Hello Everyone, I am a newly diagnosed POTS person. I had never even heard of it before April 11 of this year. I am so overwhelmed by the way I am feeling, and the fact that I am now so drastically different than I was even four months ago. I was admitted to the hospital on the 11th, and that is when I first heard of POTS. I have never been sick for very long, so I thought a stint in the hospital might "fix" me. I was so wrong. They think that when I had viral meningitis in 2001 is the cause of the POTS. I have had "anxiety" symptoms off and on since six months after the meningitis. Now I am having trouble with medications, they can't seem to get me "adjusted" properly. I do okay for about 3 days on a new med, then the tachycardia, clumsiness, shortness of breath, pain in my throat when swallowing and chest pains come back. I even get dizzy sometimes, not sure why that isn't always a symptom. I also get very red in the face when I get up off the couch, even to just go to the bathroom. I have trouble with the left side of my body, it aches and my hands and feet are colder than their right side counterparts. Right now I am on Midodrine, Protonix, Zyrtec, Klonopin. The Midodrine dosage was up to 5mg three times a day, but now it is back down to 2.5, my doctor thinks part of my problem is that I am not tolerating the Midodrine well. I am drinking LOTS of water and have ingested more salt the past week than in my whole previous life I think. I have the compression hose (which I hate because they bind up behind my knees). I have done everything I have been told, and these symptoms are just not abating. I am supposed to go back to work Monday, and I can't even get up and vacuum my house, or make dinner. I am terrified at the thought of going out in public at this point. What if I have another bad "episode"? How do I do this? How do I cope with this problem, and still be a wife and working mother of three children? If anyone has the answers, I know it will be here on this forum. Thanks, Angela