Clinical Cases

A Case of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)

POTS How POTS affects the body
Written by Sowmya Sridharan

Dr. Soymya Sridharan shares a case of POTS which yielded entirely to one remedy.

A Case of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

A male patient aged 26 years came to our clinic with POTS.

POTS is characterized by:

  • Postural tachycardia
  • Headache
  • Abdominal discomfort
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Fatigue
  • Lightheadedness
  • Sweating
  • Tremor
  • Anxiety
  • Palpitations
  • Exercise intolerance

POTS - How POTS affects the body

The patient had all the above symptoms for 5 years and he was on medications ( Diamox, Propanolol and Amitriptyline) but to no avail. He was unable to drive due to his symptoms and was fearful that he would never be healthy again. His symptoms were making his newly married life suffer too. His libido was very low and he was unable to do even small tasks by himself. He was a music teacher at school and he was on disability, as even standing for short periods of time was becoming impossible. He had been to the Mayo clinic and USC, and Amitriptyline was the only thing that seemed to make him a little better. He also suffered from loss of sleep and severe body aches with the slightest exertion. His headaches worsened as the day progressed and also due to stress and exertion. His headaches started at the forehead and then moved on to the whole head. The sensation was of a vice on the head. He had stomach pain with slow digestion. Palpitations were worse in the evening and tended to keep him awake. He also had tightness in the chest and difficulty in breathing. He said he suffered from severe Infectious Mononucleosis 5 months before the onset of POTS. Generally he feels worse from drinking coffee and alcohol.

His B.P in the sitting position was 120/78 mm Hg, immediately after standing – 120/78 mm Hg and 2 minutes after standing – 138/98 mm Hg.  His B.P was controlled by the propranolol, but in spite of it spiked up after he was standing for 2 minutes.

Mentally, the patient was feeling frustrated with life and suffered from anticipatory anxiety. He was withdrawn due to his symptoms and when he needed to do something, he was feeling irritable because of the fatigue. He felt overwhelmed and discouraged about his future and said his life was out of control. He said “Everything seems to be ending before it started.” He had fear of heights and fear of travelling. He is afraid of trying anything new. He had nervous diarrhea whenever he had to take up a new task. The patient’s wife had requested me to not disclose the name of the remedy to the patient as he would get more anxious researching it and hence it wasn’t disclosed.

The patient had a good diet and had eliminated coffee and alcohol from his diet completely. He had no food intolerances, craved sweets and vinegar.

Considering the totality of the patient, he was prescribed Argentum Nitricum 200 C one dose, followed by placebo for 6 weeks. I was surprised by the change in the patient at the first follow up. All his symptoms had improved tremendously. He reported that his headaches, palpitations and dizziness were mostly not noticeable, even though not completely gone. He said that even though he doesn’t feel completely normal, this is the best he had felt in a long time. He had also started exercising slowly and was jogging everyday by the end of 6 weeks. His fatigue was still there, but considerably less with no body aches. He had also travelled to California which had been impossible for five years as he was anxious that he would get caught in the desert from Vegas to California with no help. The patient was generally happy and had driven to the clinic by himself. He also said that he was going through an accelerated program that he had joined two weeks ago and he was handling the stress of that program very well, to his own surprise. His sleep had improved and he said he woke up less tired every day. His B.P at the follow up while sitting was 110/70 mm Hg and 2 minutes after standing was 118/78 mm Hg.

The patient was sent home with placebos and seen again after 2 months. He was doing much better and reported that his symptoms were 90% better. He was surprised that just a few months back he had all those debilitating symptoms. He said he was pursuing a career in music that he had wanted to do for many years, but was unable to, because of the POTS.

The last time the patient was seen was after 6 months from the initial consultation and he had no symptoms of the POTS.  I was surprised that the patient was doing amazingly well health wise. Even though miracles happen in front of our eyes many a times, this is one of those cases in which a patient goes from being hopeless to hopeful in a short while and continues to improve and is cured of the problem in a short duration. This is one example why homeopathy is such a rewarding career.

About the author

Sowmya Sridharan

Dr. Sowmya Sridharan graduated from Dr. M.G.R. medical University, Chennai, India with a Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery and Masters in Physiology and Neurobiology from The University of Connecticut. She has an Advanced Practitioner of Homoeopathy (APH) license from The Nevada board of Homeopathic Medical Examiners. The board has strict regulations and requires a board exam to qualify as a practitioner. Dr. Sridharan has learned facial diagnosis, Medical Varmalogy and Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs. She has been in practice for over 14 years and has successful practices in Las Vegas and Dallas. Having watched Homoeopathy being practiced by her father, she is to this date constantly amazed by its healing power. Dr. Sridharan practices what she preaches and has not taken antibiotics or pain killers, even after her Caesarean Sections, thus entrusting her family's health to Homeopathy. www.hygieiahomeopathy.com
www.lasvegashomeopathy.com

7 Comments

  • Dear Anyone,
    My beautiful 18 year old daughter has suffered from moderate to severe anorexia nervosa for about five years. It has been a nightmare for her and for us. She has always claimed that she felt very ill before the onset of this “urge” to stop eating though she also acknowledges she is depressed. Her menstrual periods stopped about 4 months before the onset of the anorexia. She also feels much better when she exercises, further contributing to the anorexia. At age 7, she developed a case of PANDAS due to, we believe, an untreated strep infection. After that, she developed OCD which she says contributes greatly to the anorexia. She has abdominal distress after eating (has had this for many years), bloating, constipation, lack of a thirst response, fatigue, rarely feels hungry and other problems. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS REGARDING WHAT WE CAN DO?? We are willing to travel anywhere. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP US. I will be forever grateful. Thank you!

    • Hi Kathryn,

      This sounds like a good case for homeopathy. My advice is take your daughter to a highly experienced homeopath who will take her entire history and manage her case. If you contact me by email, I’ll see who I can put you in touch with. [email protected]

  • This article is false! The fact that someone has Tachycardia has nothing to do with standing and/or sitting!
    Take it from someone that had a heartbeat at 240 when normally at maximum it goes to 90!
    Get your facts straight “doctor”!!

  • This comment from te “doctor” is as false as it gets! Take it from someone that suffered from tachycaardia with a heart rate at 240!
    Whether one sits or stands is NOT affecting the heartbeat, only in the orning, as everyone should know, never get up too fast otherwise everyone (healthy or not) gets Dizzy, or has a chance to get Dizzy!
    Doctor (or not) check your facts!

    • Lisa, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is primarily debilitating due to this part of it. Postural Orthostatic (meaning with standing) Tachycardia Syndrome. The part that is false about this article is not that, but that POTS can just go away from placebos and ‘homeopathic medicines’ aka also placebos

    • Wow YOU need to do some research, Lisa. There are MANY conditions that cause tachycardia, one of them is called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome or POTS. I have this condition and I’ve had it for 10 years. I’ve watched my heart rate go from 60 sitting to 120 upon standing then back down to 60 when I sit. Just because you have tachycardia from something else doesn’t mean that my condition doesn’t exist.

  • This article left me really sad because it makes POTS patients sound like they’re making up their symptoms and it’s all in their heads. Obviously the placebo effect is a well documented phenomenon but the fact that one patient recovered from taking placebos doesn’t mean that this is a “cure” for POTS. I’ve had post viral POTS for 10 years and homeopathy didn’t do anything for my symptoms. Going vegan and working from home helped significantly. That’s all I can recommend beyond avoiding heat and stress.

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