tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17302050373256731302024-03-12T20:16:30.912-07:00POTS AwarenessAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514699264480840561noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730205037325673130.post-5256892926841044002015-10-03T20:03:00.001-07:002015-10-03T20:03:42.047-07:00My POTS Story
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I wouldn’t consider myself much of a writer, nor do I like
sharing much about my emotions with the general public. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, special times call for special
measures…I guess. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is my POTS story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, you may be asking “why are you sharing
this?” Well, good question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>October is Dysautonomia
awareness month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope that with my
story and the support of friends and family like you all we can spread
awareness of this silent disease so nobody will have to go through the long,
unknown journey of sickness that I had to suffer through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was always a healthy person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I played sports, I ate my vegetables (and
some ice cream too), and I always got the perfect attendance award at school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing in my life could have prepared me for
what was to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Around November of my sophomore year I started getting
weekly migraines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found this odd, but
didn’t think this made me different from any other high schooler getting migraines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple of months later these went away, and
obviously I went back to having a killer sophomore year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then summer came along and it all went
downhill from there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember the
first time I felt the strange dizzy feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was waiting to get into the One Direction concert with my friend. She
had just made me get her a water bottle because she was overheated and felt
like she was going to pass out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
she had rehydrated, we scooted our way up to the front of the mob of screaming
teenage girls dreaming of dating Harry Styles, and waited for the doors to
open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly as we were standing there
I felt as if I couldn’t stand anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My hands started tingling, my face went completely numb, and I felt as
if the room was spinning (despite the fact that I was outside and there was no
room to actually spin).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I immediately made
my one direction adoring friend abandon her amazing spot in line so I could get
out of the overwhelming crowd of people and maybe blame my dizzy spell on excitement
or claustrophobia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, my excitement
of seeing one direction had nothing to do with these strange symptoms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the summer progressed my symptoms only got
worse, not to mention more strange things kept happening to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">By the start of my junior year we had already seen multiple
doctors, all with the same response; “there’s nothing we can do, it’s just anxiety.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much as I respect medical professionals
and all of their hard work, I knew this was not the correct diagnosis, and so
did my parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went from being a
normal healthy child to not even being able to get off of the couch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By October of my junior year I had to be
homebound from school; I was too sick to get out of bed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was having daily migraines, was constantly
dizzy, never slept, always had stomach aches and felt like I was going to throw
up everywhere (sorry for all of the unpleasant imagery, I’m just trying to be real),
my brain was so foggy I couldn’t concentrate, and the list goes on; but as you
can see I just was not myself and was clearly not healthy enough to do
anything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Through the grapevine of mutual friends, my mom had heard of
someone who had POTS, or Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her symptoms sounded very similar to mine, so
we immediately made an appointment with her doctor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon after, in November of 2013 I was
diagnosed with POTS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However my journey
was not over there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After this, it took
me two more doctors and I cannot even count how many medications before I was
able to get my symptoms under control and get myself healthy enough for life
activities again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I ended up missing over one hundred days of school my junior
year of high school, and only went to school for four periods a day my senior
year because I simply wasn’t healthy enough to make it through a whole
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took a while, but with the help of
the correct doctors and trial and error with MANY different medications, I am
finally able to say that POTS doesn’t completely own my life anymore (don’t get
me wrong it’s definitely still there and makes itself known all of the time,
but I’ve learned to deal with it).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>POTS
isn’t something that will go away, for now at least, I still struggle with it
on a daily basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, with the
right management of medications and a healthy lifestyle I am able to live a
normal life again, finally!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two years
after my diagnosis I am healthy enough to workout, hangout with friends, and most
importantly go to college (something I didn’t think I would be able to do for
the longest time).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now you may still be asking yourself, “Why is she telling me
all of this?” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s still a valid
question, and here’s my answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I missed
out on a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suffered and had a long
journey to go through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not telling
you this for your sympathy, or for you to think I’m a freaky sick girl (I mean
think what you want…I guess).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t let
someone you know go through what I went through!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>POTS is not a very widely known illness, it’s
nicknamed a “silent disease”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went to
eight doctors before I was finally diagnosed with POTS, and if my mom wouldn’t
have heard about it randomly, it could have been eight more than that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wouldn’t wish this on anybody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All I am asking is that you would share this,
verbally, electronically, or however you need to so we can spread awareness of
Dysautonomia and POTS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Educate yourselves
with the link below if you’re interested, wear blue, I don’t know just do something
this month to spread the word!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Thank you for all of your support!</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.dysautonomiainternational.org/page.php?ID=154"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.dysautonomiainternational.org/page.php?ID=154</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.dinet.org/index.php/information-resources/pots-place/pots-symptoms"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.dinet.org/index.php/information-resources/pots-place/pots-symptoms</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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