POTS:

[my.clevelandclinic.org]

She sees her cardiologist Monday. She went though terrible angina and a couple of hospital stays in December and January. She had two stents. They stopped the angina by turning off a lead in her pacemaker. But they never relooked at all the medicines she had been given during this. She was taking 4 that lower your blood pressure. The cardiologist’s nurse took her off her 25mg of beta blocker. Her heart rate goes up into the high 90’s during the episodes. That seems like she’s overriding her pacemaker and I think I heard a doctor say that was bad.

Her BP top number goes into the high 80’s and low 90’s. The episode just now caused a BP of about 132/90 something about 5 minutes later. She had just gotten up from laying back in her recliner a minute earlier. It seems like several times it’s right after standing up.

I am wondering if an Omron wrist BP monitor could alert her to low BP (even though they are not super accurate) and give her time to sit down before she falls. It won’t catch it 100% but should help some.

Her doctor is excellent, caring, and nice, but she doesn’t get to see him enough, in my opinion. Anyone have any experience or suggestions?

Sounds plausible. Getting old sucks.

I know someone with similar symptoms described here and it ended up being POTS. Better have it checked on.

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pRICE cUBE
I know someone with similar symptoms described here and it ended up being POTS. Better have it checked on.

She’s seeing her cardiologist Monday.

Yeah, they loaded my mom (back in her 50s) with so many meds that she eventually had a seizure.

Taking her off them fixed that.

Any A-fib issues?

She has a-fib and had the ablation several years ago.

Take a full list of ALL her meds and let the cardio review it. Docs tend to overprescribe and even worse if she has multiple docs.

Yeah, a med review is in order. My wife got a lot of those done for her residents. Too many specialists not looking at the history.

It’s why I always bring my phone with medical records and med history for all my wife’s appointments. I once rather famously explained to an ER Doc that the med they were going to give her would give her a bad reaction. There was a discussion, science conversation, and the doc thanked me for avoiding a mistake.

I know someone senior with sone of the same symptoms. It turned out to be dehydration. Just not drinking enough fluids. It caused libbtheadbess and low blood pressure among other things. These lead to sone fainting spells. One of the major reasons for the lack of interest in fluids was wishing to avoid going to the bathroom which as you age becomes more and more uncomfortable for seniors especially females. We started giving here more tasty stuff like coconut water, electrolyte drinks (Gatorade). Steered away from soda and coffee. Hope this helps.

POTS classically doesn’t lower BP, and I find that any BP machine is not great at detecting low BP in the first place - a wrist one even less so, IMO.

There are other kinds of autonomic dysfunction that it might be. The treatment isn’t very different, but generally starts with increased water, salt, and compression garments. I’m not sure if she’d be allowed to use those. Good luck! There is a great forum for dysautomomia if you end up in that world - DINET.

She takes medicine often through the day and drinks a full glass of water lose when she does. But she drinks 3-4 cans of Diet Coke. She drinks a glass of tea or Diet Coke with meals.

Edit: The recommended water intake is pretty close to the dangerous level discussed in the water poisoning thread below.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2022 02:25PM by Dennis S.

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Acer
Sounds plausible. Getting old sucks.

The alternative sucks worse.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

She just got back from the doctor. He said she did have four medicines that could lower blood. He said she had the symptoms of POTS, but due to her age and the medicine probably causing the blood pressure fall, he was going to pursue getting her medicine regulated. He dropped potassium pill and furosemide. His nurse had already taken her off a beta blocker. He said she needs a third lead on her pacemaker, which should help things a lot.

Her doctor is an amazing person. Brilliant, personable, caring, intuitive - all the good things you would hope to have in a doctor.