To say that chronic illness requires you to make some adjustments in life is a bit of an understatement. Each individual must learn how to adapt to their new situation, something often easier said then done. As it turned out, My type A ‘must plan everything’ personality is not particularly compatible with having a condition like Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. The last several years have been a lesson on learning to live in the moment and realizing plans are made to be broken.
That said, some vestiges of my ‘plan down to the minutest detail’ personality still survive. As such, I have a “POTS Kit” I try to keep with me at all times–because, as we all know, stuff happens. This is somewhat easy for me as I have always been a “big purse” girl. As such, I have a lot of space to work with. So, here is what I keep in my POTS kit, which fits into my purse, backpack, messenger bag, or whatever I am using to keep my stuff on me at any particular moment.
Contents:
- Wrist Blood Pressure Cuff
- Pulse Oximeter
- Powerade Zero Drops
- Pedialyte Sticks
- Elete Electrolyte Drops
- Thermotabs (blue pill box)
- 3 Day Supply of all my medications (My Pills box)
- Back-up Medical ID
- Medical Journal Summaries of my Conditions (not pictured, kept separate in purse pocket)
- 8 oz bottle of Powerade Zero
- Mini bottle of tums (for those bad tummy times)
- Wisps mini disposable toothbrushes (for when bad tummy times come up for a visit)
Do you have a portable “kit” you keep in case of emergencies when out and about? What do you keep in yours?
Dysautonomia Dorothy 