You are in my thoughts today. I hope you find some encouragement to help you through today; then, tomorrow is another day to keep up the good fight. Take care of yourself today. It's okay to have a bad day as a wise Tearose once told me. Lots of hugs sent your way, Deucykub

That is great news, Amby! I mean, I am very sorry that you have POTS; it's certainly not fun, but what a relief it must be to finally have a diagnosis and know that you can move forward with treatment now! Get lots of rest and take it easy on yourself. Those TTT can be really tough on our systems. All my best, Deucykub

Hi, tearose: I completely forgot to post about the sleeping issues. I haven't been formally tested but have had a lot of sleep issues since developing fibromyalgia in 1992. My fibro specialist at the University of Florida prescribed a muscle relaxer to help me with my sleep. We tried Xanaflex first - a very interesting, hallucinogenic ride. After that, um, flight?, he put me on good old generic Flexeril, 10 mgs a night. It helps me immensely! If I miss a dose, my sleep-related pain returns. Perhaps something simple like this might be enough to relax your body and keep it from awakening during sleep. It might not be related at all, but thought it might be worth mentioning! I hope you find restorative sleep soon. Deucykub

Hi, CJ: Welcome to our little niche on the internet! I hope you find this site encouraging and informative. Sometimes it's great just to know you are not alone, and then other days, when you're a little better, it feels refreshing to be able to encourage someone else. I've only been here for a little over two months, but the community here has already made living with this illness so much easier. I look forward to seeing more posts from you. Deucykub

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I am feeling a lot better today. Tearose, I took your advice and had my husband run out and get my favorite sundae (chocolate ice cream with mini peanut butter cups, topped with hot fudge and gooey peanut butter, reese's pieces, crumbled peanut butter cups, and homemade whipped cream - truly sinful!). Now that I've filled my caloric intake for all of next week, ha ha, I'm ready to face the world again! Special thanks to Dizzy Dame for sending me the name of an attorney in CT. That was really above and beyond, and it meant a lot to me. I'm not sure whether to go the attorney route, yet. Our agency has a union, and I have called them in to help. This is very weird for me because I am a professional employee and have never been "represented" before. They keep wanting to wait and see what happens before taking action, though, and time is running short for me in regard to financial solvency. I'm really not sure what direction to take this. Unfortunately, I don't think this is an issue where they are trying to figure out what to do. Since I notified them that I was aware of the reasonable accommodation process (my original request was just looking for some help, and while it complied with the RA process, I didn't know it was a protected employee right at the time), their actions have been retaliatory and time-lengthening in nature. On emails to me, they Cc their in-house attorney. The logical conclusion I have reached is they know my supervisor's initial response already violated ADA law, so they are trying to bully me out of the agency to avoid repercussions. The union agrees with me and said it is not uncommon in this agency. My biggest concern right now is our financial situation. I've never been in a place where I didn't know how to pay the next bill, and I just don't know where to start. For example, what bill do I pay last; how do I keep a roof over our head; if I can't pay the rent, what are my rights; do I fold and apply for disability to get some kind of income (different process than solely SSDI for federal employees)? This is what I'm really struggling with right now. I'm in good spirits, but I know I need to be prepared for these kind of decisions in the very, very near future. Any experiences you've had with this or even success stories about reaching this point and making it through would be most appreciated! Thank you again to all of you for your replies. They were such blessings to me! Deucykub

Hi, tearose: Welcome back home from Mayo! I really enjoyed reading your posts during your time there. It sounds like an amazing and informative experience. It must be such a relief to know more about what is causing some of your symptoms and health issues from all the detailed testing and analysis. What an adventure! I share your dilemma about working and taking care of the home. My home (an apartment) has been terribly neglected since I started getting sick. It seems if I don't save every ounce of energy for working, that part of life bites the dust, so to speak. If I vacuum today, I can't work tomorrow. My husband really tries to help by at least keeping the dishes done and vacuuming. He finally got the hint that I really needed laundry done when I started wearing his clothes! The poor guy just took a car-load full of laundry to the laudromat. (I am so thrilled that I will have clothes again! lol) I wish I had some tips to offer about balancing the two or even about getting back to work. It's thrilling to hear that you are starting to think about getting back into the workforce, though. What a huge step forward! You really are an amazing person. Your posts always show such creativity and imagination! I'll be thinking good thoughts and praying for you as you start to look for some part-time work. Deucykub

