What is Dysautonomia?

Dysautonomia is an umbrella term used to describe several different medical conditions that cause a malfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System. The Autonomic Nervous System controls the “automatic” functions of the body that we do not consciously think about, such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, dilation and constriction of the pupils of the eye, kidney function, and temperature control. People living with various forms of dysautonomia have trouble regulating these systems, which can result in lightheadedness, fainting, unstable blood pressure, abnormal heart rates, malnutrition, and in severe cases, death.

Dysautonomia is not rare. Over 70 million people worldwide live with various forms of dysautonomia. People of any age, gender or race can be impacted. There is no cure for any form of dysautonomia at this time, but Dysautonomia International is funding research to develop better treatments, and hopefully someday a cure for each form of dysautonomia. Despite the high prevalence of dysautonomia, most patients take years to get diagnosed due to a lack of awareness amongst the public and within the medical profession.

from dysautonomiainternational.org

What are the symptoms?

•  drop in blood pressure upon standing, but some POTS patients have no change or even an increase in blood pressure upon standing.
• hypovolemia (low blood volume) and high levels of plasma norepinephrine while standing, reflecting increased sympathetic nervous system activation.
• small fiber neuropathy that impacts their sudomotor nerves
• fatigue
• headaches
• lightheadedness
• heart palpitations
• exercise intolerance
• nausea
• diminished concentration
• tremulousness (shaking)
• syncope (fainting)
• coldness or pain in the extremities
• chest pain
• shortness of breath
• a reddish purple color in the legs upon standing, believed to be caused by blood pooling or poor circulation. The color change subsides upon returning to a reclined position

from dysautonomiainternational.org

What are the types?

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)– estimated to impact 1 out of 100 teenagers and, including adult patients, a total of 1,000,000 to 3,000,000 Americans. POTS can cause lightheadness, fainting, tachycardia, chest pains, shortness of breath, GI upset, shaking, exercise intolerance, temperature sensitivity and more. While POTS predominantly impacts young women who look healthy on the outside, researchers compare the disability seen in POTS to the disability seen in conditions like COPD and congestive heart failure.

Neurocardiogenic Syncope (NCS)– NCS is the most common form of dysautonomia, NCS impacts tens of millions of individuals worldwide. Many individuals with NCS have a mild case, with fainting spells once or twice in their lifetime. However, some individuals have severe NCS which results in fainting several times per day, which can lead to falls, broken bones and sometimes traumatic brain injury. Individuals with moderate to severe NCS have difficulty engaging in work, school and social activities due to the frequent fainting attacks.

Multiple System Atrophy (MSA)– MSA is a fatal form of dysautonomia that occurs in adult ages 40 and up. It is a neurodegenertive disorder with some similarities to Parkinson’s disease, but unlike Parkinson’s patients, MSA patients usually become fully bedridden within a 2 years of diagnosis and die within 5-10 years. MSA is considered a rare disease, with an estimated 350,000 patients worldwide.

from dysautonomiainternational.org

What type do you have?

I have POTS and NCS. We have known for quite a long time that I have severe NCS, but suspected that I also had POTS in 2014. In 2019, I had a power-port placed to allow me to receive home care which provides me with infusions and medications in the comfort of my own home.

I display all the classic symptoms and have EDS which are highly associated with Dysautonomia.

What are the treatments?

There is currently no cure for dysautonomia, but secondary forms may improve with treatment of the underlying disease. There are some treatments available to improve quality of life, both with medications and lifestyle changes/adaptations, but even using all treatments available, many dysautonomia patients experience disabling symptoms that significantly reduce their quality of life.

from dysautonomiainternational.org

In many cases treatment of primary dysautonomia is symptomatic and supportive. Measures to combat orthostatic hypotension include elevation of the head of the bed, water bolus (rapid infusion of water given intravenously), a high-salt diet, and drugs such as fludrocortisone and midodrine.

from my.clevelandclinic.org

Sometimes though it doesn’t matter how much salt or water you take in, you still cannot always control the symptoms. It is also hard to treat when you have EDS because some of the symptoms overlap so you don’t know where the symptoms are coming from.