"As with any abnormal clinical state, if we can identify and treat the underlying cause, we are much more likely to significantly improve the patient’s health and well being than if we just use “band aid” treatments, such as beta blockers or Florinef. For example, if there is severe anemia, most physicians would try to determine if the patient has a bleeding ulcer, leukemia or other cause rather than just giving blood transfusions. Dysautonomia is like anemia - it is an abnormal clinical state and an underlying condition has to be driving that abnormal clinical state. I believe we should work to improve awareness of this concept in the medical community and work to characterize the underlying causes and their incidences in patients with dysautonomia." ~Dr. Jill Schofield
Possible POTS Comorbidities
Here is a list of some common underlying causes for POTS.
- Adrenal deficiency - Addison's disease, adrenal fatigue
- Anemia, deficiency in folic acid
- Antiphospholipid Syndrome (Hughes Syndrome)
- Cervical stenosis
- Chagas syndrome
- Chiari malformation
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
- Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis
- Delta Storage Pool Deficiency
- Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
- Epstein Barr
- Guillain-Barre
- Lipodystrophy
- Lupus
- Lyme
- Mast Cell Activation Disorders
- Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome
- Mitochondrial Diseases
- Nitric Oxide Deficiency
- Norepinephrine Transporter Deficiency
- Nutcracker Syndrome
- Porphyrias
- Sarcoidosis
- Sjogren’s Syndrome
- Syringomyelia
- Thyroid Disease
- Toxicity
- Tumors – pheochromocytoma, neuroblastoma, pelvic ganglioneuroma
- Physical Trauma, Surgery, Pregnancy
- Vitamin Deficiencies – B1, B3, B6, B9 and B12