Dysautonomia is becoming a more and more prevalent diagnosis, with little answers to be given and few treatment options available.
So, what is dysautonomia?
Simply put, dysautonomia is the 'dysfunction' of the 'autonomic nervous system'. Okay, so what is the autonomic nervous system?
The autonomic nervous system is the 'automatic' part of your brain. The part that controls all the automated functions of your body, such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and more. As you can imagine, this is a pretty important part of the nervous system, and dysregulation can cause multiple problems for the sufferer.
Many have heard of the parasympathetic and the sympathetic nervous system. Typically we think of the parasympathetic nervous system as the 'rest and digest' part of the brain, and the sympathetic nervous system as the 'fight or flight' part of the brain. Oftentimes people with dysautnomia have imbalances in the interplay between these two parts, which can often lead to a whole host of different symptoms.
What are some of the symptoms typical of dysautonomia?
The symptoms vary, and can sometimes seem totally unrelated, but when you dig deeper into your understanding of how the autonomic nervous system works, things start to make more sense. So, some common symptoms might include: elevated heart rate (tachycardia) especially when standing, changes in blood pressure, heaviness in breathing or needing to consciously focus on breathing, anxiety, brain fog, concentration issues, chronic fatigue, digestive issues, sexual problems, dizziness/lightheadedness, sleep disturbances, temperature regulation difficulty, and headaches just to name a few.
Okay, so how does someone develop dysautonomia in the first place?
Just like the variety of symptoms that can accompany dysautonomia, the causes can vary, too. Some common causes include, but are not limited to: head injury, post viral infection (such as COVID-19 and EBV), Lyme disease, mold toxicity, and complications from certain medications. Some patients may have a genetic predisposition to developing dysautonomia, such as those with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome; however, this does not mean that nothing can be done to improve the condition.
There are many conditions that would be considered under the umbrella of dysautonomia, such as POTS, migraine, orthostatic hypotension, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
So, what can be done to help?
For starters, an in-depth neurological exam is needed to determine the underlying issue leading to the dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system. This includes a thorough vital assessment and many other tests that would assess the different areas of the brain that are networked together with the autonomic nervous system.
Once an underlying cause or weakness can be determined, an individualized treatment plan can be develop to address the root cause of what is causing the dysfunction. This typically entails a multifactorial approach, including Neuro-rehabilitation of the specific pathways affected.
To learn more about dysautonomia or to hear more from patients who have seen dramatic improvements, visit our website: Delta Neuro Health.
Check out our recent blog post on the connection between POTS and Brain fog here.
To hear what patients are saying who have gone through our program, take a look at out our Testimonials page.
Other Resources:
What is POTS? (Blog Post)
Brain Fog & Dysautonomia (YouTube Short)
What is Functional Neurology (Blog Post)
