POTS Isn't Anxiety, and Salt Won't Fix It | Dr. Cooper Dykstra | Dialed In Health

POTS is not anxiety, and salt is not the fix. Functional neurologist Dr. Cooper Dykstra explains what your racing heart actually means and why so many doctors miss it. If you stand up and your heart takes off, your vision grays, and every scan comes back normal while you still feel awful, this conversation is for you. On this episode of Dialed In Health, host Melissa Goodwin sits down with Dr. Cooper Dykstra, DC, FIBFN-FN, CFMP, founder of Brain Health and Chiropractic in Sioux Falls and a Fellow of the International Board of Functional Neurology. He has worked with more than 1,000 complex neurological cases, and patients drive in from across South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska to see him. Together they get into what POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) actually is, why it is so often dismissed as anxiety, and what functional neurology measures that a normal MRI misses. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN 1. What POTS is in plain English, and the 30 point heart rate rule 2. Why POTS and dysautonomia get misdiagnosed as anxiety for years 3. What is really happening in the brain when you stand up 4. Why salt and fluids manage a symptom but do not fix the root 5. How long COVID and old concussions can hide inside a POTS diagnosis 6. The link between POTS, hypermobility, Ehlers-Danlos, and mast cell activation 7. What the 4-Day Brain Reset program actually looks like 8. The exact questions to ask any provider so you know they understand POTS CHAPTERS 0:00 The symptoms every doctor calls anxiety 2:30 Meet Dr. Cooper Dykstra, functional neurologist 2:59 How a car accident and concussion led him here 5:06 What POTS actually is, in plain English 7:14 Why doctors keep missing POTS 9:17 Physical, chemical, and social concussions 10:07 Why so many people got POTS after COVID 11:45 Dysautonomia vs POTS: the difference 12:27 POTS symptoms and mast cell activation 15:22 Years of delay and told it is anxiety 16:12 A word from our sponsor 16:44 What is really happening in the brain (the salt myth) 18:41 The 28 point in-betweeners doctors dismiss 19:34 What tilt table therapy actually looks like 22:45 Explaining POTS to a 16 year old 24:25 What POTS actually stands for 24:46 Why POTS jumped 30% since COVID 26:07 POTS, hypermobility, and Ehlers-Danlos 30:15 The 4-Day Brain Reset: she left her walker behind 31:41 Working alongside your cardiologist 32:03 Who is and is not a good candidate 32:51 Why patients drive in from five states 33:49 The first step to take this week 34:21 Questions to ask any POTS provider 35:07 The most underrated key to healing 36:03 The biggest POTS myths, busted 38:07 It's all in your head (the good kind) 38:34 Close ABOUT THE GUEST Dr. Cooper Dykstra, DC, FIBFN-FN, CFMP is the founder of Brain Health and Chiropractic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He is a Fellow of the International Board of Functional Neurology and a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner who focuses on POTS, dysautonomia, post-concussion syndrome, and chronic dizziness. Website: https://brainhealthandchiro.com Phone: 605-799-7579 Free 15 minute Discovery Call available for anyone who suspects they have POTS. ABOUT DIALED IN HEALTH Dialed In Health is where regular people get real health information from practitioners actually in the field, not influencers and not celebrity doctors. Host Melissa Goodwin sits down with the real provider and asks the questions you would ask if you were sitting across from them. New episodes weekly. Find a vetted provider in the Dialed In Health directory: https://dialedin.health/the-directory LISTEN AND FOLLOW Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2AIQu4k... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id... iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-di... YouTube:    / @dialedinhealth   Instagram:   / dialedin_health   Subscribe for more honest answers from real health and wellness practitioners. #POTS #Dysautonomia #LongCOVID #FunctionalNeurology #DialedInHealth Disclaimer: This content is educational and informational only. It reflects the clinical perspective of the guest and is not medical advice or a substitute for evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment by a licensed provider.