>Hmmm, I don't know much about gall bladders, but I do know a bit about some
>disorders that share some aspects of POTS. If you think you have POTS
and/or
>any of the following you should google Sandy Simmons' connective tissue
>disorder site as well as magnesium and POTS for tons of info:

>irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) 
>Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
>mitral valve prolapse
>anxiety, depression, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping
>hypermobile joints (lax ligaments)
>stretchy skin, easy bruising

>Some things that all these syndromes and symptoms seem to share with POTS:
>diseases of civilization, auto-immune related, involve connective tissues,
>often include mineral deficiencies--especially magnesium.

My resting HR used to be irregular, but not really anymore. I do think I
bruise easily. I looked up the others you mentioned but none jump out at me.

>In my opinion, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are also auto-immune
>related diseases of civilization. Of course, most doctors and scientists
>would yell at me about that, but if you search on the terms "hypothyroid"
>and "autoimmune" you should get a lot of hits. Also look for Pedro Bastos'
>article, "Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (Hypothyroidism) and Diet. Hypothyroid
and
>magnesium should also give you a lot of hits.

I believe my thyroid was off back when I was put on meds due to an eating
disorder. I was constantly starving myself then would binge and purge. Bet
if I had started eating right back then I could have avoided the meds. This
also tells me that I can get off the meds if I do it slowly. I have had
antibody tests which do not indicate hashimotos.

>This is pure speculation, but I'm guessing that at some point in your life,
>from fetus onward, you ingested a lot of wheat, you are currently magnesium
>deficient and have at least one hypermobile or lax joint (such as
>"double-jointed" thumbs or finger tips or elbows, or subluxating kneecaps,
>or weak ankles or flat feet.

Yes, I grew up (in Germany) eating wheat and all the other culprits like
sugar, etc. In 1996 I switched to Atkins so my wheat intake was greatly
reduced. In 2003 I went grain free and aside from taking supps, ate a paleo
diet with an occasionally cheat.

I take 1,000 to 1,400 mg mag citrate at night (have for several years now)
and when tested via blood my mag levels are fine. No joint stuff but both
feet are misaligned, I have hammer toes, and I have a leg length difference.
In the 90s I got custom made orthotics. Some time in 2000 stopped wearing
them. From 2007 to 2008 I had daily pain - headache in my forehead, upper
backache, lower backache, and calf pain. It took me that long to remember
that it might be related to not wearing my orthotics. Started wearing them
again August last year, had my back adjusted, and the pain went away. Felt
on top of the world - liked my body/weight, felt good in public even in a
bikini (I am 43), good energy, slept great, could tolerate beef, pork, lamb,
eggs, even mayonnaise. Had a flat stomach most of the time. Got the prego
looking belly in a cyclical fashion from hormones. This never stopped
despite the hysterectomy I had. I still have on ovary so the doc says I am
continuing to cycle even now after 6 years. In September I started having
longer and longer periods of bloating and less periods of non-bloating. I
started reacting to beef (with bloating and fluid retention). I started
gaining weight despite having the same caloric intake and eating mostly
paleo (protein, fat, low starch veggies, and occasionally some nutbutters).
Things just continued to get worse and worse no matter what I did. On
November 18 my belly went from superflat to prego looking and it has not
gone away. I dropped my caloric intake to 1,500 a day and was barely
maintaining. I put on about 20 lbs. I got rid of most of it with fasting and
now that I am doing zero carb at least I am not gaining anymore.

Some time last year I also started having shortness of breath when walking
uphill, could tolerate less and less foods, was fatigued, etc.

>Does any of this sound familiar?--You have numerous mysterious symptoms
that
>are fairly minor, but irritating and troubling. You've sought help from
>doctors but they dismiss much of it as being in your head and tell you not
>to worry about it, until you generate a lab number that troubles them, such
>as the low body temp or an infection somewhere, such as in the urinary
>tract. But instead of trying to find the underlying cause, they just want
to
>give you antibiotics or send you to a specialist so he can give you an
>expensive drug for one symptom, for the rest of your life, which has
serious
>long-term side effects.

What stood out to me in that POTS article is the mention of damage to the
vagus nerve and also damage to the autonomic nervous system due to bacterial
infection. We spent one day in Mexico in July last year and in September is
when everything went down hill. The only troubling lab number is my WBC. It
has been low for several months now (actually it was low in 2007 also) and
going down. But none of the docs I have seen even say anything about it. The
last time it was checked it was 2.7 I believe with normal range 4.0 to 10.5.

>BTW, do you get really cold in the winter, maybe even chillblains?

Not so much anymore. I also noticed that the beta blocker increases my
internal temp and makes me feel VERY warm. I take Metoprolol 25 mg. It does
seem to be adrenaline related. Sometimes I take l-tyrosine or DLPA to help
with mood/energy. It works great but it also makes my HR go up and those are
pre-cursors to epinephrine and dopamine if I remember correctly.

Thanks for your input....I really, really want to figure this out. I DREAD
eating right now. it's not a vanity issue because my belly gets big but it
is very uncomfortable. I actually feel better when I don't eat. I have
considered an extended fast but I am not sure that is the answer. I worry
what it will do to my thyroid. But I want to get off these meds. I used to
take Armour thyroid - now I take Armour, cytomel, hydrocortisone (which
seems to lower the hR a bit), and Metroprolol and I hate it.

Kristina