JojoR

19 hours ago, vepa said:

I was quasi-vegan for about ten years (I ate eggs and cheese, but no other dairy and no meat). I definitely noticed that my dysautonomia symptoms got better when I added fish and dairy to my diet. 

My theory is that veganism does not cause dysautonomia, but if you already have it, a strict diet like that can make it worse. Being vegan is rough on the body. It's very hard to get all of the nutrients you need naturally, and your body does not absorb those nutrients as efficiently when it comes from a supplement. 

This makes sense, thank you! I just don't want to think that this could have been prevented and its somehow my or my parents' fault. 

 

4 hours ago, MomtoGiuliana said:

I have never heard about any link to veganism.  I am a vegetarian. 

However, some of us do best with a higher protein and lower glycemic index diet.  Maybe on a vegan diet you were eating less protein and more carbs?  Just a thought.

I think in general the typical American diet can be low on nutrients.  Including animal products may or may to result in a more nutrient-rich diet.  However I do know of kids who are vegetarian who eat a lot of pasta and really do not get enough protein probably, or other nutrients.  It is definitely more work to be vegan and make sure you are getting a balanced diet. 

I was raised on a pretty natural diet. No processed foods or artificial ingredients or added sugars. A lot of fruits and veggies and nuts and seeds and beans. My family even grew a lot of our own veggies via a community garden and made our own homemade almond milk. I'd say the most carb-heavy thing we ate would be rice. We didn't really eat a lot of pasta or bread. It felt very healthy growing up but as an adult who eats dairy and meat I feel as though I wasn't getting everything I needed. 

I am curious if anyone knows anything about vegan diets and POTS. I was raised in a super hippie family. We were raised vegan and my parents didn't put much stock in traditional medicine. I'm a little surprised I ever even got vaccinated, tbh. I'm glad I did though!

I started developing POTS symptoms at around 13 years old. My sister had similar symptoms. My parents never took it seriously. My symptoms got increasingly worse as I got older until at the age of 19 I took action for myself and saw a doctor. I was diagnosed with POTS and my doctor said that there was a good chance my diet was exacerbating my symptoms. I was taking vitamin supplements and my blood work did not come out with any deficiencies but I slowly started to incorporate dairy, eggs, and eventually even white meat into my diet anyway. Sure enough, my POTS symptoms improved greatly. They never fully went away but I function way better than I used to. I tried to transition back into veganism at one point and quickly felt my symptoms spiraling. My sister followed my lead and quit her vegan diet and she also improved drastically. So it seems like a pretty solid connection from our perspectives. 

I've been going over this in my head a lot lately and wondering about it. I've researched a bit but found almost nothing connecting vegan diets to POTS. Yet, the difference in my symptoms was striking. I just keep wondering if maybe I did this to myself/my parents did this to me by raising me on a vegan diet.