Lyme Disease Support Group

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. It is now one of the fastest growing infectious diseases in the U.S. Lyme disease is caused by infection with the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, and is primarily transmitted to humans as well as dogs, horses and other domesticated animals by the bite of infected ticks.

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Infectious Diseases
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POTS

deleted_user
deleted_user
last week my doctor called me and told me he wanted to do another test on me. he told me to look into this and see what I thought about the symptoms and affects of this thing called pots. it has a lot to do with your heart rate, blood pressure and blood flow. at first I really didnt think much about it and didnt really look into it. the other night when I couldn't sleep I looked into it and realized that there are a lot of similarities to lyme disease and many of the symptoms are the same. the more I pay attention to my self and symptoms I almost wonder if I may have this. I go in for a test on friday since I dont want to leave a stone unturned in this fight.. I wanted to know if anyone has been tested and diagnosed with this. I also thought it would be worth mentioning to some of you since it is not well known by many doctors. it really is worth checking into...

Chad
deleted_user
deleted_user
Chad,
You may be on to something here. I looked up POTS and your right. Many of the symptoms are the same as lyme and ones I read on this site everyday. Folks talk all the time about reoccurrences of lyme from stress. I wonder now too if many don't really have POTS. After I was cured last fall from the lyme, I went thru the most stressful time of my life with a very ill mother. I kept thinking is stress makes lyme reoccur mine will come back.

Guess what, it did not.
I hope others on this site with out diagnosis will look into this. Thanks for posting about it. Take Care
deleted_user
deleted_user
SmithNE. Stress may not make lyme disease comes back but stress can play all sort of tricks on people. I have known a 14 year old girl to be on wheelchair for two years because she was being bullied in school. Previously, she was a swimming champion. Her mother found a psychiatric to treat her. She is fine again and start playing ruby now. Sometimes I wonder whether some of the people aches and pains in their body is caused by stress. Doctors perform a lot of tests on patients and can find nothing wrong. They told them it is all on their head. I wonder it is stress which is playing games on people.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I agree that stress could be doing something too but after spending a good amount of time looking into this I thought that it was well worth posting on here since so many of us keep getting treated like fakers and liars when we go in to the general doctors. this doctor I am seeing is pretty good and he is looking at all possibilities. I believe that we all should be open minded to this battle and be willing to look at everything to help ourselves and possibly others. I really hope that this may be helpful to some of you on here.. it is something they say is relatively unknown to many doctors.
bisja
bisja
Thanks Chad I think its very important for each individual and doctor not to get tunnel vision. I see that happening alot. I will look this up and see what its all about, sounds like your doctor is is a caring person.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I have POTS - have had it since I was 12. Let me tell you that Lyme can cause POTS and certainly aggravate it.

I know a lot about POTS and Lyme now and I can tell you that they are two different things but both have a huge effect on each other. The number one thing that helps with POTS for me is salt pills - which also helps circulate my lyme medicine as well.

I also take fish oil and B12 shots and my energy has NEVER been better.

If you have any questions, let me know - I've been to so many POTS specialists in my life and have tried all the treatments.

Good luck!
bisja
bisja
chase6180 thanks for posting could you tell us the symptoms for POTS ?
LoudLizzard
LoudLizzard
I agree with Chase6180 that these two diseases are probably separate. One thought to ponder though... Lyme disease can do damage to the autonomic nervous system, and this damage is the cause for POTS. With POTS patients, their autonomic nervous system doesn't properly regulate blood flow, heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, respiration, digestion and some other vital functions. I'm not an expert, but I would guess Lyme disease could cause POTS. Not saying it would be the only cause for POTS.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Yes, Lyme can absolutely cause POTS - however, it can be caused from other childhood viruses. I had scarlet fever as a kid and one theory is that it damaged my autonomic system. Another theory is that I've had lyme for a lot longer than I realized.

My symptoms of POTS are:
my blood pressure and heart rate are stable when I'm sitting but when I stand, my blood pressure drops and my heart rate goes up so high. This can cause me to faint.

It also causes chronic fatigue, migraines, dehydration.

Heat, sickness, exercise are some of the things that can really aggravate it.

My heart has been known to go up to 190bpm and my blood pressure has dropped as low as 60/40.

Anyway, Salt Tablets really do help and B12 injections are the best energy boost I've ever had.
deleted_user
deleted_user
wow!! some really good info there chase.. I really appreciate the info. my doctor just mentioned it to me and thought I should be tested for it. I have read a lot of the symptoms and they are really similar to lyme. when you say salt pills what are you talking about? how much and where do you get them.I do take fish oil and some vitamin b when I remember but I am not always religious with it I guess.. thank you much and if you have any other good info let me know. I will keep an eye on this and keep you posted on any info I find out and how my appt goes on friday.. thank all of you for the interest and info.. its a really tough few weeks, I feel as if I have slipped so much again lately..

Chad
deleted_user
deleted_user
The salt pills are buffered salt tablets in 1gram - they're called Thermotabs. Be sure you actually have POTS before you take them because they'll raise your blood pressure - which obviously a lot of people don't need.

B12 is really best absorbed through intramuscular injection - it's amazing, you feel an incredibly energy boost almost immediately.

Also, I forgot to mention, the MOST important thing is to keep yourself hydrated. Drink tons of water.

I also noticed that cutting sugar out of my diet (mostly) really helped with my energy levels.

Alright, that's enough for now! Don't want to overwhelm you with info. haha
deleted_user
deleted_user
thank you chase. you are very helpful and sweet.. I am looking forward to checking into this a little more as soon as I find out if I have it.. I have a suspicion I have it from what I have read but we'll see..

Chad
deleted_user
deleted_user
well, keep in mind that if you ARE diagnosed with POTS that it doesn't mean you don't have Lyme. Many people with Lyme develop POTS.

The good news is though that if you do have it, you can start to get your energy back.

Good luck!

I forgot to add, i take 1 salt tablet per day. Sometimes more, but not too much because it can cause edema.
deleted_user
deleted_user
thank you!! I did have a positive test for lyme so I am still pursuing that as well, I was just surprised at how much they were similar and I want to do anything I can to beat this awful stuff I am dealing and fighting with..
deleted_user
deleted_user
Good luck. I hope you get relief soon!

Keep me posted.
deleted_user
deleted_user
any type of relief would be great. if this is what I have and they can get rid of a few horrible symptoms then I would be happy. lately things have been really bad to say the least.. keep in touch and keep me posted with new info, this is what this is for, to help each other right? thanks
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