• Zarobi@aussie.zone
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    7 hours ago

    It’s what got me my POTS diagnosis. No doctor would even listen to me unless I brought in my own data (60bpm lying, 80 sitting, 110 standing, 130 walking). Obviously I shouldn’t have to pay $500 just to do their job like that, but it changed my life for the better, personally. Now I have medications that help

    • Carnelian@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      That’s awesome, genuinely. I’m glad things worked out well in the end

      But did they require that information to come from a $500 smart watch? Simply heart rate monitors can be had for $20. For sitting/walking/standing you can check your own pulse for free in a few seconds with a timer or any clock that has a seconds display

      • Zarobi@aussie.zone
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        24 minutes ago

        They wanted the ECG recordings. Since it came in fancy PDF form it added some legitimacy. They didn’t care about anything I said at all, but being able to show actual evidence like that was a big deal. Just like, hey this is actually real, stop ignoring me.

        I dunno if other heart rate monitors would give the same level of data. It was also good for setting up an alarm when my heart rate goes above 190bpm (dangerous), but I don’t need it anymore because I know what that feels like now. I still keep it around just in case though.

        Mine’s probably a unique case though. But I also saw a study that 7 people around the entire world got diagnosed with atrial fibrillation from the watch’s warnings, which is a tiny number overall; but I wasn’t included in that study either so they probably missed others too.