Symptoms Associated with EDS/POTS

Symptoms in these areas are very common in EDS/POTS patients.

• Lightheadedness
• “Spacy” feeling
• “Heavy” or “foggy” head
• Memory loss/brain fog (One of my patients calls this Brain Fog Tourette’s. Here is how she explained it: “Sometimes, things will pop into your head and then leave just as readily. Therefore, I have learned to spit it out the second I think of it. Sometimes my family will be discussing something completely unrelated to shopping, and I’d say ‘Apples! We need Apples!’ Therefore, Brain Fog Tourette’s.”)
• Headaches
• Migraines
• Pain in back of the head or base of the skull
• Pain in either temple
• Difficulty concentrating
• Neck pain
• Pain when moving your neck
• Stiff neck
• Weak neck
• “Tired” neck
• Neck “grinds” or “pops”
• Difficulty in moving the neck
• Inability to support the head; “heavy head”
• Dizziness
• Seizures (These seizures often are usually classified as pseudo-seizures, and will test negative for expected seizure activity upon EEG examination.)
• Muscle spasms
• Nerves feel “pinched”
• TMJ (temporomandibular joint) pain and problems
• Pain in the face (trigeminal neuralgia)
• Pain radiating into teeth
• Clenching your teeth at night
• Teeth grinding
• Pain when chewing food
• Dark circles under the eyes
• Ringing in ears (tinnitus)
• Pain when turning eyes
• Blurry vision
• Rapid horizontal eye movements
• Inability to move eyes across the normal field of vision
• Inability to tolerate loud sounds
• Inability to tolerate bright light
• Inability to tolerate chemical smells (such as perfume)
• Dizziness upon sitting/standing
• Fainting (especially when changing positions)
• Dry eyes and/or mouth

• Shoulder pain
• Hand pain
• Splotchy skin (resembling the white spots in salami), especially on hands
• Swelling in fingers (can’t wear rings)
• Rotator cuff problems
• Pain across your shoulders
• Tense or “hard” upper back and shoulder muscles, or what I refer to as “concrete shoulders” in my office
• Cannot lift either arm above shoulder level
• Nerve pain or numbness in one (or both) shoulder(s)
• Tension in one (or both) shoulder(s)
• Pain in one (or both) arm(s)
• Forearm pain
• Finger pain
• Cold hands
• Inability to perform fine motor tasks (e.g., writing)
• Swelling in either (or both) hand(s)
• Pain in either (or both) wrist(s)
• Pain in either (or both) hand(s)
• “Electric” pain in fingertips
• Low back pain
• Muscle spasms
• Discoloration of fingers
• Fingernail changes
• Weak grip (e.g., when opening bottles)
• Dropping things, a lot
• Tingling in any part of the upper extremities
• Burning in shoulders radiating from the neck

• History of childhood asthma
• Tender muscles in the anterior chest
• Ribs “popping” out
• Pain in your ribs (in the front or back)
• Midback pain
• Pain when wearing a bra
• Pain between shoulder blades
• Midback spasms
• Pain when you get a massage
• Chest pain
• Pain in your breastbone
• Pain that feels like it’s coming from your heart
• Shortness of breath
• Difficulty breathing
• Wild fluctuations in heart rate
• Wild fluctuations in blood pressure
• Fast/racing heart rate (tachycardia)

• Stiff lower back
• Arthritis
• Disc problems, such as herniated discs
• Arthritis in the lower back
• Decreased movement of the lower back
• Pain down the thigh to the knee or the foot (pain may originate below the knee)
• Unstable hip joints
• Dysplasia of hip joints
• Tethered cord
• Scoliosis

• Gas
• Nausea
• Constipation
• Cramping
• Discomfort after eating
• Fatigue after eating
• Loss of appetite
• Diarrhea
• Crohn’s disease
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Heartburn
• Gluten intolerance/allergies
• Gastroparesis
• Menstrual pain
• Menstrual Irregularity
• Heavy cycles
• Abdominal pain
• Irritated stomach
• Abnormal pap smears
• Ovarian cysts/Polycystic Ovarian Disease
• Infertility
• Impotence
• Inability to have an orgasm
• Food intolerances
• Infertility
• Endometriosis
• Vaginal infections

• Pain in buttocks
• Pain in one (or both) hips
• Pain in one (or both) legs
• Knee pain/problems (even diagnosed arthritis)
• Pain in one (or both) ankle(s)
• Pain in one (or both) feet
• Feeling of “walking on broken glass”
• Numbness in one (or both) leg(s)
• Numbness in one (or both) foot (feet)
• Numb toes
• Cold feet (not the kind you get before getting married)
• Burning in either foot
• Cramps in your legs or feet
• Swollen ankles
• Swollen feet
• Pain in toes
• Restless legs
• “Creepy-crawly” feeling in legs at night

• Suicidal feelings
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Nervousness
• Irritability
• Inability to tolerate conflict of any kind
• Emotional “flatness”
• Social withdrawal
• Loss of periods of time
• Memory loss
• Fogginess
• Forgetfulness
• Extreme fatigue
• Joints “popping” out
• Clicking or loud “popping” in joints
• Easy bruising
• Pain during or after exercise
• Cardiac abnormalities
• Pain when it rains or with weather changes
• Intolerance to heat
• Intolerance to cold
• Intolerance to the wind
• Skin rashes
• Hair loss
• Bladder pain
• Urinary incontinence
• Feeling of constant fullness in the bladder
• Pain upon urination
• Interstitial cystitis (chronic inflammation of the bladder wall)
• Pain during sexual intercourse or decreased libido
• “Creepy-crawly” feelings all over, or “lightning bolts” of pain Insomnia
• Waking up a lot
• Sleep apnea
• Intense, chronic, relentless fatigue (when you don’t care if the house burns down to the ground around you—you can’t get off your couch)
• Vaginal pain/burning
• Disturbing dreams
• Complete absence of dreams
• Exercise intolerance
• Tremors
• Feeling like you are vibrating internally
• Loss of joy and hopefulness - personality changes
• Difficult blood draws, such as fragile, rolling or “disappearing” veins (when you are a phlebotomist’s worst nightmare)
• Allergies to many things
• Inability to form goosebumps
• “Loose” and/or fragile skin