iheartcats

While of course there are terrible things in the world, you do have a right to feel bad about yourself on occasion. I understand - and I do try to put things in perspective myself but we're only human.

That said. I would find it relaxing to be away and be able to read and relax a couple of days. Rather then thinking about what I can't do on a certain trip, I'd think about what I can do. No worries about cleaning, cooking, and just the ability to sit and read and chill out would be enjoyable.

It sounds like you'll make the most of it, which is awesome. Do you take photographs? It sounds like a pretty area. Maybe you could do a little scrapbook of the trip and give it to your husband to remember his birthday weekend by.

Be careful...my 'cold' turned into a nasty bacterial infection. Gross alert - thick, icky mucus and chest pain this morning so I called my doctor and they squeezed me in.

I have to take Azithromycin for 3 days, but it stays in the system for 8. Not looking forward to it...but I have to stop the infection. At least that's why I felt so horrible this weekend.

But now I'm just in that tired but can't sleep/get comfortable mode.

For G2 I prefer the grape. I will also drink the fruit punch. I am not a fan of the orange or blue.

I need to find other drinks. :/

Then that's what my Vertigo attack could have been! How odd that our nervous systems try to tell us first, no?

Now I'm just feeling crappy and annoyed. :/ It's still better than a flu, but yuck. I hate being sick WITH POTS!

OK - I found a Nyquil Cough Syrup with:

# Dextromethorphan (15 mg/pill) (cough suppressant)

# Doxylamine succinate (6.25 mg/pill) (antihistamine/hypnotic)

I do not like Tylenol (it gives me a stomach ache) and the pharmacist said this is pretty much Nyquil without the Tylenol so I can take an Advil with it (which I prefer).

I ran the list through my drug interaction checker and it looks OK. It warns of more drowsiness since I take Zyrtec, but I won't be operating heavy machinery tonight.

I am still afraid to try Sudafed PE but if things don't clear out I might give it a go.

Is Coricidine over the counter?

I see Nyquil has a version without a decongestant so I might try that at night (I wake up coughing).

So, Mucinex helps get rid of all that awful clogging feeling? My head feels like it could burst!

I was just going to post this as I have an awful code and my head feels like it will explode.

I can't use anything with the 'normal' decongestant. I think that is the PE? At least not with my Midodrine.

Any tips?

I've had the flu with POTS. Awful. And allergy issues. But I can't remember a full-on cold. Now I have one (sore throat, sneezing, runny nose, fatigue, etc).

I'm fairly certain it is a cold as I've had them in my life before and you just kind of can tell.

I started to feel a bit crappy a couple of days ago but figured it was allergies/the sniffles. Then yesterday I was severely dizzy when I was out with my husband and came home with awful body aches. Not like the flu, but if I barely touched my leg or shoulder it hurt badly! I've had body aches before with POTS, but these were much more prominent than usual especially when even light pressure was applied. So that plus severe dizziness (and I could account dehydration for some of the dizziness, but the weird pain?) were out of the blue. And then my cold kicked in full force so of course I feel like crap.

I still have more overall body aches than usual (which I assume is normal for a cold)...but feel 'worse' than I have before with a cold if that makes sense.

So I guess it is similar to having a flu? POTS hates you having a cold as much as a flu? So it's just more pain and suffering?

Well I have a bit more information. My result was also Diffuse (homogenous)...and it looks like those results are seen in Lupus (SLE) and 'other connective disorders.'

Round two of blood tests this week. So I'm trying to stay calm. Thanks for thinking about me. I very much appreciate that you guys understand and how stressful this can be!

I'll just try not to think too much about it until after my next batch of lab results. It's so easy to sit and look at the symptoms and get all upset, isn't it?

I will go read that link, thank you!

Hello everyone!

I've been trying to feel better and look for work. With my aches and pains and fatigue, I've had some blood tests and my Rheumatologist followed up on a more detailed ANA and it was positive at 1:320.

I'm so worried this is Lupus as I have a few other symptoms (fatigue, aches/pains, nose sores on and off), but my doctor wants me to get more blood work next week, which I will and won't know anything until after that comes back. It's more detailed into what autoimmune disorder I may have.

I'm having to spend a good $500 out of pocket on these tests already this year (new deductible) and that hurts. So I do need to find work, and I'm trying. I guess I just didn't need this new thing dumped on me. I'm just learning to deal and function enough with POTS.

My doctor understands my need to work (and it's hard with an illness), and not to set myself up for failure. She said no job with travel and crazy hours. My prior job did not have travel and I am looking for something similar. It's hard in this economy and you are lucky if you even hear back for an interview. And it looks like I may have an interview in the next week or two.

I'm so stressed about all this I don't know what to do.

I take Ambien as needed. It's the only one that works...and 30 probably last me 6 months so my former doctor was OK with me using them long-term this way. My new POTS specialist agrees, because I get to the point some days where I just can't sleep and it is bad for POTS.

My best mix has been midodrine, inderal and mestinon. You just have to find what works, first. If you a good doctor, work with them. I was fortunate to have had a doctor like this before I moved so my routine was already in place for me new PCP.

But, on a normal day I take 10mg inderal/10mg midodrine in the AM, 10mg inderal/5mg midodrine lunch, and 10mg inderal/5mg midodrine around dinner. This balance works for keeping my HR down (and adrenaline stuff, I believe) and my BP more stabilized. Right now I take 30mg of mestinon in the AM and 30mg at dinner. They want me to up to 60mg which I will soon. I learned the hard way I had to go on mestinon slowly and increase it slowly.

I hope you find a mix that works for you! It's not unheard of to take midodrine and inderal. It was suggested to me by my EP/POTS doctor, even. Do you see a POTS specialist?

