How To Deal With Symptoms During Stress And Excitement

[carinara]

Hello everybody,

This is carinara writing to you from Germany. I am so glad that I have found this web side. It helped me so much understanding whats been going on with me over the past 10 years and finally finding a doctor who diagnosed me after testing me for POTS.

Sorry, that my english is not 100% correct but i hope you can all understand me.

My body reacts to all sorts of things like heat, food, exercise and so on. I do my best to deal with all the symptoms, for example eating tiny meals, not bending over, try not to stand for longer than a few minutes, not talk to much and move my head and so on. But what really gets me, is how my body reacts symptomatic to any kind of stress, positiv stress or negativ stress or to emotional situations. I am normaly a mentally strong person with strong believes. I use to help where I can. But now it seems like my body reacts on its own. For example: Today I saw how an ambulance car came and picked up my neighbours husband because he is old and ill and needs to go to the hospital. My old self would go over to my neighbour to make sure that she is ok and offer her my help. Today (like so many times before) I saw the ambulance and my body reacted badly, it took me a while just to get my heartbeat down and my lightheadness away, and now afterwards I feel totally exhausted. It really gets me down, because mentally

I can deal with the situation today, its always my body reacting so symptomatic that all i can do is try to relax, breath and try to help my body to get into balance again.

These also happens when i get really excited. For example on my daughters birthday when i want to surprise her with a nice present. My body cant stand the positiv kind of tension and reacts exactly the same way. Its like my body makes no different where the tension comes from, it doesnt matter if its

A positive or a negative occasion. My body reacts the same!

It makes me sad, because i feel how I sometimes try to avoid happy, sad and exciting things because of all them symptoms. Isnt that what life is all about? Sometimes when i get in a discussion at work, i want to really state some facts, but it takes only a few seconds befor the tension causes me to become very symptomatic again. Sometimes I just go for it and let it all out, but then afterwards feel very ill and have to go home or try to find a place where i can lay down for a while. More often i just try to avoid discussions now! But really i do like to have a good discussion from time to time but i cant without getting really ill.

Does anybody of you experience the same thing? How do you deal with it? Iam half spanish with a lot of temparament. This temperant i have to meditate away all the time. This makes me sad.

[deucykub]

Hi, Carinara:

First, I have to say, your English is phenomenal! My husband teaches English Composition at the university level here in the US, and his students (English is their FIRST language) don't write nearly as well as you do! We are so far behind on languages that it is really sad. I took 3 years of German in high school, and all I can remember is a few phrases, and in a pinch, I could ask how to get to McDonalds.

Anyway... sorry for the brief derail...

Highly stressful situation affect me very similarly. If I get too excited, either way, I can't catch my breath, my heart rate goes wildly high, and I feel just awful. I am so sorry you experience this, too.

One little help that I've found is having Clonazepam around for emergency situations. It seems to supress my overloaded autonomic nervous system enough to bring my symptoms under control a bit.

Someone on this forum recommended Clonazepam to me about a year ago when I was really concerned about a high stress meeting I had to attend at work (it was a bash on Deucykub meeting - not fun at all). I didn't have any for the actual meeting, but after the meeting, I was incredibly ill. My husband had to drive me home from work, and my heart rate would not go down, even when I was lying down. I called my doctor and talked to her about Clonazepam, and she prescribed it right way (I am blessed to have an amazing doctor). It helped tremendously!

Maybe that type of medicine might help you be able to live and feel again?

The only thing I would recommend is learn what levels work best for you before trying it out at work. The first time I tried it before a business meeting - an interview no less - I was not on top of my game! A bit too much and you can get chatty and lose your train of thought. (lesson learned )

[carinara]

Hello Deucykub,

thank you for letting me know, how you deal with these situations.

After i read your note, i remembered, that my doctor told me a long while ago, that i can take Lexotanil (thats something similar to what you take) if i get in them sort of situation. But i have got a problem with taking tabletts. I try to avoid it where i can. My experience over the past years was, that i do react highly sensitive an often have many side effects to all kinds of medicines. Thats why i always hesitate and rather not take

much. But like you said. Maybe i should just take them with me and if a really bad or exciting situation happens, i will know that i have some kind of tool that will probably relief my symptoms a little bit.

