Dysautonomia Treatment
Clear, understanding support for nervous system symptoms that affect daily life.
Understanding Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders
Joint hypermobility means some or many of your joints move beyond the typical range.
On its own, this is common and often causes no problems. In fact, some may call it advantageous, especially when it comes to participating in some sports that require high levels of flexibility such as dancing, gymnastics and circus performances.
For some people, though, hypermobility comes with ongoing pain, fatigue, injuries, and symptoms across other body systems. When that happens, it may be diagnosed as a hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) or hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS).
Both involve differences in connective tissue, the material that gives structure and support to joints, skin, blood vessels and organs. This is why symptoms often show up well beyond the joints.
If you've been told you're "just flexible" while living with daily pain and exhaustion, your experience deserves to be taken seriously.
Symptoms of HSD and hEDS
Symptoms vary widely from person to person and can change over time. Not everyone experiences every symptom.
Common symptoms include:
Joint pain, often in multiple areas
Joints that partially or fully dislocate (subluxations or dislocations)
Frequent sprains, strains, or soft tissue injuries
Fatigue and low stamina
Reduced sense of joint position (clumsiness, bumping into things)
Muscle tension or spasm as muscles work to stabilise joints
Dizziness or light-headedness when upright
Digestive symptoms such as reflux, bloating, or irregular bowels
Soft or stretchy skin, easy bruising, or slow wound healing
Headaches, poor sleep, or brain fog
What is the difference between HSD and hEDS?
In 2017, an international group of experts updated how hypermobility-related conditions are classified.
Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) is diagnosed using a specific set of clinical criteria. These include generalised joint hypermobility, certain features in the skin and body, family history or musculoskeletal complications, and ruling out other conditions. Unlike most other types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, there is currently no genetic test for hEDS.
Hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) describes symptomatic hypermobility that doesn't meet the full hEDS criteria. HSD can affect many joints or only a few.
Importantly, HSD is not simply a "milder" version of hEDS. Both can be just as disabling, and care is guided by your symptoms rather than the label.
What causes hypermobility disorders?
HSD and hEDS are thought to involve inherited differences in how connective tissue is built, which is why they often run in families. The specific genes involved in hEDS have not yet been identified.
Symptoms can appear in childhood or later in life. Many people notice a shift after a particular event.
Common triggers or periods of change include:
Injury or surgery
Illness, including viral infections
Pregnancy, the postpartum period, or menopause
Periods of reduced activity or deconditioning
Prolonged stress
What causes and triggers autonomic nervous system dysfunction?
Dysautonomia, POTS, and orthostatic intolerance don’t have a single cause. Instead, they often develop through overlapping factors that affect autonomic dysfunction.
Understanding your personal triggers is an important step in managing symptoms safely. At Heal & Thrive, that's one of the ways I help to improve your quality of life.
Potential contributing factors that may trigger dysautonomia include:
Viral or post-infectious illness
Autoimmune conditions
Connective tissue disorders
Hormonal changes
Nervous system sensitisation
Immune system dysregulation
Reduced blood volume
Prolonged stress or trauma
Common triggers that can worsen symptoms include:
Prolonged standing
Heat or hot showers
Dehydration
Rapid position changes
Physical or mental overexertion
Illness or poor sleep
How dysautonomia is diagnosed
Diagnosis usually involves a combination of your clinical history, symptom patterns, and testing for specific symptoms. However, a diagnosis doesn’t always capture the full picture, which is why symptom patterns and day-to-day responses matter.
Your GP or specialist may use tools such as:
An active standing test
A tilt table test
Heart rate and blood pressure monitoring
Blood tests to exclude other causes
Severity and daily impact
Dysautonomia affects everybody differently.
Some people can manage symptoms with adjustments, while others experience significant limitations that affect work, study, social connection, and independence. No matter how it affects you, your experience is valid, regardless of how visible or invisible your symptoms appear.
Daily life may be impacted by:
Reduced stamina and energy levels
Difficulty standing, commuting, or shopping
Fear of symptom flares in public
Changes to identity and confidence
Mental health strain related to unpredictability
Overlap with ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and long COVID
Dysautonomia frequently overlaps with other chronic conditions, including:
These conditions share features such as fatigue, brain fog, exercise intolerance, pain, and autonomic nervous system sensitivity. Recognising overlap is important because it influences pacing, movement tolerance, and recovery strategies.
What is the prognosis for people with dysautonomia?
Dysautonomia is often a long-term condition, but symptoms can improve with the right support.
