Abe

I get this all the time especially after my benzo prescription begins to take effect.  Its like my tight muscles being forced to loosen up or stretched out.  It can be very painful or at least, very uncomfortable,  I'm kind of used to it now I guess.

I experience the same thing all the time.  My thought was that the benzo (Lorazepam) that I'm on, caused it or made it worse because I remember experiencing it a little before I got on the medication but not sure.  I just got prescribed an SSRI. My hope and prayer is for this to work because I'm so tired of all these symptoms.

This is such a good news @Pistol and an encouragement to the rest of us.

God bless you @Pistol.  Thank you so much.  This is one of those days when it seems I get too overwhelmed. Its sad watching a fifty year old guy crying.   I am getting help with my anxiety issues through a therapist and I am on Lorazepam which has been helpful for my symptoms but it did not work today at all.

Thanks so much @Pistol .  I have been out of it all week so its been difficult to check in.  Couldn't even work and I haven't done that in my life time.  I have been in a paralyze state - every part of me (mind, body and spirit, it seem like) - all day. If this is coming from my unconscious mind, it is terrible. I am just scared for no reason I can see or tell. My body feel numb, muscle so tensed to the point that I can barely breathe or walk. Is it the tension in my body that is causing the fear or the fear causing the tension? Fighting POTS and anxiety/panic attack at the same time, seemed too much for one person to deal with in my opinion but I can't argue with God.  Not sure what to do to get out of it.

When going through the day to day of these multiple issues, its difficult to fathom that other people are going through these same things.  I can't say that I'm glad that other people's suffering makes me feel not alone but reading through these posts just makes my sanity less blurry.  Thanks to you all.

On 4/22/2020 at 6:54 AM, TigerLily said:

Do you ever have low potassium whit this? 

Not sure.  I have stopped checking that for a while now but I know it is one of my problems.  I take a lot of coconut water and pedialyte so I think I'm okay.

Thanks everyone.  Reading this, gave me a little bit of a relief from being so scared of these sensations when they start.  I never knew that was what I have been experiencing.  Few years back, I experienced it everyday and then it seemed to taper off.  Now it's back with a bang.  I am always confused why.  Being okay all day and suddenly my body start shrinking together (tightening up), stomach becomes a mess, struggling to breath,  and all sorts of sensations.  It's like my body is shutting down.  My stress and anxiety level go through the roof.  The last few days, I thought I was going to faint (which I am always scared of).  All I do is basically stay in bed.  I am on Lorazepam so that helps get me some relief.  Now that I understand what is causing it a little bit, maybe I'll stop being so scared and just wait it out.  Just found out I might have H. Pylori infection two weeks ago.  My stomach is burning like fire and that has made things worse. Not sure if that could be adding to or causing the adrenaline rush too.

@Pistol, you are blessed.  Thanks so much for your reply.  I actually called the clinic today to ask my doctor about the fatigue and they got back to me after couple of hours.  It's a small practice so they do not have an online conferencing platform. I was told to take my vitamins and a lot of fluids and if it persist for another 3 days, I should come in.  My doctor explained to me the addictive effect of Lorazepam but then told me, I trust you because you hate medications anyways. I must say, it has help me in the last few weeks.  I am on 1mg 2x daily but I always cut it in half.  So max 1mg a day until 2-3 weeks ago when everything spiked for me.  Now I sometimes take 0.5mg three times when it get really tough to do anything.  I was on Diltiazem(calcium-channel blocker) for years but since 2017, in agreement with my doctor then, she decided to start fresh with something else (Metoprolol - beta blocker).  The side effect from it was so bad that another doctor told me to stop it right away. It was horrible.  I am kind of in a limbo right now to figure out what works for HBP and I am really tired of going to the doctor and how much it all cost.  I tried the breathing exercises but seemed like they never work for me.  Maybe I just wasn't doing them right or maybe my expectations were too high.  I am going to keep trying though.  Thanks for reminding that "this too will pass".  It's been a struggle to encourage myself in all this.  Thanks so much.

Thank you all @cmreber, @p8d, @KaciCrochets, @Pistol ) for your replies. I haven't been well enough to check your responses until now.  It's been a very rough few weeks.  Barely sleeping, severe digestive issues and the symptoms that feels like life is being squeezed out of me and every muscles in my body feels like they are been tightened around me.  Sudden extreme fatigue.  I don't understand that one.  One minute I am okay.  The next minute, I am holding to dear life.  Out of nowhere.  Don't know if this has to do with Panic attack or something else but I wasn't feeling any panic when it happens.  I have not been lucky with any medication yet and just currently on Lorazepam for my anxiety.  I also haven't been able to go to the clinic since the whole stay at home thing started at least to figure out what type of POTS I have or at least test (catecholamine blood test) to confirm.  With my condition, I am not sure how good my immune system is so I decided not to risk going to the clinic with the virus thing still going on. I am a 49 year old male and I must say, I get very terrified about all these a lot of times.

