My condition

I feel the need to explain some things about myself. Why, for example, I am not in choir (this should become plain). This is mainly for my friends here in Idaho, since most people who know me from back home know of my diagnosis. I'm not writing about it now because it's gotten worse, but only because I was reminded recently of how good God has been to me through it.

I have had a fair number of health problems. I started having migraines and chronic dizziness (all the time) when I was about 13. Before that, I had stomach trouble and had passed out a few times when I was forced to stand for a long time. I went to very many doctors and had myself tested for all sorts of diseases and abnormalities, etc. but they couldn't find anything wrong with me. Then, I found out that I had severe allergies and started to have allergy shots. These helped, but not as much as we would expect if all my problems were due to allergies. Then my allergist told me that he think I might have dysautonomia. He referred me to a doctor named Randy Thompson, who has dysautonomia himself. After looking at the list of symptoms for dysautonomia (specifically POTS) I was pretty sure before I even saw him that I had dysautonomia. The first thing he had me do was take a tilt table test. In a tilt table you get strapped to a bed that moves from supine to upright. They tested all sorts of things on me, but the whole time they took note of my blood pressure and my heart rate. When the bed went upright my heart rate went up, my blood pressure went way down (60/40), and I only stayed conscious for about 5 minutes. So, I tested positive.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is defined by an increase of over 30 bpm from a supine to an upright position. It's basically a battle between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. When I stand up, the sympathetic nervous system raises my heart rate, and the parasympathetic lowers my blood pressure to counteract this. Since the two systems are at odds, my body isn't always able to attain homeostasis. The imbalance causes way more problems than you might think - headaches, dizziness, visual disturbances, anxiety, depression, syncope (fainting), and many more I don't care to mention. Some people can't even stand without fainting, they are often confined to wheelchairs. There is no cure for POTS.

Thankfully, my condition is mainly under control with medication and exercise. It used to be a lot worse, but through the grace of God I now know much of what I need to do (and not do) to make it better. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do when I'll have to be in the NSA choir. I know that I am not able to stand up for as long as I would have to. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I would like more people to be aware of this disorder. It's often called an "invisible" ailment. Many people who have it are labeled hypochondriacs, lazy, or otherwise unstable because doctors aren't able to find what's wrong with them. Is it any wonder that so many are depressed? There are so many diseases, disorders, syndromes, etc. but I would appreciate prayer for those who are stricken with dysautonomia. Pray not necessarily for healing, but comfort. I was blessed with parents (and doctors to a large extent) who believed that I was telling the truth about what I was experiencing and were dedicated to finding the source. I wish that everyone had the same.