Oh, wow, I'm so sorry that happened to you. That is awful. Thank you for sharing and giving me and all who read this a heads up. Can I ask what dose you were on? We're you taking another med alongside the mirtazapine? I have read a few reviews from others who felt their cognitive abilities decline with mirt. That is so very unfortunate. I'm only sleeping 8-9 hours a night and do have some grogginess when waking, but a shower and food gets me going and out of it, mostly. I'm actually feeling more energy than I have in a long time actually. Not a burst or anything, but sustained energy throughout the day. No more naps are needed. My mental abilities are increasing as of now. The depression and all the sleep meds I was on were a horrible double whammy. My thinking was so slowed and I had a lot of mental confusion. I'm feeling my goofy side again come back. I was sooo serious and not really able to lighten up and just be silly now and again. The furthest from it, sadly. So far nothing concerning, but thank you for the warning and really great advice to monitor and protect my cognitive abilities.

This was what I read. @kand "SMALL MEALS, not only is digestion a part of the autonomic nervous system, but your body also pulls a bunch of blood to your stomach (where we already have pooling), I have found that having more little meals instead of 3 big meals can save me sometimes because if I eat too much I’ll start flaring, my BP drops, and I have to lay down."

I'm a total newb but someone did share in a FB group that she needs to do small meals throughout the day because large meals make her feel much worse. I thought that was interesting and worth noting.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/POTSSupportgroup/ https://m.facebook.com/groups/PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome/ Found some great POTS groups on FB. Learning a lot and there are a lot of things covered I wouldn't think to ask or search for.

Oops!

Kirkland krill oil has made a dramatic improvement in my hubs joint pain. He like their organic one a day vitamin as well. Both are reasonably priced.

Not COVID related. Thinking back, this had been going on seriously for about a decade.

I don't feel that way at all. I'm happy you're finding help and sharing! Please keep us posted about your DD as well. It is hard being a sick caregiver. So hard. But hopefully I can get some definitive answers soon and find some things that help with symptoms. Thank you!

That's tough. Maybe with a heads up about the possibility of POTS doctor can at least do an initial test at next appointment and then refer instead of needing to schedule another appointment with him. I'm sorry. No great solution.

That's a big jump in heart rate. That coupled with needing to sit down and take a break is concerning.

So, I broke my tooth (will need implant, crown not even possible I'm sure- at least no pain because a root canal tooth, but it's near the front and noticeable) that day and found out I probably have another chronic illness. Not a fun day. Today is better though, probably largely in part to depression meds kicking in. Moving forward now.

I had a drink before getting out of bed this am. That's a great tip. I didn't think to look in that area for Nuun. Will check soon. This such great info. Thank you!

I joined a few FB crockpot groups and liked a few pages. Found several recipes that look good. Costco has a ceramic insert one so no lead. I'll probably pick that one up but am looking online too. https://www.magneticcooky.com/non-toxic-slow-cookers/ Crockpot coupled with super easy oven/stovetop/IP meals sounds like a plan. Looking forward to trying your recipes!

This is awesome. Thank you!

Thank you! If what's she's taking isn't quite working, it may be worth a try. It's still early days, but so far I wouldn't say that I'm happy or experiencing joy like I did with other ADs. I just feel even and not feeling all the negative things like I did. I do hope to feel joy and find myself smiling again (naturally not forced), but time will tell, and I'll take even. It's so good to hear on this thread that moms are willing to take meds. My mom is so depressed but is very against mood meds and even discourages me from trying them. I know meds don't work for everyone, but my mom's depression has shipwrecked her love live and family relationships, but, sadly, she just doesn't see clearly the major cause of all the damage around her.

Before I forget. The first day after taking them the evening prior, I couldn't get out of bed! It felt like heavy weights were on me, and I was soo groggy. I stayed in bed and tried not to sleep so as not to mess up my sleep schedule but did doze off a time or two. So that was weird. The next morning was remarkably better. Now I'm starting to feel like I have a bit of energy when I wake up and throughout the day. I'm used to feeling pretty groggy during the day though due to all the sleep aids I was taking, so that could also be from not taking so much stuff at night. I deal with suicidal thoughts often. In the study linked above, the mention that suicidal thoughts disappearing were one of the first depression symptoms to go and in the first week even. There was a weird day or two transition where the the thoughts were still there but the anxiety that helps curb the ideation wasn't, and it concerned me more than a bit. I haven't had a suicidal though in a day or two now though, which is huge for me. Just a heads up I guess.

