#MINDBLOWN!

So I had my first appointment with the Johns Hopkins POTS specialist today.  I had scheduled my appointment in September of 2020(Yes, it took 8 Months for me to have my new patient appointment, they are booked that far out).  The next paragraph in quotations was in my clinical notes (It is a copy and paste she does on all new patient visits and does not contain any of my personal information.)  It is just information in general that she informs new patients of.

 

"Regarding "sympathetic overreaction symptoms", I am being careful with this approach as some of this actually helps you maintaining some function. In fact, powerful sympatholytic medications (such as high dose beta blockers) can even worsen pump failure symptoms, although those medications are sometime necessary.  There are some psychological techniques, called "mindfulness "; these techniques are very similar to meditation, and can be very powerful in enhancing the parasympathetic system, while suppressing sympathetic system. There are also various other medications in this category, and we may use some of them based on your symptoms.  Regardless, I believe most POTS is an autoimmune disease"

 

I highlighted the part where I was mind blown! 

 

And I found this

" Grubb and UToledo research collaborators found 89 percent of patients they examined had elevated levels of autoantibodies against the adrenergic alpha 1 receptor." . In this I highlighted the significant part,

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190909081756.htm

 

Because "Benzodiazepines, a class of drugs commonly used to induce anesthesia and sedation, can attenuate intracellular calcium oscillations evoked by alpha(1)-adrenergic receptor (alpha(1)-AR) stimulation in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10565838/#:~:text=Benzodiazepines%2C%20a%20class%20of%20drugs,pulmonary%20artery%20smooth%20muscle%20cells.

 

John Hopkins now classifies POTS as an autoimmune disease.  She ordered bloodwork to check for antibodies.  Which I am 100% sure will come back positive due to the Alpha subunits on the Adrenergic that are effect by benzos... (See above links).....  Like how have they not connected this to Benzo Withdrawal yet!

#STILLMINDBLOWN

Wow Paxia that is indeed fascinating information.  Is it possible then that other conditions with underlying imbalance of the sympathetic/parasympathetic system is also autoimmunity based? 

I’m sure it is possible. What autoimmune disorder did you have in mind?  I don’t mind trying research it for you if you’d want. ☺️

Well I feel that I have what they would call fibromyalgia, and CFS.  I also have Raynauds, which for me presents as numbness in my fingers and toes as an overreaction to cold.  I have come to realize that I have a very overactive autonomic nervous system.