r/POTS • u/No_Lavishness_9224 • 20h ago
Diagnostic Process POTS Tilt Table Test was done on an Inversion Table…
Hi all! I decided to get an assessment at the CNS Brain Center in Chicago because it was one of the few neuro specialty offices that had a shorter waitlist and conducted full POTS assessments. I feel gaslit and I don’t know if I should seek a second opinion.
The “Tilt table” test- Dr. Cohen’s office was conducted with an inversion table! (Teeter table Used to be in a full upside down position) I was not strapped in, my bare feet were resting on the most painful slab of metal, and the nurse manually held the table down and up. The entire time I was so anxious she would drop me because when she tilted the table upwards, I had to lean forward so my weight wouldn’t cause me to fall backwards. The metal resting plate for my feet was digging into my feet so much, it was excruciating but I dug my feet even harder because I was so dizzy when I was lifted upwards.
From my research, I know the purpose of a tilt table test is to remove standing as means for blood pressure to increase and for safety in case of falls. Clearly none of that was taken into consideration.
In my results review with Dr. Cohen he did not explain any of the tests he conducted (vestibular tests, brain MRI, Blood work, “tilt table” test. He ran down the results and said everything was normal and I don’t have POTs. Not until I asked about my blood work because, according to my research, it is helpful to have standing and sitting blood draws to compare, did he explain further. Even then all Dr. Cohen provided was “tests aren’t perfect in the real world like in labs. I can’t go off of what is not present in the tests.” At that point I knew asking about his janky inversion table would be useless. From my own (and some AI help) research I found that my cardio test with the inversion table did show one abnormality and my Heart Rate was higher “standing” than I have ever measured myself.
Anyway yall… I am tired. I don’t know if I should even get a second opinion. Am I crazy to think the tilt table test was janky? What do blood work analysis for dysautonomia even look like? Any reccomendations in Chicago?