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Yes I was told I had done this to myself. Chosen to be helpless and dependent. Good grief-it's the last thing I want. And she was yelling at me as she said it. Scary stuff.

If you are on any medication your doctor has to justify the use of that medication with a diagnosis so yes if you are on an antidepressant and antianxiety agent you will see those diagnosis on your record.

I avoid showering. I at times have difficulty breathing in the shower due to the heat and steam. Also the vascular changes that occur both due to heat and standing are sometimes too much for me. If I must shower I take in a stool and sit but it still doesn't do anything for the heat and steam. For a long time I just washed up because I couldn't take it but I mostly take baths and monitor my temp. I've only noticed the respiratory issues in the bath when I was in a small place where the steam did not have a place to escape-where I am at here it usually is not an issue.

Yes I've felt that way many times. It's not fun. I'm sorry you're dealing with it.

There were a couple times this summer at my moms I distinctly remember feeling really sick all over short of breath and a bit of that toxic feeling like I had bad toxins released in my gut or blood stream. I remember getting up and going to the sink to do a few things and a bit of that feeling lifting. I remember thinking you know if I don't feel any worse getting up and moving around I might as well. Also prior to that even-at the old house doing dishes started in tears I felt so bad sick, as I continued all the bad feelings left or greatly reduced. It's a crap shoot there are those times activity helps. I have also on a trip to the meat store or post office totally broke out of sick mode. Had dialogue and laughed with the clerks and totally got lost in the moment. It doesn't happen every time but about 3 out of 4 that is the case.

I denied depression when the psychologist asked. I said I get discouraged at times but I have never been in a true depression. To me as discouraged as I can get- by the next morning or several hours later I can get distracted and forget all about it and be smiling or laughing. To me that's not a true depression.

You know the horrible thing is if anyone else is like me you are just shocked out of your mind by this whole health crisis and it leaves you so vulnerable. When I went in to see that nurse practitioner I was so gullible when she started saying everything she said I half believed her. I was looking for any explanation as to what I was experiencing. She did not help me at all though and charged a huge fee. We ended up paying her $200 besides what insurance covered. The thing was I was leery to go to that appt in the first place but I felt like I had to follow my doctors orders. I feel like my doctor wrote right in the referral-there is nothing wrong with this patient she just has anxiety based on how I was treated when I got there. I really need to change doctors but I don't know when timing would be best. I almost think as soon as we start getting the anxiety talk or the brush off when we talk about our symptoms that is a sign right there that we need both for our own health and for the future of our health care and any other issue that may come up related such as disability to find someone who takes our condition seriously.

I'm sure this has you nervous. I'm starting to get a taste of the medicine as far as the waiting and not knowing. It is starting to wear on me. Also I was promised a refund at the infusion center supposedly they settle their books monthly. Our insurance did cover the infusions just not the iron itself. My treatments were October and November ( beginning of November) and I was told I'd be getting a check in the mail? I called today worried because it's the 7th and I have not heard anything. She said we'll talk in January. What? I was going to use it to buy Christmas presents.

This unit seems really handy. You don't know how many times in the nursing home we'd have people suddenly fill up with fluid. It was like they were fine one minute and gurgly the next. Same thing with dehydration. We just couldn't tell. This unit would be a priceless addition in the nursing home. I can see it being used like monthly on everyone and then increased based on the person's condition. It would not only directly impact ability to care for patients but also be a tool to show that fluid status was being monitored and addressed.

Mornings are horrible for people with issues like ours in many cases. I feel very sleep deprived the last two days even though I have slept 8 hours. This morning when I got up I could not see vision was murky and dim and I saw halos around lights.

No you are not overeacting. I met with a psychologist last week for disability. The big hang up was something a GI CNP wrote saying I was anorexic, had anxiety, depression she told me I was suicidal ( crazy ) I am the opposite!!!! I have been afraid something was going to happen and I've called 911 every time I got really scared. So all of this she didn't lay a hand on me I got no exam. I went because I was having trouble eating and sought out help totally opposite of what I'm being accused of. Yes it feels more like an accusation than a diagnosis. I went because I was having cardiac symptoms after eating that were very scary. I ended up with a crackpot diagnosis. And on her report it says my nurse therapist tried calling and calling and I wouldn't respond. What false info no 1 I didn't know she was calling and calling. I use my cell and lived for the summer with my parents. I had to stop seeing the nurse therapist because our insurance wouldn't cover her and I'm unemployed. She knew that we discussed it I paid my bill and that was that. Unfortunately we do have to worry about how medical staff view us interpret our condition and symptoms and what they report on to others. I definitely feel I got labeled along the way. A physical problem definitely is my primary diagnosis all the other as you say is secondary. Even the weight loss. The psychologist seemed to pick up on that right away so I was blessed with some support I just don't know if it was enough to undo the damage that some of the other practitioners caused. I guess the advice I would give is emphasize the physical when anxiety or depression are brought up make sure you specify you believe they are secondary. It's not that I want to be in denial that these exist it's not the cause is the issue. Our physical concerns should not be overlooked as a result. It's very much how I felt when disability called and said Uh I have to ask you about anxiety, Xanax, and anorexia.... I could have just broken down in tears. There is so much more to the story than that. I tried to work sick for close to 2 years. I had horrible symptoms that supposedly I was supposed to just live with because labs were coming back okay. From the way i feel now I think don't ever settle for less don't let anyone tell you oh it's just stress. An iron absorption of 3% is not just stress. I was not getting any oxygen! I felt like walking death. I hope for everyone they can find someone that takes them seriously and don't give up.

