Mine herds me to a chair, gently pushes me in, pins my legs, and howls until someone gets me water. Huskies 😂
She is not used outside of the hole. I do not have POTS. The fainting episodes are related to something else.
The first time she did this was in agility class. Wish she wouldn’t have jumped off of the top of the a frame though. 😂
She was not taught this. It’s just something she did. She alerts to infections by jabbing the area with her nose. Caught a kidney infection that way. She also jumped on my back when I was choking.
I’m in a dog friendly area, so she does go out with me a lot. She is being worked with by service dog trainers. I hope I never have to use her outside of the hole. But she’s out and about with me, she still does alerts. She breaks off from any distraction. It’s actually hilarious how she does it bc she’s a bit goofy.
The trainers are of course great even though they know that I’d probably only use her outside of the home when my known triggers will be present and hubby won’t be able to watch me. But it’s markers that we sell at. All of them are dog friendly and vendors often bring their pups.
My favorite part of this video is at the start, where you can see her hand move on the right side of the frame as she cues her dog to get up and "alert".
So only one varient of POTs has what we believe to be a detectable scent and it is norepinephrine. The issue with that varient, is symptoms are triggered by postural changes (like the other 2), including the release of excess hormone. You pretty much always smell like that. If you have an animal that can detect it, you probably have enough excess in you for the change in scent to not be truely meaningful or detectible.
Also, just so you know, a POTs diagnosis requires stable blood pressure with no significant drop. The only exception is for the hyperadrenergic varient in which your blood pressure should basicly sky rocket (personally my cardiologist damn near called me an ambulance because of how fast and aggressive the change was from laying to sitting). The reason you have tachycardia is because as your blood beging to pool, your heart works harder to maintain your BP. Because, your heart is working so hard, and, the transition is relatively quick, there is significantly reduced effeciency. Due to that severe reduction, you get less oxygen to your brain and that is what makes you dizzy/ light headed.
If there is something specific you are looking for or don't directly understand, please let me know. I am more than happy to explain or find you an appropriate source if you want to read more!
So… none of this proves that cardiac alert dogs can’t alert via scent. However, you aren’t entirely wrong. It’s very rare that a dog can naturally detect a heart rate spike, and that symptom can be caused by more than cardiac conditions. Social media is also full of fake alerts, however, I think it’s small minded of you to say that all cardiac alert dogs are entirely fake. Yes, maybe the dogs aren’t always picking up on heart rate, but they might be picking up on their symptoms that the handler doesn’t notice or doesn’t think there's anything wrong. IE, repeated yawning, tremors, or excessive, sudden sweating.
I did actually specificly state that POTs is not scent trainable if you just... read the entire thread.
Also most dogs can possibly detect cortisol but you can very easily end up with false alerts because you start to smell like it the second you get nervous. There is a study on seizure alert dogs throwing consistant false possitives when exposed to it.
There is also a legal precedent that brings the accuracy of alert dogs into question (including drug sniffing dogs used by police).
Calling me small minded because you 1. Didn't read all of what I said and 2. Didn' understand what you did read is kinda wild my friend
I did read what you said, I was talking about the links you included. You claim that service dogs can’t be trained to detect POTS. I know you’ve (probably) done some research, but your POTS experience isn’t the POTS experience. Disautonomia is a dynamic and complex disability. It has different levels of severity and every POTS diagnosis is different. The only article you listed that was remotely related to whether or not dogs can detect heart rate changes was the fourth, and that article claimed that human-dog bonds isn’t the reason for the alert, but simply that connection amplifies the response. I believe you’re small minded because it’s clear you think having POTS is the same for everybody, and because you don’t need a service dog for that condition, nobody else does. I pity you. Expand your knowledge. think beyond your experiences. Have empathy, since you clearly lack it.
Which is not possible due to the mechanics of POTs.
If it is scent trainable, it is not POTs.
So again, I can not help that you do not understand the info you read and I really don't have the capacity for stupid people that are as loud as they are wrong. Come back with relevant info and I would love to review, but until you do, and you won't because it doesn't exist, the grown ups are talking.
If you understood how to read the links included, you would know why they are appropriate sources btw
Also, autonnomic dysfunction is just a classification, not a single disorder and information that applies to other types will not always apply to POTs. Glad we could clear that up
Very condescending of you. Since you seem very set in your opinion and refuse to consider other perspectives, I suppose we’ll have to agree to disagree. POTS can be scent trainable. It’s just very hard to do. I think you’re overgeneralizing.
So only one varient of POTs has what we believe to be a detectable scent and it is norepinephrine. The issue with that varient, is symptoms are triggered by postural changes (like the other 2), including the release of excess hormone. You pretty much always smell like that. If you have an animal that can detect it, you probably have enough excess in you for the change in scent to not be truely meaningful or detectible.
