I was recently diagnosed with POTS and I sometimes have a hard time believing it. I do the same thing with PCOS, I have a ton of the symptoms but I never feel like they are severe enough to be consider an actual diagnosis until one of them smacks me in the face and forces me to acknowledge it. If that all makes sense. I wanted to come on here and ask for some tips and tricks as I’m fairly certain I’ve had POTS for a lot longer than we thought I did but didn’t know anything about it. Please let me know if I need to change anything or if this post isn’t allowed.

-What does a POTS episode or flare up look to you and how long does it last?

I feel like I’ve been having one since yesterday. I don’t ever faint (Though I got really close one day) but I’ve been feeling off, kinda like there’s a pressure on my chest and the brain fog is unreal. Had to carry a bag of dog food down an aisle and while it wasn’t normally heavy, it felt like it kept getting heavier with each step. And The heart palpitatons! I’ve gotten those for a few years and previously just thought that was a normal thing but haha it’s not apparently.

-Any suggestion for hydration drinks that don’t taste bleh?

I can‘t do the Liquid I.V. Or Nuun, they’re too flavorless and whatnot for me. I know it’s not the best, but I’ve been doing Lemonade mixers from King Soopers just to get through a whole water bottle cause I admittedly don’t like straight water and am trying to get better on my intake.

-When you get shakes, is one side shakier than the other???

My right side shakes a lot more Than my left.

-Dealing with anxiety about possibly being alone in public and having a fainting spell?

During my “episode” or whatever yesterday, I’m pretty sure I was making it worse by worrying about what would happen if I were to suddenly faint in the store. I hate attention and have bad social anxiety.

-Any tips on handling the heart palpitations or motion sickness/nausea?

The palpitations are more annoying than anything but the nausea is unbearable sometimes. I was stuck just laying down a bunch eating mints Yesterday because of it. Little gross sorry, I can’t actually vomit. The only time I have in like 5 years was from severe food poisoning so I’m not sure if that’s normal for anyone else or what.

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-Kind of random but does anyone else get chronic hiccups?? I’ve had them for YEARS and because hiccups to that extent aren’t common, there’s not much research on it and google rabbitholes usually lead to some kind of cancer.

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I have gone to a healthcare professional when diagnosed but I wanted to get more input from others going through the same thing. I refuse to let this beat me so I want to find the best ways to handle everything as I can. Started taking some sodium tablets to help with my intake.