njfainter42

I know China recently became stricter and I was told Korea and China would deny me...they don't like you to be on psychotropic meds for anything. I was really disappointed re:Korea as the wait was only 1 year (China's wait is 3-6)...sigh..I can try pregnancy but it seems lots of our moms really worsen especially the older ones and I am 43 already with NCS and POTS...

has anyone been able to adopt with NCS? I was advised Korea would not approve me b/c I take cymbalta to control the condition..I wondered if out condition was OK with other countries?

I'm showing my age. I never heard of Mbt shoes or the "anti-shoe" as I have since learned they are called. I had to checkle as they remind me of Earth Shoes. Anyone else remember those?

I wear mbt sandals a lot. They help me with my mortons toe neuroma problems and back pain. I cannot wear the closed shoes as they are too narrow. There is a store in FL-Delray where they sell sandals and shoes similar to MBTs that I have wanted to try. The Earth I was advised is bad for me because it puts more pressure on toes. I do love the mbt sandals though. I bought them on ebay- cheaper and use them a lot. I haven't been told they were bad for my gait and my dr-podiatrist told me to wear them as much as I want but no Earth shoes. Maybe it helps with fainting due to leg muscle activation though I am not sure. I did read fit flops are not that great and keep in mind that the lack of a back could lead to injury if you get dizzy.

I am thinking of trying for another baby but wonder if I can stay on my cymbalta with pregnancy? What meds did they let you stay on during pregnancy? I remember Dr Grubb telling me long ago that ritalin was OK. Also, has anyone been able to adopt in spite of this condition?

I think it can take about 2 months to really kick in. I did faint badly 3 weeks after starting cymbalta but have not fainted since then. Just a few minor faints where I recovered easily. In the beginning I loved it...It gave me a drunk&tired feeling which I no longer get. I also switched to morning doses instead of evenings.

I've been doing great on just 20mg cymbalta...miraculously stable for about 3 years...never had to increase the dose. Cymbalta has been a miracle drug for me. I started by opening the capsules and worked my way up to 20mg because I am sensitive to meds. Cymbalta is all I take with my hypothyroid meds. I rarely faint or have the exhausted shaky episodes and I have both NCS and POTS. I take my pill each morn. Problem is I am considering pregnancy and I don't think it's OK with that so I will be in trouble then. By the way, I was fainting regularly with my ovulations and sometimes at other times too. I tried midodrine but got headaches and it brought my BP way too high and caused it to jump around also. Salt and liquid loading did not work for me either.

I regularly drink Smartwater which I heard was recommended by Dr. Grubb. It has electolytes but no sugar and I've found it once at Costco and always at Shoprite/Wegmans

A positive ANA can mean that you have an autoimmune disorder. But it can also be a fluke or a sign that you could be developing an autoimmune disorder. My ANA was a little bit positive this fall, but I got more testing and I don't currently have any autoimmune disorder. Have you seen a rheumotologist? I learned a lot when I saw one. The rheumotologist can also order the next set of testing which gives more information. Also, were your complements checked when your ANA was tested? Usually, they are checked together. If some of your complements were off too, then it is important to get the next round of testing. Also, Lupus and RA are not the only autoimmune disorders. Some disorders have less symptoms. And those symptoms could be similar to your dysaut symptoms, so it is hard to tell. I hope I was helpful.

thanks both of you for your answers...I don't know what complements are but I can now ask my primary care doc when I see him next week and he might refer me to a rhemotologist (I never saw one) but a few years age my C reactive protein was off and my doc sent me to one but he didn't test me at all and told me that C reactive protein can just be off if I have a cold/illness and that I didn't need to come and see him. This was very helpful as I know to ask around re: a decent rhemotologist.

Is a high ANA (positive) normal for those of us with POTS and NCS. I don't feel like I have rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. My vitamin D was also low (21) so I wonder if that is related and affects low blood pressure? I was feeling better than usual til I saw my blood test results:)

I wanted to mention that I also have an almost 7 yr old and I think kids are more resilient with our conditions than we realize. I am on cymbalta which has a norepinephrine effecting component in addition to affecting the serotonin which is what Zoloft does. You could add wellbutrin to your Zoloft to affect the norepinephrine and see if this helps you. With the problems you described the norepinephrine is usually affected. I would ask your doc re: adding a low dose wellbutrin on a trial basis to see how you feel. I also have depression problems regularly even with my cymbalta. I think the anxiety comes 1st in that I feel uncomfortable doing things I enjoy because I fear the fainting. I then do less or get really anxious so I don't enjoy the activity which leads to feeling depressed.

I am new here and newly diagnosed with POTS. Believe me, my symptoms are NOT new. I have struggled with them for about 15 years or more. I have tons of questions and things I would love to talk with you all about but I will start with this one first... what exactly is the difference in POTS and NCS? The only real difference I have found is that some patients awaken from sleep having an episode with NCS. I do this often and think I have NCS and not POTS. My doctor couldn't really explain the difference.

I believe that the difference is how your episodes feel. I have both and the NCS episodes are completely different. I am more likely to go unconscious, I get weak and must lie flat but then feel better more quickly. With the POTS I just shake and shiver and feel lousy for hours or days. The POTS acts up when I'm tired in the eve when I overdo it. I don't go unconscious and my body doesn't reset itself so that I can recover quickly and feel normal...(sometimes after going unconscious I feel like my body resets itself and I feel great). I was told by Dr Grubb that I have both based on my episodes although my tilt table only shows I have NCS. I think my NCS acts up in the early morn more often. WIth POTS the heart rate rises and with NCS it falls. Blood pressure can be high with POTS but with NCS it is low. THese are just my observations from my own episodes and what I've read. Both are lousy but to me the POTS is much worse as it lasts longer and looks more like I am having an anxiety attack so people just think I'm a little crazy and unlike NCS I don't get much ehlp/relief. NCS I get visibly pale and weak and it looks like there is something physically wrong.