StayAtHomeMom

I was always skinny (100 lbs at 5'4") until I had kids and over the last 10 years I have put on 80 lbs. I think it just depends on the person. I would make sure you get a complete thyroid check up though. Just to make sure there isn't an underlying thyroid condition causing you POTS. If that is clear I wouldn't worry about it too much unless the doctors are worried. Some people are just built like that. I am sorry your POTS is giving you such a hard time right now. I hope you feel better soon.

That's what I thought my issue was so they had me take prilosec and Zantac. The theory was if it was that bad it was affecting my breathing it wouldn't be controlled with just the PPI. I had a bad reaction to the prilosec and felt like I was having a heart attack for 3 days (til I stopped it). That is when I decided no meds til they proved it with a test first. I had the upper GI scope and I had no acid reflux. No ulcers. No damage. No h. Pylori. They found a small stricture in my esophagus that they opened up a bit. Still not sure why heart burn is a POTS symptom for me but it is there. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat. I am hoping when I start the keto diet it will help the heart burn because I won't have anything heavy in my stomach that sits there. I hope you find what ever is affecting your breathing.

I am glad you found something fixable. I hope by getting your numbers up it will help your symptoms. My mom has the deficiency and she does the shots every once in a while but also does the drops under her tongue to help. The pills didn't work for her.

My main and first symptom was not being able to get a deep breath. If I fight it I will hyperventilate and end up in the ER. It is always there with varying intensity. I have had a full work up by a pulmonologist and he said my lungs are fine. After a year I found I had POTS and my specialist just shrugs it off as a symptom. I wish I could make it go away. My O2 is 97 or up. The only thing I found that remotely helps was in the beginning it would get so bad and I was afraid I would end up in the ER again, I noticed I would have heartburn (the acid in the back of your throat feeling) so I would chew a rolaid with gas relief. The only thing I can figure is the magnesium in it would help. I haven't had to use that trick in almost 2 years now. Very thankful. I just meditate now when it bothers me. I am learning to live with it.

I would try the metoprolol. It was prescribed to help. Plus it is probably the 12 hour one so it will leave your system fairly quickly if you react badly. Talk to your cardiologist about getting a Tilt Table Test. That will rule out or confirm POTS or other autonomic dysfunctions. If your tilt table comes back fine next step would be back to your PCP to rule out some things using blood work. Have they checked your thyroid?

YES!!! Personally if I hadn't read on here that midodrine can cause scalp tingles I would have went to the ER. Neither the doctor or pharmacist warned me. Totally freaky. That being said it is a side effect I live with because it helps so much. I have noticed the more active I am the less it shows up though. When I asked my doctor about it he said, "good, that means it's working"

When my oldest son was younger I noticed he would fidget like crazy. Never stand still. Hated sports or running. Now that he is 15 he is showing more signs and symptoms of POTS, including the heart rate jump. He mostly does ok. Just these last few months he has been getting worse so I need to confirm the diagnosis but for the past 2 years he has been managing without it bothering him too much.

Anything better with your congestion issues? Or did you stop taking it?

A small dose will barely touch you BP, if at all. Small doses of propranolol have been used to treat anxiety. I was worried because BB can cause dizziness. Which I did not need more of but it actually fixed my dizzies. I currently use a different BB because the propranolol messes with my breathing but it is my number one medication. Along with midodrine as needed.

I see no beta blocker. Have you tried propranolol or another beta blocker?

Congratulations!!! Very excited for you. I know from experience that finding that first doctor is amazing!! Good luck on your tests. I hope they find something that can be "fixed."

Mine is mild. I have had bad months in the beginning but now not so much. I felt like my symptoms were bad til I seen others experiences. Now I am happy with what I have. That being said I think I have had it since I was a teenager. Just a few years ago it got bad for some reason and it was brought to my attention by my body. Never be scared of what is around the corner. You can't control the future. You can only control the present. Enjoy your family as much as you can. Your kids are young only once. I figure out my limits as we go. Took my boys to the fair this weekend. Even rode on some rides with them. Til my body got a little upset. They understood and were ok with it. My hubby went with them while I took pictures. We still had a blast. I don't regret going in the slightest.

