bgsu4

Home Depot/Lowes do it to me also. I work in a setting with those metal halide lights and can actually see them flickering very fast by the end of the day I am so drained by it.

I have a very mild MVP. One echo they saw it another they didn't. Sometimes they hear it sometimes they don't. The Mitral Valve loves fluid. If you have a mild MVP and are properly hydrated it could appear normal. Thats usually only in very mild cases. I researched this and my cardiologist told me that it was very possible, he didn't seem suprised at all when he couldn't find it the second time.

Sometimes I'm in the teens or low twenties. I have low grade POTS so I can stand for forty minutes at times(not bragging just lucky sometimes) without symptoms. I think its different with everybody and sometimes some peoples systems work properly under the right conditions. Some days I stand for five minutes and have problems so this is the only explanation I can think of.

Hey there BGSU - I'm soon to be 33 yo male as well. I'm curious about your hyperadrenergic attacks. I used to be very athletic. Now trying some experiments with exercise v/ no exercise. Do you think these attacks are worse when not exercising? I seem to get them more acutely in the winter when I don't get as much exercise. Usually in the evening or during sleep - sweating, pounding heart (not quite tachycardia, but a significant delta), agitated. Not sure what your "hyper" attacks are like, but curious. More so when not exercising. Exercising helps in allowing your body to adjust better to catecholamines and their effects. I call it a hyper attack because I actually feel a rush from around my kidneys, down to my feet and back up. I was told by a DR. that it was most likely an adrenaline rush or a "hyper' attack. Some doc's buy into this others dont. I have had less than 10 of these for 15 months. Usually they happened when I drank juice alone or had full caff coffee. Since I have reactive hypoglycemia and a sugar rush usually induces a release of adrenaline to help the insulin adjust your sugar level this could explain the juice. The coffee is a stimulant that helps to release adrenaline so its my fault when I need it fully caffienated.

I had trouble for about a year, only in the AM. It actually went on before I had my first POTS episode in April of '05. It started in April of '04 4 months after I had a real bad flu in Dec. of '03. My friend and I used to laugh when I had to pull over on the Highway at 6am going to our Saturday golf league. Never thought it was a precursor to this, only too much coffee in the morning. For the past year it comes and goes and when I have it for 2-3 days mt POTS symptoms are worse, when my bowels are working right I usually have good days. Dr. Chelimsky at University hospital of Cleveland is doing a study on the relation of IBS like symptoms and the relation to POTS. I believe his wife is a gastroenterologist at UH. When I went to get my testing done we talked about it and he was very interested with the info on the year I had these problems. Used to make sure I could always find a bathroom in the AM now I just look for places to sit and put my feet up.

Light bothers me along with the darn floaters. Started when I had my first flare up in April '05 and hasn't gone away. I even wear sunglasses when its raining sometimes.

I'm male 33 and I usually feel better also. Your body releases so many chemicals and hormones during and after sex. It could have a different impact on everbody depending on the cause of the POTS. The endorphins released just may make some people feel better. I often wondered if it stimulates the autonomic nervous system and somehows rewires it correctly for some reason.

Support does help alot. I would love to have one day to do a heavy chest workout followed by 45 minutes on the stairclimber and a great sweat. It was 90+ here today and I was sitting outside and can barely sweat. This heat intolerance stinks. The rush I got from exercising is what I miss second to being able to go somewhere without looking for everyplace I can sit down if I start getting symptoms.

Recumbent is better if you have symptoms on an upright. Wearing even mild compression socks (up to as low as the knee 20-30) can help with blood return while exercising(personal and professional experience) Usually when doing cardiovascular exercise the muscle pump and increased cardiac output will help the blood not to pool, even on an upright bike. Make sure when you do exercise to cool down for 5-10 minutes(lighter aerobic activity) then immediately lie down or sit with your legs elevated. Take it very slowly, even if you can only do 2 minutes at first try to increase by a minute every day until you get up to 20-30 minutes at 55-70% of your max heart rate (and for people with POTS that 60 or 70 percent can come quickly). Before I had a little relapse in April I had worked my way up to 35 minutes at 145-155 BPM well off what I used to do but I felt good for 6 months doing that. Getting off of the bike was always trickier than getting on but your body adapts with time. As an exercise physiologist I have researched and researched for ways to try to make exercise more comfortable for me with this ordeal. Its such a hit or miss thing and what works for some may not work for others. Good luck with your exercise and just try to take it slow and listen to your body.

I was prescribed Levsin and did not take it. I also have a low resting heart 48-52 supine. It is an anti-spasmodic but it can actually raise your resting heart rate. What the Dr. told me was she was trying to balance everything out and maybe my heart rate wouldn't jump 30-40 bpm when I stood. My thoughts were if my heart rate only jumps to 90-100 when I stand why would I want to increase my resting to 80-90 then have it jump to 120-130 when I stand. She understood my point but still wanted me to take it. I didn't take it and another specialist in this area questioned that prescription also. Who knows it may have worked. Good luck w/ everything.

I have had that sensation also. I get a tickle in my throat, notice my heart beating faster and cough. Coughing is the bodies respose to rhythm abnormalities. It's basically a glottal closure (Valsalva Maneuver). In cardiac rehab if anyone goes into a abnormal rhythm for example SVT (supraventricular tachycardia), PSVT (Paroxsymal Supravent. tachy) or AFib we tell them to perform a valsava maneuver (bearing down, squatting) for 15 seconds and it can help it go away. It basically increases ones thoracic pressure and helps to regulate the vaso-vagal response. This in no way means you are going into one of these rhythms its just examples. What morgan617 said was right it's a temporary thing to try to get it back to normal. Hope this helps.

