School Time!

This week I'm heading back in to school! I'm so excited to be back with my friends, learning all sorts of new stuff, and really just having attainable goals. Sometimes being POTS-free can kind of seem unattainable as I know it's going to take years to do, so being able to complete a little more school than I used to is a kind of proof for me that it's working.

First off I'm just going to see how I go. I'm going to be attending for one hour a day, going in for Chemistry. It sounds like it's not a lot, but just thinking about it makes me feel tired. There's the socialising, the noise, the thinking, the sitting up and walking around - it's pretty tough for me to do those things on their own, and all together it's going to be really challenging, but worth it. If it turns out that after this first week I'm completely shattered, I'll try upping my salt and fluid, before thinking about going from four classes a week to maybe two or three. I really hope that I'm going to be able to go to chem full time though, as I've had to learn a lot that I missed last year on my own and I don't want all that hard work to be for nothing. 

A few things that I'm going to be doing to try and make sure I last the lesson are:

• Resting right before and after. If I don't rest before, then I won't be able to function during the lesson. If I don't rest afterwards, I'm jeopardising going to class the next day.
• Balance my salt and water. If I have an afternoon class, I'll put extra salt in my lunch. If I have a morning class, I'll put salt in my tomato juice and make sure to have a small breakfast so that my blood is circulating around my head, not my gut. 
• Don't be too hard on myself. If I'm having a bad POTS day, then pushing myself to go to class will only make it worse, not only for the day but probably for the rest of the week. If I'm having an off day, I can always email my teacher or ask my friends what I've missed. Getting stressed about missing class because I'm ill is only going to make it harder for myself. 

So that's my plan for getting back in to school. Baby steps, and see how I go. My POTS is still much worse than it used to be because of my stomach infection last month, so I'm going to have to be strict with myself to not push it too far (as I have a tendency to do!). Is anything new or different happening for you this week?

Hope you have a great day!

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