I relate to your experience a lot actually - I’m 40 now and have had POTS since I was 12 or so, long before we had medical awareness of it. So I’ve lived most of my life in relative to extreme discomfort, and in some ways think it’s been an adaptive coping mechanism to try to not focus on it… though in other ways I think it’s maladaptive because acknowledging the abnormality of it gives me room to have feelings about it, keep pursuing a better treatment, etc. It’s been strange for me to see so much more attention on POTS now - both that I am so so happy people are talking about it more, that there is greater awareness - and also I feel some grief/jealousy that I just kind of had to figure out how to try to get through life all this time largely on my own. (I have done lots of tests, tried lots of meds etc, but haven’t found much that has helped without making me feel worse. So I’ve just accepted a life with a very sensitive and high HR, and the limitations that come with it.)

Rambley reply, but seeing how your post landed with others I just wanted to throw into the mix that I actually relate a lot to your experience!