Saturday, November 04, 2017

Two-Part Orthostatic Intolerance Article Published

This past month, I was hard at work on a 2-part article for ProHealth website on Orthostatic Intolerance (including POTS, NMH, and more), which has now been published.

You can read Part 1 here - it covers the basics of what OI is, how it affects people with ME/CFS, fibro, and Lyme disease, and how to easily diagnose it in any doctor's office.

Part 2 covers Treating OI, with a wide range of treatments reviewed, including both non-pharmacological approaches and medications.

Both articles include a list of references, if you want to know more - these are the studies that all the information in the articles came from.

Here on my blog, you can read more about OI and how to diagnose and treat it, plus our own experiences, on this recent Throwback Thursday post on Orthostatic Intolerance. There are links in that post to how to diagnose, plus various treatments that have worked for us.

OI is an integral part of ME/CFS and often present in fibro and Lyme patients, too. It is one of the few aspects of our disease that is easily quantifiable with a simple in-office standing test. Once officially diagnosed with OI (and knowing which types you have), then there are many, many different treatments to try. It can take a bit of trial and error to find just the right combination for you, but most people find OI treatments to be life-changing. They certainly have been for my son and I, allowing us to live active lives without crashing so much. Crashes from exertion are rare for both of us now, thanks to OI treatments.

Have you tried any OI treatments yet? What has worked best for you?

2 comments:

Siobhan (Chronically Siobhan) said...

Thanks for sharing, Sue. Your articles explained why I feel so sick sitting in a raised hairdressers chair with my feet dangling!

Sue Jackson said...

Yes, Siobhan! OI explains a LOT about why we feel the way we do and why standing makes us so sick (or even just sitting up). Be sure to read part 2 of the article because OI is easy to treat and usually makes ALL symptoms improve!