Hi, Tessa: You are still in my prayers. I am just so terribly sorry to hear your symptoms have gotten worse. Come to think of it, I think mine did too after the test. My brain is so fogged most of the time that I just don't put 2 and 2 together anymore very well. But forcing myself to stand up that long with the TTT did put me in a pretty bad place for a while. It has been getting better, though, and now that your doctor is willing to listen to what is going on, hopefully, you will have some good treatment soon to help with the awful symptoms. I do understand how frustrating it is, though. I was never athletic, but I could at least WALK! LOL I find myself having to stop and rest like a little old lady, and I'm not young (32), but I'm not old yet, darnit! The thing that has helped me most has been to get lots and lots and lots of rest. Don't push yourself too far, particularly as soon as you feel a little bit better. It sounds like the TTT brought on a very nasty flare for you. I've pushed myself too far more times than I can count, and for me, it always snaps me back to where I was before. I was on a constant decline for a couple of months after my TTT, but that was because I kept pushing myself when I thought I felt a little better. Finally, about 3 weeks ago, I did nothing for about two weeks, tried to stay in the living room on the love seat with my feet propped up. I tried to keep myself from having a lot of orthostatic changes - only getting up to use the ladies room or fix a quick meal. My husband took over everything else - did the shopping, fixed meals, even fixed my salty crystal light for me. I'm still no where near where I'd like to be, yet, but it is much better than after the TTT. It helped me feel stronger. This week I was able to work 3 hours a day from home, which was a big victory for me! My suggestion is before trying to walk a km, make sure you can walk to the ladies room without major orthostatic symptoms. Next, go for 50 meters, then 100 and so on until you are back to your norm again. You know, at one point I was excited that I was getting better because my pulse had started to go down, and it was taking a couple minutes to reach the 30+ beats on standing instead of jumping up immediately. So... brilliant me (and I say that with the purest sarcasm) decided to try a poor man's tilt table test, thinking maybe the POTS was going away and the NMH, too! I forced myself to stand upright taking my vitals every minute (pulse and bp). Before I knew it the nausea, dizziness, vision darkening, weakness, shaking, and shortness of breath struck really fast, and I collapsed on my bed, feeling miserable! Because I pushed myself for those 12 minutes, I was down for another couple of days. Your body went through such an ordeal that it tried to force itself into the lying position by actually fainting. Your organs were deprived of oxygen, and from what I've read on hypovolemic shock (which seems very similar to POTS to me), the episode lasts longer than just the few minutes your organs are deprived. The body actually goes through re-perfusion (meaning the blood is returning to the organs), and I've read (somewhere...) that the process of re-perfusion is actually very trying on the organs (even more than the initial lack of blood/oxygen, also called hypoperfusion). Your body is in a serious healing process right now. Even though you can't see it when you look in a mirror, your insides are healing from a major ordeal. Remember not to ask too much of yourself right now. Most people won't drag themselves out to the store on their worst day of the flu, and your body is telling you it is feeling just that sick. You'll get better though! I truly believe that! Hang in there. I really hope you are feeling much better soon! Take it easy on yourself. (Sorry this is so long... gees, I can't type a short post today! )