That is the way it was explained to me as well. So far I am on day 3 and I feel like it isn't a high enough dose. I may have to see if I can up it to 50. 25 is helping the palpitations but not the tachycardia.

It could be because it is opening your sinus passages, it is causing drainage. I would see if he would be OK with you adding the "D" to help dry you out while it kicks in.

It worked pretty well today. I went out and went to our local fair. I could feel when my midodrine wore off but I felt ok about my metoperlol. Not sure it brought my HR down enough though. I will have to watch it over the next week or so. No funky side effects.

I took my first dose of the succinate today. We will see how well it works. I mostly need it during the day so hopefully it will work best if I take it during the day.

I am scared of new meds because I don't always react the way I should. They gave me prilosec when I was first sick thinking I had GERD. I ended up at the ER thinking I was having a heart attack. Took me days of feeling that way to figure out it was the medication.

I take it for my tachycardia and heart palpitations. In theory it helps with all of my symptoms because it controls my tachycardia. Tartrate lowers by blood pressure a little but I was normal to start with. The other day when I went to the doc I was excited. I took both my tartrate and my midodrine (which ups BP) and my blood pressure was 124/77. So I am glad it balances out when I am active.

Does it help heart palpitations and keeping your heart rate lower?

My PCP is upset with me for only taking my metoperlol tartrate once a day. It bothers my sleeping schedule when I take the second dose. So she has prescribed me the succinate version which is a once a day. Has anyone else tried the succinate version? Does it work as well? Any weird side effects?

The double crutches I am looking at can fold down and fit in a back pack. I wouldn't need them often. I have only come across 2 days since this last thanksgiving that I wish I bought them. They are more to help stabilize me when the world tilts and if I need something steady because it takes too much energy to lift my foot more then a cm off the ground. Generally speaking I don't do a lot of actual walking. When I did last month I did well. Sat down a lot and rested but it was at a museum so there were a lot of places to sit. Usually when I don't feel good I stay home. So I don't come across the lots of days I would need them. Just that occasional day.

My youngest brother is 6'. The other is 6'4". The taller one growth spurted a little in his young teenage years but mostly just steady. Honestly I feel like I blinked and missed my youngest's growth spurt. I think his was steady though too. I have to buy my oldest son 2 pant sizes up every time I buy him clothes. He is wearing a 12 1/2 shoe but I think they are getting too small again because he hates them and prefers his flip flops which are a 13/14. My son's biological father was adopted so not sure there. He himself is only 5'6". I envy his height sometimes... until he smacks himself in the face with a low lying tree branch while walking down the sidewalk. Lol

My boss uses a scooter. His suffered a second stroke about a year and a half ago. He gets good luck on Craigslist. His insurance wouldn't pay for it at first but he had an evaluation and they recommend one so he can have the insurance pay for it hopefully. He has one at home, one at the office, and one in his car. The one in his car is just a motorized razor scooter he picked up at a yard sale. He talks about adding a seat but I think (hope) he is joking. In my experience the three wheeled seems to be easier to move around in and fold down easier. The four wheeled go faster though but the turning radius sucks. Personally I have been looking into a pair of double crutches for my bad days. But I haven't done it yet. A little bit of pride I think. A cane just doesn't seem enough to me. Good luck and I hope you find something good that works for you.

I hope his is just from growing. He grows for 6 months and then stops for six months. When his symptoms started he grew 4 inches in 6 months. He is 5'10" as of a month ago but I suspect he is hitting a growth spurt again. It kills me when he laughs at my shortness and he gets something for me on the top shelf at stores (I am 5'4"). Or puts dishes away and forgets I am short and puts stuff I need on the top shelf. Lol

That sounds awesome that you are feeling so much better. I think acceptance is the hardest thing. But once you do it gets easier. I am only 32 and for me it was like a punch in the gut at first. But now it is more my body is broken, it reacts funny to things, and is weird. It is OK. I just had to change things up a bit. I am still searching for my underlying cause. For myself as well as my kids. My 15 year old has been showing symptoms for a while. But was able to manage without meds. I will have to push for his diagnosis soon though because it is getting worse. I am gonna worry about that after he gets back from vacation though. I think autonomic dysfunction symptoms are much less scary when you understand what is going on and learn the tips and tricks of helping to alleviate them. Or at least lessening them. Hope things keep getting better for you!!