runningshoe

hi I have been happy with my Omron. I don't know about the Walgreens one. You could buy one and then take it to the drs office and compare readings. That way you can know if it is accurate. Good luck!

I have been noticing more people posting about feeling angry and or depressed. I think the holidays have the potential to either bring us down or lift us up. Not only is it a time to celebrate (and maybe you don't feel up to it) but it is also a marker of time going by (oh look, one more Thanksgiving where I am going to overeat and have a pots attack). I was glad to see your post. I am thankful everyday for my family, my friends, that my husband is not sick and can work full time and support us, for all that I am still able to do, and for medical insurance! Does this mean that I never get bummed out? Not at all. But at the end of the day when I crawl in my comfy bed I am thankful for comfort and caring and love and life!

Thanks for your replies. I am starting to think I will have to check the weather before I go out - not worrying about snow or ice but sun instead! Is it just another pots thing? Good idea about polarized sunglasses and a baseball cap. Thanks!

This the first time in a couple of weeks that I have read posts and the second one today where the thread was so well written and so thoughtful! There are a lot of amazing people on this website. I am glad you are feeling a little better but I wanted to add a bit if that's okay! Last year I was so depressed and in pain (IC) and overwhelmed by the onset of pots that I literally was breaking down. Lorazapam (similiar to what you are taking) got me to calm down enough to let the pain meds kick in and the healing/comforting part of my mind to restart. I still taking one at night but am trying to go off because it really adds to the brain fog. Just something to keep in mind once you are feeling better.....Also I was put on Nadolol as a beta blocker because it doesn't pass the blood brain barrier (or something!). Anyway it is supposed to be easier on me mentally and less fatiguing. Lastly, I don't know your age but it turns out that I was totally in menopause (very very low estrogen) and I think that was a huge factor in me not being able to cope anymore. I cried like I have never cried, like I wanted to dig a hole in the ground, stick my head in and sob! I have never been so lost. I recommend hormone testing for everyone! I was only 42 and still had ovaries but nonetheless....I am sending you warm thoughts!

I have tried to understand this as well. All around I am better on Florinef but some of the symptoms remain. When I feel potsy these days my hr and bp are under control but my body is still not functioning correctly. My dr says the response is blocked but the pots mechanism remains. Like I said, I am still trying to understand!

This thread made me cry! There is so much loss with illness. But what I found today was a thread filled with compassion and understanding. That is what I gained today! Stacey, all who posted before me had such wonderful things to say that all I can add is that I am sending you healing thoughts and peace in the days ahead! Lina

You are not alone in this struggle. I totally understand what it is like to want to do more, feel you are expected to more but can't do more! The best money I have ever spent is on the psychiatrist I see to help me figure all this out. You spend most of your life being one way and then wham everything changes. Anger makes me feel worse so I try to dumb all my bad feelings in the dr office. When I am over tired and overwhelmed I feel very crabby. The weight gain from the meds (florinef, elavil, betablockers etc) is a bummer to. I seem to be able to keep my weight down only if I eat very little. That is no fun! Forgive yourself! Find a place to cry, come here and vent. We understand.

Hi all Yesterday I was driving and for a couple of miles the sun was shinning through the trees on and off and it was like driving through rapidly changing bright lights and darkness. I started to feel like I was having vision problems so I reached for my sunglasses. They did not help and then I start to feel nauseous and dizzy. It got worse until I finally pulled over. My hubby drove the rest of the way. I was dizzy on and off for a hour or so. Hubby and brother in law said I was yellowish white and my lips had no color. Don't ask me why I was driving in the first place when there was a perfectly capable adult sitting next to me! !! Anybody else experience this? Thanks!

I've emailed the Oprah show twice. I think it would be great if she would add it into one of her health shows. I guess it is time to email her again. Good luck with your interview!

When I am potsy I have trouble processing multiple things. I had 30 files to organize and I basically just shuffled paper until I realized that I really couldn't keep track of what I was doing. When the pots flare calmed down, I was able to complete the task (weeks later). It is very hard to feel like you are not as smart as you used to be but forgive youself and don't waste any more brain cells on feeling badly about it. I am sure things will get better.

Lots of thoughts, low brain function tonight, please bear with me. I really enjoyed this post and want to add that there is a real movement to "eat local" otherwise know as a "low carbon diet." It is good for our bodies and the earth. Can you tell I run the earth day fair at our elementary school? Don't get me started! Okay, so in my house I am on the high salt diet and a low acid diet (bladder), my daughter is a vegetarian, my husband is a meat guy, one son only likes white foods and an occasionaly burger, the other son is just confused by all this and tries to eat whatever I make. Dinner in my house is nuts! There are about 3 things that all the kids like (pasta based dishes - not hubby's favorite). Meanwhile I am trying to make these meals without feeling funky (I love the one about cooking with Rachel Ray and ending up on the floor). I try to cook in the am. I am usually pots free in the morning. Did I mention that I love to cook. It is the one creative thing I do and I love to feed people. I refuse to let POTS keep me from doing it. I cook in the am (sorry already mentioned that), chop sitting at the table, make multiple meals on Monday and spread them out over the week. The only thing that really bugs me is that for years I used no salt because I have high bp. It grosses me out to cook with so much salt. Plus if all I really want is a big salad it is kind of hard to get that salt in there. I drink broth all the time. Yuck. Basically I have said very little of value here but I do believe in everything in moderation. SInce pots and the reoccurrence of my Interstitial cystitis I have really had to play around with what I can eat. Find what works and I do believe it will help you feel better. You are what you eat!