I am having a very bad day today. Usually, I am very upbeat, but I feel like everything is about to come crashing down on me. I'm fortunate because I have supportive doctors, and that is such a blessing. But the day I feared would come is only a paycheck (ha - such as that is right now) away. I'm not going to be able to pay my bills. I asked for a reasonable accommodation at work in July of last year that was so reasonable it was allowable for healthy employees according to policy. It has been denied, not once, not twice, but three times by my supervisor. Now it's in appeal, and they have put it through every inch of red tape they could find (and this is a federal employer - so they have had no problem finding bureaucracy). My medical records have been reviewed and my doctor has been interviewed by Federal Occupational Health twice, and they have twice recommended allowing the accommodation (according to my doctor; my employer refuses to provide copies of the reports). My supervisor keeps putting it back through review. Now she wants to hear from my POTS specialists when I'll get better (which of course no one can answer ). She is keeping me on my old schedule, which is 4 10-hour days. I am required to be in the office one day a week and can telework three. I can't make it into the office; I'm too sick. I can only work about 3 hours a day from home right now before I become too symptomatic. That leaves me with three days I am allowed to work, which means about 9 hours a week for me. Over the last two weeks, I could only work 4 hours total. I'm just a mess. We have an option for advanced sick leave that is paid back over time. In my desperation, I asked if I would be approved for that. My supervisor said... oh, you'll never guess... request denied. I've taken a loan out of my TSP (federal version of 401K). I'm tapped. I know they are trying to force me to either quit or apply for disability (which I'm sure they will also drag through every possible bureaucratic process to punish me for some sin they think I have committed). Before this, I worked extra hours off the clock and took on two extra jobs willingly to my own workload. They nominated me for Connecticut Federal Employee of the Year. All I've ever done is work hard, and this is how it is repaid. I'm sorry for the long post/rant. I just feel so helpless and powerless right now. Good thing there's no ice cream in the house, or it would be demolished. If you've been through this, any of it, and survived to tell the tale, please tell me. I'm in desperate need of hope. Thanks for lending a listening ear/reading eye. You are all so wonderful here. Deucykub

Thanks to all of you for your replies! The technical information really helped me understand the differences between the two types of steroids. I also really appreciate your sharing your personal experiences with both Prednisone and Fludrocortisone; they really set my mind at ease. I've been on Florinef for two days now and have been pretty much the same as before, no improvement, yet, but no side-effects so far either. Now if only the licorice that helps with your POTS, lthomas, was strawberry Twizzlers. Then, I'd be all set! Seriously though, I doubt I eat more than 1,000 calories a day but still struggle with the 20 pound gain from the Prednisone. Don't you wish, those who have gained weight, just once that one of the meds - out of all the meds we have to take - would have the side-effect of losing weight?

Hi, Jenn: Just writing to welcome you to the group. The people on this site are so supportive, knowledgeable, and empathetic. I'm sorry you haven't been feeling well and hope you find some solutions to your health issues. Take care! Deucykub

Welcome home, Melissa! It is so wonderful to see a post from you on these boards. Your joy through the storm speaks volumes about the kind of person you are. I wish you did not have to face these issues in your life, and cannot begin to imagine the emotions you are experiencing. You will remain in my prayers for strength, continued joy, and for recovery. Please feel free to post anything you need to discuss on this forum as far as I am concerned. This is a support forum, and we are here for each other to lighten the burden in times of pain and to rejoice with each other in all of life's little victories. I am so glad that you are home, surrounded by the people and things that bring comfort to you. Thank you for taking the time to update us. I think of you often.

