![]() Again, lovely! I was so nervous that I was doing a silent crying thing, which luckily the doctor didn’t notice as he was on the other side of the room (either that or he just didn’t let on that he knew!). Just what you want to happen! So after about 15 minutes or so of not fainting I was administered with GTN spray to try and force this to happen. However, on this tilt test they wanted me to faint to see what my brain waves were doing, and would do if I lost consciousness. The procedure was the same except I had electrodes on my head to monitor my brain waves. This was to rule out any form of epilepsy (which was ruled out). Several years after that first tilt (and the one involving meal replacement which was done the day after), I had a tilt test with EEG monitoring. Although having a needle shoved in my arm about ten seconds after that happened wasn’t really appreciated! The doctors and nurses that were there quickly tilted the bed back to flat so I didn’t actually pass out. I felt the usual swirling head, weird sensation in my ears and nose and very light-headed. So, on the first tilt test I did panic a bit when I had the sensation that I was about to faint. Although I did mention this to doctors on several occasions, I didn’t have any investigations at that time and it was just put down to 'hormones'. From a fairly early age I have had occasional faints for no reason, and when I was in my late teens and early twenties I would faint fairly regularly when I had period pain. I was quite nervous about having the test as I have a bit of a fear of fainting. The doctor also asked me to tell her when I felt dizzy, light-headed or sick and she took observations such as blood pooling in my feet. ![]() There was a strap across my chest to prevent me from falling when the bed was tilted and I was monitored for heart-rate and blood pressure with sensors on my fingers and arm. Then the bed was ‘tilted’ upright (60-70 degrees) so you are in a standing position. From memory I lay flat for about 15 minutes or so. In basic terms, the tilt test involved lying on a bed for a period of time. The second and third were the same except that for one I had to drink a meal replacement about 45 minutes beforehand, and for the other I also had EEG monitoring. My first tilt test was what I would call a ‘regular’ tilt test. It took me quite a while to get a referral to see a cardiologist who then referred me for a tilt test, which I suspect is fairly common. These are common symptoms of having POTS, along with fatigue and feeling light-headed. Patients often have other investigations such as an electrocardiology (ECG), 24 ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate monitor and 24 hour urine collection, amongst others ( POTS UK).Īs I explained a little more fully in the ‘my diagnosis story’ post on the blog, I had been experiencing dizziness, breathlessness and a feeling that my heart was beating too quickly for quite a while. A diagnosis is made (typically) if the patient has an increase in heart rate of 30bpm or more within the first ten minutes ( POTS UK). Why have a tilt test for a POTS diagnosis?Īlongside other investigations, a tilt test is often used to assess whether a person has POTS. Why have a tilt test for a POTS diagnosis?.It does not constitute medical advice in any way. This is just my experience of having a tilt test for a POTS diagnosis and the reasons I had this test done. All in all though, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be and it really helped us move forward with managing my symptoms. So it was with great trepidation that I went for my first tilt test to see if I had postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and perhaps even more so on the second and third ones. It is particularly strange when you have a fear of fainting. There is something very strange about going for a test where you know that there is a strong possibility that you will pass out. Having a tilt test for a POTS diagnosis is definitely a little anxiety-inducing.
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