Project POTS · Aug 26, 2021

PROJECT POTS - Episode 12: Dealing With A Severe POTS Episode & Winning - Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia

EPISODE 12

Dealing With A Severe POTS Episode & Winning - Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia

Hello NormaLyte community it's Valerie here! We're back with another episode of Project POTS.

You've probably noticed that it's been a really long time since I've made one of these and that's because I've been fighting probably the most horrific POTS episode since my diagnosis since January of this year.

It's been really tough managing to stay in school and keep up with class and also trying different treatment options and medications and battling with those side effects.

I think the hardest part for me though was I had the best semester of my life last fall, the healthiest I'd ever been, I had missed zero days of class, and to go from that to waking up one day in January to just everything crashing down has been really difficult.

So one thing I really want to emphasize in this blog is not so much the treatments I've been doing or trying because I feel like for pretty much everyone it's the same, it's just some combination of medications, water, salt, compression socks, exercise, and all those fun things that I'm sure all of you are familiar with.

The one thing I really want to emphasize is to have hope.

It's been months since I've been at my best functioning and there are days when I feel like I'm never going to get that back and the biggest thing that has been helpful for me is leaning on my friends and family and reaching out and using support.

I think a lot of times people with chronic illness want to fight through it alone because they want to act like 'We can put on this brave face and we're still the same person and we're still functioning. We're still this, and we're still that,' but don't be afraid to reach out to your support system they will uplift you and they will fill you with the hope that you need to keep going and to keep fighting through.

I know I could not have gotten through these past few months without my incredibly supportive family and friends and even just sometimes complete strangers that I've met through different POTS support groups and Facebook groups sometimes they're your best assets.

Some incredibly strong community members have reached out to me and have spent hours on the phone with me talking about their experiences with different doctors and different treatments and things like that.

So don't be afraid to use your support system and don't be afraid to reach out, but mostly, don't lose hope! I know with POTS, with such a weird and misunderstood illness, it can be hard to feel like you're ever going to get an answer and while there may not be a solid answer out there for POTS, things do get better.

I'm still nowhere near I was when I was functioning my best, but slowly and surely, I know I'm on an upswing. I know I'm going to get there.

So this is just a reminder to everyone to stay strong and a reminder that there is a community out there full of love and support and don't be afraid to use it.

I hope everyone's been doing well and I'm glad to be back, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.