POTS Syndrome



I bet you are wondering what the heck that is....ya...so did I. POTS is otherwise called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.  POTS by “definition” is failure of the peripheral vascular system to constrict in orthostatic stress. POTS is also believed to represent the earliest sign of autonomic dysfunction and that some patients (approximately 10%) later progress into having complete autonomic system failure. Your autonomic nervous system is part of your peripheral nervous system and controls all the “automatic” functions of your body like heart rate, digestion, breathing, etc.

In layman's terms...when I stand up all the blood in my body falls with gravity. In a normal person their veins will constrict and pump blood back upwards..My body has an autonomic nervous system that is shot, and does not do this.  This causes my heart rate for example to go from 70 beats a minute while sitting to 140-160 beats when I stand....

Why you ask?! Basically my body panics to get blood to my brain, so my heart goes into overdrive to pump the blood back.  This causes me to become extremely dizzy, I nearly pass out when i stand, and have in fact passed out four times since sept 2010 when I was first diagnosed.

I have experienced a plethora of symptoms the most recent is memory loss especially short term memory. The severity of POTS varies from day-to-day minute-to-minute. Some days and hours are good, and others I can hardly stand up.

Some of my symptoms just to give you a glimpse are... severe dizziness, light headed, nausea and vomiting, tremors, palpitations, chest pain, low blood pressure, unable to put my arms over my head without passing out, tachycardia, slurred speech at times, insomnia, severe fatigue, arthritic pains in my joints, transient numbness, blurred vision, seeing black floating spots, severe headaches, neck and back pain, short of breath, hot flashes, anxiety, depression, severe itching, weakness and loss of familiar directions & names...just to name a few.

For more in depth information about POTS please visit:
                         


“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
-Isaiah 40:31 NLT

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”

-Isaiah 43:2 NLT

With much love,

amanda kay

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