Mayo Trip Part 2

I'm still at Mayo, but we're going home tomorrow which is really nice. I had my tilt-table test done this morning. That wasn't so fun. I was really tired in the morning and I was slow moving. For the tilt-table test, you lie down on a table that has the capability to move from a horizontal position to vertical position. The tilt-table test has a few parts to it: the part where they tilt your bed so you're practically standing up and monitor your heart rate and blood pressure, the part where you have to exhale into a plastic tube in order to monitor lung capacity, and the part where they stimulate your sweat glands on some areas of your body.

Since I was tired and did not have my important POTS meds because they would affect the results of the test, I was not comfortable. Breathing into the tube was incredibly difficult and I felt like I was stuck underwater without any oxygen. I felt like I was going to pass out when they tilted my bed too. This was discouraging because I thought I would feel better during the test. I felt so awful during the test though. My mom saw what my numbers for my heart rate and blood pressure were though during the whole test. She thought I had improved.

When I saw Dr. Fischer, he said yes I am improving! He said my tilt-table test results were almost normal for a non-POTS person. My heart rate only increased 19 beats per minute as compared to about 50 beats per minute from my 2008 test!! So that means that my body is clinically improving! I may not be feeling quite where I want to be feeling, but my body is improving.

Dr. Fischer and I have an action plan that starts off with me not taking Nadolol (heart medication) ever again and see how my body reacts to that. Then, I will try to wean off of Midodrine (POTS medication) since my body is improving and is no longer needing the medication necessarily. He also said that within 1 or 2 years I may not have POTS anymore!! My body is improving so much that I may not experience anymore POTS symptoms next year! I'm definitely hoping for that!

I'll keep you all updated with my progress. Until next time :)

P.S. This fantastic news is also special because today is the Day of Visibility for POTS and other conditions. So to find out that I am recovering is so special on Day of Visibility :)