Do I have Dysautonomia?

[LindaTX]

I think I may have dysautonomia. Last night I woke up and immediately felt vertigo and then it was like a wave down to my stomach where I felt like I was on a roller coaster. It only lasted a few seconds but it was pretty severe I also have a history of an arrythmia, atrial fibrillation, for several yrs. My Dr wants me to get an ablation but I'm not ready to give in to that yet. I've been reading about the vagus nerve and someone posted on here about vasovagal instability, and I was wondering if I could have that?  I have low blood pressure and pulse in the 60's.  Can't stand for too long in one spot and get tired easily. This sounds weird but a lot of times I feel like I need to burp but I can't. Does anyone else have these symptoms?

[CAM75]

I have been suffering with symptoms of dysautonomia for several years now too.  I have been shuffled around to every type of specialtist that practices medicine.  Many of them do not understand what I am going through and do not think, based on my apperance (young, non-smoker, no drugs, perfect labs, proper weight) that I could possibly be ill.  I have suffered with migraines, TMJ, vertigo attacks, POTS, acid reflux and anxiety.  When I went for a stress test and they placed me on a treadmill, the examiners performing the test looked more scrared than I.  They begged me to sit down as they rushed the results over to the cardiologist.  Not very reassuring.

Since having my first vertigo attack my life has drastically changed.  I was an independant person that took pride in my health, now I am scared about when the next attack will hit, where will I be?  If the attack happens at night, will I be able to reach my family by phone so that I will not be alone?  I used to look forward to the nights knowing that I would sleep well, now I am scared the minute the sun slips into the horizon.  To this day I do not think I am treating my illness properly and am on no medications (except PRN Ativan and Zoloft).  

I am empathetic to each and everyone of you on this website.  I hope that you find comfort and resolution for your heath concerns.

Best,
CAM

[Heiferly]

I'm sorry if my reply read as doctor-y.  I'm not a physician; I'm one of the two co-community leaders here, a patient with dysautonomia.  I just happened to be the first one to respond to your post because the community leaders often try to respond to posts as quickly as possible to point out the resources available in our forum and make sure people get a timely response.  Other community members will often chime in if they see something in the post to which they relate.

[LindaTX]

You sound like a physician? lol  The reason I posted here and not on a heart forum is because of my recent symptoms. I have a few other things going on that lead me to believe they are dysautonomic in nature. I was hoping to get some feedback from the community regarding possibly similar symptoms. My dr is a very single-minded guy.  I am hoping to find a way around the ablation issue.  I hope to discover a different solution that will help my heart as well.  Thank you for the links above, but I feel the real link lies in the relationship of the vagus nerve to the rest of the parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system.  Any suggestions from anyone in the community?      Thanks, Linda

[Heiferly]

Linda, since you already have an electophysiologist-cardiologist (presumably since s/he is discussing ablation?), you already have the right kind of specialist to get evaluated for dysautonomia.  If your EP cardio thinks this is a consideration in your case, s/he may want to order a tilt table test.  

Here is more information that may be useful:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Neurological-Disorders/Autonomic-Dysfunction-FAQ/show/181?cid=196
http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Neurological-Disorders/Diagnosing-Dysautonomia/show/827?cid=196
http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Neurological-Disorders/Further-Reading-on-Dysautonomia/show/696?cid=196

Though long, the NDRF handbook (you download it as a PDF file to read it), may give you much better insight into the different types of autonomic dysfunction and the ways in which they are manifested.