Asthma and POTS
19 months ago, Covid-19 gave me COPD, eosinophilic asthma, and POTS.
Feeling ignored by doctors
By June of 2020, I knew something was very wrong in my post-viral recovery when I tried to take my service dog for a walk around the block and ended up so short of breath. I had to sit down and pant for almost half an hour. I struggled to be believed by my doctor, who was refusing to order more tests or refer me to specialists because my lungs were clear on x-ray and lung sounds were quiet, and my EKG (done sitting at rest) was normal with a little bradycardia. The fact that I walked in sobbing for breath that resolved after sitting for 5 minutes was ignored.
3 days later, I was in the ER with severe shortness of breath that wasn't getting better with rest. My chest felt so heavy and I was so tired just trying to keep breathing! It was terrifying for me, who had always been active and athletic and had never known difficulty breathing. The ER did blood work, and lo and behold! My lungs had been quiet because the lower lobes were stuck open and inflated. Over 50% of my lung capacity wasn't available because they weren't moving!
In July, a new PCP heard me speak softly with some speech sounds completely absent and took immediate action with a referral to a pulmonologist, an adult rescue inhaler, and a nebulizer. The pulmonologist sent me for a PFT, where it quickly became evident I have severe asthma. Inhaled steroids helped some, but I was still struggling every day and I grew to quickly hate the taste of Albuterol. By August, it was clear there was something weird happening with my heart, when I got short of breath, tachycardia, dizzy, lightheaded, tinnitus, and severely worsening brain fog along with alerts from my service dog to sit down and stay every time I tried to stand up for more than 5 minutes.
Fast forward
Fast forward through the next year of finally getting my asthma under control with Nucala and too many EKG's, a 30 holter monitor, 2 echocardiograms, a chest CT, 2 cardiologists, and a tilt table test, and I have POTS.
I have learned how each of those things can play off the others, like today's shower during a severe asthma flare pissed off the POTS, so now I'm spending the afternoon on the couch with my feet up after my service dog brought me my rescue inhaler and my partner brought me a big glass of water and a salty snack plate.
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