LisaAndJethro

Hi, I did a very improvised poor man's tilt table test. I don't have a blood pressure cuff so I just did my heart rate. But I just wanted to see whether I had any grounds to go to the drs to get them to do a real tilt table test. Anyway I laid down for ten minutes and my heart rate was 69 bpm then: after 1 min: 91bpm after 2 mins: 96bpm after 5 mins: 104bpm after 10 mins: 106bpm So an overall raise of 37bpm. I felt a bit more tired than usual but didn't feel faint or pass out. Any thoughts on whether this is 'normal'? Thanks

Hi Sylvie, Sorry to hear that you had serotonin syndrome and subsequent problems, that sounds awful. I agree that venlafaxine is an awful drug and I hold it responsible for a lot of my problems. I have tapered down now to less than 8mg a day (from 225mg) and I just want to be off it but it just causes such agony of not sleeping and heart problems every time I reduce. Luckily I was put on the drug for OCD and that is no longer a problem so I don't need to be on any other medication for it. Fingers crossed next year I'll be free of it. Lisa

Hi, thanks for your replies. I will have to try and do the 'poor man's tilt table test' thing again. I did try it and my heart rate went up but then I had to go to the toilet and after that I felt too ill to continue. It's interesting the comment about pupil dilation, my pupils always seem to be pretty dilated. A colleague once asked if I was on drugs! I am on an antidepressant which I've read can cause pupil dilation (according to wikipedia anyway) so I always just put it down to that but I'm only on less than 8mg of that now. I will also look into the conditions you mentioned Katybug. I have to do so much medical research for myself as drs don't know what it is that I'm expecting my honorary medical degree in the post soon

Hi, I'm Lisa, 30 yrs old, from the UK and I've been ill for at least 3 and a half years with no diagnosis. I just wondered if anyone could relate to my symptoms. Maybe they don't sound anything like dysautonomia/POTS but I am at the stage of giving anything a try! My primary symptom is a persistent feeling of sleepiness, where I would fall asleep at work back when I worked full time and would nap repeatedly at weekends. The only time I didn't feel sleepy was after about 7pm. I frequently feel a strong, inescapable urge to lie down, which I have sometimes had to do at inopportune times like on the floor when decorating an empty house! At these times I will usually sleep but it's such an intense feeling of weakness it feels more like i'm losing consciousness. By contrast at night I find it difficult to sleep, even if i've forced myself to stay awake all day. Then there's the lightheadedness/shaky feeling that i get when I try and do any kind of exertion, ie housework, gardening or going for a short walk. I have to sit or lie down to recover. I find that this is worse in the morning or afternoon, and I can be more productive in the evening (But not much). For the past 11 months I've had problems falling asleep, where as soon as I drop off my heart appears to 'stop' and jolts me awake. This sometimes happens multiple times before I can sleep. I thought this might be sleep apnea but this has been tested for and ruled out. I also get frequent headaches (mostly in the morning), and diarrhea probably a couple of times a week. I always get up to pee at least once in the night. Just to complicate things further I'm trying to taper off Venlafaxine/Effexor as I want to have a baby and that has caused me to have heart problems even though I'm making very tiny reductions. I reduced by 1mg last month and had a pounding heart that kept me awake and a winded feeling in my chest for 3 weeks. I also had several episodes of shaking uncontrollably. I've had a 24hr ECG done but by this point symptoms had subsided somewhat so I'm not hopeful that anything will show up. Anyway I have had blood tests that have ruled out: diabetes, thyroid problems, vitamin deficiencies, anemia. Chronic fatigue syndrome and sleep apnoea have also been ruled out. I recently had a synacthen test which I'm still waiting on results for but dr thinks it's highly unlikely to be that (and I think I would've heard by now if anything showed up on the test). I do have coeliac disease but have been gluten free for over two years and antibody levels are now normal. Thanks for reading