Suspect POTS – What Physician Do You See First?

That really is a good question. Most often the initial symptoms experienced by individuals with POTS are racing heart, fatigue, headaches, light-headedness, “brain fog,” visual or abdominal disturbances. Like most patients with these symptoms, POTS patients usually start by taking their complaints to their family physician, pediatrician or internist. Rarely does the primary care provider recognize that your presenting complaints are related to POTS. Unfortunately, the majority of health care providers know nothing or very little about POTS. So, rarely will you get useful help from your first visit with a heath provider.

You suspect that you may have POTS. So, with whom do you make your next appointment? That depends upon your symptoms. In general, the most “tuned in physicians,” knowledgeable about POTS, are a limited number of health care providers. Therefore, before making your appointment, call the office and ask whether this physician takes care of patients with POTS. If the office knows nothing about POTS, try to find a caretaker that does. Make more calls!

Cardiologists and neurologists knowledgeable in the care of POTS are the best specialists for managing POTS patients with usual complaints such as palpitations, headaches, low energy, dizziness, poor concentration, forgetfulness and visual disturbances. Visual disturbances may need to be evaluated by an eye specialist (ophthalmologist) and dizziness may need to be evaluated by an ear nose and throat specialist. Those with abdominal complaints such as nausea, pain, bloating and weight loss benefit most when evaluated by gastroenterologists.

So, you’ve selected the type of specialist you want to make an appointment with. You’ve called several health providers’ offices and none know anything about POTS. What do you do next?

Several possibilities exist for you. One is to call a nearby hospital associated with a medical school seeking names of doctors who treat patients with POTS. Another is to make an appointment with a well-respected local physician and bring a copy of POWER over POTS with you to share with this physician. This book provides guidance for locating POTS knowledgeable physicians.

Whatever you do, don’t give up… Keep trying till you find the right health-care provider that can help you.

For more info on my book Power Over POTS – visit www.poweroverpots.com

Dr. Scheldon Kress is a specialist in Internal Medicine with over 30 years of clinical experience caring for patients and pioneering behavioral management strategies to help patients make healthy lifestyle changes with respect to weight loss, stress management, diabetes management and smoking cessation. Passionate about helping patients manage difficult to diagnose medical conditions, he became interested in POTS when several family members and friends struggled with the symptoms, proper diagnosis and effective management of POTS.

Observing the challenges of POTS first-hand, he began to provide POTS patients and their families with a better understanding of causes and potential treatments, while at the same time teaching them how to utilize an effective behavioral change program to manage their POTS symptoms. This self-directed program is a must-read for patients and families dealing with POTS to empower them to take back their lives and achieve POWER over POTS.

Five Star Reviews

Extremely helpful and informative

My daughter has been suffering these symptoms for months. She, like many others, has been misdiagnosed with neurological diseases and mental illness. Even with her heart rate being 30 beats different and multitude of symptoms, doctor was still skeptical because of her blood pressure not changing. Doctors are not educated on this syndrome and it’s extremely hard to find one that is. This has brought a lot of stress to our family, however, as her mom, I persevered, held my own and kept on researching. I came across POTS, educated myself and now we know what’s wrong and how to fix it. This book was one of the books to help us get there. Thank you for publishing this extremely helpful information!

- Praha2014, Amazon

I would like to thank Dr. Kress for writing this book and bringing much needed attention to this illness. POTS is something I have struggled with for many years and I appreciate how thorough and descriptive the book is. The first part of the book expertly describes the ins and outs of finding a diagnosis and how to recognize POTS in a patient. The second section of the book is perfect for families trying to navigate the lifestyle changes that a patient and the rest of the family go through in order to make recovery easier. The book covers all the bases for someone who is looking for more information about POTS. I will most definitely be sharing this book with friends and family and continue spreading the word of this most amazing book.

- Mary Beth, Amazon

The Best POTS Book Available!

This book was extremely helpful in helping my family understand and navigate POTS. The medical information is outstanding and the explanations for the behavioral changes necessary to improve POTS symptoms are easy to understand. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about POTS or wants to lessen their POTS symptoms to feel better. It really is a fantastic book and I like that it is written by a medical doctor who really understands how POTS affects every aspect of a patient's life.

- Angelina, Amazon

This book was incredibly helpful in educating me and helping me manage my child's difficult medical condition.

- Karen, Goodreads

Additional Information

I hope you find my book to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. The book is not meant to be used, nor should it be used, to diagnose or treat any medical condition. For diagnosis or treatment of any medical problem, consult your own physician. The publisher and author are not responsible for any specific health needs that may require medical supervision and are not liable for any damages or negative consequences from any treatment, action, application or preparation, to any person reading or following the information in this book. References are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute endorsement of any websites or other sources. Readers should be aware that the websites listed in this book may change. The author is no longer in private practice and not in a position to respond to any medical inquiries.