I had the normal flu shot in October and the H1N1 last week - no problems this year minus the standard sore arm!

So far, so good. I'd rather not have a bad flu so I went ahead and got it.

I know people who are 'healthy' who are sensitive to chemicals/strong smells so I would assume it would make symptoms worse. Or add to them, anyway, as this stuff could already bother you if you were healed.

I've never liked bleach. It makes me itchy, even. When I've had to pull out a load of laundry that was bleached I get itchy. Plus strong chemical smells have always been bothersome.

Here in the UK many doctors are prescribing any combined BCP to be taken for 3 packs without a break. Maybe your gynae doc would be happy for you to take another low dose BCP instead of the brand one that your insurance won't cover?

Flop

Flop - That's a good idea...I didn't think about that. I'll ask if there's a similar!

Well. I was supposed to be off Gluten but with the accidents and stress and holidays...I've slipped.

So my doctor is running a second blood test to make sure since I'm still on wheat and I can start gluten free on 1/1/2010.

I admitted I was not the best patient and apologized, but that I would try on 1/1 and see how it goes.

I am so happy I am not hurt from the wrecks. Just shaken up a bit how things COULD happen so easily. If that makes sense.

Let me know your results on 1/8!

I really don't think my body likes the Mirena IUD. I like the fact my cycles have stopped, no painful periods, and it's long-term and inexpensive.

The problem is I have gained almost 40 pounds in the six months I've had it with no dietary or exercise changes. I've talked to a couple of my doctors and my weight stayed stable for many years (within a 12 pound range over 5+ years). They agreed metabolism slows as you age, but NOT at that level.

I also feel bloated, my stomach is all sticking out and it's not normal for me at all.

A lot of women talk about this if you search 'weight gain mirena' - you literally feel pregnant, gain weight and can't lose if cutting down on calories/exercising more, etc. Even the Mirena pamphlet says a small percentage of women 'could gain weight.' (It seems to be similar to Depo issues).

I have an appointment to remove it. The Gyno office said it just doesn't work for some women, don't feel bad. But I DO because I wanted something to finally WORK. I hate taking the Pill. But Seasonique works OK (and now there is a LoSeasonique), but of course my insurance doesn't cover it so on top of everything, it's expensive.

I haven't had migraines in a long time, and even so the stroke risk is only minimally increased so I try not to worry about that. I've also considered getting 'fixed' but that won't stabilize my hormones, which I think I need at this time. I can't handle wild monthly cycles with POTS. I've tried.

Anyone currently on the Pill? Or tried LoSeasonique? My paranoia of adding one more pill to the mix of my meds scares me, but my Cardio is OK with it at this point if I monitor my blood pressure.

Hey everyone!

I've had a month...I was rear ended twice this month (not my fault - I was not even moving each time!). I was so upset the first time as I didn't know what would happen to my POTS. Fortunately, the stress was the worst of it. Stress is bad for my POTS, but at least it's something I can work through!

This just is upsetting to me because there are so many uncontrollable aspects of life and you never know how they'll affect us.

Between that, holidays, and some family things? I guess I'm just going to have to tell myself the New Year is a new year - and try to manage stresses better. It's never easy.

But...I think I'm OK from my accidents. My PCP checked my mobility and all seems well. Fingers crossed.

Thank you for sharing. I can feel completely calm and relaxed and have a POTS flare. I know its not anxiety. I know what anxiety is! Wish more people would try to understand us.

Glad your flu shot only gave you a day or so of annoyance - better than a weeks bout with H1N1!

My doc noted my high serum albumin a while back. It was also odd in a prior ER visit unrelated to POTS. Since this is on typical blood tests I might be able to scrounge up other older values with some digging to see if it's been consistent. I do think I've had a "normal" value at least once too.

And that introduces one of my pet physiological "boogie men"... kinins.

But that begs the bigger question, does it not??? <pause> Are we human? <pause> Sometimes I wonder.... buahahahahahahahaha!

If I want to dig through prior bloodwork - what do I look for that would show me this? Is it just a blood test? Maybe I could ask for it if I haven't had it..

As for Kinins...they said that what, 90% of our DNA was just 'junk?' - And now they are like, oops, no it is not! So we shall see about all this in the future. We shall see.

I have this on occasion. No clue why! It's frustrating.

I have a hunch mine is partly tied to dehydration, though. But it's a hunch.

I think I am starting to regulate on the new generic. I'm about back to normal, maybe a tad more tired, but nothing insufferable.

It took about 3 days (at least it didn't take weeks) to get 'used' to this one. I hope I'm through the worst and am trying to order a 90-day supply of this same one as my body is 'used' to it.

I wish generics were more regulated! I've no idea why my pharmacy can't get the prior generic. They didn't explain well. I'm fortunate this one seems to be working now, although I have to remember to test my BP!

Hi Guys:

I'm outing myself for an amazing opportunity to put a face and a story to POTS and dysautonomia. I live in Seattle and am involved in an event called Help-Portrait (www.help-portrait.com). I was thinking to myself this morning it would be a great outlet to put a face to POTS and people living with dysautonomia. I know everyone always tells us how we look so 'normal' but they don't understand how dysautonomia can impact our ability to financially and physically care for ourselves and our families.

If you live in the Seattle area and would like to (bravely) have your picture taken and tell your story, please read the link below and contact me. http://bit.ly/4erMML

That link is connected to my company. That's me - waterbaby.

Good for you! I think more people need to hear about and understand dysatuonomia.

That's you? I heart your hair. (and you don't look sick -( joking here ). But you do look outgoing and peppy, so people assume we are just fine).

Boo! I don't like new diagnoses, either. My Grandfather has this...it's not a fun one, I tell you.

Hope the medicine helps!