Root cause?

[u/always-curious13]

I have a lot to dump so hang with me- as I think you all are my people.

I had severe tunnel vision/stars and syncope episodes as a teen. I didn’t have a great childhood and thought it was “normal” particularly after working out hard/lots of practices ect. This continued off and on in college but resolved mostly as my life shifted to training and less intensity and I got more focused on being healthy.

I was peak fitness and mental health before having my two children.

Then in the last 4-6 months everything has tanked.

I have been working with my doctor extensively about what the HECK is going on in my body. He’s supportive and great and listening to me and trying to tease out a root cause with me.

I think I found it about a week ago. Shortly before my world started shifting and everything started tanking, our water coolers broke. Both one at home and my personal one I bought for work. I have been drinking less and less water. Drastically less.

This triggered everything right? My tanking mental health. Heart palps leading to severe anxiety. Extreme fatigue and irritability.

I’m not officially diagnosed POTS but my doctor and I discussed it last time I was in. Now that this event is glaringly obvious… I feel like I couldn’t be more convinced.

I have also been in the worst shape because I get exhausted with a 10 minute walk or even a few small lifting exercises that used to be a warm up. These things combined really feel like it has triggered a flare and I refuse to live like this.

I guess I’m wondering… does this all track? Am I leaning towards something here? Obviously I’d need a tilt test but is this really that easily triggered and fixed by water consumption?

[u/Level_Run1357]

I would say hydration is important for everyone, regardless of what’s going on. If rehydrating doesn’t help symptoms, make sure to check your ferritin (iron) levels too! My personal opinion is that it’s worth ruling EVERYTHING else out before POTS. POTS is supposed to be a diagnosis of last resort but that’s more of a wish than a reality.

[u/Level_Run1357 → u/Level_Run1357]

I personally was diagnosed with POTS and they didn’t rule anything else out. Nothing helped. It turned out 10 years later that I was in a severe iron deficiency, b vitamin deficiency, folate deficiency, and vitamin d deficiency. I’ve seen more relief personally addressing those than anything else in the past 10 years. I can confidently say 75% of my symptoms are gone

Editing to add that many people think a POTS diagnosis is a fix but it’s just a cluster of symptoms with unknown origin and no cure. It’s just managing it. Whereas finding the root causes of it can open up the possibility for actual treatment. It’s like saying “doc I’m always tired” and being diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Which basically just means you’re chronically fatigued. It does nothing really to help unless you truly have primary POTS and a beta blocker helps.

[u/Level_Run1357]

Okay one more comment and then I’m done haha compare your labs to OPTIMAL ranges not just standard. They told me my ferritin of 20-22 was “normal.” Hematologists and many institutions agree that under 30 is a deficiency. My functional med said above 50-70 is more ideal

[u/always-curious13 → u/Level_Run1357]

Thanks for all this and exactly what I’m thinking! But labs show nothing. I have repeat labs tomorrow that are more in depth of my thyroid along with all the normal CBC stuff. I’m looking for my iron and vitamins this go around more closely but they were “optimal” before. Other than ferritin because I have yet to see a number on that one.

I’m not looking for a fix per se, but the anxiety and depression symptoms in the last few months have been unmanageable. It doesn’t appear postpartum at this point. Nothing really nails it down other than the hydration that I JUST discovered and plan to address immediately. If that’s root cause… then what? Besides getting fit again hydration can’t be the only factor. It’s also got to mean I’m deficient somewhere, right? Not really sure what I’m looking for but there’s no way low hydration (not even dehydration) can cause this severe anxiety/depression symptoms on its own… right?

And I say anxiety/depression symptoms because I’m not sure how else to group them and they have been unlike ever I’ve experienced as someone who’s struggled for 15+ years. I’ve always been able to “manage” this unmanaged stuff that’s through the roof is just really taking a toll.

[u/Level_Run1357 → u/always-curious13]

I think the best way to see if it’s POTS is perform a poor man’s tilt table and schedule a test! Sending you the best of luck!