Could There Be Something In The Water?

[Chrissy]

What are the chances that both my parents and I have some form of dysautonomia? I know dysautonomia can be hereditary, but what are the chances I got sick first and have the worst case. Plus no one else on either side of the family has anything remotely close to dysautonomia symptoms. I got sick 6 years ago at 17 years old, my mom got diagnosed with mitral valve regurgitation 2 years ago, then last october my dad was diagnosed with neurocardiogenic syncope. Now we've been told that we were an extremely close family, but what would have caused all of us to get sick at the same time. Something in the environment(not sure what that would be), stress? I just don't get why I got this first and had such a rapid progression of symptoms. Has anyone had anything similar happen? What environmental causes are associated with dysautonomia?

[Lovebug]

I can somewhat relate...about 10 of us that worked at the same state facility have gotten sick with similar symptoms. Mostly autoimmune illnesses. I am convinced that there was a common exposure. Ironically, I'm in south Louisiana also.

[Birdlady]

wow that is really interesting and actually quite scary (both of your cases). I'm not exactly sure what could be the problem, but I agree it seems like too much of a coincidence. I'd think about looking if there's mold, heavy metals or any other type of chemicals in the house. Have you ever had your water tested? What kind of work did your family do? Is it possible they brought the toxins home?

[sue1234]

**WAVING OVER HERE** Another person from south Louisiana here! What about mold exposure? I've wondered about that, but there are enough people from the north(or in Europe) that aren't where it is hot and humid. But, maybe in some of our cases? I know one member around here had mold in her house and they had it removed. I believe she said she felt better in some ways, but the POTS did not go away.

[Godsgal]

I got VERY sick and extreme autonomic symptoms when living in a house that we tested and confirmed had toxic mold. It totally set me off and I haven't been the same since. I know a lot about mold so if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[sue1234]

Well, Godsgal, I'd like to hear about how it started(symptom-wise) before discovering the mold, and what has improved since being out of that situation. I know nothing about mold exposure except the part about respiratory problems.

[Sarah4444]

I have wondered about this too, as my parents have some similar symptoms to mine. Some things, like joint pain that runs in the family, can be explained by the hereditary connective tissue disorder. Dr. Francomano's theory about how autoimmune illnesses seem far more common in people with HDCTs, perhaps because of leaky maternal/fetal barriers in pregnancy seems to suggest a mechanism by which autoimmune antibodies could also be passed from mother to child.

However, I wonder if something like getting a particular strain of a virus could explain clusters of illness?

[issie]

AND........ it could be something in the water. They just did a story on the news about there being too high Chromium (not like what's in your vitamin) in almost all the water. It's the substance that Erin Brocknavich movie was made about. Almost all city water is above acceptable limits. I live in Phoenix, AZ and the test showed really high here. Who knows what we are doing to ourselves and what we are ingesting. They suggested filters and RO. But then you have to add back minerals because distilled and RO could take away too many of the minerals and then you will be deficient in them. The bottled waters are just as bad, so that's not an option. Interesting about this family connection thing - everyone in my family has issues too - by the way I'm from the south too - Alabama. I grew up around paper mills and toxic chemicals spewing things into the air - played in the misquotio spray etc. etc. Why didn't they figure out how toxic these things would be and stop putting them into the air? We will pay........and we do........Scarry for the generations upcoming.

[Godsgal]

I think I had POTS since after my first pregnancy but it didn't cause me enough problems to even think twice about it. I would exercise and felt great oblivious to signs that I now see was an extremely mild form of POTS. I then moved to the house with the mold at the very end of September 2010 and that's where it all changed for me. I could smell the mold and there was evidence of water damage. My kids started getting sick, runny noses, ear infections, irritability that was not recognizable in my 3 year old. My husband was hospitalized for a sinus infection. I started feeling like I was gonna pass out at the end of doing lots of errands. I was getting hot flashes, night sweats, peeing 15-20 times a night even after avoiding fluids, crazy depression which is very unlike me, burning in my chest, dizziness, headaches. My lungs would burn. I felt like when I was out of the mold it would get better. In the middle of December 2010, on the first day of moving into my new place, I collapsed and couldn't get off the ground for an hour. I figured it was weakness, dehydration, from moving and nursing a baby. The second day I was shopping at Target and I collapsed with slurred speech, dystonia, twitching, and spent 5 days in the hospital. I haven't been the same since. I was bedridden for a while. Now I can't go out in public without my wheelchair. I can't stand in one place for too long. I think I always had it but my really healthy diet and lifestyle kept it at bay. When I moved into the house with mold, my body couldn't fight anymore.

