shawnethomas

It has been some time since I last gave an update on my bout with POTS, and for good reason: for the past couple of months, I have been so sick that I was unable to type an article at all! I’ll review a bit and then update on where I am today. (I posted a short version on Facebook, this is a bit longer for those who are praying with me, and for other POTS patients who might be interested in the details of what is/isn’t working for me.)

I have been taking Metoprolol Succinate for some months, which had been effective in keeping my heart rate lower when I stand — one of the primary symptoms of POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). But while my heart rate had been somewhat under control, many of the other symptoms had not — and one particular symptom which had been getting worse was that although my heart rate was staying low, I was getting increasingly sick whenever I would stand. In fact, within a minute or two of standing, I would get dry heaves — which as you can imagine kept me staying down most of the time! I had tried to exercise on my recumbent bike, but within a minute or two, the same thing happened on the bike. So for a couple of months, exercise for me was almost negligible. We thought at the time that this was a case of the POTS symptoms getting worse, but we would soon discover otherwise. Continue reading →