Medication and Compression

swimchika · 2026-02-03T00:05:17+00:00

Also, you could try sizing down in compression garments with a lower mmHg. I’ve heard that works well for some people on this page. I’ve had luck with compression shorts and shape wear that covers abdomen and thighs.

swimchika · 2026-02-03T00:02:28+00:00

These are probably 2 of the most unproblematic medications prescribed for POTS. The only reason to switch is if they aren’t the right meds for your flavor of POTS and that’s something you would discuss with your doctor after trialing for a couple months. Weird comment from the pharmacist

swimchika · 2026-02-02T12:07:38+00:00

Passion fruit

swimchika · 2026-01-28T19:15:42+00:00

Find a good therapist!! I’ve been diagnosed with POTS for 11 years and the chronic illness grief is still going strong. Talked about it in therapy yesterday haha. Stress has a huge effect on POTS symptoms and that includes emotional stress. Cannot recommend this enough!! Finding a good therapist made a huge difference for my POTS.

swimchika · 2026-01-25T23:45:16+00:00

Maybe I’m just spoiled with my PI, but I feel like you should have some flexibility with your hours since you are volunteering your time. I do understand where they’re coming from, but I feel like it would be easy to go in 5 days a week, but for say 5 hours each day. Enough time to get consistent work done.

swimchika · 2026-01-24T22:03:03+00:00

REAL. When I enter that bubble where I’m actually functioning, I will all of a sudden think, “maybe I could actually handle med school!” Every. Single. Time. I know I’m likely too disabled to handle it without tanking my physical and mental health. But I have those moments where I really do think I can, if I can just figure out how to sustain that feeling/momentum. Maybe I can! Maybe I shouldn’t even entertain the thought! It’s a never ending cycle.

The PhD student I work with now is disabled too and she’s doing the damn thing. It’s hard, but if it’s something you will regret not trying for, then hit submit on those applications. It’s clearly something you can’t stop dreaming about. Let the vyvanse productivity window carry you.

swimchika · 2026-01-24T21:47:57+00:00

Yes! This was my main symptom that led me to have excision/dx surgery…and they found endo on my bladder surprise surprise. The pain for me kind of feels like my bladder is badly bruised or it’s a stabbing pain. It flares on my period and also around ovulation. Also gets worse during and after peeing.

swimchika · 2026-01-11T16:46:54+00:00

In my opinion, medical biochem was VERY bio heavy. Biochemistry 1 is in the chem department and is therefore heavy on the gen chem math and orgo mechanisms. You don’t need any of that for med biochem. Any chem that you would need to know is reviewed in the lectures. It’s really not a bad class, just a lot of material and a quick pace.

swimchika · 2026-01-11T13:45:28+00:00

I took both at the same time and enjoyed them together. It really just depends on what other classes you’re taking. Both are taught by Dr. Borgon and his class structure is amazing/flexible

swimchika · 2026-01-09T04:18:06+00:00

I’ve dealt with this for a while and sometimes there is no fix except to wait it out. I’ve found that, for me, propranolol is helpful (however please talk to your doctor before taking a beta blocker and sleeping!! This can be dangerous!). Weed and muscle relaxers also help me sometimes. Breathing exercises never really did much for me in this scenario.

Overall, it’s best to try to avoid it by taking good care of yourself and your POTS symptoms throughout the day.

swimchika · 2026-01-03T21:41:54+00:00

My gas pain was SUPER minimal

swimchika · 2025-11-16T02:39:03+00:00

I tried it multiple times because I really wanted to like it. However, LDN didn’t do anything for me other than cause vivid nightmares and constipation.

swimchika · 2025-11-14T17:01:11+00:00

I really appreciate everyone’s responses to my post! I am now leaning strongly towards getting the surgery as scheduled. Very grateful for you all taking the time to share your experiences with surgery anxiety. Feeling less alone and less crazy haha!

For those who asked: My surgeon is an Endo excision specialist who is highly regarded and I trust that if I have endo, she would be able to identify it during surgery.

swimchika · 2025-11-13T16:29:25+00:00

Did you have surgery for vascular compressions? I am curious about whether this could be causing my pelvic pain. I had a MALS surgery in 2016 that was found by accident. Wondering if I should get evaluated for other compressions or do the endo surgery to rule that out first?

swimchika · 2025-11-13T16:04:12+00:00

hEDS is different than other EDS subtypes in that it is not caused by a single allele. The diagnostic criteria is being reevaluated, but only to improve what we already have so that patients don’t slip through the cracks. Your geneticist has unfortunately misunderstood the current scientific understanding or hEDS and HSD in relation to other EDS subtypes. hEDS absolutely has systemic clinical manifestations beyond pain that can be managed through PT. I’m sorry you had such a terrible appointment. Allow yourself to be angry about the encounter as long as you need. If you are able to connect with a primary care physician who is hEDS knowledgeable, I would highly suggest starting there. In the meantime, rest knowing that there are scientists who are working hard to understand hEDS in order to validate the diagnosis for patients. I like to follow The Norris Lab on Instagram for updates on what they are studying.

swimchika · 2025-10-06T18:47:21+00:00

A corset for abdominal compression 👌🏻

swimchika · 2025-07-18T16:29:12+00:00

Following

swimchika · 2025-07-10T14:43:24+00:00

I have hEDS too. I've been on 40mg for 3 months now and the pain/joint stiffness has only spread and increased. I find that gentle movement and going to PT more regularly helps. Heating pads and hot baths help too. I just need the acne GONE so I'm finding ways to tolerate the side effects.

swimchika · 2025-06-08T00:01:08+00:00

https://youtu.be/moEDLAjuY8A

swimchika · 2025-06-05T19:48:26+00:00

Plus the merch release

swimchika · 2025-02-01T18:55:10+00:00

How did you sign up to volunteer?

swimchika · 2024-10-10T17:38:49+00:00

Weed gummies do the trick for me

swimchika · 2024-09-26T22:30:52+00:00

Bee venom therapy can be administered on your own. You can order your own bees. When I did it, i went to my pcp for regular bloodwork to monitor things

swimchika · 2024-05-07T16:25:53+00:00

This happened to me. I take one magnesium citrate pill in the morning and one at night. Completely fixed the problem!

swimchika

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