I wish you all the best and thank you as well for your compliment on my english :-).

carinara

[Tammy]

Yes, I experience the exact same reaction to any sort of emotional stimuli, good or bad. So frustrating as I'm like you in wanting to be there for people, but my body doesn't allow me to do so. I also take a small dose of Klonopin when things get really bad, but it does leave me really fatigued/tired as a side-effect, so not perfect - however, it seems to take less time for my body to recover from a stimuli than without it. I would check with your physician about trying a very small dose of either Klonopin, Xanax, or Ativan for situations as such. I wouldn't take it on a daily basis as they are drugs that have a potential for tolerance in your system. I hope you can find something that will aide in the quality of life during these times.

- Tammy

[pat57]

Hi,

What are your medicines and other treatments- currently?

[wireless]

Yes I know how much this ***** I too am confused about whether I should avoid positive stimulating/exciting things. Of course almost everyone would tell me I am just having anxiety (and I can't say for certain that it's wrong). Some things are overall good, but stressful, like moving, then yes most people have some anxiety about it. But I have it with little things. I think everyone who knows me thinks I am so strange because I don't get excited about many little things, I guess I try to suppress it, so then everyone thinks I am depressed obviously. I am also trying to suppress negative feelings, so there's not a lot left I guess. But they do see me smile about and enjoy a lot of little things too, just not get 'excited' about them much. In the past, if I was too overly 'excited' for more than a day and couldn't stop it, then I did take Xanax, but taking more than one or two very tiny doses makes me actually depressed it seems.

[Ernie]

Hi,

I learned how to control my emotions most of the time.

[carinara]

Hello again, glad to hear that iam not the only person on this planet who feels this way.

The medicine i take is a beta blocker and atacant which is a medication against high blood presure.

I dont know how it is in the U.S. but in Germany where I live. Nobody knows much about POTS. I only saw my POTS doctor once ( and i found him through this web site :-)). He told me that i shouldnt take any otherer medicine, because my blood pressure gets quiet high at times, more so when i lay down. Midodrine highers the BP even more, so thats why i stick with my medicine i have been taking for the last 4 years.

I dont know how often you all see your POTS doctors. If i have a question i can always ring mine and ask him things. But to be honest, i learned far more on this website and through my experience in the past 10 years than through him.

Our Family doctor doesnt know much about POTS, but she is willing to learn. At the moment I tell her about it and print out informations for her.

[Rachel]

Hi Carinara,

Welcome to DINET!

There's no need to apologize. You have very good English. Your English is much better than my German! My dad is from Germany, so I've been to your corner of the world a few times. It's a beautiful place. I'd go back if I could. I still have a lot of relatives over there, though I don't get to see them unless they come to the US.

Stress and emotions can have an effect on our autonomic nervous systems just like other "triggers" such as gravity or heat. It's another one of those things that we adjust to and learn to live with.

Sometimes I will "crash" after a stressful situation. We just know it is coming, my husband takes care of my son, and I go to bed. Other times I can avoid the stress or just ignore it and purposefully focus on something else. It's hard!

I'm glad you found us. I hope you find this place to be kind, caring, and helpful.

Rachel

[HoudiniCat]

If I experience any emotion other than calm and relaxed, my body goes crazy and I start getting all kinds of symptoms. I try to control my emotions the best I can ? sitting quietly and breathing/meditating ? to get them under control. I experience the same thing at work ? if there?s a heated discussion going on, I have to gage whether my body is felling well enough for me to jump into the conversation instead of just sitting on the sidelines and observing. A family party or celebration used to be joyous and fun and now, the anticipation of it alone can make my body go crazy. I agree that these things are what life is all about but for now I?ll just have to be thankful for what I can do.

[pat57]

if you doctor can read English and you can afford this book. Buy it for her, she will be an expert.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...ER&v=glance

this one is less expense and for laymen.

http://www.amazon.com/Fainting-Phenomenon-...pd_bxgy_b_img_b

are you familiar with tilt table training? And salt and water loading?

I suggest trying them. Doing the second only if your blood pressure is not high. You can google tilt table training.

Sorry I need to rush through this. Others can perhaps answer questions if I have not been clear,

good luck.

[carinara]

Hello everybody!

thank you all so much for your replies!

Tilt Table training was mentioned here, i never heard of that. The next Tilt Table is over 200 km ( about 150 miles or so) away from were i live!

I dont really want to try something like that on my own by standing on a wall or something like that, because of me getting symptomatic so quick.

How do you all do your tilt table training?

I find out though, that standing time is much better for me in the evening!