Dysautonomia/POTS Awareness Month: What is Dysautonomia/POTS?

This month is Dysautonomia/POTS Awareness Month and I wanted to do a post on what Dysautonomia is and try to explain it.

What is it?

Here is a description I got off of the internet:

Dysautonomia is a medical term utilized for a group of complex conditions that are caused by a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS regulates all of the unconscious functions of the body, including the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal system, metabolic system, and endocrine system.

Thats pretty much a fancy way of saying that the things that your body is meant to do without you thinking about mine has forgotten how to do it.

A graphic that explains it well: If you can't read it here is the link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/304978205995069083/

So... What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of dysautonomia may include:

Orthostatic Intolerance (inability to remain upright) Dizziness Syncope (fainting/near fainting) Tachycardia (fast heart rate) Bradycardia (slow heart rate) Palpitations Chest Discomfort Low Blood Pressure Lightheadedness Gastrointestinal Problems Excessive Fatigue Exercise Intolerance Nausea Visual Disturbances Weakness

Shortness of Breath Mood Swings Anxiety Vertigo Migraines Tremulousness Noise/light sensitivity Insomnia Frequent Urination Temperature Regulation Problems Brain fog/forgetfulness Inability to concentrate Difficulty with recall Appetite Disturbance Hypersensitivity to sensory stimulation Fatigue

So which ones affect me?

• Orthostatic Intolerance
• Dizzinenss
• Fatigue
• Syncope
• Inability to concentrate
• Difficulty with recall (which is SO fun for exams)
• Appetite Disturbance
• Hypersensitivity to sensory stimulation
• Shortness of Breath
• Vertigo
• Migranes
• Noise/Light Sensitivity
• Insomnia
• Temperature Regulation Problems
• Brain fog/forgetfulness
• Tachycardia
• Bradycardia
• Palpitations
• Chest Discomfort
• Low Blood Pressure
• Lightheadedness
• Gastrointestinal Problems
• Nausea
• Visual Disturbances
• Weakness

So what is the treatment?

There is no treatment that works for everyone, there is no cure and management is a tricky thing to get right. Some people are very mildly affected and others are bed bound. There are some medications that can help, I take Florinef to help with my POTS- it helps a bit but also has some nasty side effects.  People with POTS need to drink a lot of water and electrolyte drinks as well as eat a lot of salt. These too things help to increase the fluid volume which helps to improve blood flow. 

There are also several things that can make POTS worse here is what happens to a Dyautonomia patient has a shower:

As you can see Dysautonomia affects me on a daily basis. There is no real treatment or awareness and this can strike at anytime in your life. Sometimes other conditions such as Ehlers Danlos Syndrome can cause it but a perfectly healthy person can get it too. Most of the time teens will get POTS but there is no real research into why it hits teens.

Thank you so much for reading please help to raise awareness by sharing this post.