Since Crystal Caldwell was a little girl in the second grade, her family knew something just wasn’t right.
It wasn’t until years later, when she was bedridden at 20-years-old that she finally got some answers. Her problems were the result of something called Dysautonomia. It affects seventy million people worldwide.
Crystal of Ocean City joins us to share her story.
“When I was in the second grade, I started passing out and having a lot of health issues. Doctors told me and my parents it might be IBS, or anxiety/all in my head,” Crystal says. “Once I was 20, I was bedridden for almost 2 years. Turns out I had Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), which is a form of Dysautonomia.”
Dysautononomia is an umbrella term that describes several malfunctions to the autonomic nervous system. As you may know, the autonomic nervous system controls everything you should not have to think about like, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, kidney function, and temperature control.
“I am much better than I was 7 years ago,” Crystal says. “I still have daily struggles. I have headaches almost daily, feel lightheaded, severe heart palpitations, leg numbness, fatigue, fainting, poor concentration and memory (brain fog), tremors, shortness of breath, and there are many more. Every week is different. I’ll have good weeks and bad weeks. It all depends on what’s going on in my life at the time and what I am doing.”
Even though this isn’t something we hear about everyday, it truly affects a lot of people.
“It affects millions of people worldwide. It takes the average POTS patient 4 years to be properly diagnosed due to this lack of awareness,” Crystal says.
Crystal has been holding events to raise money to help try and raise awareness for Dysautonomia.
“Last year I received a proclamation from the State of Delaware that declares the month of October Dysautonomia Awareness Month,” Crystal says. “This year I have received another proclamation from Delaware and will be receiving one from Salisbury.”
