“You guys were able to find a whole bunch of little things and piece them together. Everything that you guys have done, the way you treated me, this is really the best experience I have ever had, medically.”
Morgan came to POTS Care after being ill for 8 months with POTS, lower leg numbness, and paralysis that forced her into a reclining wheelchair full-time. Prior to coming to POTS Care Morgan was thoroughly evaluated by autonomic experts at Mayo Clinic who found abnormal QSART reflecting global postganglionic sympathetic sudomotor impairment. When traditional treatment for POTS failed, as did an evaluation by movement neurophysiologists, the patient was left with the suspicion of psychiatric disorders as the underlying cause of symptoms. Five months later, Morgan sent us an email:
Update(9/16/2017): “This place changed my life! I went from being bed bound with a 24 hr caregiver to independent, driving and living on my own! The staff is amazing and very accommodating. They understand what you are going through and don’t treat you like you’re crazy (like other doctors do). The tests they do are non-invasive because they go through your records from other places with a fine tooth comb before you arrive. I don’t know where I would be without dr. Driscoll and can’t thank her enough! She was able to put all the pieces together that other doctors missed. If you have POTS, want answers and your life back I 100% recommend going here! It may seem expensive at first glance but think about all the money already spent trying to get answers. Plus if you can’t work you’re missing out on money and over time you will continue to spend more money than what it costs to go here. It all comes down to you can’t put a price on your health. POTS Care is worth every penny! Forever grateful, Morgan Falter”
“Thank you so much. I am hopefully going to have my first day back to work in April! My goal is to work 3-4 days a month and see how it goes, then hopefully go from part time to full time as I feel up to it. Also, starting in April I will take two online classes slowly working towards becoming a nurse. Unfortunately, I got sick at the end of medic school and did not get my actual certificate, but everything happens for a reason and I am not angry anymore. I am happy to have a functioning life again”.
INTERVIEWER (when Morgan began her journey with us): Thank you for talking with us today, Morgan. Can you share with us what your illness has been like and how this has affected your life?
PATIENT: I had to quit school, I lost my job, could not get out of bed, had to have a full-time caregiver. I just could not do anything for myself. I could not even sit up, like the little things, like doing your own laundry, taking a shower, going to the store when you want to, a lot of independence has been taken away.
INTERVIEWER: Can you share with us what some of your worst symptoms are?
PATIENT: I lost feeling mostly from my knees below, and my feet are turned inward, so I cannot even feel them. I cannot walk. I cannot really exercise or do any weight bearing, so it is kind of weird to have limbs attached that do not work.
INTERVIEWER: Do you feel that the care you received at POTS Care was different than your previous care?
PATIENT: Yeah, oh my gosh, you guys were able to find a whole bunch of little things to piece them together. At other places they said everything was normal from MRI to all imaging, to blood work and other tests, it was normal. Then at POTS Care, it was not normal and you re-ran some tests and a lot of my blood work was abnormal, so being able to piece all that together and seeing the subtle signs on the MRI to mainly lead towards intracranial pressure to get treated for that would help. You did not think that I was crazy, so validation is always nice.
INTERVIEWER: Do you feel like we used real science to help you?
PATIENT: No question about that. How could POTS Care do this without real science? The doctor has experienced it, so she knows what we are talking about. All the research that you guys have done has really been able to help us POTS patients.
INTERVIEWER: Do you feel like you have a better grasp on how to heal from your condition now?
PATIENT: Yes, it makes more sense now that all, like, I feel like a million symptoms have all come together now. So, I think it a more clear picture, so I can visualize it. I have seen the weird stuff in my eye that leads towards problems and symptoms that I did not think that could be clues that were. So, now having that picture more drawn out and then I know what to take for what and then how my leg vessels and tissue will start healing. I think it is helpful that she found a case study out there pointing towards abnormal QSART and vitamin deficiency and then that guy got his feeling back and can walk again, so that is cool, so I am hopeful for that.
INTERVIEWER: What would you like to say to the folks considering coming to POTS Care?
PATIENT: First of all, do not even think twice about it, and they should come as soon as they are diagnosed. It will, in the long run, save you money because you are going to spend this money on doctor visits or medical equipment or not working. Just everything that you guys have done, the way you have treated me, everything, this is really the best experience I have ever had, medically.
