rlh

I get tons of herbs, vitamins and minerals from VitaCost. In looking at one of their catalogs I received, I ran across Horse Chestnut. I have been taking it for about 3 months now and have noticed a difference in the amount of time I can stand. Not dramatic, but enough for me to keep taking it and buying it. Also, I have taking L-Taurine for about 4 years with no adverse side effects. I do not take any prescription drugs, but I do take quite the herb, vitamin, mineral cocktail every day. I do notice that I feel worse when not taking my cocktail. I'm all for anything that doesn't require a trip to the doctor, expending exorbitant dollar amounts and making the drug companies rich - more rich that is...

I swear by this supplement by New Chapter called Neurozyme. It's got Omega 3, rosemary, ginger, chamomile, turmeric, sage, clove, ginkgo, gotu kola, ashwagandha, cat's claw lemon balm, bacopin, peony, holy basil, red wine extract and club moss... it's all natural, which is great to me. I can tell a difference if I forget to take them. I've had some of my co-workers try them when we were trying to do some more challenging mental work and they noticed a difference to.

Wine makes me feel great... 2 or 3 glasses is good, more than that and I think my blood pressure bottoms out. However, a few glasses is a nice balance and eases many symptoms, including brain fog. I keep telling doctors that wine makes me feel great and they keep handing me out drugs that make me feel worse instead. How are manufactured drugs better than wine, which is at least made from a natural ingredient?

Sorry, it's been a while since I've had time to view the forum... work getting in the way... Thank you both for responding. I feel much better after reading your posts. I'm still a little freaked, but glad to know that you both didn't have horrible experiences. I hope you both have a great weekend and my best wishes to feel as good as you possibly can. Take care.

I just had Mirena IUC placed last Thursday, October 2... It was VERY painful and of course I had a "POTS attack" while on the table. It was a reaction to the pain of the insertion device going up through my cervix. Informed my gynecologist that this event was more than likely going to happen, so at least she was prepared. They said I went completely white... I sure felt awful! They had to call in my husband from the waiting room just so he could be there with me (this was after they were finished)... The whole experience was weird... I felt may body reacting immediately to the pain and exaggerating that response as we POTS people do, but I thought I was going to faint while on the table. Even after they put the bed down as far as it would go, it still didn't help. Then, after I got down off the table, my body did it again. This time it was awful, awful nausea and sweating instantly. My back was wet in about 10 seconds. It was 5 minutes of ****, and then it was a little better. Then, I was cold, so cold! By that time, we needed to leave to pick up our daughter. I think I could have laid in the exam room for the rest of the afternoon. OK, so really my main point isn't about the insertion procedure and the POTS body's reaction to it, it is more centerend around Mirena and the effects of it on the POTS body. Right now I'm freezing, feel nauseas and have cramping. Interestingly, I haven't been hungry the past few days. Most of the time, if I don't eat at regular intervals I have a low-glycemic reaction and I'd better eat or it won't be pretty... Please let me know if it will get better. I've read absolute horror stories on the internet about people with Mirena and I'm pretty freaked out. I'm hoping that our weird POTS bodies will react differently to the progesterin, and it will be all good. I'm still waiting for the good.

futurehope: Nitric oxide is a supplement that mostly body builders take. My fiance had the supplement - bought at Target - in the cupboard, and I did a little research and decided, what the heck? I haven't taken it lately, but according to a description from Vita Cost on a product they sell, Muscle Nitrous, "...was engineered to boost nitric oxide levels, improve strength, oxygenate muscles, enhance stamina, reduce muscular pain & fatigue, fuel ATP production, provide radical pumps and promote muscular growth & vascularity."... I was taking it thinking that it would help with my circulatory system and pump blood more into my hands and feet. I did notice a difference after taking it in that I had increased energy, but I did have some flushing.. probably my blood getting to areas of my body it wasn't used to. As far as the Neurozyme is concerned, I do not notice any stomach upset, but I always take it after eating breakfast. Sometimes I'll notice a little burping that tastes like sage - yum, yum! , but other than that stomach has been OK.

Hi. I just started (Sat. 1/6) using L-Taurine, 850 mg once per day. It has helped me energy-wise... L-Taurine, according to herbalremedies.com "Taurine supplements can be useful for those with artherosclerosis, edema, heart disorders, hypertension, or hypoglycemia. It is also helpful in reducing anxiety, epilepsy, and hyperactivity, and stimulates poor brain function, and can reduce seizures. Taurine can also help reduce the symptoms associated with alcoholic withdrawal." Another site says that taurine helps with neurotransmitters... All-in-all I've noticed a difference in my energy level. Since starting with L-taurine, I haven't noticed my typical 3 pm slump that goes until at least 6 pm if not the rest of the night. I've also noticed a lessening of my brain fog. Speaking of brain fog, I swear by a product from New Chapter called neurozyme. This product rocks for me to increase brain cognition. I can focus so much more at work when I take this. If I don't take it, I notice a big difference in being able to focus on even a simple task such as answering emails. I've been dabbling quite a bit with various herbal remedies, amino acids, etc. I just get sick and tired of doctors not coming up with any answer and only treating symptoms, so I'm trying things myself. Why run up a big doctor bill for nothing??? Whatever works for you! Glad something is helping.

