phillipc421

@p8d interesting, that is why I am skeptical since I had no problems without the nitro, it was quite terrible afterwards though. Ativan is currently a life saver for me but I do worry about building a tolerance, I try not to take everyday. 

Thanks, @Pistol. I have no history of passing out. Do you think that would be of any importance to this diagnoses? How long does your heartrate sustain high? I can stand for multiple hours albeit at a 80-90 pulse. The only time I've seen it go over 100 is immediately in the morning or when exercising but after exercise is normal. Lately I've not been able to eat in the mornings for multiple hours. This came on suddenly after being told a doctor thinks it's POTS. I could see this being anxiety but its intense. Ativan helps it. Thoughts? 

I'm just trying to see what I need to tackle the most.

I don't believe they took any blood during the test. My tilt was completely normal without the Nitro. Do you think it would say something about real life since there is no drug provocation. I do have heart rate increases but it stabilizes again. Usually worse in morning. A CSF leak was brought to my attention that I may look into. Apparently it can cause autonomic issues.

Thanks for the reply, the problem is I've had other doctors who do not believe this and think the tilt testing is inconclusive as a I only had a response given the Nitro. Does Ativan help pots?

Hi guys,

First post here but I've been having an absolutely terrible two to three weeks following a positive tilt test. I've been having symptoms for the past three years of dizziness (not spinning but more a drunk internal feeling and the floor not being stable), lightheadedness, tingling in limbs, neck and lower back pain. These are the main symptoms but I seem to have random and smaller feelings of just overall being off or weird. Sometimes I get very hot and am absolutely sure I will pass out but I never have. This past week has been especially bad but I am suspecting anxiety following the tilt table and a neurologist telling me I have POTS which I just do not want to believe.

Basically for the past three years I've just been feeling bad and it's hard to enjoy anything. Going to work is stressful and I don't like to leave the house. I've had a full battery of testing (neuro, cardio, blood, ent) and all have been normal. I was just coming to believe that this may all be anxiety as Ativan does help me. However, I remember vividly when the symptoms started and it was abrupt, so that stuck out to me as odd. It's so bad that now when I do have brief moments of feeling fine, it scares me because it is so out of the ordinary.

I was sent for a tilt study to "ease my mind" and it came back positive. Everything was stable and normal until I was given Nitro at 20 mins in. My heart rate went up and BP crashed. Nothing like this has happened outside of this test. Cardiologist performing test said its Neurocardiogenic Syncope, Neuro who ordered the test says POTS. I do not believe its POTS but its taken over my life as I am constantly checking my pulse and BP and the numbers baffle me. I'll have good blood pressure when I feel terrible, high BP when I'm feeling good and vice versa. I do met a lot of the symptoms as people with Dysautonomia but also I'm missing some of the key markers for POTS. My pulse does not increase 30 beats. I notice some red in my toes, especially if sitting but not standing.

I've been keeping a log. My pulse is higher in the mornings 80-90, can jump to around 100 when standing up but then comes back down to 80-90. Blood pressure has dropped and also has not within the first minute but then usually regulates. I was under the impression this is normal. Now seeing it scares me. I've been having really bad nausea each morning with this increased pulse which is new. I could see this being anxiety, but have seen some people report this with Dysautonomia. By the evening or mid day, or even when I get home from work, my heart rate idles around 60-70 sometimes even 58. I am pretty fit. Throughout this journey I've been continuing to workout as it was a passion of mine, but now I am scared of it. I have heart skips during workouts and often feel like *** afterwards. If I do cardio my pulse will stay high (~100) all day. I've taken over a week off from gym but not improvement in symptoms.

Bottom line, I'm obsessing over the possibility of having dysautonomia but also anxiety and I don't know which to believe. I would hope not both. I do have anxiety for a fact, but after learning about the positive tilt, I wonder if some of my past episodes were not anxiety at all. Some of the symptoms of pots make sense to me but not all.

Sorry for the long post, just wondering if anyone here has an opinion or had similar experiences.