Sorry to add to the forum's already numerous Florinef posts... I've searched and read through a lot of the old posts and can't find an answer to this question. It is probably a question more fit for a doctor to answer, but if you have any knowledge, I would really appreciate it. I just picked up my new script for Florinef, which is my second "trial and error" treatment. Midodrine caused my heart to just pound along with increased chest pain, so I had to stop taking it. The info on Florinef lists it as a very strong corticosteriod and details Cushing's type side effects, like becoming moon-face and fat gains around the neck and abdomen. My doctors have given me Prednisone for my asthma attacks in the past, and it is extremely difficult for me to taper off of it. I keep getting recurring attacks for months after. If the POTS co-existed when I was dx with asthma, that might have been the reason why I felt so badly after going off of a steroid. But I'm digressing... that's another story. On the last round of Prednisone (I've gained 20 pounds because of that nasty med), my Pulmonologist told me he was concerned because I was becoming "moon-faced" (yes, this made me feel marvelous... thanks, doc, lol). After researching, it seems what he meant was I was developing Cushing's type side-effects. My concern is if I am prone to these side effects on Prednisone, does that mean I have the same susceptibility to them on Florinef? Are these side effects dangerous? I felt so much better on Prednisone with the asthma; I'm hopeful that there was some kind of crossover that helped POTS, which might mean Florinef will make me feel better. However, I'm a little worried about developing some new illness, as POTS, asthma, and Fibro are really enough for me to handle. Does anyone know about these types of side effects, whether having them with Prednisone makes me more likely to have them with Florinef, and whether this is worthy of concern? Thanks so much. I'd really appreciate any info you might have!

Oh, Rachel, I am so sorry to hear you are having such a difficult time! As DancingLight said, you are so supportive of everyone on these forums, so please let us be there for you now. Here is a big HUG and a YOU'RE NOT ALONE sent your way. Don't give up. Sometimes these doctors are misrepresented by their staff. You are strong. Remember you have as much right to be seen as any other patient. From your signature, it seems you have a solid faith. God is watching out for you and will work this situation out for good! Recently, I have started faxing my doctors when I have a question or just to give a monthly update on my status. My brain is so uncooperative most of the time, so it works out well for me to get the right message across. I have found the doctors appreciate the communication, and all but one has called me back directly to get more information or discuss my questions (the other one waited until my appointment, which was about a week away). It's a great and FAST way to get past all the administrators and staff that sometimes create more problems than good. Perhaps faxing this doctor with your concern about the cancelled appointment and your questions and health status might prove helpful for you in this situation. If you don't own a fax machine, most office stores have a faxing service for a charge of about a dollar a page. My husband bought me an all-in-one printer for my birthday a few years ago that has become a new lifeline for my medical care. You can usually get a decent one for about $80 now. It sounds silly, but the ability to fax has made me so much more empowered in reaching my doctors! Hang in there. This is going to work out for the best for you! (Edit to add: If you fax your doctor, be sure to make the "To:" the doctor's name, i.e. Dr. John Smith, so the staff will deliver it directly to him/her. )

Wow, Nina, we really are two peas in a pod. We share asthma, GERD, and scoliosis, too. Count me out on Hypermobility though... I'm the stiffest, least flexible person I know (well, physically, at least!). Well, Mom always said it was nice to share, but I'm not sure that's the case here. At least we can empathize, right?

Morgan, I think the 30+ beats was determined to separate POTS from deconditioning. From what I've read, typically the heart rate will increase more than the typical 10 - 15 bpm on standing due to deconditioning, but if the increase is greater than 30 bpm, that points to illness. I think..... By the time we all start to feel better... we should each receive an honorary medical degree. Don't ya think?

Hi, Jennifer: To respond to your thought on OI, I think you may be confusing OI with OH (orthostatic hypotension). OH is characterized by a drop in blood pressure within 3 minutes (if I recall correctly) of standing of at least (again trying to recall... ) 20 systolic or 10 diastolic. And hey, since we're getting everyone completely confused, you can have hypotension (low blood pressure - 90/60 or lower, I think?) without having orthostatic hypotension. You can also have something called Neurally Mediated Hypotension (often used interchangably with Neuro Cardiogenic Syncope/Hypotension), which means that after extended standing there is a sudden drop in blood pressure and heart rate caused by a miscommunication of the vagal nerve in response to already dropping blood pressure that causes presyncope (blacking/greying out, nausea, dizzyness) or syncope (fainting). When I'm upright for about 12 minutes, I have neurally mediated hypotension (in addition to POTS). My blood pressure cuff can't even read my vitals at that point, and if I don't lie down, my body will take care of that for me, lol. Interesting discussion!

