I've had POTS (or at least known about it) for 3 years and have always been really high-functioning (Worked in restaurant, on my feet for several hours a day, no fainting, work not a problem). After spending a torturous summer in obscene heat in DC and suffering a trauma that resulted in hospitalization for chest pains, I am now back in the Northeast and much happier to be in cooler weather. It's been over a month and I still feel like I have no energy. Normally with my POTS i'm pretty much chronically fatigued but it is manageable, not debilitating. However, since I've been home from DC I feel every day when I get up and all day long like I've been beaten with a ton of bricks in a pillowcase and like my eyes want to close and nap. I saw my family doctor today and she said she can think of no physiological reason why I should have no energy (I think she forgot about my POTS since I was seeing her for a follow-up about anxiety). I'm not sure whether this complete wipe out I'm feeling is my POTS, because I haven't been experiencing tachycardia with postural changes. I have been trying to rebuild my stamina by taking short 15-20 min walks around my neighborhood and I usually feel better afterwards, and its usually at night (for some reason after the sun goes down I feel better for whatever reason). I asked my dr if I could try and increase my stamina by exercising for real and she said definitely not, don't go near a treadmill. But I'm so frustrated that my dr didn't even offer to refer me to a POTS specialist or run blood work or anything to figure out why I feel each day like I've run 10 miles and been hit by a MACK truck. I have been taking it easy and not pushing myself and I had hoped that after a month I might see some improvement in my energy level but I still feel like a sloth. I'm really scared that my time in DC and the trauma I suffered has pushed me into the group of people with POTS who can't work...which is terrifying because I've had no problem working for my entire adult life. Does anyone else just feel totally depleted of energy without the fainting or the tachy? Please help I feel so discouraged.