[iheartcats]

My POTS really showed up after a virus, but we also had mold at our last residence. I wasn't really aware of how bad it was, but we knew we had to move because it was not helping.

I've said this before, but my cat had bad asthma symptoms in the moldy place and they are 90% cleared up with him after being out of there for more than a year.

I assume some people are more sensitive than others and mold can exacerbate things. You can have mold in a colder climate, too. Just takes moisture of some sort, I think.

[ItsMe]

What are the chances that both my parents and I have some form of dysautonomia? I know dysautonomia can be hereditary, but what are the chances I got sick first and have the worst case. Plus no one else on either side of the family has anything remotely close to dysautonomia symptoms. I got sick 6 years ago at 17 years old, my mom got diagnosed with mitral valve regurgitation 2 years ago, then last october my dad was diagnosed with neurocardiogenic syncope. Now we've been told that we were an extremely close family, but what would have caused all of us to get sick at the same time. Something in the environment(not sure what that would be), stress? I just don't get why I got this first and had such a rapid progression of symptoms. Has anyone had anything similar happen? What environmental causes are associated with dysautonomia?

Yes, it is something in the water, the food, the sky, everything...

We are living in a very toxic world that's for sure.

What they put in our water supply is just absurd and should not be legal! You should research all the toxins in your water supply, including fluoride.

You can get a water report if you request it from your local water provider to see the amounts of toxins that is in your water.

Also all the toxic chemicals they put in everything you buy to eat... it's SOOO hard to avoid these detrimental toxins.

With POTS we're extremely sensitive to toxins so we have to do what we can to avoid them, it's just so frustrating and near impossible.

Stress is definitely detrimental to POTS as well but in this day and age especially if you live with POTS and have basically had your life stripped from you, you can't avoid stress.

I will say since water is SO vital especially for POTS be sure you are drinking PURE CLEAN Water. If you can find a good trustworthy source of spring water that's a great option!

OR you could get distilled water since you know it's stripped of all toxins but be sure if you do this that you take vitamins and minerals because it's stripped of these as well.

[sue1234]

Could it be something in the water, you say??? We just never know!:

“ Arsenic exposure plays a key role in the pathogenesis of vascular endothelial dysfunction as it inactivates endothelial nitric oxide synthase, leading to reduction in the generation and bioavailability of nitric oxide. In addition, the chronic arsenic exposure induces high oxidative stress, which may affect the structure and function of cardiovascular system. Further, the arsenic exposure has been noted to induce atherosclerosis by increasing the platelet aggregation and reducing fibrinolysis. Moreover, arsenic exposure may cause arrhythmia by increasing the QT interval and accelerating the cellular calcium overload. The chronic exposure to arsenic upregulates the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule and vascular endothelial growth factor to induce cardiovascular pathogenesis. ”

—Pitchai Balakumar1 and Jagdeep Kaur, "Arsenic Exposure and Cardiovascular Disorders: An Overview", Cardiovascular Toxicology, December 2009[5]

So you just never know! My neuro did a toxic element panel this past summer, and thankfully it said I had normal levels. I was reading up on something this morning that mentioned cyanide, and I thought of my B-12 injection that I've been taking for 10 years. Anyway, cyanide led to arsenic, and then I read this how it interferes with the endothelial nitric oxide.

[houswoea]

From Minnesota, but got my POTS in Africa.... well, that's what they say anyways.

I don't know if that helps or hinders the theory.

[issie]

Could it be something in the water, you say??? We just never know!:

“ Arsenic exposure plays a key role in the pathogenesis of vascular endothelial dysfunction as it inactivates endothelial nitric oxide synthase, leading to reduction in the generation and bioavailability of nitric oxide. In addition, the chronic arsenic exposure induces high oxidative stress, which may affect the structure and function of cardiovascular system. Further, the arsenic exposure has been noted to induce atherosclerosis by increasing the platelet aggregation and reducing fibrinolysis. Moreover, arsenic exposure may cause arrhythmia by increasing the QT interval and accelerating the cellular calcium overload. The chronic exposure to arsenic upregulates the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule and vascular endothelial growth factor to induce cardiovascular pathogenesis. ”

—Pitchai Balakumar1 and Jagdeep Kaur, "Arsenic Exposure and Cardiovascular Disorders: An Overview", Cardiovascular Toxicology, December 2009

Interesting - I was checked high for arsenic one time a few years ago. And NO, my hubby wasn't trying to kill me. We never figured out where it came from. We had well water at the time and wonder if that was it. I lowered it by using cilantro in and on everything. It lowered it right down within a months time.