Congrats! I think all parents of little babies have some brain fog! I know I did and I didn't even have POTS then. Enjoy your little one!

Everyday: bowl of raisin bran (a pretty high sodium cereal, plus need the fiber with all the meds), with skim milk and half a banana, glass of water with morning pills, and to top if off, a glass of vegetable broth (loaded with sodium). BORING but it seems to work the best. Happy eating!

Hi I have had a cold/cough/laryngitits thing for over 3 weeks. This is my first illness since POTS and I can't believe how long it has lingered. I am on round two of antibiotics and am using an inhaler. These are both firsts for me. I truly believe that the POTS affects the healing process. Hang in there!

I would check with your dr and find out why they didn't mention salt loading. If you get the go ahead, I recommend organic vegetable broth or V-8 juice. It is a good way to get fluid and salt. Good luck!

Glad to hear the good news! It is encouraging!

Hi I didn't get pots until about a year ago so I was lucky to have a Masters degree and three kids before I got sick. I am mom, part time preschool teacher and soccer coach. Teaching wears me out so I can only work 6-10 hours a week. After a day of house stuff and kid stuff I am usually pretty wiped. I try to nap when the kids are at school.

I was just thinking about this today. I have had a cough/laryngitis for weeks and was thinking that this might be the year to get the flu shot. I will ask my drs what they think. I can usually shake a cold in a few days but I feel like with pots it takes so long to heal.

I think there was a nova special on alternative medicine and they featured drs that could diagnose you from your pulse, or by looking at your urine. I believe they were from India. I think it is fascinating. I went to an energy healer who knew nothing about me and yet she was able to tell a lot about my multiple health problems by reading my energy. Pretty cool!

It seems like the nighttime brings out all the weird pots symptoms. I know there have been many nights where I think "what the **** is this?" One night I was so off balance that as I sat on the toilet I completey missed and fell between the toliet and the wall. I don't know whether what happened to you is just another crazy pots symptoms but you are not alone. Maybe check with you dr and rest and drink some extra fluid today.

You folks who sweat a lot - make sure you drink a lot!! The day after a hot sweaty day is sure to be a pots day if I don't drink drink drink.

Hi It took almost a month for me to see improvement with florinef. I never got THE headache, just headaches when I had done too much and was potsy. Don't expect to see a change right away. I get the shakes after a bad pots episode. Take care!

Thank you for your thoughtful responses. I am coming up on my one year anniversary of the "lights going out" while driving my car. I think anniversarys are always hard. I know that at my one year hyster anniversary I was very sad for a few days. I guess my drive to understand is not because the symptoms aren't managed, but because I fear for what else might be waiting in the wings. Menopause, a return of Interstitial cystitis and the pots all "got me" in the course of a few months. I worry about what is next. I have already had two lumpectomies (benign) and have had hypertension since I was 34. I want to help my body heal and I believe all these things are intertwined and I just want to get untangled. I can go for weeks not think these thoughts but they always resurface and I try to re- think what might have happened. I don't question, "why me." I am grateful that it is me and not my husband (bread winner) or my children. I am reading Jerome Groopman's book the Anatomy of Hope. Most days I am positive and realize that compared to many I am healthy. I have been able to return to work (very very partime), can walk a couple of miles, and keep up with most of my kids activities. I couldn't do that last year and I am thankful that I can. I still have to nap everyday and crawl into bed very early but I know it could be so much worse. Pots is always there, like a shadow. I know you all understand that! I hope everyone has a good day..... Lina

Pots is so confusing and I read and reread the info on this and other websites just to make sense of all the symptoms. Now I am trying to understand the mechanisms that take place. I feel like I have so many questions. Is it our hormones, brains, nerves etc. I know for everyone it is different but I want to know why I have pots and where it came from. How can I be prepared for what will come next if I don't know the cause? Do you guys struggle with this? Just when I think I understand things, symptoms change and I feel lost again. Right now I really want to know why we can feel "potsy" even when our hr and bp are not misbehaving. I wrestle with that. I think I should feel better because I am not having tachy. Today I had no observed tachy but I am tired and nauseous. Is it that the meds are controlling everything but the mechanism is still occuring? My hr is being controlled but my nervous system is still screwy? If you understand this better than me (and that won't be hard to achieve) please help me make more sense of it. Pots is a lonely place to be when you can't even comfort yourself because you don't know what is going on. Thank you. Lina

I had been anxious to hear how your appt went. Thanks for posting. Was he nice? Was he patient? How much time did he spend with you? If you are worried about the florinef ask him if you can break the pills in half to get started. I take .1 a day but split it between am and pm. Are you salt loading as well? If so how much did he recommend? I don't have any answers to your questions but there are a lot of knowledgeable people who check in on this forum. Sounds like he was positive and upbeat about you getting better. Lina