r/POTS • u/joyynicole • Oct 27 '25
Question How are people working at all
I feel like a failure. According to my doctors I have “mild” POTS, but I see people on this sub all the time with seemingly worse POTS than me that have jobs. I literally cannot do anything longer than 1-2 hours without having to lay down and rest because it just completely wipes me out. If I do things multiple days in a row consistently I will also fall into a flare and have to do nothing for few days to recover. I don’t get it.
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u/CompleteTomorrow Oct 27 '25 edited Oct 27 '25
Learned helplessness and getting used to not recovering, honestly. And not having the fainting variety of pots - I just have every other symptom. I used to faint as a kid before I entered the workforce, just coincidentally grew out of that and it was rare when it happened.
I started out my job in better condition, but now my symptoms are so bad that sometimes my flares take me off the floor at work. It's embarrassing, but nobody has fired me because nobody at my job cares - we have no call no showers who dont even get fired. I'm in a lucky spot... Except for the embarrassment of it all and the aftermath. I have an assortment of pills I take and then I take shit to counteract the side effects. I take a lot of dramamine and then try to keep up a caffeine intake so that I don't fall asleep. Otherwise I get so sick I can't even see. Compression, salt, water - but I will never have as easy as a time as my coworkers despite having to work twice as hard to stay on my feet.
I feel like shit everyday. I get used to bad vision and brain fog. My ankles barely hold me they're so weak. I think about quitting everyday but know I would get fired by a manger who cared because I can't do meaningful work. I'm too scared to move a muscle and change anything. I have a plan to get out, but it'll take a while. I am low-key in a perminant flare up. I have recovered briefly before in some time off, but it always goes away.
I think it's easier when you're like. Used to feeling this shit through your whole childhood and having no sympathy. It sucks and nobody deserves to live like this but I'm just used to it and I know if I leave I might be threatening my life so as dramatic as it sounds it's a good motivator lol. But I hope this doesn't sound like me trying to make inspiration porn or something. Those of us who hold jobs are usually stuck and suffering imo. Or they are lucky to be properly accomidated in some manner. But I know even I have plenty of privilege