Okay, I know almost all of you are going to read the title like, "What the hell is Dysautonomia?". Well, let me define it for you:
Dysautonomia aka Autonomic Dysfunction: A condition in which various parts of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) does not work right.
When a person has Dysautonomia, their symptoms can range from feeling dizzy all the time to your digestive system or urinary system not working right. I am one of those suffering from Autonomic Dysfunction, but one of the most common kind: the type where I faint a lot.
My blood pressure doesn't know how to stabilize itself whenever I stand (constant low blood pressure), causing lack of blood flow to my brain and then I get dizzy and faint. People with this type of dysautonomia often don't 'look sick'...until you see them passed out on the floor. Since this is rarely known, it took me a year to get diagnosed, someone told me it took them ten years to get diagnosed and it sometimes get mistaken for something else.
Oh and I am also on a 'eat all the salt and drink as much water as you can in a day' diet.
Here are a few things people have told me:
"You are just being lazy."
I bet you won't be saying that when I am unconscious on the floor after you tried to drag my ass out of my resting position while trying to stabilize my heart rate and dizziness.
"Omg, you are so lucky you get to relax all day and do nothing!"
Umm, what? You can't be serious...
I swear if I hear that one more time...
"I don't understand, you are too young to be like this."
Illnesses don't give a shit about how old you are.
"I bet you are faking, you don't look sick."
"It's just anxiety. Get over it."
Oh my gosh, the amount of times I have heard this. IT IS NOT ANXIETY. I have even gone to a psychologist to prove it...
"You know, many people get tired from time to time so it really isn't an illness."
So, you are really going to compare normal tiredness to an ACTUAL chronic illness? Okay...
Just because you have never heard of it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Okay, before I end the myTake, I want to say some things:
-Dysautonomia or Autonomic Dysfunction isn't rare, it is rarely KNOWN. That means there are many people living with it and they don't know it or they are busy trying to find a name or diagnosis. Remember at the beginning of the take where I said it took a person TEN YEARS to find out what it was? Exactly. Many doctors don't even know what it is.
-There are MANY different types of Dysautonomia and this is one of the types I wrote about. This also one of the more common types and it can affect anyone at ANY age. Dysautonomia may also be a side effect of another illness.
-If you are also living with a chronic illness, remember you are not alone and please keep having hope. I know it is hard, but try to remain positive as much as you can.
Also, just keep swimming.
Yes...I may have seen Finding Dory last week. ^
-Also, I know that it isn't October (Dysautonomia awareness month) but I wanted to write this myTake for the sake of me being FINALLY diagnosed and so that more people would know about it.
I hope everyone has a great day today! :)
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