lavanity

Re: Junctional tachycardia--I had a very wise and astute electrophysiologist.  The way I understand it is the POTS still wanted my heart to speed up..it tried but the ablation made it difficult.  The AV node is what transmits the signal from the sinus node to the ventricular node.  Ask your cardiologist electrophysiologist whether you can be having problems.  Apparently in my case, the sinus node was damaged by the ablation as I got bradycardia along with tachycardia, thus necessitating the pacemaker to begin with.  This is just further evidence that sinus node ablation is not the way to go with POTS.  However, back in 1996, no one knew about this.  I feel sometimes like I am one of the "founders" of POTS--the does and the don'ts.

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What were your symptoms like, the junctional tachycardia and how soon after the ablation did they occur?

I know this is a topic that has been discussed a few times on the board.? I would just like to get people's opinions or shared knowledge on this.? I had svt that was causing problems every single day.? I had an ablation and it did get fixed.? after the ablation i started having major problems with pots...probably had pots before the ablation cuz I have a sibling who also has it.? I eventually went to mayo cuz none of the meds were working and mayo started me on mestinon and the POTS has been extremely well controlled now.? I recently wore a monitor because I was having a new feeling tachy and was able to catch it on the monitor and doc says he thinks it's SVT and does not think it's related to POTS(I don't think it is either).? I get these episodes when I'm just sitting or standing or i guess laying down for that matter and i get a hard thump in my chest, then it goes racing (into the 200's) and usually within a min and I get another hard thump and I go back into normal rhythm.? dr said options were medication or another ep study.? i'm starting the med right now but don't know if it will work...didn't work before when i've been on it.? I had a doozy of day the other day when i just had episode after episode and was exhausted by the end of the day and my body will be messed up now for the next week at least.? so after that i'm thinking i'm going to do the ablation.? I am very concerned about the POTS getting worse.? even though i'm dealing with this pots thing now I don't regret for a second doing the first ablation.? Are ablations still a problem if the area of tachy is not related to pots?? Since my body isn't naturally compensating for the low blood pressure without the mestinon would the ablation really make things any worse since my body already doesn't have that capability?? Since being on the mestinon I very rarely have pots symptoms...this tachy that I'm getting is definitely different than the pots tachy i would get.? I would love to hear what any of you have to say about all this or what your docs have said.? My doc doesn't think it will be a problem and he is a wonderful dr but everything i've read says that pots and ablations don't mix well.

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Hi,

I also have POTS and I had an ablation done in 2001 for AVNRT and IST. I have similiar symptoms that you are having. My heart will just out of the blue start racing and then I feel a hard thump and it goes back to normal, all within seconds this happens. I haven't been able to catch the episodes on any monitors so I can't say exactly what is causing it. It is truely frustrating after being so hopeful that the ablation would take care of any tachy. I never had this kind of symptom though before the ablation so I assume it was caused from the ablation. How long ago did you have your ablation done?

Thank you everyone for the replies

BTW I do have POTS.

Sometimes when I cough, when I am done I feel as though i am going to pass out. I also get it sometimes too when I yawn or stretch a lot. Is this a POTS symptom? Does anyone else experience this? Thanx

I can relate to what you are feeling, I lost my mom and brother a little over a year ago and it is so hard. They say it gets easier with time but I am not so sure. Hope you feel better soon

I used to fly 75% of the time for work, and now my flights are down to about 4-8 times a year. I still get nauseous, dizzy, and vertigo on flights. I have many of the same reactions you mentioned in your original post. Some things that work for me:

Airplanes are low on oxygen, and because of high altitudes you dehydrate much more quickly than normal.

I bring extra bottles of water and drink extra to compensate, I also take sinutab to open up the sinuses and vessels to prevent dizziness and sinus infections from the germs on the plane. When the plane is taking off or landing, I keep my eyes closed because I can usually see the pressure of the plane landing and it makes me more dizzy than normal.

Just do everything you normall would to counteract your symptoms but to the extreme because things catapult more quickly on an airplane.

Good Luck! Don't stop traveling though, life is too short!!

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Thank you for the great tips

lavanity -

you're welcome:-)  i had only asked about the POTS since i hadn't "met" you before & didn't want to jump to conclusions & give someone without a diagnosis reason to think they had POTS just b/c of a rxn to flying.  often folks come here pre-diagnosis & while many times it does end up that they have an autonomic issue i just didn't want to confuse you as so many symptoms can overlap between disorders.  but...since you've already had a tilt that's all irrelevant & i'm just rambling:-)

that said, glad you found the forum.  there's a lot of good info here & great people to go along with it.  hope to "see" you around,

:-)melissa

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No problem, I understand . Thank you for all the help and the warm welcome, this is a great board!

I experience this same sensation every time I fly.  I was diagnosed with POTS almost 4 years ago and have flown about 7 or 8 times since then.  I think it is a very normal response to the altitude and pressure changes, but those of us with dysautonomia feel a stronger reaction, or become more aware of the sensation than a normal person would.  The only thing that helps me is to get a window seat and look out the window- when the pilot makes a turn it's much more tolerable if I can see where I'm going instead of just feeling dizzy!

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Thank you for the reply and the help, it is really a relief to know that I am not the only one who experiences this, thanks

Lavanity, Hi, I've been flying for many years - mainly before POTS but some after the diagnosis.  I think that you could have been experiencing the mild "vertigo" attack that I get when the plane is climbing out and/or changing altitude rather quickly or using the artificial cabin pressure when at higher altitudes.  I get a 1 second vertigo attack depending on what the airplane is doing at the time. I do not have a sense of passing out, but if it were the first time I've ever flown,  and I hadn't ever felt that before, I might think I was going to black out. I'm so used to this, that I don't think about it.  It happened pre and post-POTS.

Also, my take on the "I can't keep my eyes open".  I've seen this affect on my entire family, including the healthy ones, on some flights.  I really believe that the airflow in the cabin sometimes contains less oxygen because of all the people in the plane and the recirculating air (or whatever, I don't know), and you cannot stay awake under those circumstances.  I've seen this happen mainly on the ground.  You could also experience this MORE because of the POTS and the fact that your brain probably has slightly less oxygenation anyway.  It's like altitude sickness to the max.  And I've seen "normal" people fall asleep from what I call the "lack of oxygen" in the cabin.  It usually adjusts itself once you're in the air. Then again, if you do sleep, the flight passes more quickly.

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Thank you very much for sharing your experiences, it was very helpful to me. Glad to hear I am not the only one who feels this way

Thank you for the reply and the links. yes I have been diagnosed with POTS from a positive tilt table test. I had never flown and didn't know what to expect and I was a little apprehensive since I have POTS and get dizziness and palpitations. Thanks again

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I took my first airplane trip and going to my destination was fine but coming home I got really dizzy, about to pass out upon takeoff. It felt like my head was spinning and I felt like I was gonna pass out. It only lasted for a few seconds but was very scary. I also felt like my eyes wanted to shut during the whole flight. What I want to know is this normal or do people with POTS only get this? Thanks for any help on this