Growing Deeper Roots: My Story of Invisible Illness

I'm on a roller coaster. And for someone who faints at the slightest increase of altitude, this is not good.  BUT! I have an update.  After many tests and a hormone treatment/analysis my team here at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center has decided that removing the tumor is not our best option. From here they have diagnosed me with POTS.  POTS is a type of dysautonomia that is characterized by orthostatic intolerance and excessive tachycardia. POTS stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and affects over 1 million Americans. While there is no definitive known cause for POTS, many believe that viral infections can cause this malfunction of the automatic nervous system. One of the leading viral infections to cause POTS? Lyme disease. (I think I've seen this tree before) While the name and credit of POTS is relatively new (1993), the syndrome has been around for a while under many other names.  Treatment of POTS is difficult because it is o...

Okay, fair warning: This post is going to consist of me rambling about being a huge baby when it comes to needles and tests.  I went to a new cardiologist and neurologist yesterday. Two appointments for a total of 4 hours of answering the same questions for the 100th time.  In addition to the usual recommendations (drink more water, eat more salt, stand up slowly) both doctors ordered a slew of new tests. Luckily, I have nothing better to do than sit in an MRI machine for several hours.  Between the two doctors I have the following tests to do: MRI (brain) with and without contrast MRI focus on pituitary gland MRI with orbits MRI cervical MRI thoracic MRI lumbar Carotid ultrasound  More blood work Ophthalmology evaluation Tilt table test Electrophysiologist evaluation Stress test Another Holter monitor So I've had a ophthalmology evaluation before and I'm not too worried about that, except when they blow in your eye--that's just obnoxious. I'v...