Progress to manage or improve symptoms doesn't follow a set of rules or timelines. Many people experience fluctuations, improvements, setbacks, and periods of stability. With education, pacing, and symptom-aware care, many people find ways to improve daily functioning and quality of life over time.
Treating dysautonomia
Medical management is an important foundation and usually begins with your GP or specialist. Most people benefit from a combination of medical and supportive approaches rather than a single solution.
Common medical strategies may include:
Increasing hydration
Increasing salt intake (when appropriate)
Compression garments to improve blood flow
Medications to support heart rate or blood pressure
Lifestyle and behavioural strategies often play an equally important role. At Heal & Thrive, we'll work on strategies such as:
Postural pacing
Avoiding aggravating physical activity
Heat management
Stress management
Want to learn more?
You can find out more about the sympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system, and autonomic disorders at:
How I approach your treatment plan
Symptom-aware pacing
I help you understand how posture, activity, stress, and daily demands affect your symptoms, so you can pace more confidently and reduce flare-ups.
Nervous system regulation
I use strategies that support autonomic function, vagus nerve signalling, and recovery, helping your body feel safer and more regulated
Movement without pushing
Movement, when used, is optional and carefully adapted. The goal is supporting circulation and confidence without triggering symptoms, not pushing performance.
Answering your autonomic dysfunction questions
-
Dysautonomia is the umbrella term for autonomic disorders that affect how the nervous system regulates things like heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature. Orthostatic intolerance describes difficulty tolerating upright posture, while POTS is a specific diagnosis defined by an excessive heart rate increase when standing.
In practice, many people experience features of all three. My role isn’t to force you into a neat label, but to help you understand how your symptoms behave and how to manage them in daily life.
-
POTS is not caused by anxiety; however, many people who have POTS may be mistakenly diagnosed with anxiety. It involves real changes in autonomic function, heart rate regulation, and blood flow.
That said, living with unpredictable symptoms can understandably affect mental health. Part of my work is helping you separate nervous-system-driven symptoms from emotional responses, so fear and uncertainty don’t amplify physical symptoms unnecessarily.
-
Diagnosis usually involves a combination of symptom history, posture-based testing (such as an active standing test or tilt table test), and ruling out other causes through blood tests.
Some people are told they 'don’t have POTS' because they didn’t meet strict criteria on one test, even though their lived experience clearly points to autonomic dysfunction. I work with your symptoms and patterns, not just test results.
-
Autonomic symptoms can fluctuate from day to day and may not always show up during testing. Many people experience orthostatic intolerance or dysautonomia without meeting formal POTS criteria. My approach focuses on helping you manage the symptoms you actually experience, regardless of whether a specific diagnosis is confirmed.
-
Standing, heat, and hot showers all increase the demand on your autonomic nervous system. Blood pools in the lower body, heart rate rises, and blood pressure regulation becomes harder.
Understanding these patterns allows us to plan pacing strategies, posture changes, and recovery supports that reduce symptom flares rather than pushing through them.
-
Exercise can help some people, but only when carefully adapted. For others, especially early on, exercise intolerance is a real and limiting symptom.
I don’t prescribe exercise programs or push graded exercise. Instead, I help you explore movement only when appropriate, using symptom feedback, pacing, and flexibility so you don’t worsen symptoms.
-
Yes. Dysautonomia commonly overlaps with ME/CFS and Long COVID, particularly when fatigue, post-exertional symptoms, and autonomic instability are present.
Recognising this overlap helps explain why standard rehabilitation approaches don’t always work and why pacing and nervous system support are so important.
-
Absolutely. Fluctuation is one of the defining features of autonomic conditions. Good days and bad days don’t mean you’re improving or regressing; they’re part of how the condition behaves. My role is to help you respond to these fluctuations without fear or overcorrection.
-
Some people experience long-term symptoms, while others improve significantly over time. While dysautonomia may not have a simple cure, symptoms can often be managed more effectively with the right support.
At Heal & Thrive, my focus is on improving daily functioning, predictability, and quality of life, even when symptoms are still present.
Support your nervous system with care and understanding
Living with dysautonomia, POTS, or orthostatic intolerance can feel isolating, especially when symptoms don’t follow clear rules. Whether you've been dealing with your symptoms for years or if they're brand new, you don’t have to navigate them alone.
If you’re looking for calm, informed, and realistic support that respects your body’s limits, book an initial consultation or a free 15-minute call to see whether Heal & Thrive is right for you.