Brain fog and POTS

Imagine yourself with POTS.
Now hold a conversation.

One thing that I don't think people understand about POTS. I may seem tired and flighty lately, but thats because I am dealing with way more things than it looks like. At any given point in time, I may have chest pains, a headache and feel like I am having a heart attack. A few seconds later my blood pressure may drop and I feel like I'm going to pass out. The slightest things like bending over to pick something up or getting out of a seat can mean I go from feeling okay to feeling like my body is out of control. It is incredibly distracting and upsetting to feel you heart racing and to have it hurt for no reason. Little by little I've become deconditioned and now I can barely make it up the stairs most nights because my heart rate jumps so dramatically.

"Its an invisible disease...
Until you're passed out on the floor."

With POTS, when you're having a bad day you can get what is called brain fog. In addition to all the other distractions that go along with it, the lack of blood getting to our brains (the same lack that eventually causes out passing out) causes a kind of cloudy and confused state of mind. Everyone experiences it slightly different, but from my conversations with other POTS patients, we all kind of get fuzzy and have memory problems. Add all that to the fact that my hair is falling out, my toes keep getting Raynaud's, and my Midodrine induced goosebumps and any attention I have left tends to go straight to basic daily functions. Its important for people who are supporting or around POTS patients to understand this. No, we aren't ignoring you, no we aren't being flighty or ditzy. We're dealing with an incredible amount of physical  stimuli and our brains sometimes just aren't able to keep up with that and a conversation. Patience and understanding with POTSies is very appreciated. Be well POTSies!