prettyinpink

You have to create a yahoo account but its free and its really easy to have the group emails sent to your current email address and not a new yahoo one.

Kristin L- Send firewatcher a PM with your email address if you want to invited to the yahoo fitness group we all started.

we have started an exercise group on yahoo. Search in this forum for exercise buddies and you'll find the posts that tell you have to join the group if you want to.

I just finish my cardiopulmonary class so I can tell you what the currents ranges are

SBP 120-139 pre-hypertension DBP 80-89

140-159 stage 1 hypertension 90-99

160+ stage 2 hypertension 100+

Low bloodpressure can depend on the person. I read that when your brain loses 20% of its bloodflow you pass out as a safety mechanism ie to get you on the floor so blood gets back to your brain. I have a friend whose resting pressure is 85/60 and she feels fine where as if my pressure is that low I'm a half sec away from falling to the floor. Low blood pressure is defined by the symptoms a person experiences and not actual numbers typically.

Rachel's blog has adorable pictures of her new baby! She is beautiful! Congratulations! What an awesome Christmas present

Does anyone see an immunologist for MCAD? I don't have MCAD ironically. I see an immuneologist for my autoimmune angioedema which is basically where my lips, tongue and throat all swell up for nothing reason other then my body doesn't like me. He told me to take 10mg of zyrtec 3 times a day. So many if you talk to a dr they could up your dose. I attribute my recent POTS improvement to finally finding a betablocker that works pretty well but doesn't make my bp plummet. It took 5 different bb before I found one that works. There are so many medicines out there that have the potential to help people with POTS so don't give up trying different ones out.

I think it might be important to figure out if the nausea is related to POTS bp, tachycardia and such or related to his gastroparesis. I had really bad nausea and zofran worked wonders. BUt the past month or so I have nausea and vomitting that the zofran hardly touches along with other symptoms. I'm having a stomach emptying test done tomorrow morning so maybe I'll have something new to deal with tomorrow I think if nausea is pots/nerve related it is treated differently than GP related nausea/vomitting. I think if the nausea/vomitting is GP related that dr's don't usually try to masked it with medicines because then you can't tell if something is really wrong with your stomach. For example if you have undigested food in your stomach that is there for hours on end then you need to do something to get rid of the fermenting food or help move it along otherwise you risk bezoars forming and other stomach scariness.

Yes i sometimes crawl to the bathroom just to be safe as well. I wish there was a better option.

I think your body can adapt to some medicines so they no longer have the same effects as before. I don't know if changing antihistamines would help if your dr says so.

I use a generic of seasonale which is a 3 month bcp. I know there are several generic versions of it so if you try a generic and it doesn't work you can try another. Also, could you have your dr write that because of POTS its medically necessary to be on bc so insurance will cover it?

DGL doesn't help with blood pressure issues. DGL is for people that want benefits of licorice root but don't want to increase their blood pressure. DGL stands for Deglycyrrhized licorice root and its the glycyrrhize that helps with blood pressure. Hope that helps.

I have an awful time at night because my medications are all worn off by then. The dr said mestinon really helps with night time pots symptoms because it last longer but I was allergic to it. DDAVP is the only med I can take at night that helps. I take a pill and drink water. The DDAVP makes my body hold onto water so my blood volume is higher and I am able to get to and from the bathroom most nights without a huge problem.

I am going to have a gastric emptying study done to make sure that gastroparesis isn't causing the nausea and vomitting. I would suggest letting a dr know about any stomach issues just in case its not just pots related nausea.

My appettie has completly changed the past few months. I've become a very very picky eater. Nothing really sounds good and the thought of most food makes me nauseous. I was started on zofran for nausea but i'm still throwing up daily. I have found bananas, rice, tortilla chips, layz stacks and lunch meat to taste good to me usually. I try to eat some of whatever my family is eating and sometimes once I start eating(even if i'm nauseous) I'm able to eat a decent meal.

Why does eating when your nauseous make you fat? Wouldn't not eating all day because your nauseous make you lose weight so eating some will keep your weight the same? I don't think I"m ever hungry but my head feels awful when I haven't gotten enough calories in.

I went to my aunt's house for the holidays and it was so exhausting to be in a house with a huge kitchen. Just getting a glass of water was much more difficult. I love my small kitchen where I can reach almost everything I need from a bar stool and the fridge is just a few feet away.

I havent tried it before but I like the self.com idea!

Could we just post a new topic for each week like "exercise buddies week of december 17" and anyone who wants to can post their goal for the next week and how well they did the previous week?

A few of you said you couldn't do 150 mins a week but, i don't think we all have to have the same number of minutes or the same goal right? Just start as small as you want. I think its more motivational to set a smaller goal that you can reach and raise the goal slowly then set a high goal and fail.

I think my goal is 80 mins a week of biking and 40 mins of strenthening/weights

And even for those of you that have to sit a lot/can't do other types of exercise could you march your feet, kick your legs etc during commercial breaks of your favorite shows while in your chair? Depending on your abilities you could count walking while grocery shopping as exercise. I think sometimes walking in a cool store while pushing a cart is easier then going for a walk around the block.

I'd love to weight lose weight too before my wedding in aug.

I am having the same problem. It is hard to go from eating a diet of fresh fruit, raw vegetables and grilled and bake foods to foods high in salt. Unfortunately I am having trouble finding foods high in salt that are low in fat. I am getting tired of chicken broth already and it's only been a week. I am supposed to see a dieticean (sp) soon to help me find ways to get the salt without the fat. I'll let you know how it goes.

I think that marinades have lots of salt in them too and arent high in fat. Teriyaki or italian dressing marinade etc on veggies, chicken and fish is good

A tablespoon of soy sauce has almost a gram of salt in it so I have soy sauce on rice to get a big dose of yummy low fat saltiness. I eat plain baked potatoes with salt on them now too.

How does drinking 100% juice compare to drinking water or gatorade? I know not everyone needs all the calories of drinking juice all the time but I wondering how it affects you.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FD..._6/ai_81761457/

This is an article I found from Alternative Medicine Review. It does reference the studies done on butchers broom as well as suggested dosage etc.

You can search butchers broom in pubmed and come up with lots of studies on its effects

I take 100 mg of butchers broom twice a day. I didn't notice any huge change but I have noticed small ones. Most of the studies I've read showed that over a 12 month period butchers broom significantly reduced chronic venous insufficiency. FOr that reason I've decided that even though I don't notice huge effects, its likely to be worth it in the long term. I made sure to get Butchers Broom capsules that contain 10% saponins since its the saponins that seem to be responsible for the medical benefits.

Oh and besides water what else do you all find to drink that helps your symptoms or makes it easier for you to get those fluids in?

I drink water, juice boxes for low sugars, and diet vernors when I'm nauseous

I'm not a huge fan of the taste of gatorade but I drink it sometimes when I get tired of water. I was wondering why so many people with POTS seem to drink gatorade. One 20 oz bottle has 30 grams of carbohydrates almost all from high fructose corn syrup, 25 mg of sodium and 75 mg of potassium. I feel like the tiny amounts of sodium and potassium do not make drinking gatorade worth it. I realize that if the taste of gatorade gets you drinking more fluids thats awesome but, are there any other real benefits to drinking gatorade/powerade etc.?

This is a GREAT idea and I'd love to join you. I"m going away to my aunt, uncles and cousins house for christmas so I won't have access to my recumbant bike until I get hom on the 27th or 28th. I try to bike about 20 mins 5-6 days a week and do some very light weightlifting. I've been slacking the last few weeks so I'd love to have an buddy.