Testing

As I already went over in Part One (which can be read here), the road to my autonomic testing appointment in a specialty autonomic disorders clinic was long and complicated, especially because it was an outside referral, but it finally happened!

To recap a little from the end of Part One, the testing involved a little preparation and holding certain medications, and I was also having a bit of a crash/symptom flare in the days leading up to it. This meant the actual day of testing was definitely not one of my best days, but this was probably a good thing (the doctor agreed) as it meant the testing could capture what goes on with me when my symptoms are at their worst.

In total, I was there for 2-3 hours, including the time to register and check in, get the tests set up, do the actual tests, recap a little after, and a then have little bit of recovery time. The tests done were:

• Cardiovascular testing with head-up tilt (essentially a tilt-table test), the Valsalva maneuver, and deep breathing
• Quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test (QSART)

I wasn’t really sure what these would all be like so I decided to approach it from the “curiosity” angle and just be ready to do whatever they told me to do. If you’d rather have some idea what it’s all like, read on! [Read more…] about Autonomic Testing, Part Two – QSART, Deep Breathing, Valsalva, and Head-Up Tilt

After a string of events that started with reading about postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) online, since many people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) also have it, and ended with a neurology referral and a tilt-table test with a cardiac electrophysiologist within my network, I ended up with an outside referral to an autonomic disorders specialist. Before our consult appointment (which I have not had yet), the doctor wanted me to do some autonomic tests in their testing lab. That 2-hour testing session included:

• Cardiovascular testing with head-up tilt (essentially another tilt-table test), the Valsalva maneuver, and deep breathing
• Quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test (QSART)

BUT before I get to all that in Part Two, let’s talk about the major pain of seeing a new doctor outside your healthcare system when you’re used to an HMO… [Read more…] about Autonomic Testing, Part One – The Outside Referral Obstacle Course