JenJen

i recommend you have a friend or family member watch over you until you get better. hospitals are no place for a sick person, if you ask me.

my obgyn told me to see my family dr., who sent me to the cardiologist who said, "oh it's POTS, you have POTS. i'm 99% sure, we'll do the test tomorrow to confirm." Its all very new, but i guess my cardio is the leader on the POTS front, then my OBGYN for my pregnancy, and then my GP to direct me to who i need to see next.

herniated discs heal themselves. sometimes people need surgery, but the discs, do have the power to heal with special care (usually steroids, nsaids, physical therapy.) an orthopedist can help. some specialize just in spinal injuries, but all can prescribe the right therapies or surgeries.

It's also a halmark of being really pregnant! I'm peeing every 15 mins or less, and doc wants me to up my fluids! While other Potsies are looking around for a chair, im looking around for a toilet ha ha. Ok ill get serious now. My dad is a poorly-managed diabetic. He really has no idea what he's doing, and is totally irrational when high or low. It's scarry. I was borderline gestational diabetes with my first baby, and it was wretched. Felt awful and very POTSy. I think my POTS symptoms feel VERY similar to high and low glucose levels.

When i first described my symptoms of racing heart, and agitated body feeling to a dr, they prescribed visteril which is an antihistamine. It's a first line treatment for anxiety (or even that anxiety like body feeling/reaction). A lot of people try things like that before they start benzos or SSRI/SNRI's. My best friend refers to benedryl as "mother's little helper." I had to stop taking benedry and visteril because it gave me arrhythmias. I found every alternative totally intolerable, except for homeopathics and warm cow's milk. Oh,and believe it or not, celery juice puts me right out. My sister makes this sleep juice form 2 sticks of celery, an orange and a few strawberries for her children. It works on me too

lowest i've been is 88/17. I was actually up and walking. i was promptly sent back to bed.

Is this a symptom of POTS? I have carpel tunnel so bad it is absolute torment! maybe i should start a thread on this.

Can anyone tell me where i can find compression hose for cheap. insurance won't pay. I need 20-30 maternity hose up to the waist. Thanks. tried to get them at the drug/medical supply store. boy was i surprised by the price tag.

I'm just entering my second trimester and starting to feel better, but i fainted nearly every day for the length of the first trimester. For all the POTS moms with kids, how did pregnancy effect your POTS? p.s. any special considerations for safety of the baby? Tell me everything you know please.

don't know if you have an Aldi near you, but i got a great off-brand one for $40 there.

Stress is a necessary poison. It's our body's reaction to it that makes us able to act well in a crisis. Of course its not sustainable. POTS or no POTS, I know people crash after stress/crisis and suffer ill health effects such as lowered immune response. The POTS obviously magnifies it for a lot of us.

had it done twice for carpel tunnel. Don't fret. The needles are extremely thin, like acupuncture needles. The electrical zaps are are somewhat strong, but they're so brief that the're over before you can even wince. It actually kind of exciting, like zapping yourself on purpose when you were a kid. The most painful part is the needle in the muscle of the thumb (not sure if they will do this for you). That's the one that i asked him not to repeat on the other side (he did of course and i lived). Its the anticipation and fear that is the worst part, but once you've been zapped you could do it 50 times. Be brave, remember it's only pain, and it's quite temporary. Good Luck.

mother nature is obviously angry with you! just kidding. Sounds like you're hunkering down, which would have been my advice to you. Stay positive, hold on.

i get palps that wake me up just as i'm drifting off. only happens at night. people with RLS have a similar problem, symptoms emerging just as they're ready to relax. is there something about the transition into sleep that is alarming to the disautonomia effected nervous system? My doc told me the sympathetic and parasympathetic NS take turns where one is mostly on and the other mostly off, switching at night and in the morning. when they go haywire, you end up with POTS (and perhaps a NS that thinks falling asleep at night is something like loosing consciousness in the middle of the day).

don't apologize. this is all making light of a pretty serious subject. don't feel bad, all comments are welcome.

Exercise is a cure all. It releases oxytocin which is euphoria inducing and pain relieving. It is literally addictive. My doc told me that it works just as well as ssri's for depression. Amazing!

There have been so many times when my mother/sister/friends/boss have asked me if i was drunk or on drugs because of my POTS symptoms. I fell over once and the person who helped me up smelled my breath! I don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but my pupils tend to dilate on their own for no reason,which freaks my mother out. She is always telling me to quit taking drugs (i don't take drugs). "Oh really! You're high i can tell!" It's funny because she actually makes me paranoid when she says stuff like that. Stumbling around in the grocery store, brain fog, big pupils, sweating for no apparent reason, suddenly crawling on my knees, lying in bed for hours, tremors, or whatever the indignity, it seems to others that i need rehab. lol. I swear if i hadn't gotten this diagnosis i might have faced an intervention. Ha ha! It's really embarrassing to begin with, then to have to explain myself is even worse, especially in the decade before i was diagnosed when i had no idea what was wrong with me. anyhow,I'm finding a great deal of humor in all of this in the 9 days since i found out what all this was about. Do you have any funny/embarrassing POTS stories you're willing to share?

I think everyone gets a little lightheaded when they stretch in the morning (or maybe i just think that's normal?) I do get lightheaded while lying on my back and sometimes dizziness even wakes me up when i'm in a light sleep. Then i turn my head to the side and it goes away.

I've had palps a few times (maybe 4 or five). It only ever happened while i was trying to sleep (laying flat). Drift off then POW! I'm awake! So,in my experience, yes.

the best part of being diagnosed is telling my mom and sister that i do not in fact have "swoon," or "the vapors," but i would still like them to treat me like i'm the aristocracy. see! I'm not crazy or delicate! Ha!

My symptoms built gradually over time starting about ten years ago. I didn't have any major infections at the time, but it did start in tandem with a completely wretched bout of depression. It got better when i was pregnant with my first child who is now 4, but after his birth it was almost impossible to lift my head. I began to feel better in a few weeks, and have fainted only 5 or 6 times per year until recently. I'm 14 weeks pregnant with my second and feel awful. This is what prompted me to see a dr. again. I'm ready to feel better. To everyone, thanks so much for your comments. I was in almost total dispare before my diagnosis, and then suddenly over the moon with the prospect of being cured TOMORROW. Both, i think, were forms of insanity. Right now I'd say that im cautiously optimistic. At least i know i have options and i'm overjoyed that this thing has a name and that there is a community of people supporting each other.

I was diagnosed a week ago today with POTS. I had never heard of it, and was shocked when i was told i had it. When the doc explained it, it made so much sense and i was suddenly hopeful for the first time in a while. The thing he said that really excited me was that the prognosis is really good. He said the autonomic nervous system is like a computer. It can get bogged down with bugs and cookies and junk. Luckily it can be rebooted with medications taken for a short while. The idea is that we use autonomic testing every few months and adjust beta blockers accordingly until i don't need them anymore. I'm 28 years old and looking forward to having an active life, so this plan sounds really great to me. my question is, do you think he could be right? Do i just need a reboot? Could it possibly work this way? I've only known about this illness for a week, and i've read that young people often "grow out of it." I want to keep feeling positive, but i need a realistic perspective. Has anyone here recovered from POTS, or know anyone who has? Has anyone been given a prognosis? Thanks for this forum, by the way. I've learned so much in just a few days!