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.