Laura

Hi girls, I have really sore joints and achey muscles as well since developing pots. However, I did have an increased period of terribly sore joints, sore and burning muscles while taking pindolol. At each appointment I would say to the doctor that I felt like it was worsening and really was having pain and discomfort. After a while he decided to do bloodwork ( checking the creatinine kinase - CK- levels) to check for muscle breakdown. It turned out to be elevated. I stopped the pindolol on dr's order and the levels were re-checked later and had gone back to normal. He said that this was not normally a side effect of the pindolol and had not heard of it occuring before, but as the CK levels went back to normal once the medication was ceased, he assumed that would be the cause. Just wanted to add that little bit of info incase it would be helpful to anyone else. Laura

Hi Laura and Amber, welcome! Hope you get lots of good information and support here. Laura

Hi Melissa, I am so sorry that you are going through all of this. Hope you get home tomorrow and back to your own little bed! Hang in there! Thinking of you... Laura

Melissa, I'm so sorry that you have to be in the hospital. I hope you get the best of treatment and are back home very soon. Take good care. Laura

Wow! Good job, Amy. You write very well. Thank you for sharing this. Laura

Corina, I am so sorry for the difficult time you and your family are experiencing. I will be thinking of you. I hope you have good results from your surgery. Maybe it will have a positive impact on some of your symptoms. Take good care and check in when you can. Laura

Jacquie, that's great!! Hope you continue to feel improvements!

Hi Phoobear, some people with IBS can experience a feeling of a lump in the throat, and/or difficulties swallowing. Sounds like you are having a rough time with things. I hope you can find a doctor who'll help determin what is going on.

Belinda, So sorry for all that you are going through. I hope you are home soon and feeling improved.

Michelle, thanks so much for this information.

Hi! You can also buy fiber in pill form and take a couple pills 1/2 hour before your meals. As Rhonda said, it helps to slow down the metabolism of sugars. Works really well for alot of people.

Happy, happy birthday!!

Sending you birthday wishes! Laura

Hi Lauren, I have no idea if this is at all the same, but I get hives on my tounge and down my throat with certain food allergies. They are sore but also are itchy in my throat. They are different from cankers as they are red, but don't get the whitish centers. Have you tried any antihistamines to see if that might take things down a bit? I thought I would mention this as it might at least help you to narrow yours down. Good luck!

Ernie, I was so glad to read this! I hope this will be the thing to bring you relief. Laura

Katie, congratulations!! How exciting... starting a new family! Wishing you all the best, and try to keep us updated on how things are going!

Hi! I've seen some reports lately of people who have used melatonin for sleep aide and have had incidents of racing heart. These were just regular people (did not have pots) that experienced feelings of racing heart with melatonin use. I thought you might like to know this for a bit of reassurance/validation. I unfortunately can't remember where exactly I read this, did you try to google and see what comes up? Laura.

Hey Lulu, If you are not able to salt load you may actually have to slow down on the fluid intake in order for your body to retain it and resist dumping your fluids. Maybe you've already discussed with your doctor what ammount of daily fluids are needed for you...too much fluids may not be good for your kidneys either. I would be concerned that with the ammount of fluids you are taking in - 2 cups every hour - that you'd end up much more dehydrated as your body would be dumping. I hope you get some answers from Dr. Grubb or your PCP soon!

Hi Lulu, I am sure that you likely are, but thought I would ask anyway.... with as much fluid intake as you are having, are you being very sure to take in a lot of salt as well so that you retain the fluid? If you don't have enough salt, you'll end up more dehydrated despite the large fluid intake as you'll simply be voiding it out. Just thought I would check..... Laura

Thinking of you Mary...

We are all thinking of you, Emily! Missing your posts! Laura

How are you doing this morning? Have things settled back down? ~

Hey Dizz... hope you are doing ok. What is your heart rate like - can you tell? Are you having a really fast rate again? Watch how you are doing and if you start to feel worse you might need to think about going in to get checked. I know you would hate to need to do that because you've had awful experiences with the ER. Sometimes if your heart goes into a funny rythym it can feel like what you are describing and could be serious so be careful and go in if you need to. It sounds concerning. Laura

Traci, I am so sorry that things are so difficult for you. I wanted to second the ensure that Lauren mentioned and also say that if you can't stand the taste/consistency of ensure, you could try Boost. It is a little thinner in texture and for me, is easier to manage. Another good thing is to try to snack alot with small snacks through the day as you can, rather than having big meals. Hope you get some good suggestions. Laura

Hi Jen, that is a tough position to be in. I'm afraid that I have no good ideas on what to do. There is no good choice. I think I would keep the appointment with the first guy, if you do that you can still see the specialist for another tilt if you get coverage, right? Also, as far as the xanax or ativan, some PCP choose not to prescribe anti-anxiety meds or antidepressants for any of thier patients, they send their patient for a pysch consult and the psych doctor will do the appropriate prescribing. Then you can go to the PCP for refill prescriptions. I haven't a clue why they do it in this process, but I know for sure that this is how it works in some places. Laura