ANY change in temperature is a bad thing for me personally. I notice that if a room is too hot, I'll have a flushing episode. Then, I go outside (live in Minnesota) to cool off, and then I start it all over again, because my body just can't regulate temperature; now my body has to figure out how to warm up again! I have noticed that I tend to feel worse in the winter. I think this is due to the cold temperature, which will decrease blood pressure (I have low blood pressure as well). In the summer I don't like to run the air conditioning because it's usually too cold for me. But then, it's too hot outside at 90 degrees, too! Just can't win, can we? I just like a nice, constant temperature that is about 78 degrees. I keep asking myself why I live in Minnesota?

Actually, a couple of glasses of wine make me feel pretty good. I agree with the previous post that it must slow down my heart rate enough to "level" me out. Any more than a couple of glasses is not good, however. I have to be very careful and make sure that I get enough water. Any time we go out with friends, I always have a drink and then a glass of water. Usually I stop after about 3 drinks. Any more than that, and the next day is troublesome.

Hey, guys, I WORK at Mayo! I would be happy to do what I can. I would be more than happy to deliver them to Dr. Low's office here at Mayo as I am here every day during the week. No sense in having someone drive 45 miles to deliver them. Mail them to me and I can deliver to Mayo in Rochester. I am wondering, too, if we should ask Mayo to make the brochure a Mayo brochure? Take the same information and just put it in the Mayo standards? I used to work in the publishing area and would be happy to make some contact there if you think that would be a good idea to proceed with. Just let me know... I won't do anything until I hear from someone "official." I'm off to my first meeting of the day, so please let me know if I can help.

I have found that eating simple carbohydrates like white bread, rice, pasta and simple sugars, will give me gas. I was on Atkins for a while and felt the best eating protein and fats and COMPLEX carbohydrates. Anything white will give me gas to no end. Amazingly, I can eat tons of beans and feel fine. Anyone else find they have gas problems when eating simple carbs?

HI, Traci! Are you still here at Mayo? I work at Mayo and would LOVE to meet you! Hope you see this post before you leave. Not sure if I am supposed to do this, but you can contact me via the Mayo phone... just call the operator and ask for Rachelle Hoffman.

I too drink V-8 when I have a particularly bad day with POTS. I actually like V-8, the taste, and like the fact that it is low in calories. I'm not like some of you who can't keep weight on... I put it on very easily, so as soon as I start eating 3 regular meals a day, boom! weight is on. So, anyway, V-8 has helped me get salt in my diet as I'm not a fan of loading table salt on my food. Yes, I was told in early '97 when I was diagnosed to eat things like pickles, canned foods, ramen noodles... the nutritionist I talked to just took the low-salt diet brochure and told me to eat the opposite. I was the first person who came to her with the need for a HIGH salt diet. I want to know GOOD foods out there that are high in salt...haven't found many other than the V-8. Here I am now talking to a co-worker of mine who is trying to cut salt out of his diet. He just looks at me in envy when I tell him that I like to eat canned soup for dinner whilst he has to stay away from it. He looks longingly at the salt shaker as I shake, shake, shake it on my food on the rare occasion we head out to lunch together...

Thanks for all your notes. I am very appreciative of all of you. I'm looking forward to communicating with you and sharing advice and venting when needed. Take care.

I'm new to this forum and thought I would introduce myself. I've really enjoyed reading these posts as they have helped me understand that I am not alone, not crazy and these symptoms are REAL. Thank you all for being supportive to each other (and me!). A little background about me... I think I've had POTS all my life. I remember passing out in high school and then in 1996 I noticed that when I would stand in the doorway of a colleague of mine and talk, I would start to feel like I was going to pass out after about 5 minutes. I was having headaches and stomach problems as well. I finally went to a chiropractor (one had helped me with headaches after a car accident in high school) and nearly passed out two times while there. He thought I was having baro reflexer problems and told me to go to the doctor before he would treat me. That was the best advice I ever received. I am lucky in that I work at the Mayo Clinic, so in early 1997 I went to a neurologist and was seen by one of Dr. Low's colleagues. He must have wondered about POTS because the doc had me stand in his office in one position. I started feeling really awful, like I was going to pass out and said I needed to sit down... RIGHT NOW! He wanted to check my heart rate by placing the stethoscope on my neck and couldn't find a pulse! It was rather funny. I was starting to see stars and blackout at the time, but I did make it to sit down. He conferred with Dr. Low and they had me do all the standard tests... EKG to make sure my heart was OK, sweat test, tilt table, etc. Diagnosis: POTS. I didn't really understand much about POTS and don't remember doing much research either. I totally relied on the doctors. They put me on beta blockers, which made me feel worse. I stopped taking them after about a month and from that point on have relied on trying to drink lots of water and eating salt. I don't really think that has helped much though. I've had a really bad winter this time, and that's why I started to read these posts each week. I want to know how you all handle this. My POTS doesn't seem as bad as most of you, as I am still working full-time and don't have all the episodes you have - at least not as frequent and not to that much of a degree. Anyway, I'll write more later, but just wanted to say hello and THANK YOU for all your support and advice.