Anyone else have POTS?

3700 Views 34 Replies 13 Participants Last post by service dog vera, Sep 14, 2021

PeggyTheParti

Discussion Starter · Jun 23, 2021

I was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome a few years ago, but I’ve likely had it my whole life secondary to a connective tissue disorder.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)

POTS is diagnosed only when orthostatic hypotension is ruled out and when there is no acute dehydration or blood loss.

www.hopkinsmedicine.org

I’m wondering if there are some ways Peggy might be able to help me manage my symptoms. She’s shown some interest in my elevated heart rate once I’m already lying down, but doesn’t seem to notice it when I’m standing (which is when I could really use an alert).

Just putting this out there in case any current Poodle Forum members (or folks who are just googling “POTS service dog”) have any insights on training POTS-specific tasks to a poodle.

My one concern would be making her more protective of me than she already is. That’s not something I want.

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Dechi

· #2 · Jun 23, 2021

I have a different type of orthostatic intolerance, called neurally mediated hypotension. It basically means my heart is too slow when standing up, which could lead to fainting episodes.

I have no idea how to train Peggy but I know there are smart watches who can give you alerts based on your programmed max heart rate. I’m sure you know about those though.

(Is it just me or the pic in my siggy has disappeared ?)

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Dechi

· #15 · Jul 5, 2021

PeggyTheParti said:
I’ve not found one that alerts you. Will have to do some research!

My Polar a360 did it and I think my Polar a370 does it too but I’m not using this feature. It’s not intuitive though and I had to call Polar to get help to program it. That was 5-6 years ago, maybe they have improved now. At the time, Polar was the most reliable watch for heart rate, at a reasonable pace (not if you were a marathon athlete, for example).

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Dechi

· #24 · Aug 1, 2021

I’m sorry about your flare. When I have an episode, I feel it coming and I sit as fast as possible to avoid passing out. If you don’t have enough time to react, then I would think having Peggy alert you is a good thing.

I hope you can ret and feel better soon.

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Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)

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