Back in 2014, Hailey Hudson was a healthy, active 16-year-old.
She worked out several days per week and played competitive softball.
Around that time, Hudson underwent surgery for her condition.
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During her first practice back after the operation, things felt…off.
I was running the bases and couldnt breathe.
It felt like my throat was closing up.
I wasdizzyand had spots in my vision, she recalls.
As the season went on, things got more intense.
She continued feeling dizzy at practice but also developed debilitating fatigue once she got home.
It can happen to anyone, but is way more common in women between 15 and 50.
But all too often, health care professionals mistake the symptoms for other issues.
What is POTS?
POTS is an acronym that stands for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.
It messes with your arteries ability to contract properly, which is known as vascular tone.
But if you have POTS, that doesnt happen.
What are the symptoms of POTS?
This condition can manifest in subtle ways and masquerade as other conditions.
For Hudson, it took six years after her first symptoms appeared before she was correctly diagnosed.
Typically, this feeling will go away once you lie down.
Dr. Wilson says that people with POTS frequently have issues with theirsleep.
Fatiguehas always been my worst symptom, Hudson explains.
It affects my daily functioning in so many ways.
I struggle to drive and walk through stores or down the street.
Unfortunately, Dr. Wilson says this symptom is often overlooked by health care providers.
If you wait for someone to faint, youre going to miss [the diagnosis].
You might also have problems processing info in generala.k.a.brain fog.
These people often have a mass reduction in their work production.
You see a severe impact on their daily function, Dr. Wilson notes.
freaks out a bit and works extra hard to get some circulation to your brain.
(Thats the tachycardia part, which essentially means that your heart is beating way too fast.)
Palpitations can also happen after you lie down, and you might also feel a sense of breathlessness.
A racing heart can also happen at night, which can contribute to your sleep troubles.
Dr. Wilson points out that POTS is frequently misdiagnosed as anxiety.
You feel like you have the flu, but also like youre over-caffeinated.
Your blood pressure is dropping, then the body overcompensates to fix that, he says.
These symptoms can mimic those of anxiety, especially if a doctor cant determine any other causes.
Here are a few other common POTS symptoms:
Diagnosing POTS can be tricky.
POTS symptoms may also get worse before or during your period.
POTS is manageable with lifestyle changes and medications.
Dr. Bart often advises people with POTS to up their sodium intake.
Salty snacks are really important in a POTS diet, she notes.
A person with POTS should also be drinking a lot of waterroughly 2 to 2.5 liters per day.
Alcohol and caffeine can sometimes make symptoms worse, Dr. Bart adds.
Hudson, whos now 25, no longer plays softball.
However, she acknowledges that her symptoms have become a lot more manageable.
Instead of being a diagnosis of exclusion, POTS should be an inclusion.
This should be top priority.