That's wonderful for your mom. Thank you! It's early days yet, but with the positive results so far, I am hopeful.

I got yours today in Oregon. Super cute card. Thank you!

Okay, I went to Costco and Safeway looking for Nuun. No luck. I was able to find a decent selection at Natural Grocers a health food store. One that I bought that tastes great and has really absorbable and higher quality forms of cal, mag, potassium (cal lactate, mag citrate, and pot citrate) is Keto Electrolyte Powder by Trace Minerals. It's about the same price as Nuun but some of the mineral content is higher. The sodium source isn't sodium bicarbonate, which I think bicarbonate is better. It's just sea salt. Price was cheaper at my local store than Amazon. I also bought their tablets called Max Hydrate Endurance. I haven't tasted it yet but the mineral sources aren't as good, I think. Much better than the NOW tablets they had for cal, mag, and pot. sources though and that were the same price. I'm guessing I should not cut the drink with water even though I still like the flavor. The Keto powder makes a 16 oz drink but tastes great in 32 oz. of water too. I think that would be defeating the purpose?

We'll definitely be trying the beef and cabbage as well. Thanks for asking about doubling. Thanks for the recipe!@J-rap

"In particular, all measures of efficacy displayed the maximum change within the first 2 weeks of treatment, with further improvement occurring at much slower rates. Significant improvement within the first 2 weeks of treatment was highly predictive of the final response, and can serve as a guideline for clinicians when deciding about increased dosage, augmentation, or change of medication in unresponsive patients." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2426820/

Update: So far, so good! A couple of things. Sleep: this AD has been able to replace Benadryl as a sleep med, which is huge. I've been trying to find something to replace Benadryl and all it's scary side effects for some time. I've tried prescription meds as well. And I'm taking little else to sleep as well. I used to absolutely need 50 mg Ben, 10 mgs of melatonin, and almost 5 grams of valerian root. I tried to play with doses and cut down even just one pill. No go. Right now I'm just sometimes taking 5 mg of melatonin, which is 1 time release and 1 sublingual. I haven't been able to stick with any other AD because they give me intolerable insomnia, even Trazadone. Depression: Sadness is lifting. Moods are stabilizing. This is an antidepressant that works much faster than most. But my doctor told me that I should feel it's full effects around the 4-6 weeks. Anxiety is better too. Every day gets a little better and brighter than the prior. Noticing more energy, which is awesome. I am feeling a bit angry though. I'm reading this is something that can appear in the beginning but get better. I'm def. going to give the med the full 2 month trial barring anything too whack happening! I found through reading reviews, that for many people, this AD was a last ditch effort. They've tried everything else, but this worked for them. It works quite differently than most because it doesn't raise serotonin levels and for a bunch of other reasons I read but don't pretend to understand or will try to explain. Yay!

We're focusing on health this year. Everybody is getting thorough physicals and addressing all health concerns. Exercise and sleep routines. Supplements figured and made a routine and a more balanced diet and better food choices. Food allergy tests and/or elimination diet. This is going to a BIG DEAL and focus. My oldest has been a bear to get motivated to do anything lately. Finally got him medicated for ADD, and it's helping. He said today he's able to focus on a conversation more and fewer things are running through his mind when conversing. He thinks he may need a higher dose than 5mg, but we're not going there until he does some dietary and physical intervention stuff. No that he's medicated, I think that's doable. Goals I'll be helping him with are: elimination diet to find out food sensitivities, exercise action plan (some say more even more helpful for ADD than diet), good sleep hygiene and routine, balanced diet, less sugar (especially candy with artificial food coloring and other ingredients) and if sugar trying to have it right after a meal or with fats, etc.

Thank you for your great meal ideas. I hope to have a meal plan soon soon for a week or two meal rotation. I'm saving super easy stuff like frozen fish sticks for lunches and for days I just really don't feel like I can even pull off a simple meal. Yes, my kids help. They do all the meal clean up chores. It's been a few years since I've done dishes, etc. I'd like to keep it that way. I cook, you clean type of thing. I'm going to buy a slow cooker today because my old one broke a year or two ago. I love my IP, but slow cooker meals are a better fit sometimes for a few reasons. By dinner time, I'm pretty wiped out. I also prefer doing the cooking earlier in the day because I can actually sit with the family and eat because I'm not too tired from cooking just before the meal.