helane

i agree with you. the way they stated it - it sounds like it may only affect certain groups, and probably an average viewer would see it that way. not a good thing

hope i am not repeating links http://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-edge/2006-television.html scroll down to POTS television news. hopefully news re: POTS will be more and more visible around.

Rachel - i love sandals, walking barefoot - even in snow... compression pantyhose don't work for me though - i sweat in them too much. i only wear natural cottons and wool.

i noticed that as long as my feet are cold i am doing well. the moment i warm them just above the average i start getting dizzy and hot... anybody else? any suggestions?

tearose - pm me i will be away for few days but i would love to talk when i am back.

you were studying in the same builiding as i did. i got MA in sociology... a bit later than you. amazing...

well... even if there is a cause and i can get it fixed with a surgery or two... nah, i don;t think so. had three already in my life, exhausted my limit. i am happy the way i am and to be honest on some level my PH is a blessing - it makes me to slow down, so i don't run through life and miss the stops. tearose you made me smile today. your polish not so bad either. can give you some lessons if you want... by the way gdzie studiowałaś? co? i kiedy? pozdrowienia. ucałowania. h.

i have heard the theory many times before. i agree partially, that in some cases thinking has an influence on physical health... but can we blame a person that was born physically different i.e. a hump on his back? if not, and not everything is based on mental cause then where is the dividing line? also - is it possible that as every person is different physically and they have a different length of bones, color of hair - then their nervous system is made differently as well? which may result in some differences in the body's response to natural conditions. and maybe POTS is not a disease, but a different way of living in the world? different kind of energy. i know, that scientist say that animals do not have many diseases that human do but it may only mean that the ones not fitted - i.e. penguins with POTS will simply not survive - they will not get up and run after parents from a nest... or as in my case - i am nearly 6 feet tall, and it is only our technology, hormons etc that let me grow so much in the past. in nature - our bone structure was not naturally made for this height. so gravity is taking its toll on my bones... and, as with every and each theory... nobody REALLY KNOWS. they all fight trying to convince us that they know. btw - why do we have to know? h.

I am originally from Poland. When I read some of your stories I am happy I "only" have a postural hypotension and LBP. In the end it is just some symptoms that I can control if I can control environment, not a disease. I am quite tall so it seems to be connected with my height as well. My heart goes to all of you with much much more problems then mine.

My story is probably similar to many others... Since I was a child I could not stand heat, strong lights, screaming around me etc. I would also regularly faint - every week - in church. I heard many stories - that I am weak, lazy and so on. At the certain age I realized that I am not that lazy and bad as I had thought. Fainting did never stop, heat and standing intolerance neither. My sensitiveness to stimuli - I realized that what is concerned "too sensitive" for modern society was a norm for thousands of years. I probably would hear an animal approaching me - my "normal" friends would not. Anyways... in the meantime I emigrated. Fainted while copying immigration documents, cut my head really badly. My new family doctor wanting to know my life story questioned me for half an hour... and I have to admit - he was one of the best "things" that ever happened to me. Making long story short - diagnosed me with orthostatic intolerance and hypotension. At the moment I am diagnosed and that's all. Don't tolerate pills well (some allergies etc) and because of retention of fluids cannot take salt tablets either. Usually I deal fairly well but there are days and months when I simply want to give up or just get a disability so I can work when I really can. When it comes to psycho somatic part of OI - I am not depressed, neither have anxiety above the norm. In my case it seems to be mostly physical. Well... any questions, any advice & help - please free to answer the post. Helane. PS. English is my second language so forgive any mistakes. Also could anyone explain to me - is postural hypotension the same as POTS? I am new to diagnosis and still a bit confused.