Understanding POTS | Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

Vanderbilt has a leading POTS and Dysautonomia clinic. They do a lot of clinical trials there. Just FYI: www.vumc.org/autonomic-dysfunction-center/becoming…

Thank you for this! Had pots since I was 15 and I have been treated like a hypochondriac all of my life. Diagnosed at 51 years old!

"How's it treated? Well first you gotta get it diagnosed." cries in American

Oh my God this actually made me ball my eyes out. I’ve never heard such a comprehensive explanation as to what I deal with on a daily basis. I literally sometimes don’t even understand if it’s worth living like this.

Celiac + pots sufferer here who has a doctor that was convinced my condition was anxiety based. Advocate for yourself and get another doctor.

Your videos have been absolutely critical to my healing. Understanding is power. It’s very frightening when you don’t understand and lack the resources to get definitive answers. It’s isolating. You don’t know what’s really wrong, and everyone treats you like you are losing your mind. You have a beautiful way of explaining complex information in a way anyone can understand. Thank you for what you do!

Thank you, looking back had dysautonomia all my life but was told it "girls just faint"and when i grew older it was said it's just anxiety. The medical gaslighting really hurt and made me look like a hypochondriac. I'm now 41 and only last week in the ER it was established I have POTS/dysautonomia as it got so severe I was bedbound. I have received betablockers and they make a huge difference. My heart used to peak at 170 just standing up and now it's only 110. Resting heartrate does get too low though, but overall I feel better medicated. My POTS is caused by being hypermobile.

I believe this is exactly what I'm experiencing! I been in and out of ER over past 2 yrs with all these symptoms and they keep telling me it's anxiety/panic attacks. It actually got worse and more frequent since 8/2021 when my mom passed away due to covid 😭. I have not been able to do anything since Thank you so much for all this information 👍💯🤗

ive been having high heart rate issues and so many weird unexplained symptoms that ive pretty much just chalked up to anxiety after being repeatedly told it was just anxiety. well yesterday i was diagnosed with POTS, and i stumbled across this video trying to learn more about it, and it all makes so much sense now. im sitting here crying because oh my god, im not crazy, this is real! thank you so much for this from the absolute bottom of my heart.

This is extremely helpful. I am an ex-soldier, veteran of Afghanistan and I am convinced this is what I have. I was very high achieving before all this, I was even able to complete special forces training. But now doctors don't just tell me I have anxiety but PTSD (I did not have a particularly stressful tour). It is an exhausting experience having POTS. I do not have a diagnosis yet but have gone through many different doctors - cardiologist, neurologist, etc. I will use this and try some of the treatments myself and speak with my doctor about medication trials. Thank you so much for this.

Was always told my racing heart was just anxiety but I finally just got diagnosed with pots so everything makes sense

I got POTS 3 years ago when I was 54. Never heard of it, and never knew something like this could happen to a body. I knew people and have had family members with Diabetes, Cancer, Congestive Heart Failure, Cirrhosis, OH, High BP, autoimmune conditions, Afib, and I even have a cousin that has MS. I never expected this, or thought something like this could happen. I went to the doctor every 6 months all my life for checkups. My last regular checkup before this in Nov. of 2018 I told my doctor I get lightheaded sometimes, and I feel more tired lately. He did the blood work and my WHC count was slightly elevated. He told me I might have an Infection and gave me Antibiotics. I still never felt right and 2 weeks later I was laying in bed, I started sweating really bad, jumped out of bed because I felt like I was having some kind of bad Panic Attack or possibly a stroke. When I stood up my legs felt like I had lead weights on them. 4 times in the ER for feeling like I was having some mind of stroke, they came up with nothing. I was weak, dizzy, and unbalanced. They did a Stress Test and in 1 minute my HR went to 187. They put on the report "Due to lack of physical activity. That never made sense. My heart never raced, I was riding a bike, fishing, doing everything perfectly healthy, never short of breath, never tired all the time. On New Years Eve 2018 I felt like passing out sitting by the table. Checked my BP and HR and it was ok. I stood up to get busy and try and forget about it, and almost fell down. I decided to stand up and check my BP and HR. My BP was 180/120 and my HR was 185 ! I went right to the ER and showed them, Cardiologist came in and diagnosed me with POTS. Biggest problem I have is 99% of the doctors sort of know about POTS, but the other issues it causes lie my slow bowels, fatigue all the time, they tell you "That's a separate issue, POTS don't cause that". I finally went to a Neurologist who knows it does. I have no Diabetes, Neurotrophy, no low blood volume, hormones are perfect, no Secondary Condition. I know my veins don't constrict the right way since my legs always feel "heavy" and I have slow bowels. Neuropathic POTS is me. Thank you for this video.

This is the most comprehensive explanation of POTS I have seen anywhere. So helpful! I cannot thank you enough for providing this information. I had to learn some of these tips and tricks the hard way, over many years. Having this video 30+ years ago would have saved me a lot of grief and sweat. But having it now helps a lot too. I can just send the link to this video to people in my life who struggle to understand. You are the best!

I've had symptoms for YEARS, got told it was anxiety and in my head. They told me I was a hypochondriac. 2 days ago I was diagnosed with POTS.

Thank you so much . I’m a critical care nurse that had Covid in august of 21 and had a baby in February of 21. I also have autoimmunity but was well managed. After I had Covid I started having tachycardia horribly, dizziness, feeling of being faint, my legs going weak on me and my heart rate will go into the 130-140 just walking and 120s just standing. For the first time in my career I am struggling to work cause I notice I get worse under stress , which is abundant in the ICU . This helped me understand it so much better 🙏

Thank you so much for covering this information. my 13-year-old has been going through this for 2 years now. We are finally on a path to have her diagnosed. It's been hard as a mother watching my child struggle in school and social life and not be able to make her feel better. I truly have learned a lot from this presentation and happy I understand more of what she's going through, so I can better help her live a full, healthy and happy life.

Long time sufferer. (Also have venous insufficiency, hEDS and SFN) I am very familiar with most of this info. Just wanted to say that this is very well done. Do not under estimate hydration and eating fruit throughout the day!! Decrease your stress. Work through anything you can control. Get out of unhealthy situations whether it be a relationship, job, environment. Listen to your body and rest as needed and stay out of the heat!!! Be well potsies.

You are highly intelligent, informative and a sweet person for taking your time to help us people suffering from this draining , debilitating disease. Thank you so much!

Thank you so much for creating this video - I can see by the comments it’s been a great resource for everyone ✨ I was just diagnosed a couple of days ago, after what looks like a lifetime (43) of signs and symptoms. I feel like I’ve found some confidence, that it was ‘just anxiety’ ‘go eat healthy and exercise’ ‘we all get tired’. I’ll rewatch again soon and take better notes 🙌🏼🌸

I appreciate this. The only bone I have to pick is… What’s really frustrating is, most people who are chronically ill don’t only have one condition they’re living with. (I have several.) Like most specialists who focus on only one condition, the advice they give that may help that specific condition can make another condition worse. This makes it extra difficult to find solid answers for healing and relief.