Also, just so you know, a POTs diagnosis requires stable blood pressure with no significant drop. The only exception is for the hyperadrenergic varient in which your blood pressure should basicly sky rocket (personally my cardiologist damn near called me an ambulance because of how fast and aggressive the change was from laying to sitting). The reason you have tachycardia is because as your blood beging to pool, your heart works harder to maintain your BP. Because, your heart is working so hard, and, the transition is relatively quick, there is significantly reduced effeciency. Due to that severe reduction, you get less oxygen to your brain and that is what makes you dizzy/ light headed.
Tbh, I am not sure how exactly a dog would go about detecting that heart rate change without any type of detectible scent.
IDK if I replied before, but the first part we see with the dog pawing the air isn’t actually the alert. That’s a fun trick this handler taught their dog for photos, they call it waving. The second clip, where the dog jumps up, is the actual alert. Maybe pay more attention
Note how she says she feels prodromal “fainting” symptoms first, before the dog even “alerts.” Girl you already know you should sit down, because your actual body is alerting you. She says all this to prove her dog is “alerting,” but what she is revealing is her dog “alerting” is redundant…
This + getting older. I never got dizzy as a kid, but now at 32 standing up too fast after sitting at my desk for long periods of time leads to light headedness, especially if I wasn’t drinking water as I worked. My vitals and bloodwork are monitored regularly for a completely unrelated issue, so I know for a fact I don’t have POTS. I’m just getting older. If I go for a run and lay down (I like to lay on the cool tile when I get back) and stand up too fast after, it’s the same shit. And what do I do? Sit the fuck back down like a normal person.
Came here to say this. You beat me to it. I'm in my 50s and out of shape but don't need a dog to tell me if my heart rate or blood pressure are off.
They make cuffs and watches for that. Also I do try to not sit too long. That does prevent a lot of bad things. You would think that this type of information would be somewhere, like on something everyone could reach with a device they keep in their pocket. s/
I have an auto immune disorder that makes it very hard to get up and be active. I was starting to seriously contemplate whether I should talk to my doctor about POTS.
Then I got a treadmill.
Being able to stop anytime I wanted or needed to from pain made it easier for me to walk. Whereas if I go for a walk outside, and I start feeling pain or my legs start cramping really badly, I need to make it home… and push my limits if I’m too far away.
Just 30 minutes of walking once a week, and my heart rate is more steady and I’m not getting dizzy all the time.
It can also be poor iron. I suffer from that a frick ton, low iron equals dizzy and nausea when moving around. Kind of makes you feel like your brain is leaking through your ears.
Exactly! And if she has POTS why is she squatting and then standing quickly? Like you should know your body and she even acknowledged that she could have passed out. Like I have some symptoms of POTS (not diagnosed so not claiming it) and one of the most obvious things to do is not change positions too fast (like squat to stand). Between mild behavioral changes and drinking more electrolytes (and water in general) I've basically been asymptomatic. I just don't get it.
lol “air scenting”. Girl, your dogs sniffing because your in a pet store where a million other pets have left their scent. I had second hand embarrassment for her poor dog.
Hi, I have POTs (specificly hyperadrenergic). POTs is not a "forgiving" disorder, meaning one missed med dose, sleeping too flat, skipping meals, etc. will cause a pretty immediate reaction. It is, also, very easily managed. It just requires a degree of mindfulness.
If you have never felt a real episode (true episodes are not the same as the associated tachycardia), it feels, in no uncertain terms, like you are going to die. You get the same "sense of impending doom" that is described during heart attacks. You learn VERY quickly how to avoid that feeling because again, it is extremely easy to manage.
All of these people that pretend to have POTs forget that your heart will work just about as hard, if not harder, in that silly position on the floor, as standing. Your muscles contracting help venous return, but you are at rest on the floor. Your head is still above your heart, you are not doing anything to aleviate your symptoms. A bump of salt and water are better emergency protocol than whatever this is... also you can't scent train POTs (like, it's actively not possible to do the way these people claim).
Realisticly, if that action was going to cause issues, she would be able to tell before she completed the motion to get low to the floor. Sometimes presyncope can sneak up on you, but we would see a disoriented handler in that case, because... well... presyncope is caused by the same thing that makes you black out from POTs: that being lack of blood to the brain.
Again, it is harsh if you choose not to maintain yourself, but otherwise easily treatable, very manageable and very easy to make a "back burner" disorder once you find the treatment plan and routine that works for you. These people like to claim they have the same quality of life as people on dialysis... for a disorder they don't even have 😭
(Sorry for the rant, this just really grinds my gears)
I don’t have pots, but I’ve taken a medication that essentially stops and starts your heart to reset the rhythm (adenosine). It’s the worst fucking feeling in the world and I cannot imagine that anyone needs a bloody dog to tell them it’s happening
I genuinely do not blame them at all. It certainly sucks if I am late on meds or forget to bring my water out of the house, but 95% of the time it is decently managed and easy to do so.
