growltiger

Hi Rich: I have been very happy with the Polar H7 so far (there a couple of the new "bluetooth smart" heart rate straps out there that can run for over a year on one battery). Be aware that only the newest phones (iPhone 4s and newest Androids) can use the new low-energy bluetooth technology.

So that still hasn't come out, however the new polar bluetooth HR monitor can send info to an iPhone or a computer. Got one today, decided to do an experiment. The following is 1 minute of laying down, followed by 4 minutes of standing in place, followed by 1 minute of laying down. You can see that my HR is between 60-80 laying down, as soon as I stand it goes to 120, bounces around a lot, spikes up to 130-135 a couple of times, and as soon as I lay back down it drops into the 60s. http://cl.ly/3T2j1r383p2w073o473z Now if I can just find a *&@#*&@ doctor that will actually take me seriously and stop telling me that my fatigue is caused by depression

This looks like it will be perfect when it launches later this year! http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/22/basis-reveals-an-awesome-new-affordable-heart-and-health-tracker-you-can-wear-on-your-wrist/

I wonder if sudden and seasonal weather changes bring about stress in most humans, only it is a tolerable and relatively unnoticed amount, but for us, for our extra-sensitive nervous systems, it is enough to push us over the edge for a bit. Or I wonder if some of us have seasonal allergies and the spring and fall allergy period is enough to knock us out After a week I am back to my normal feel-like-i-have-the-flu self instead of my feel like I got knocked upside the head with a shovel and then force-fed a bunch of valium self. Unlike most POTSers I am not all that sensitive to heat, but once I get chilled I am shivering and frozen for hours with cold extremities, etc. Of course I also live in MN where chilly can mean 20 below and hot can mean mid-80s....

Yes, my HR jumped from like 70->100 immed on standing and my BP dropped quite a bit, but doc said both were still within "normal" ranges so he wasn't concerned. Had them repeat that informal test a few months later and HR didn't jump much. I haven't figured out why sometimes it does/sometimes it doesn't but it definitely correlates with low fatigue and high fatigue days. It always jumps when dehydrated or after laying down for a few hours so maybe next time I'll just make sure I'm really thirsty when i go!

I have found that smoothies tend to help quite a bit -- probably because they are so much easier to digest. You would be amazed at the kinds of food that can be added to a blender

Hi CMReber: Yes, that would be nice, unfortunately I need to convince my GP that something is actually wrong with me before they will make a referral to a cardiologist. So HR monitor is more for personal use and to gather the data to present to the DRs.

Hi all, I have a normal HR watch with chest strap. I really want to get one without a chest strap (so I can wear 24/7) and one that I can DL the data into my computer. I am tired of getting the runaround with drs and would really like to go in with a print out of a week or so of HR graphs and have the spikes circles like LOOK this was getting out of bed, this was eating a meal, etc. I'm willing to spend the money on a nice one if it is reasonably accurate, doesn't need a strap, and has a way of getting data onto a computer. Bonus if it also tracks sleeping time. Thanks!

I relate a lot. My fatigue is also constant, but I get so pissed for feeling lazy that I then go exercise. Sometime dance and yoga are fine, sometimes they are not. Sometimes I can bike to the gym (with HR spiking to 160 BPM but feeling okay) but then can't climb the stairs to the weight room. Sometimes I can do weights, sometimes I can't. A couple months ago I went on a long hike with my parents, felt fine during the whole hike, and then was sick and shaky and slept for about 18 hours straight afterwards. I do think that exercise overall is helpful for us, so don't feel like you have to apologize for doing whatever you are able! We shouldn't have to prove anything to anyone - we are all just trying to feel as healthy as we can.

Yes, my HR will often jump 30-50 BPM after a particularly large meal. If I eat too much, I am asleep within an hour. I try to just munch throughout the day, though I am losing weight (not a good thing for me) again, so need to up the munchies! I have cut out all gluten and most other non-gluten high-card stuff for the past few years. Don't know how much it has helped.

