The Definitive Guide To POTS Syndrome
“What is POTS?”
By Dr. Diana Driscoll, Optometrist
Explore one of the most comprehensive explanations of POTS Syndrome available anywhere on the internet.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- What causes POTS & who’s at risk
- How new research is changing POTS treatment
- Where traditional treatments fall short
- Why The Driscoll Approach™ works for patients
Ready to become a POTS expert? Click below to get started.
Attention: Long-COVID POTS Treatment Available
POTS Care® Clinic is calling on Long-COVID POTS patients and family members to contact our team as soon as possible for proactive evaluation and treatment.
Read the latest about POTS and COVID from Diana Driscoll, OD — Clinical Director of POTS Care.
The Driscoll Approach™
POTS Care Clinic
POTS Care is the only clinic in the world treating POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) by locating the underlying medical cause(s) of POTS. We do not just treat the symptoms. We are here to get you answers, to lay out a carefully orchestrated plan, and to assist you in carrying it out! We are here to offer support as you work through recovery and return to a normal life. It takes everything — a full package — and that is what we offer at POTS Care.
How Do We Know Where To Start?
Our work is based on the research of Genetic Disease Investigators, Diana Driscoll, OD — Founder and President. Dr. Driscoll was disabled by POTS for over 10 years, but is fully recovered today. She led the team at Genetic Disease Investigators into research of connective tissue disorders, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, chronic inflammation, vascular abnormalities, abnormal intracranial pressure, and neuroimmune disorders.
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
The POTS Team
POTS Care’s Clinical Director, Diana Driscoll, OD is an optometrist and a former POTS patient (as were her children). Unresponsive to traditional treatment for POTS, she established Genetic Disease Investigators to study this condition. Now fully recovered, she works full-time at POTS Care® with a medical team including Dr. Derek Lang, DO, Medical Director, and Dr. Stephanie Cudjoe, MD to help others with this condition.
At POTS Care, it’s personal!
“Patients with POTS usually suffer with so much -- and with little or no validation from their doctors. Even the label of “POTS” does not provide legitimacy for the illness. I remember when I had POTS that I was sick in any position! My fast heart rate was not my worst symptom -- I was completely non-functional, as was my son.
Instead, I view POTS as a symptom of something else, and we need to figure out what that something else is in order to allow recovery.
Identifying the underlying problems also gives patients the validity they need when dealing with doctors and even friends and family. We must dramatically change how this condition is treated. This mission is a personal one for me!”
- Diana Driscoll, OD
Complete Care
The Driscoll Approach™
A Dramatic Departure from Traditional POTS Treatment
At POTS Care, the medical team will evaluate the following:
- Is your POTS a cardiovascular response to inflammation?
- Is your intracranial pressure abnormal?
- Is your POTS a neurological or neuroimmune condition?
- Is your digestion affected, and what can be done?
- Is your vagus nerve affected? Why vagus nerve stimulation won’t work (and what can be done).
- Is your brain affected?
- Do you exhibit symptoms of anxiety and depression that can occur in some neuroimmune conditions?
- Do you have undiagnosed chronic inflammatory disorders?
- Are genetics limiting your recovery? What can be done to work around those genes?
