Is it POTS or IST?

Beautiful Chaos by Gina Welds Hulse

Three days before, it all started with an ice-pick headache, really fast heart beat and a host of symptoms that continued over the next 3 days leading up to the ER visit. The symptoms were: fever, dizziness, tingling in feet and hands, pain in arm and leg joints and muscles, nausea, headache, and an extremely fast heart rate.

I saw my regular doctor, the ER doctor, my neurologist, hematologist gastro-enterologist ( I am sure I am forgetting someone). My blood work had come back normal for the first time in a very long time since having the hysterectomy.

However, since the hysterectomy, many new symptoms have arisen.  I was diagnosed with migraines, including ice-pick headaches.  My neurologist suggested that I don't have peripheral neuropathy, a condition that I was diagnosed with over 4 years ago, but did not go any further and left me with more questions than answers received.  However, how you do explain the constant tingling, numbness, occasional tremors, twitching that I have been experiencing?  Even my daughter ad younger son have witnessed these events.

It's no surprise then that after my ER visit I received the POTS diagnosis , I wasn't happy to receive yet another diagnosis, but it led me to some possible answers that my neurologist had failed to give me.

During that ER visit my blood pressure was taken in several positions. After meeting with my cardiologist, I have been instructed to take my BP everyday several times, standing, sitting and laying down, depending on the time of day. I have to admit that it is rather a pain in the butt, and time-consuming.  I'm just glad that it looks like I should be getting some answers soon.

I don't think I really want to be a part of the POTS club or the IST club.

At this point, all everyone is agreeing on is that I have orthostatic intolerance.  Just another term to add to my long list of health issues.

Do you have POTS or IST?  How do you treat it?  Please comment below.  I appreciate it.

Until another update.......

Visit to the ER and my POTS diagnosis

Original Art bu Gina Welds Hulse

"Hi. Could you possibly take me to the ER?  I would call an ambulance but I don't want to scare the kids."
"What's going on?" asked my neighbor.
"My heart is going crazy! I just need to know what is going on."
"I'll be right there."

I get in her vehicle, with a friend of her's and head to the nearby ER.  We chit-chat about my symptoms.
Inside I am saying, "I am over this."  I am so tired of being sick."  Just a few days ago I was sitting in my neurologist's office with excruciating  headaches.  I was diagnosed with migraines and ice pick headaches.

Now this!  I already have heart issues so I decided to not take any chances.  I had been experiencing bad chest pains, near-fainting spells, bad pains in my feet, extreme fatigue, but I didn't think any of it since this is like a normal day for me.

We get to the hospital and I am immediately whisked back to a room. There was a great team that worked with me.  The nurse who did the I.V. was amazing.  I did not feel anything.

Nurses and technicians come in and out of the room, one taking an x-ray of my chest, another doing an EKG, while yet another taking blood for tests.

I could hear the not-so-rhythmic beating of the heart monitor.  My heart rate was all over the place, indicated my neighbor who had stayed with me, because "no one should be alone in the ER."

After asking several times, I finally received a couple of very warm blankets.  These were very helpful as it was quite frigid in the room, not the company, but the overall temperature of the hospital room.

About 2 hours pass and I have completed several tests, including blood pressure tests laying down, sitting up and standing. After all the tests are done, the attending doctor indicates that he has changed his mind about giving me the medication he had planned as my heart rate had calmed down, but that I should go home and take another dose of my already prescribed heart medication, with the understanding that I was to see my cardiologist and primary care doctor the very next business day.

I review my discharge papers and see the diagnosis:  POTS, in addition to Tachycardia (which I already knew about.

...but what the heck is POTS?

I am still doing my research on this illness.

More to come.

If you have POTS, please feel free to comment to let me know how you are coping, etc.  I would appreciate any information on dealing with this syndrome.

Simple Life Lessons From The Sunflower

Sunflowers

Original Art by Gina Welds Hulse

One of my favorite flowers to plant each year is the sunflower. I remember growing the Russian Mammoth a couple of years ago.  When they reached maximum height, they topped out at over 8 feet tall.

I would get up early each morning and watch them as they greeted the sun. 

They all faced east as if in worship, as the sun rose above the horizon.

As the day progressed, the sunflowers followed the path of the sun, resting in the west before returning to the eastward facing by sunrise.

As I thought about planting them again this year, I realize just how much that simple sunflower can teach us about living.

First, sunflowers teach us that dreams start small. Russian mammoths start from a tiny seed, just like other plants or trees, like the oak.

Sunflowers remind us that we should not be afraid to let ourselves be beautiful. The sunflower does not shy away from showing off its colors, its tall stalk and gracefulness.

Inside that tiny seed is beauty that is just yearning to come out, much like the beauty and the potential inside each of us.

The sunflower, also reminds us to always face the sun, so that the shadows of life will be cast behind us.

The sunflower also reminds us to dream big.

 The seed head of the Russian Mammoth measures almost 8 inches across (at least the ones that I grew). That's just the seed head. In order for the stalk to maintain that size of a flower, it must stick its neck out. We should not be afraid to stick our necks out and dream big. 

Sunflowers really know how to do this, and we could learn from this.

I found this cute song about sunflowers with even more lessons.  Enjoy it!