Pots Self Management Clinic

Yesterday I had my 2 hour class run by the Autonomic nurses from the RHNN. There were 6 of us altogether who had Pots. They told us at the start about moving around if we needed to or raising our legs, whatever we needed to do to be comfortable. The aim of today's clinic was explained and all about Pots, so we can become our own experts by the end of the session. We were given a printout of the presentation which we followed throughout.

The self management strategies were explained:

When symptoms start you must:

• Act immediately
• Breathe calmly
• sit, crouch, squat
• Calf pumps
• Drink water 300-500mls 

Recognising Triggers:

• Avoid raising arms above head
• Don't stand still, keep moving
• Avoid warm/hot situations
• Be aware of central heating, baths, cooking
• Simple sugars, caffeine and alcohol can make symptoms worse
• Pain of any kind
• Dehydration
• Medications
• Infections

They talked about fatigue in Pots and causes:

• Prolonged increased heart rate
• Deconditioning
• Doing too much
• Mood
• Infection, Anaemia

How to reduce fatigue by:

• Plan your day
• Prioritise the most important things
• Break tasks up
• Ask for help and delegate

They talked about the importance of exercise but to rest before and after and do it gradually. Stop if you feel unwell and avoid hydrotherapy pools. You can choose whether to sit or lye down to exercise.

I found the session very useful and have learnt a lot about management of the condition. I would definitely recommend it to people with Pots and the nurses were happy to answer any questions you had and really knew what they were talking about.