Well, after a few months of being in the bearable range with the fatigue - able to exercise moderately even though I still had to take frequent naps, able to take the dogs for a walk, etc...I feel like I got hit by a brick this past week. Barely able to stay awake more than 3 or 4 hours at a time, pretty much unable to stand for more than a half hour at a time. Still tried to go to my hour long dance class on saturday and was wiped afterwards. Had to sleep in the car in the parking garage for two hours before I could even try to drive home! Looking back through my journals I noticed that this time last year and two years ago I also had been feeling a bit better, then suddenly felt a lot worse. We are in full transition to fall here, and our first frosts were last week. I don't think it's the sunshine because I use a light box, but feel like maybe for other reasons my body is having a hard time shifting from summer to fall. Anyone else feel especially and these past couple weeks?

Hi all - Thanks for the welcome and the support. I am actually in MN. I tried to self-refer to Mayo, but was denied. I am currently waiting to hear back from some other doctors practicing at the University here that are mentioned in the resources section here. My biggest worry right now is that I'll "pass" the TTT and then be back at square one even though there is something going on with my HR. Most people have fantasies of winning the lottery and retiring to the Caribbean. I have fantasies of winning the lottery and being able to hire my own personal team of doctors.

So let's see. 31 yr old male. social worker / researcher / web designer . brief history. 10 years of unrelenting fatigue, occasional depression, occasional panic attacks, did I mention the fatigue?, exercise intolerance, sweats, IBS issues, gluten intolerance, etc. diagnosed with CFIDS/ME, depression, anxiety disorder, etc etc etc tried acupuncture, homeopathy, antidepressants, street drugs, rolfing, energy work, meditation, thyroid meeds, testosterone replacement, food allergy testing, a billion different supplements and elimination diets, etc. lost a decade of my life, lost insurance, spent tens of thousands of dollars on various tests, special supplements, etc, mostly told its in my head, stopped believing in alternative medicine, stopped believing in allopathic medicine, dropped out of grad school, went back to grad school, stopped believing it was possible to feel better. fast forward: a gluten free/dairy free diet plus regular exercise plus supplements plus a light box plus anti-depressants has me functional. not great but functional enough to get a PT job with insurance and get more interested in exercise. I get a heart rate monitor for giggles. Notice when I'm laying down my HR is about 60-75. When I stand up it goes up to 130-145 then settles at around 110. Exercise a bit. Notice how quick HR goes up to 150, 160, 180. Google weird symptom. Land on dysautonomia. Read about it. Scour the forums. Notice that the crushing fatigue, the racing heart in the middle of the night or after alcohol, the food intolerances, the vertigo and dizziness after exercise, the IBS, etc all cluster together with the heart issues….. So that's where I'm at. I'm a bit wary of believing that this time someone will be able to figure out something and I'll feel better, and a bit wary of the fact that there are no good answers, and a bit wary of try to get a diagnosis, etc. I have been tracking my HR for about a month now. Some days it is fine, some days it is not. Some mornings it is bad but by afternoon better, sometimes reversed. No rhyme or reason except I definitely definitely feel worse when I have higher swings in my HR. Even if I'm not wearing my heart rate monitors I can almost guarantee that the afternoons I fall asleep for 3 or 4 hours that when I wake up and stand up I will have a heart rate of 130 or so. So I guess, hello, nice to meet you all. Sorry this ***** so bad. I wish I could have my 20s back, but I'm determined to not let fatigue steal my 30s away as well. Any tips on how to get diagnosed? how to demand a tilt test? what to do if your tilt test is normal that day? I'm terrible at standing up for myself with Drs and usually get shot down pretty quickly. I'm not even sure I can convince my GP (she's brand new, just got insurance last year remember?) to refer me to a cardiologist for fatigue issues. I briefly mentioned it at a checkup a month or so ago, just that I was thinking about it, and was dismissed pretty quickly and told I had regular blood pressure. It *****, once you have a diagnosis of depression and/or panic, it's hard to get any symptoms taken seriously. It's immediately "all in your head". And even if it WAS in my head, that doesn't change the fact that 10 years of various treatments and every anti-depressant on the market haven't touched my fatigue so…what next…. somewhat scared of getting diagnosed with a different possibly chronic and not-easily-explained syndrome; but even more fearful I'll just be dismissed outright and everything will come back "normal"