I hope it goes well for you.

What treatment regimen is your cousin following? Could you try something similar and see if your symptoms subside? I think I most likely have it or chemical sensitivity. I'm not sure there is a difference. I think it could be a problem with immunity also. First and foremost if it's possible avoid your triggers.

I am in communication with an anxiety type of guru. He was a medical psychologist but has experienced debilitating anxiety himself. He is making reference to people having a limit as to what they can take. Also years of anxiety and stressful living can lay down pathways in the brain that instead of running through the cortex go into the autonomic centers instead so yes if what he is saying is accurate it is totally possible that stressful events could trigger us into autonomic dysfunction.

According to the article for it to be effective in fibromyalgia you must adhere to a salicylate free diet. But the way it sounded to me in time it actually dissolved the lesions involved in fibro. I thought there were several things going on in the body that sounded similar with the energy issues relating to the mitochondria and ATP and also the issues with hypoglycemia and MCAD.

Guaifnesin is a uricosuric drug and cause uric acid to leave the blood plasma and be eliminated in the urine.

http://fibromyalgiatreatment.com/UricosuricOctober2011.pdf They are treating fibromyalgia with guaifnesin which is the active ingredient in Robitussin. Many of the processes or malfunctions in the body going on in Fibromyalgia sound very similar to what we experience with POTS.

It sounds like time for a gastric feeding tube if the esophagus keeps collapsing. I wonder if it could even be related to a stroke.

My heart and stomach follow the same pattern. After meals or with reflux I get all types of weird heart beats. After the stomach calms down so does my heart.

How long ago did you have your ablation? It takes the heart 3 months to heal post ablation and you get a lot of really funky beats for several months after the ablation. I think it took me a good year until my heart calmed down. For others it's instant but I had all kinds of funky things going on. So I see about 10 months ago...it took me much longer to stabilize in fact I think at the point you are at I requested to wear a king of hearts monitor cause I was so freaked out.

I have no idea except to just try to google anything you can think of related. I'm not sure it's all emotional or psychological on my part or those in my family affected more like it's the physical driving the problem. I am worried about my second son now, not sure if I am repeating this... He is way too thin. 10 years old and only 50 pounds, A walking skeleton : ( He plays normally does not get sick often. Does not always display normal hunger. Gets stomach aches after eating at times. He goes for hours without eating if not prompted just doesn't seem to recognize a need for food ( just like me ) and while energy stores hold out you just get the impression that you are okay. Has been complaining of dizziness and headaches in the evening. I am determined to change his pattern. I'm going to feed him often and hope that he gains along with what he eats at regular meals. For some reason liquids seem to be a key for me. I've started drinking Gatorade even though it is supposedly a no no for me with the dextrose ( corn ) and a pepsi that I sip on definite no no with corn syrup...and I instantly gained a pound? The Gatorade and pepsi do not equal that many calories but I've always thrived on liquids-possibly been fluid loading and not knowing it, Perhaps the sodium helps open the cells to water and without it I am dehydrated. Maybe it's more water gain than weight gain. Either way I feel better and I do not get those spells where I feel toxic and like I'm gonna drop any minute-like it's going to take me down. I hate to be taking in something I'm allergic to and fear it will backfire but right now the benefits are what I am noticing. My son's weight is just stuck even though he is trying like I am to gain weight.

Okay thanks... I am really not sure I'm getting in enough fluids I could just be dehydrated. I'm so afraid to try new things too especially here by myself. I wondered about 7 up but once again I'll have to just sip it carefully and be cautious of any reaction and it's sticky sugar water. Honestly when I was supposedly normal and lived on pop I felt dehydrated then.

Wow I should really find things I can tolerate. No since March basically it's just milk and water for me. I was doing a little fruit juice but reacted to it. If I feel bad in the future I'll sip on Gatorade. I wonder about pedialyte? I'll drink or eat anything even if it's not so tasty if I know I need it.

God Bless you Julie. I want to tell you it will get easier but we are all different. I do think it is hard to comprehend the change from a normal body to a POTS body. With all the stresses I've had I almost feel as if I'm in a dream like state. Nothing really feels real like I'm floating in a cloud. Hang in there and keep posting and reaching out.

It's also normal for the heart to work harder after just ingesting a meal when we are healthy we just don't notice it as much but I saw a little blurb where a woman had just eaten a full meal from McDonald's Big Mac the whole works and they made her lay down and did an EKG and whoa showed what that meal did to her heart. Wow do you realize what this kind of means? In normal healthy people because we're so unaware we do things potentially that are damaging without even knowing it. With all if our senses on overload we notice everything down to basic nutrition we need and the strain it puts on us. Kind of interesting when you think about it.