Kathie,

The basic tests for automatic issues are, tilt table treat, qsart, skin biopsy,valsa valva test and ruling out cardiac underlying issues. An excellent website with a fantastic forum is dinet.org. It gives detailed definitions of various auto issues like pots,orthostatic intolerance, neurocardiogenic syncope, and mitral valve prolapse. These are all forms under the umbrella term dysautonomia. My symptoms were wide ranges of tachycardia up to 200 with little to no exertion, to Bradycardia, down to 38 sitting up. Digestion issues of all sorts, fainting, low bp all the timewith narrow pulse pressure, pupillary instability, headaches, angina like pain,pvcs, afib,vtach, gerd, cognitive fog, heat intolerance, tremors, medication intolerance, etc etc...lol

Its a diagnosis of exclusion most of time but they are getting closer to autoimmune connection in some potsies.

Treatment over the last 30 years hadn't changed much. Amitryptiline,or ssri meds are used alot to reset the nervous system. Didn't work for me. Florinef is one that helped alot as a child but as an adult made me sticker. Beta blockers usually are a first line approach with midodrine. Betas help the heart and midodrine helps raise the bp and counteract the side effects of the bb. This is counterdictedin asthmatic s and some other diseases so i was never able to do it. Salt tablets, gatorade and compression stockings are a mainstay for most potsies to help blood pooling and raise bp.

As bny mentioned,ivig is a treatment that sadly must doctors don't approve of yet for dysautonomia. I think it will be soon though as it does appear to be beneficial in some. I think it really depends on the epidemiology of the syndrome.

You can what's known as a poor mans tilt and check your results:
U measure your bp and heart rate lying down after 10 minutes, then check it usually upon standing then again in 10 minutes of standing and then again upon sitting. i believe anything witha heart rate increase greater than 30 bpm is considered pots suspicious and further testing is needed. U would need to reframe from caffiene foran accurate result.

Geesh sorry so long there...i got rambling on....lol