Thank you for your replies. I have learned alot since I have had this. I try to take nothing for granted anymore. I have found out how much my wife, parents, brother, in-laws and friends care for me and how they go out of their way to help me. When your a 33, male, athletic you think your friends aren't going to understand why you can't do the things you used to do but they have been great! It almost seems that we all realize we are growing up and that feeling of being invincible is gone. With my profession I have seen alot of people who have a hard time with Activities of Daily Living wow how I understand what they are going through now. I've been lucky. I have yet to pass out, can shower, work, do work around the house. I have trouble every now and then and need to sit with my feet up but I do realize it can be worse. I think God is telling me to slow down. I used to work, exercise, golf and work on the house; all in one day. I had the energy and enjoyed it but I think I needed to see things will get done no matter what, just take some time and relax. The associated anticipatory anxiety of having a spell when shopping or driving is what gets me. I was never someone who worried about things going wrong but that has changed. It's hard when a Doctor tells you drive you have to get to work, when it's 25 miles and you get dizzy and lightheaded halfway through. Its just not that easy. I always try to think of the positives; the extra time I spend with my parents and wife, the fact that I'm alive and knowing that God is testing me and thats all. He wants me to be well and wants me to come out of this knowing that it made me stronger, smarter and more appreciative of all that I have accomplished in life so far. Yes, I went to BG. I used to watch everyone swim on my hour long bike sessions.

My POTS Brain Fog went away after the first 4 months. I had to take a very hard certification exam and it seems like the total concentration for 3 straight days snapped me out of it. Since then I try to do something every day that stimulates my mind like reading, puzzles or even playing games. Not sure if this is the reason or not but I hope it helps. Just wondering??? Did you see Dr. Fouad at the Clinic. My problems are from venous pooling also. My heart function and blood volume are normal too. Dr. Fouad conducted blood volume tests on me. Dr. Chelimsky at University Hospital is a neurologist that specializes in Autonomic disorders esp. POTS. I am wondering if this may help since he is a neurologist. He did several tests on me to rule out MS when trying to get to the reason for the POTS. Good luck with everything and remain positive!

Has anyone been lucky enough to have a full recovery? I've been told that it could take from 2-5 yrs. with each year getting better. I realize it may be different for everyone and that I have only had this for 15 months but after reading some posts and seeing how long some people have had to deal with this I feel like it may never happen. I truly feel bad that people have had to go through this for so long! I try to remain positive and know that God's plan may not always fit into our plans. Since I'm new to the site I wanted to ask a basic question and hopefully by posting I can make a difference in someone elses ordeal.

I'm on Lyrica 50mg 3x per day. In April of '05 my symptoms started and I spent about 7 months "pushing" Doctors to finally get me a tilt test. All they wanted to say was it's Anxiety. Well I'm a clinical exercise physiologist and when your heart rate goes fron 50 to 90-100 when you stand up, have reactive hypoglycemia w/out diabetes, and almost pass out in your car on the way home from work thats not normal. Was taking XanaxXR 1 mg/day and they took me off in March after 7 months. It was working well and my life was getting back to normal. I could exercise fairly well and didn't have any of those wonderful "hyperadrenergic attacks" that I could feel through my whole body. After they took me off I had a "flare up" in April '06. For the first time I took a 6 week leave from work, had more testing done (most of which was from Dr. Chelimsky at University Hospitals of Cleveland). He finally diagnosed me with POTS even though I asked cardiologists, Doctors etc. if I had this since August of '05. I'm not sure if the Lyrica is helping or not. It is used to treat diabetic neuropathy or seizures but Dr. Chelimsky is a top neurologist for POTS and I decided to give it a try. I have about 1 month left on a 4 month trial and have had no hyperadrenergic attacks since on it. I still get tired and weak from standing to long and have a great deal of trouble dealing with heat and humidity(not easy when you live in Cleveland Ohio during the summer). It seems that I don't have POTS as bad as alot of people on this site but it is still so quality of life destroying. I wouldn't be scared to go off of meds for a little just to see if you can tolerate it. Our bodies want to get back into homeostasis and I pray every day for all of us who have this syndrome. For the most part I increased my salt, always drank plenty of fluids (so that was easy), wear 30-40 mmHg thigh high compression stockings(for work or when I know I'll be standing for longer periods) and try to eat small meals every 3 hours or so. Non pharm measures can definately help. My resting HR is in the 40-50 range so I wouldn't let them put me on Beta blockers and they agreed. I think the frustrating part is that although we know there is no cure we feel like we should be taking something to help. I wish there was something that helped helped everyone! I have also been taking acupunctur for the past 5 weeks and it seems to be helping. Again it may be a placebo effcet but hey if we feel it helps.... Being a 33 yr old male who was in very good shape with no previous health problems this whole thing has been very frustrating. It's hard to exercise, golf or go anywhere without always having to think am I going to have an episode. I truly hope that when you go off your Meds you do well. Everyone keeps telling me to remain positive and although its very hard I see when I do I usually feel alot better. Sorry I rambled for so long.