Customized Treatment Plan
POTS Care is not alternative medicine — medications are generally necessary. But after your extensive evaluation, you will have a complete plan laid out in writing, including prescriptions, …Read More
Biofeedback
Many patients with POTS experience surges of anxiety and/or adrenaline that can worsen their symptoms. These surges have a medical basis (but can appear as panic or anxiety to the uninformed). Because these surges can activate the sympathetic nervous system and worsen POTS …Read More
Support
In most cases of POTS, patients have been sick for quite a while. Normal sleep cycles are a distant memory, some are not sure what they can eat without getting sicker, and others would like to exercise again, but don’t know how or when that is in their best interest …Read More
Autonomic Testing
You do not need to do a true tilt table test if you haven’t already completed one, but with our help, you will perform a “poor man’s tilt table test” (if possible) to check for general functionality, to see what direction the blood pressure heads when you are vertical, and to see if your oxygen saturation is affected. All of these things can provide more clues to your illness. …Read More
Review Medical Records
Most patients with POTS have seen an extraordinary number of doctors! Yet rarely is someone going through these records to help tie together disparate signs and symptoms. No one is looking for what is getting missed …Read More
Evaluate Customized Bloodwork
After reviewing your previous records and signs and symptoms of illness, we will create customized blood work for you.We will be digging deeply into many aspects of your health, and objective blood work can …Read More
Ocular Testing
The eyes are the only place in the body that we can look directly at the blood vessels (without looking through tissue). The eyes are also the only place in the body you can view a nerve that is a direct extension of the brain (the optic nerve). …Read more
2 Months of Follow Up
We work closely with you to answer all of your questions and make any changes necessary to maximize the recovery process. Our goal is to put you back in charge of your health, and we can do so if we teach you as we go! …Read More
Review Signs & Symptoms
We begin with a list of over 200 potential signs and symptoms! These results immediately go into sophisticated spreadsheets and algorithms to tell us where we need to begin to look for answers in your individual case …Read More
Review MRIs
We will either review your previous brain MRI, or order a new one, if it is needed. We will review these images looking for what others have missed. We will show you these images and discuss what they may mean for you and your recovery. With POTS …Read More
The Driscoll Approach™
The Driscoll Approach™ At other doctor’s offices, you come once, receive medication, return in a couple of months, receive more medication, return in a few months, receive more medication AND get referrals to numerous other doctors — where you repeat this same scenario.
There is a better way!
At POTS Care, we will lay out a complete plan for you to recover your best health possible. We are the only POTS clinic set up this way, and we are the only clinic treating the medical causes of POTS.
POTS Recovery
Let us figure out your medical condition, treat it with the lowest risk medications and supplements possible, educate you about your condition, and offer support through recovery.
Most patients with POTS have seen many, many doctors. You do not need a greater number of doctors, you need a team who is focused on locating the cause of your POTS! POTS Care is a group practice of practitioners who concentrate solely on locating and treating the underlying medical causes of POTS. We do not try to just cover up the symptoms.
Meet Our Patients
Rachel Anne's Story
“I truly can’t express my gratitude enough to Dr. Driscoll and her team for leading me into a new, happier and healthier chapter of my life.“
Fletcher's Story
“Fletcher’s health has improved significantly! He is back to doing the things he loves. We are thrilled! Dr. Driscoll is one of our heroes. She is an expert at dealing with POTS.”
Jill's Story
“I got immediate relief for constipation, surprisingly. Also, the energy that I had, I mean I can feel it today… I feel really focused and the mental clarity I have…”
Free Brochure
Just Diagnosed with POTS?
The Top 4 Must-Dos
The Top 4 things I would do first if my children or I were just diagnosed with POTS
Options for Care
CONSULT
$275
30-minute phone consultation with Dr. Diana Driscoll, Optometrist and Clinical Director
Are you lost in your case? Do you need direction, advice, or encouragement? Although not a medical examination, Dr. Driscoll is a recovered patient, a researcher, and a practitioner and can offer high-level support. She can share her thoughts concerning Inflammatory POTS, IIH, family dynamics, school issues, validation, and recovery. Dr. Driscoll will also send you selected resources following your consultation that may help you.
THE POTS CARE PACKAGE™
$775
Three month program to begin recovery including:
- An app on your cell phone to guide you through Inflammatory POTS (what does the latest research tell us and how can this guide your recovery)
- 30-minute consultation with Dr. Diana Driscoll
- Biweekly audios by Dr. Diana Driscoll to educate, inform, and support
- Over $500 in supplements that may offer you some immediate relief, even if your doctors have not yet identified your inflammation.
- Heart rate variability monitor to help guide your recovery
- A recovery journal/workbook
- Guidance on exercise, sleep, and dietary planning
- This package covers the commonalities in POTS patients including a tendency to develop abnormal intracranial pressure, parasympathetic nervous system problems, digestive issues, nutrient malabsorption, cognitive decline, immune disorders, and inflammatory states.
- If you would like to approach POTS with as few medications as possible, or if you are not familiar with Inflammatory POTS, this POTS Care Package™ may be a great place to start.
FULL POTS CARE TREATMENT
Currently on a waiting list.
