“I’ve been feeling very well. I’ve been able to be more active with my children, garden, work on my hobbies, go out with friends, run, work out a little, drive 2 hours where before I could only drive 30 minutes. I’ve only had one episode, my breathing is better, I’ve gotten several comments on how well I look now. I’m less agitated, have more energy, and my memory seems to be improving already. I now have NORMAL days in a row rather than one here and there.”
Kris came to POTS Care after being ill for 20 years, and having been diagnosed with POTS for only 1 year. Kris could never be left alone because of her illness, and it dramatically decreased her quality of life. After locating the underlying cause of Kris’s POTS, and beginning proper treatment, Kris was able to get back to her normal life. About a month after leaving POTS Care, Kris answered some questions about her experience…
Seven months after coming to POTS Care, Kris shares this update:
“January has been my best month yet! I did not have any episodes, only a few symptoms, and I’ve begun a workout routine again. I’ve lost 15 pounds since June! I am learning what foods affect me, what weather patterns affect me, and I have been gaining back my memory.”
INTERVIEWER : You have been through a lot, haven’t you? Can you share with us what your illness has been like and how it affected your life?
PATIENT : POTS has affected every single aspect of my life, my husband’s life, and our children’s. I went from running half marathons, earning a master’s degree, traveling the world to not being able to be left alone. Not being able to remember. Not being able to participate in our children’s lives. I made everyone around me nervous because none of us knew when I would faint, need a nap, need to vomit, or remember where I was going. POTS took away my independence, my athletic abilities, and almost my career. I was extremely short with my children, yelled at them from quick mood changes, and was too tired to be a part of their lives. I fought depression on a daily basis.
INTERVIEWER : Do you feel that the care you received at POTS Care was different than previous care?
PATIENT : YES! POTS Care was like a mini spa. Caitlin and Michelle were extremely caring and comforting. Everyone at the center was polite and always helpful. My husband and I left after a week feeling like we had made friends, whereas after visiting other doctors I don’t even remember their names. Dr. Driscoll has been through what her patients are experiencing, and it shows in her compassionate behavior. Dr. Driscoll spent around four hours per day with us and NO other dr. had ever done that. POTS Care understands the symptoms of POTS and never says, “well, I just don’t know”, or “live with it until you hurt someone”, or “drink water and eat salt”.
INTERVIEWER :Were we able to identify any underlying problems contributing to your illness that others have missed?
PATIENT : Yes. No one before POTS Care was looking for the cause. I was handed prescriptions with several severe side effects before POTS Care. Now I take vitamins, supplements, and prescriptions with only one side effect. No one understood what POTS really was. It is not as easy as, oh your heart rate goes up when you stand up, it is SO much more than that.
INTERVIEWER :Do you feel like we are using real science here?
PATIENT : This was the first time I had actually viewed my two MRI’s. I was shown visual results on my vision tests, we were included in conversations where great details were given. I do not feel that any of the information we were given was not scientific.
INTERVIEWER : Do you feel like you have a better grasp on how to heal from your condition now?
PATIENT : Yes. Before our visit I was not thinking of healing, I was only told about the negative aspects of the future. I feel that all of our research and getting to POTS Care has given me my life back.
INTERVIEWER : How have you been since our visit to POTS Care?
PATIENT : I’ve been feeling very well. I’ve been able to be more active with my children, garden, work on my hobbies, go out with friends, run, work out a little, drive 2 hours where before I could only drive 30 minutes. I’ve only had one episode, my breathing is better, I’ve gotten several comments on how well I look now. I’m less agitated, have more energy, and my memory seems to be improving already. I now have NORMAL days in a row rather than one here and there.
INTERVIEWER : What would you like to say for the folks considering coming here?
PATIENT : GO!!!!!!! The money and time you spend here will make your quality of life worth living again. If you want specialized care, not specialists spending a half an hour with you then requesting test after test with prescriptions to follow, this is the place to be. If you want someone to care about your quality of life, your future, and your health this is the place to be. You will spend more time and more money traveling to specialist without answers than you will by attending POTS Care.
INTERVIEWER : Thank you for talking with us today, Kris.
