October is Dysautonomia Awareness Month.
As we near October, I can't help but to think of reasons why dysautonomia (along with the abundance of medical conditions lying in the autonomic dysfunctions category) needs so much awareness in our communities. It's ridiculous how the amount of uneducated medical professionals outweigh the tens of millions of patients living with this life-altering illness who are spending an average of six years fighting to get a proper diagnosis so they can hopefully find relief from these horrid symptoms. However, even with a dysautonomia diagnosis, most physicians are so ill-informed of this term they lack the knowledge of effective treatments, especially emergency room specialists and "adult doctors". Below are a list of reasons (in nor particular order) we are in desperate need of awareness as well as what awareness starts with. My wish is that one day everyone will speak about dysautonomia like that talk about cancer and autism. 1) Research Funds. We need awareness in order to gain research funds for better treatment options and maybe even a cure in the future. Did you know POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, a common form of dysautonomia) is more common than Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease? Yet POTS research earns MUCH less funds. 2) Physician Knowledge. Dysautonomia is not always taught in medical school. …show more content…
Many more pediatricians recognize dysfunctions of the autonomic nervous system because it is often believed to be a childhood illness and patients are able to grow out of it before they reach adulthood. Now it's obvious that's not always the case. Many patients do not grow out of it, hence why it is a chronic, invisible illness. We need awareness in order to reduce the average diagnosis time of six years, because so many patients suffer from a misdiagnosis or even a lack of a diagnosis before they are finally diagnosed with dysautonomia. Often times patients have to bounce around from specialist to specialists, traveling hundreds of miles just to find a doctor who recognizes the signs of dysautonomia. 3) Understanding from Family and Friends. We need awareness because our friends and family do not understand how debilitating this illness is. …show more content…
Dysautonomia affects the entire autonomic nervous system, so every involuntary bodily function can malfunction at any given time. Blood pressure, respiration, heart rate, digestion, cognition, temperature regulation, you name it. We're not lazy, we're far from it. We're battling an internal battle 24/7, 365 days a year. Only some of us are fortunate enough to have a supportive team of family and friends. Others are not so lucky. Because it's so unknown, many people do not believe it to be a real condition. So when we cancel plans because we are not feeling well enough to go out (or even have company), our friends and family often give us the cold shoulder and say we're making excuses. No, we're ill and shouldn't have to prove how sick we really are in order to fit your standards of being "sick". With more awareness, perhaps they will finally believe that we are not making excuses or faking it. 4) Reduce the Amount of Lives Lost We need awareness so no more lives have to be lost due to a misdiagnosis or a lack of understanding. On one end of the spectrum we have patients not getting diagnosed soon enough with a fatal form of dysautonomia, therefore they're not getting the lifesaving treatments they need in a timely manner. On the other end of the
As we near October, I can't help but to think of reasons why dysautonomia (along with the abundance of medical conditions lying in the autonomic dysfunctions category) needs so much awareness in our communities. It's ridiculous how the amount of uneducated medical professionals outweigh the tens of millions of patients living with this life-altering illness who are spending an average of six years fighting to get a proper diagnosis so they can hopefully find relief from these horrid symptoms. However, even with a dysautonomia diagnosis, most physicians are so ill-informed of this term they lack the knowledge of effective treatments, especially emergency room specialists and "adult doctors". Below are a list of reasons (in nor particular order) we are in desperate need of awareness as well as what awareness starts with. My wish is that one day everyone will speak about dysautonomia like that talk about cancer and autism. 1) Research Funds. We need awareness in order to gain research funds for better treatment options and maybe even a cure in the future. Did you know POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, a common form of dysautonomia) is more common than Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease? Yet POTS research earns MUCH less funds. 2) Physician Knowledge. Dysautonomia is not always taught in medical school. …show more content…
Many more pediatricians recognize dysfunctions of the autonomic nervous system because it is often believed to be a childhood illness and patients are able to grow out of it before they reach adulthood. Now it's obvious that's not always the case. Many patients do not grow out of it, hence why it is a chronic, invisible illness. We need awareness in order to reduce the average diagnosis time of six years, because so many patients suffer from a misdiagnosis or even a lack of a diagnosis before they are finally diagnosed with dysautonomia. Often times patients have to bounce around from specialist to specialists, traveling hundreds of miles just to find a doctor who recognizes the signs of dysautonomia. 3) Understanding from Family and Friends. We need awareness because our friends and family do not understand how debilitating this illness is. …show more content…
Dysautonomia affects the entire autonomic nervous system, so every involuntary bodily function can malfunction at any given time. Blood pressure, respiration, heart rate, digestion, cognition, temperature regulation, you name it. We're not lazy, we're far from it. We're battling an internal battle 24/7, 365 days a year. Only some of us are fortunate enough to have a supportive team of family and friends. Others are not so lucky. Because it's so unknown, many people do not believe it to be a real condition. So when we cancel plans because we are not feeling well enough to go out (or even have company), our friends and family often give us the cold shoulder and say we're making excuses. No, we're ill and shouldn't have to prove how sick we really are in order to fit your standards of being "sick". With more awareness, perhaps they will finally believe that we are not making excuses or faking it. 4) Reduce the Amount of Lives Lost We need awareness so no more lives have to be lost due to a misdiagnosis or a lack of understanding. On one end of the spectrum we have patients not getting diagnosed soon enough with a fatal form of dysautonomia, therefore they're not getting the lifesaving treatments they need in a timely manner. On the other end of the