YES!!! That is such great news, Tessa! Isn't it such a relief to find someone who understands? This person must be a good doctor to have researched POTS on his own following your last appointment. That's the best kind of doctor - the one who knows there is more to medicine than any one person could ever know and is willing to LEARN! Your news just made my day. Don't be scared of the TTT. As far as medical tests go, it is probably one of the easiest. There's no pain, just lying down for about 15 minutes and then they tilt you up. You're strapped in very securely, and they monitor your heart rate and blood pressure the whole time. If you'd like a detailed description of what happened in mine, I'd be happy to share. Well, congratulations again! Take care!

Good luck to both of you, Tessa and Amby, on your upcoming appointments. There's some really great advice in this thread. It can be so terrifying to see a new doctor because of the fear of one more doctor not believing you. It's really important to keep a level head. As someone else mentioned, that helps prevent the "hysterical woman" diagnosis doctors just love to dole out. If you find the need to argue, you might think of it more as an intellectual debate, that can help keep the emotion from overwhelming the argument. (I'm guilty of breaking down into tears of frustration when a doctor told me it was stress, yay for reinforcing her diagnosis, ha!) Just remember if someone is not believing you, someone, somewhere, will some day! Also, I have a really great write-up on POTS that my primary care doctor emailed me when one of my specialists suspected that was my "unifying diagnosis." It's written by doctors for doctors through a service called Up to Date (one of the doctors who wrote it is now my treating physician). It's copywritten material, so I can't paste it here, but if you'd like, I can email it to you. It seems to be written in the jargon that doctors take seriously. I give a copy of it to all of my doctors to have on file for review. Again, I hope you both have GREAT appointments! Let us know how they went please.

It feels like that sometimes, doesn't it? Heck, even sitting up to sort through the paperwork and mail that piles up sends my heart rate into the aerobic zone and beyond! JaneEyre, thanks for mentioning the Yaz exercises. These are new to me, and I'm going to give them a try! This in the link I found: http://www.21cent.net/chiari/yaz.htm. Are these right?

That's great news, Lavender! I'm glad to hear your doctor is starting to get the picture. Good luck!

Hi, Mary: Welcome to the forum! I'm so sorry to hear that your daughter is facing such a struggle with her health. This place is a wonderful gathering of empathetic and knowledgable people. I'm still new to POTS myself, but just knowing that someone out there is making it through this illness and hearing success stories of those who have beaten POTS is such a source of hope and encouragement. I hope your daughter feels much better and is home from the hospital soon!

Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for brainstorming this with me! My POTS-y brain is not nearly as good at communicating as it used to be so I want to clarify that I do not think that POTS is hypovolemic shock. Also to second what Katherine said - POTS is not life threatening. I didn't make that clear enough, either, I think. Tessa, I am so sorry if my post made you think that in any way. However, what our bodies go through seems very similar to hypovolemic shock. Even without blood loss or confirmed hypovolemia, when the blood drops to our legs and away from the vital organs, it seems like the reaction to that blood "loss" parallels hypovolemic shock. Because we can self-regulate this reaction by lying down (or our body forces regulation by knocking us to the ground ), the blood "loss" that is experienced in our upper bodies is typically short-lived. I read somewhere - I wish I could remember where - about a doctor who discussed a POTS patient that wanted so desperately not to fall over when she fainted that she managed to prop herself up in such a way that when she fainted, she stayed upright. The results were almost fatal (again POTS is not fatal) because of the lack of oxygen/blood flow to the brain. The moral of the story was our bodies knock us down for a reason! Katherine, you asked some really great questions that I would like to know the answer to, also! I'm not sure about iron loss in hypovolemia. It seems like iron levels in the blood would be a ratio to the amount drawn rather than absolute content in the body. I would think that with blood loss or hypovolemia that the ratio would remain the same but the total content would drop? Does anyone know? One theory on why symptoms don't resolve on hydration may be the stress our organs experience happens several times a day - everytime we have to "powder our nose," prepare a meal, answer the door... stand up for any reason our blood pools leaving the vital organs with less oxygen. True hypovolemic shock happens once, is resolved, and the organs recover - is that right? Does anyone know how long it takes to no longer be symptomatic with actual hypovolemic shock? If our bodies are bouncing in and out of a shock type state, it would seem they never really get the chance to fully recover? As Rachel suggested, maybe it would help healthy people understand why we feel so sick all the time. I know I'm going through a bureaucratic nightmare at work because they just don't get it. ------ On the topic of hands and toes... You're right, Rita. I don't think I'm actually in hypovolemic shock, but understanding that blood loss causes cyanosis helped me understand how less blood in an affected area (kind of a localized hypovolemia due to constriction problems or pooling) would also cause cyanosis. Pat, I don't experience any pain with the cyanosis. Have you been checked for Raynaud's? (Although, the fact that it is relieved by ice is really unusual and doesn't fit with Raynaud's...) Cyanosis is usually considered a pretty serious sign until they determine otherwise. Have you talked to a doctor? If not, you might want to consider that. Tessa, it's really interesting that you should ask about pain getting things out of the freezer (no color change with that for me, though). I've had that since I was about 17, when I developed fibromyalgia. For me, the pain on touching something cold is caused by the nerves in my fingers sending the wrong signal to my brain. Instead of sending the "wow this is cold" transmission, it sends the "oh dear God this really hurts!" transmission. I participated in some research on how the nerves sense pain without an actual pain stimulus at the University of Florida (Dr. Roland Staud). Pretty interesting stuff!

I'll preface this with I'm no doctor, and because I've been trying to figure out what is going on with my body through research, I probably know just enough to be dangerous. In addition to a lot of the typical POTS symptoms, I also have recurrent cyanosis. My fingers, lips, and upper torso bilateral lady areas turn blue regularly. The docs say it is caused by POTS, but I can find very few people that have it! The cyanosis is not related to temperature, and Raynaud's has been ruled out. All this to say, I've been trying to figure out WHY they say the cyanosis can be POTS. Essentially everything cardiac or pulmonary related had been ruled out. One doctor hinted at it being caused by low blood pressure, and all my research trying to link those two bottomed out. Finally, in researching low blood volume I found a link to the cyanosis. Low blood volume (hypovolemia) causes low blood pressure and if severe enough can cause cyanosis. Lots of studies have linked hypovolemia and POTS, so that's fairly common knowledge. Researching hypovolemia led to this site (Hypovolemia), which lists the symptoms of hypovolemia as "Symptoms & signs : astheny [weakness/debility], fatigue, muscular cramping, thirst, orthostatic pressure instability, organ ischemia [shortage of blood supply to an organ] (=> oliguria or prerenal acute renal failure, cyanosis, chest or abdominal pain, confusion, obnubilation [to cloud/obscure] of sensations), mouth and skin dryness, decreased jugular pressure, orthostatic hypotension and tachycardia => hypovolemic shock." Do a lot of those symptoms sound familiar? Now here's a table of severity of hypovolemic shock due to blood loss from the same source (Hypovolemic Shock - the table is bigger on the actual page): What stood out to me was when going into hypovolemic shock, the symptoms are remarkably similar - tachycardia, reduced arterial pressure, increased breath rate (shortness of breath), pale/cyanotic skin, confusion, and anxiety. Could it be that our bodies are going through a form of hypovolemic shock without actually losing blood through trauma? When we lie down (or faint), our bodies self-regulate so the results aren't tragic. But if our bodies are essentially going into shock every time we are upright, well no wonder we feel so crummy and have lingering symptoms in the supine position like brain fog and fatigue. This was a total "A ha!" moment for me, and I just wanted to share. It could be absolutely wrong, but I would love to hear what you think about it!