That's What She Said
Living with Auotnomic Dysfunction and P.O.T.S.
The autonomic nervous system controls everything in our bodies that we don't have to think about. Like pupil dilation, digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, and urination. It's basically the life support system of the body. Well, mine doesn't work and this blog is information about both the condition and my experiences with it. Enjoy!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
The cardiologist from hell
During the period where my medication was being adjusted, i was having a lot of troubles. My heart rate was all over the place as well as my blood pressure. I was in a constant state of disarray. The best way i can describe it is as that feeling you get when someone jumps out and scares you. Only, take that feeling and prolong it out for the entire day. Add a fast heart rate, exhaustion, and feeling like you are going to "lose it" i.e. consciousness all the time. I went to the cardiologist and said, "we really need to do something here. This isn't working out for me." He told me nothing could be done. This was false information. In reality, the beta blocker was making my symptoms worse and it should have been reduced that day. Needless, to say, i became emotional. I told him that he had no idea what i was going through, and that i felt like i was on the brink of existence all day every day. I got to experience the terrible moments that one feels befoer death over and over again. He shrugged his shoulders once again and said, i'm sorry i can't help you. Come to find out. He wrote in the report that i had severe emotional disturbances causing my situation. NO, I HAVE PHYSICAL DISTUBANCES THAT YOU COULD HAVE SOLVED THAT DAY BUT DIDN'T. Because of that a**hole, i have had to spend almost $500 (at least) in dr.s appointments to convince them that i was not crazy and didn't have anxiety.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
My pots story
Where to begin?!
I had known something was wrong with me for quite some time. It started with strange contrasts in vision and a panic like feeling during my junior year of college. When i went to the doctor's they told me it was anxiety--and that they could fix it through medication and counseling. I disagreed with them, i did not believe that i had anxiety and figured that if i did, this was something that i was going to have to deal with on my own. This was in 2007.
Since then, i had been having weird symptoms--but i could still function and that was what was important. Yes, they were annoying at times but i figured they were just some weird quirks of my body that i was going to have to live with. Like being short of breath, having chest pain, losing my endurance day by dat , having hands that throbbed at night, and getting the occasional fluttering heart. In 2009 i had an "episode" where my heart started to beat really really fast and i thought i was going to pass out. It was very scary. To be honest, it felt like i was going to die right there!

I was going to school and working as a bartender in a restaurant during this time. I arrived at my shift and kept getting these "hot flashes". Again, "no big deal, i can do this." I was there for about 2 hours before i walked around a corner and...BAM!! Just like that i was a goner. My vison blurred out, i became what i would call woozy, and thought to myself, "i have to sit down. Now." I thought i would never make it to that chair. It seemed like i was on the starting line and that chair being only 3 feet away was the end of a marathon. As i sat there, i realized quickly that i wasn't recovering from whatever was going on. I got up to walk around the corner, my heart blipped, and it got even worse. I tried to think to myself what could be going on. Lightheadedness, palpitations, confusion, disorientation, and this overwhelming feeling of just losing it---oh my gosh...i'm having a heart attack! I looked at my boss and said, "call 911 right now, i think i am having a heart attack." He looked back at me in disbelief as if i was joking. I'm 25. Then, i said again, "no, call 911 right now."

I was never the same after that day. The next few months i went on with a misdiagnosis of panic attacks and anxiety. It wasn't until one day, my doctor took my blood pressure --laying, sitting, and standing -- that we realized i had what is called orthostasis-- a significant change in my cardiovascular functioning upon standing. I got a referral to see a cardiologist and that was when i was diagnosed with P.O.T.S. I started out with a beta blocker and was able to finish 2 quarters of school. Then one day, things went downhill. The beta blocker became too strong for me, and we struggled to find the correct therapy. For three months, i really suffered. Now, i am on medication that makes my life livable but i am not up to where i would like to be as far as tolerance of being able to get things done that need to be done. My condition is also unstable enough to prevent me from being able to work--which is disappointing. Here i was, this young woman ready to take the world by storm, and now all of those dreams are being absorbed by the physical state of my body.
I have Pots!
Hello everyone! I am starting this blog to further dysautonomia awareness and to make an easily accessable database for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome(P.O.T.S.)! For those of you with pots, i hope this helps! For those of you without pots, please help spread the awareness!
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