Imagine this:
You stand up from the couch… and suddenly your heart is racing like you just sprinted a mile.
Your vision goes blurry.
Your legs feel like jelly.
You’re dizzy, breathless, and your body is screaming for you to sit back down, right now!
This isn’t just “getting up too fast.”
This is POTS — Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.
A form of dysautonomia that affects blood flow and the autonomic nervous system.
And unless you’ve lived it, you probably wouldn’t notice.
Because we look fine.
Until we’re not.
🩺 What is POTS?
It’s a condition where the body can’t regulate blood pressure and heart rate properly when changing positions. Especially from lying or sitting to standing.
For someone with POTS, standing up can cause:
A heart rate jump of 30+ beats per minute
Lightheadedness, nausea, or fainting
Extreme fatigue
Brain fog
Shakiness or tremors
Chest pain or shortness of breath
Cold, mottled limbs
GI issues and more
And it doesn’t stop there.
You can drink all the water, eat all the salt, wear compression gear, pace your activity, and still hit a wall.
You might manage it one day, and be bedbound the next.
It’s not “just being tired.”
It’s neurological, cardiovascular, and life-altering.
💡 POTS Facts:
POTS is more common in women, often appearing after puberty, pregnancy, or viral illness.
It’s frequently misdiagnosed as anxiety or dismissed as “stress.”
Many people wait years for a correct diagnosis.
There is no cure, just symptom management.
It often coexists with other conditions like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), MCAS, autoimmune disorders, or chronic fatigue syndrome.
And let’s be real:
Navigating life with POTS is exhausting.
We cancel plans.
We modify everything.
We learn to ration our energy like it’s currency.
We research like detectives and advocate like warriors — because we have to.
🙋♀️ I was one of the ones who didn’t know what was wrong.
I thought I was just weak.
Or lazy.
Or dramatic.
Doctors brushed me off for years.
“You’re just anxious.”
“Try yoga.”
“Drink more water.”
Spoiler alert: I was already drinking 3 liters a day.
Getting diagnosed didn’t magically fix anything.
But it gave me validation, language, and a chance to fight smarter, not harder.
So if you’re reading this and thinking, “That sounds like me,” please know you’re not alone.
POTS is real.
Your symptoms are real.
And you deserve to be taken seriously.
To those who live with it: I see you.
To those who don’t understand it: Ask. Learn. Believe us.
We may not “look sick,” but trust me, we are fighting battles you can’t see every single day.
Invisible doesn’t mean imaginary,
Shandy 💜
from TacoboutWellness 🌮
#POTSawareness #DysautonomiaIsReal #InvisibleIllness #ChronicIllnessWarrior #YouDontLookSick #ButMyHeartWouldLikeToHaveAWord #LateDiagnosedLife #ThisIsMyReality