Thanks @Pistol.  I looked up my medical record and all it says was POTS (no information about the type).  Based on my symptoms, I thought it is Hyperadrenergic POTS but I am going to call the Cardiologist office (the one that diagnosed me) tomorrow and confirm otherwise I will reach out to my Primary Doctor.  It has been a very rough few weeks and I can't remember it being this bad since 2017.  I am not sure if my anxiety and panic contributed to the spiral but this is crazy.

Anyone has an idea what kinds of symptoms differentiate Hyperadrenergic POTS from other types?  I was diagnosed with POTS in 2017 but never found out what type it was.  The last few weeks it has been a very bad burning sensations all over my body especially in my stomach, excessive trembling/shaking, different kind of sensations all over.  I am only taking a benzo right now because I haven't done well with any other medication. The last few weeks has been really miserable.  Thanks.

Thanks @Pistol.  I did finish the H Pylori treatment and the tests after confirmed it was taken care of.  As far as the EGD test, the surgeon who was going to do the procedure told me to leave it alone unless the swelling comes back which never did.  I am grateful for that.

I was diagnosed with POTS in December 2017 and my initial symptoms were the usual Orthostatic intolerance, heart raise up to 140/150 when I sit or stand up, extreme fatigue, dizziness (standing or lying down), digestive issues, Anxiety and Panic Attacks, etc.  I feel all wired up all day long.  Like my body can't calm down. I know also that I have been under a lot of stress for years at work and at home during this time. I have tried to determine the type of POTS I have but I am so tired of spending money on medical bills that I have given up on that.  Before the final diagnosis, my doctor did almost all the tests in the book (including Lyme disease) to determine what was going on.  I can actually remember few times when he told me, "I'm not sure what to tell you because all these tests are coming back clean"

I have read about other people with same experience where their POTS started after a course of antibiotics and the fact that mine started the same way just made me wonder but what do I know?  Life goes on I guess.  Before 2017, I was a workaholic.  Worked 20-22 hour days.  I was everywhere.  Working on 4-5 projects at a time.  Now I work solely from home the last 3+ years but I am grateful that I least could work from home otherwise, it would have been a mess. Praise God.

@Random-Symptom Man, I am very grateful for your comments.  I have never had a colonoscopy and/or endoscopy.  I am a little scared of it.  I have had a barium test and that came back normal.  When all this first started, it was a GI problem that got me prescribed a double doses of antibiotics.  I had a swollen intestine from an infection which ended up being H. pylori.  My doctor then scheduled an endoscopy but was cancelled because I had a low potassium level and apparently, it increased my risk of something going wrong during the procedure.  It was after all the antibiotics that my POTs started.

As far as medication goes, I only take Lorazepam.  My anxiety has gotten the better of me to the point that I am scared of taking any medication even something as safe as probiotics.  Even taking the full dose I was prescribed (1mg twice daily) has been too scary for me to do.  I just break the pill into half.  I bought one (probiotics) again recently and left it in the refrigerator because I wasn't sure what side effect was going to come out of it.

As far as food goes, I tried doing a food journal thing before but didn't last long.  I don't drink alcohol.  My favorite drink was Dr Pepper and I gave that up. The only thing that was different in the last couple of weeks was me eating Pho Soup more often than usual and I did that because bone broth seemed to help my stomach.  Not sure if there was something my stomach reacted to in it. I have constipation all the time but my main problem is the burning pain and spasm.  Oh, that has been horrible. 

Sleep for me has been another major issue.  I rarely get six hours of sleep.  Most days I just wake up at 2, 3 or 4am and then can't sleep again.  Even with Lorazepam.  Above all, thanks for your reply.  Really appreciate it.  I will take a look at the website to see if my med is causing me this pain.

Thanks @KiminOrlando.  I will talk with my doctor about that.  Sometimes it just feels like we are just going through the motions when I visit the clinic.  The pain I go through everyday and every time I eat something just drives me nuts.

@Pistol - Thank you so much.  That is very helpful.

I'm wondering if anyone here consult a dietician to help with stomach issues.  I have tried so many things diet wise and nothing has worked.  I and very frustrated right now. Just don't know if it worths the expense.