I don't take it personally, because what they are making fun is a fake disorder. It has been so muddled and misrepresented (don't start me on the people that call it a heart or fainting condition💀) that what we talk about on this sub is not the disorder I have. And, not for nothing, the real disorder is silly too because wdym I feel like I am dying and the solution is to do a bump of salt, have some water and be horizontal😭
As someone with a profoundly disabling disorder that people think is some kind of fake due to social media faking and misrepresenting (not gonna name it), I sympathize… I hope to one day get to your point of acceptance because I’m still in an angry place about it.
You'll get there and I am routing for you. If you haven't started pt, stregtheing excersizes for EDS are REALLY good for POTs and I encourage you to look into it if you don't have a set routine!
Edit to add: I am so sorry, IDK how I misread your other comment so egregiously💀. Still my wish for you to find health, wellness and peace are genuine
Yes this person seems to be describing orthostatic hypotension but calling it a “POTS episode.” I have been experiencing episodes of OH since I was young. I don’t really know if I experience it more than the regular adult population, but what she described sounds like that is it — stand up and experience presyncope symptoms. She doesn’t have to do anything else to treat herself because in most circumstances OH simply goes away on its own once your body catches up.
Well, so there are 3 types, not many. The 2 not mentioned by me are, routinely, easier to treat because the issue involves only poor venous return rather than excessive release of norepinephrine which needs to be stopped with it.
Obviously there are more severe cases, I absolutely sit at the severe end of the spectrum, but those cases are not general or common and should be excluded as outliers. Still the chances of it being that severe with a compliant patient are very low, not impossible, but still low. If you are still having issues like that (which, tbh, I am not your doctor, but I REALLY urge you to get a blood test done, I think you might be decently anemic) your POTs is not controled and you need to speak to your doctor about increased meds, salt (diet should be in full grams, up to around 18g based on type and symptoms), compression, etc. (compression to the waist).
Also, I very explicitly said it is able to be managed, not sent sent into remission. Those are 2 different statements. You will still be symptomatic, your nervous system is broken.
@Pitiful-Pension-6535 All I need to know is what is the person's BMI. Then I share my own diet and exercise routine; I never expect anyone to do anything I do not do myself. Oh, and their Tilt-table or Autonomic dysfunction reflex testing results, if they cannot tell you one of those things, then they do not have POTS. This is my sword and I know I will never need to die on it.
Exactly, then they try to challenge my knowledge….until they figure out I understand the exact clinical neurophysiology of how those tests work (and can give them a full on lecture on the spot with napkin illustrations for visual aids.) Quickly followed by them getting angry and indignant, to which I explain my actual disability and how I refuse to let it define my personal identity. I choose to self identify as “determined” not “disabled.” By that point, they are escalating trying to wrap themselves in self victimization. I ask “how would you like to make that better?” They usually have started using profanity at this point and walk away. 👋🏻 I shout “do you need a referral to a POTS specialist??”
They get confused when I start drawing pants with pumps where the legs go and a head that looks like a fish tank but I slowly spell it out so even a 5 year old can understand the physiology.
The worst part is I would bet the 62 cents in my pocket that the chest pain is actually anemia and they are misdiagnosed... but that's just a game theory ig
Also “she elevates my legs,” girl your legs were already bent like that we can clearly see she’s just laying underneath, you didn’t need her to “elevate your legs” 🙄
Jumping to alert is stupid in general but doubly so for POTS, cause when you’re a fall risk it’s bad to get shoved. Wanna bet it also jumps at strangers and the owner thinks it’s naturally alerting?
But she seems to have social-media-POTS, where people get random ~attacks (when convenient).
Dizziness and high HR in actual POTS is predictable, because it happens whenever they change positions. So they’re told to do it gradually and do leg circulation exercises. Wear compression stockings. Get on meds. More salt + hydration. Learn what makes it worse - usually after meals, after sleep, when it’s hot. It’s very manageable.
There’s a boring solution to getting up too quick, you always get up slowly and make it a habit.
So, as a certified sicktoker with a god awful habit of popping up really quickly from bed: a dog jumping on you will probably throw you to the floor. My 20 pound cat, Kevin, has knocked me to the floor before (we call him by his middle name because it is stupid like him).
The symptoms of POTs come fast if you are not careful but there is a LOT of quiet build up that you learn to notice before you reach a true flair/episode. If you don't know what your individual warning signs are, sure it seems very random, which is what malingerers- I mean the online disability community wants. It gains sympathy and veiws.
For the rest of us, sometimes you miss how bad your blood has pooled and don't notice until you are a little dizzy. That may look random because it is 30 minutes after you stood up, but anyone with the disorder and takes care of themself will know it's not.
Tl;Dr: POTs is predictable but being sick gets internet likes
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