‘The Dysautonomia Trifecta’
Dysautonomia is an imbalance of the nervous system which can have downstream effects on heart rate and blood pressure. Our bodies are programmed to automatically handle certain tasks, like digesting our food or helping us avoid getting dizzy when we stand. In dysautonomia, those automatic features don’t happen as they should. This is a common thread of POTS, EDS, and MCAS: three frustrating, complex, and often invisible conditions which are often called the ‘dysautonomia trifecta.’ Each condition alone can be life-altering, but together, they can feel impossible to navigate without proper support.
- POTS is a form of dysautonomia that can cause digestive issues, as well as symptoms like dizziness, rapid heartbeat, fatigue, brain fog, and heat/exercise intolerance.
- EDS – particularly the hypermobile type (hEDS) – is a connective tissue disorder that causes joint hypermobility, pain, and structural instability. It can affect everything from joints to the digestive system.
- MCAS occurs when mast cells release chemicals like histamine inappropriately. In the gut, excess histamine can cause bloating, diarrhea, nausea, reflux, and abdominal pain. More broadly, this inflammatory response can lead to multi-system symptoms like rashes, flushing, brain fog, and more.
Dysautonomia is an imbalance of the nervous system which can have downstream effects on heart rate and blood pressure. Our bodies are programmed to automatically handle certain tasks, like digesting our food or helping us avoid getting dizzy when we stand. In dysautonomia, those automatic features don’t happen as they should. This is a common thread of POTS, EDS, and MCAS: three frustrating, complex, and often invisible conditions which are often called the ‘dysautonomia trifecta.’ Each condition alone can be life-altering, but together, they can feel impossible to navigate without proper support.
- POTS is a form of dysautonomia that can cause digestive issues, as well as symptoms like dizziness, rapid heartbeat, fatigue, brain fog, and heat/exercise intolerance.
- EDS – particularly the hypermobile type (hEDS) – is a connective tissue disorder that causes joint hypermobility, pain, and structural instability. It can affect everything from joints to the digestive system.
- MCAS occurs when mast cells release chemicals like histamine inappropriately. In the gut, excess histamine can cause bloating, diarrhea, nausea, reflux, and abdominal pain. More broadly, this inflammatory response can lead to multi-system symptoms like rashes, flushing, brain fog, and more.
How They Give Rise to One Another
MCAS can dilate blood vessels and make the vessels and the body’s connective tissues more flimsy, which mimics or worsens EDS features. When blood vessels are dilated and less sturdy, veins bring less blood back to the heart, leaving blood to pool in our legs, pelvis, and abdomen. This can fluctuate blood pressure and lead our heart to beat faster, which causes palpitations and over-activates our sympathetic nervous system. This triggers or amplifies the symptoms of POTS, which in turn, can have downstream effects on the neurologic and immune systems, ultimately leading to MCAS.
Together, these conditions can create a tangled web of symptoms – chronic fatigue, pain, dizziness, nausea, temperature sensitivity, and more – that require a full-body, integrated approach.
MCAS can dilate blood vessels and make the vessels and the body’s connective tissues more flimsy, which mimics or worsens EDS features. When blood vessels are dilated and less sturdy, veins bring less blood back to the heart, leaving blood to pool in our legs, pelvis, and abdomen. This can fluctuate blood pressure and lead our heart to beat faster, which causes palpitations and over-activates our sympathetic nervous system. This triggers or amplifies the symptoms of POTS, which in turn, can have downstream effects on the neurologic and immune systems, ultimately leading to MCAS.
Together, these conditions can create a tangled web of symptoms – chronic fatigue, pain, dizziness, nausea, temperature sensitivity, and more – that require a full-body, integrated approach.
Piecing Together Your Story
Our team will carefully process your symptoms to understand how these conditions may affect your life and overall health. We use an intimate knowledge of pathophysiology and strategies such as hydration, compression, movement, diet, and medications to help you regain control over your health. In addition to targeting the root of your digestive symptoms, we will address related issues such as chronic pain, fatigue, and nausea.
For EDS, in particular, we recognize there is incredible nuance in the care of this group of conditions. We can help with associated vascular compression disorders and pelvic congestion syndromes. If you would benefit from a hands-on intervention like physical therapy or a surgical consult for another related condition – for example, median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) or craniocervical instability (CCI) – we will gladly help coordinate with local providers or connect you with our trusted network of therapists and specialists in your area.
