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Oh, as for food and drinks. It's basically just eating healthy, ie not eating fast food all the time. Also, hydration is very important. I'm sure you've heard this. Drinks like water, Gatorade and coconut water are good but any fluid really. Except alcohol, that exacerbates symptoms. The main site dinet.org is a good source for info as well. Also, this forum is pretty helpful.

Fellow 24 m athlete here. I've had pots for about 9 months. To be frank it is a difficult journey. I've never heard of Gilbert's syndrome and do not know what a heart block entails. However, as far as pots goes, an athletic guy like yourself should keep up the exercise. Only when I started taking my beta blocker, nadolol, was I able to start running again. I'm not where I used to be athletically but I think eventually I will get back to it. It's a step by step process and you need to build yourself up. At first, I couldn't do anything. Now I am driving, working and doing cardio every day. It's baby steps man, everyday just try to acheive something more. Eventually you will get stronger. There are much more experienced people on this forum then me who are doing a lot with there lives and handling their health like champs. Do not let this illness beat you. Seriously, fight through it, it is worth it. The earlier you start the better. There is a point of overdoing things, which I have experienced on several occasions. At this point it is important not to panic and not let yourself get frustrated. When it all becomes too much lying down and reading a book for a few hours calms you down. It actually helps potsies a lot to just lie down until things become a bit better. Again I am not sure about your other conditions so consult your doctor before exercise. Try not to despair, unexpected things like this happen and you are not alone.

Peregrine, what exercises for posture and neck muscles have you been doing? If you don't mind my asking.

This might sound strange but...I feel like sitting/ standing up straight, using good posture, helps a bit. It could be because I use my core and flex my legs a bit more while using good posture. Or perhaps it is conducive to good circulation. I am not sure how much of a difference, if any, there is. Or if I've just tricked myself and feel a placebo effect. Anyway, would love to hear some thoughts.

I'm taking nadalol. It is long acting and regulates my heart rate pretty well.

Kahn academy is similar maybe not as in depth. http://www.khanacademy.org/

I work part time, 3-4 days a week. I could probably work full time if I had that job opportunity. I am also planning on returning to school next summer. It is definitely hard sometimes, but I always seem to get through it. Being responsible about drinking enough and getting enough sleep is crucial. Also, exercise if you can, pretty much live as healthy a life as possible. Side note; someone on this board posted they are going to medical school. A lot of healthy people cannot handle that type of workload. So, anything is possible! Even with pots:)

Yoga is actually good for core muscles and posture and is less strenuous than lifting weights or cardio. It may sound a bit hocus pocus but it has helped me a bit and is worth a try. Stick with it though, no point in giving up after two weeks, I would say 3-4 months and you should see results. Discuss with physician first of course. Hope he is able to get back on his feet soon.

Nausea for me, when it gets bad my dizziness is exacerbated as well. With all the different answers on here it makes me wonder how our illness can be better explained.

I think my worst symptoms happen when I am sitting upright for a long time. Approximately an hour and a half to two hours whether in a class, at the movies or at work. I try moving around or going to the bathroom but sometimes it's not enough to assuage my symptoms. I feel extreme nausea and pre-syncope as well as very light headed around the hour mark. This makes it really difficult to concentrate it is extremely frustrating and as most of you know pre syncope is not pleasant. I am on nadalol (beta blocker) and doing exercise as my treatments. Any advice?

Do you salt load? I have been having high blood pressure lately as well 134/84 range and stopped eating so much salt it should help a little bit. Although there are benefits of eating salt and drinking fluids with pots. Just make sure you drink a lot. Otherwise, not sure. My doctor said this could be a good sign. That my autonomic nervous system is trying to rebalance. Hopefully that is the case although I am skeptical.

The chart would be better if we could see what year range people are feeling better or worse. For me it's been a half year and I am feeling slightly better after my acute onset. I have good and bad days like I am sure everyone does.

Chaos is right you need salts or electrolytes with water to retain blood volume. I eat pretzels and drink a lot of water this seems to help a bit. Or drink Gatorade or coconut water. So yea just plain water is probably not the best.

http://bravegirlsclub.com/archives/2151 no period this should work.

This isn't specifically pots related but a good read. http://bravegirlsclub.com/archives/2151. Enjoy.

Has anyone taken d ribose supplement? I hear it is good for cfs and my doctor told me try it. If you have what does it do and does it help at all?

Yea I have a grinding sensation in the top right part of my neck close to the skull. I used to be able to just get a popping sound like when you crack your knuckles, this was before I injured my neck. A few months after the injury I suddenly got sick and have been since. So yea neck issues might have something to do with pots just don't know how to fix it.

Nope, but I talked to my doctor he said a few others had this happen to them so I am going to stop taking it and see what happens thanks.

I read that rash was a side effect of midodrine, I have some small itchy bumps on my arms and legs that seem to come and go. I was wondering if this was from midodrine or something else?

My pots doctor, Dr. Goodkin, of Media PA sometimes collaborates with Dr. Jeffery R Borris of children's hospital of Philadelphia. Don't know much about him but a doctor I know suggested him to me initially. I am too old (24) for doctor Borris but maybe give him a call to see. Best of luck. Also I think he has some locations outside of Philadelphia possibly closer to you. http://www.chop.edu/doctors/boris-jeffrey-r.html

Good question western mass I think I am in a similar situation as you. About 50 percent usually but still able to work, I have a lot of great family support which helps. I guess the original reason I posted was to find people similar to myself and get some sort of prognosis.

Thanks for all the responses guys, this illness is so bizarre nobody really knows the cause or the prognosis. From what I have read on this forum the range of severity is also very large. My heart goes out to all those suffering hopefully they will get better soon.

Nope never took plaquenil I just looked it up though and it is also anti malarial, and has some funky side effects from what I read. I can not say anything about it though because I don't know enough about the drug but it might be worth looking into.

Thank you for your response and I am sorry to hear that jpjd59. Hopefully she will get better soon. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20860911 That is the link to a paper from pubmed as to why I think it might have been the prophylactic, has anyone else heard of something like this?

Has anyone had a sudden onset of pots in their early to mid twenties? If you know anyone like this, what has been the underlying cause? I am 24 and was diagnosed in March of 2012 after an acute onset. Possible causes for me are virus, vaccinations, malaria prophylaxis ( I took while on medical mission in Asia) or neck injury sustained in November 2011 which is still bothersome. Anyone with a similar experience or thoughts?