I know this topic gets brought up A LOT but I have probably the opposite problem. Could I really just have anxiety and NOT Pots?
Let me explain and sorry for the novel -
I had a baby 6 months ago. Since getting pregnant I've had some health anxiety surrounding this birth. I had two other healthy pregnancies and babies, I couldn't get lucky again, right? During labor I had some issues with nearly blacking out after the epidural because my blood pressure dropped, they injected me with something and then I had problems the rest of delivery with a high heart rate. Everything turned out fine but my health anxiety really kicked up a notch. I was concerned about every little twitch or pain related to me and going through flu season with 3 kids had me concerned with every little cough from them. Things were seemingly better for a while except for this weird dizzy feeling I would get on occasion, this weird almost floating feeling. Didn't feel like I was going to pass out, but just felt off. My period also came back way early at 4 months postpartum despite breastfeeding. A week before my 2nd cycle was due, I had this weird chest burning/tightness in the morning and then nearly passed out while watching my daughter's ballet. Googling chest pain and dizziness gives you a nice big warning telling you to call 911 immediately. I ended up going to the ER and getting all the blood tests and xrays and everything looked fine and was told to follow up with a cardiologist.
I went to the cardiologist 2 weeks later, he came in, looked at the computer with my info and immediately said POTS. I scheduled a tilt table for the following week but did a stress test and an echo that day and he sent me home and told me to look into POTS and see if my symptoms matched. Down the google hole I went.
I have three young kids and all I saw was "life changing illness, debilitating, disabled, bed bound." I became obsessed with checking heart rate on my apple watch, checking my blood pressure. I never once noticed my heartbeat before this but all of a sudden it consumed me. I read more about the Tilt Table Test and it freaked me out. I didn't want to be strapped to a table, I didn't want to pass out, or throw up, or go through the worst thing I've ever done. So I'm strapped to this table, super uncomfortable, silently freaking out, and all I could think about was what was my body going to do when this table gets tilted. It tilts up, my heart rate jumps to 170 and stays there for 20 minutes. My blood pressure is also elevated but stays consistent the whole time. My heart rate is never that high and never does it stay like that unless I'm panicking about something. My hands and feet are tingling, a little dizzy, but the test itself wasn't horrible besides just feeling my heart my pound out of my chest while people stare at me, and the doctor comes in after 20 minutes, sits at the computer, prints off the equivalent of Webmd and tells me I have POTS.
Since the day he said POTS I feel like I have gotten worse. This occasional weird dizzy/floating feeling is now happening all the time. I feel like my once kind of low blood pressure of 110/70 is now much lower at 90-100/60 or less maybe from the gallon of water I'm drinking is flushing out my salts?. I'm fearful of going out or going outside in the heat and passing out. I get this nervous/dreadful feeling in my chest.
Tell me guys, is it strange to think this is just postpartum anxiety? That my crazy jump in heart rate during the tilt table test was just an anxiety attack? The stress and echo and all the blood tests came back normal. I'm currently hooked up to a 24 holter, will that show POTS or not? I'm currently breastfeeding and I'm at a point where I need to wean her if I want to take any medication but I don't want to wean her if going on medication for POTS is not going to actually do anything because I just have anxiety.
Please help, advise, give opinions. I don't know what to do.