POTS is a form of dysautonomia--a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system
Evan has this as well as "orthostatic instability" and I have adrenergic POTS + orthostatic instability + unspecified generalized autonomic dysfunction ( basically means "it aint working right but we arent sure why or how")
Dysautonomia generally has a genetic basis--a tendency or weakness--that is often time triggered by "stress"--that can be an infection, an injury etc ( physiological or medical stress, not simply aggravation)
Sometimes an illness can have similar symptoms but the tilt table is one of a few ways to tell if the sx are short lived coincidental to the illness or you truly have triggered the dysautonomia
the confusion is that the word "dysautonomia" can define the behavior--the inability of the body to control the autonomic system AND also the CONDITION of autonomic disfunction
just like " anorexia"--that can define a short lived bout of lost appetite OR the more serious psychological disorder of body dysmorphia
you can find out GOBS at a very reliable and valid info site
www.ndrf.org
be careful with specialists--many claim to have expertise but actually misunderstand it
like Lyme the treatment is often "managing sx" and is very individualized
dont let them tell you not fainting on a tilt table test means you cant have dysautonmia
the way the blood pressure and pulse changes--the patterns--those are the diagnostic features needed to be analyzed
You may have to rule out other serious illnesses, even if rare, since they can produce sx that mimic this condition--your wiki listed many; there are others a good specialist will know about
IF your drs are cooperative, here are the names of 3 places you can contact--the first 2 are very good at working to educate their peers/other drs and for working with long distance consults--you can look up their emails--when I was first dx we emailed them ALL for answers--they were very compassionate and offered which tests to take for other rule outs etc--we now see Dr Grubb every year ( my son and myself)
1. Vanderbilt University Medical Ctr
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/vumc. ... c&doc=4788
Drs Biaggioni and Robertson especially ( this dept combines neuro and cardio)
2.Dr Blair Grubb cardiologist( he is a bit less available since his own bout of kidney cancer and wife's brain tumor the past 2 yrs)
University Toledo (ohio) Medical Center
http://utmc.utoledo.edu/clinics/hvc/team.html click blair grubb
Beverly is his very capable NP
3. Mayo clinic Minn
Dr Philip Low- neurologist
http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/10190929.html
( be careful with this one--he is always looking for guinea pigs and often refuses pts that dont fit his current studies!!)
also, Dr Christopher J Matthias in the UK is respected
an excellent article to start is this describing the types of POTS etc
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/522421_3
good luck and if you need more info or help PM or email me
finrussak@aol.com
your last question about Lyme giving same symptoms??
Lyme disease and any other illness can have sx a lot like dysautonomias including POTS--one type--and it can trigger dysautonomia to then be a condition on its own
Dysautonomia by itself wont signify Lyme and not all with Lyme will have these sx
I guess like Diabetes---sometimes an infection can alter blood sugar and go away when infection improves
and you can also have bad blood sugar control by itself
you cant really say that Lyme causes diabetes but it MAY trigger a weakness or propensity already there
( at that point any infection may have triggered something about to happen)
good luck!!! I hope they are able to manage her condition
(also...make sure you and she become familiar with things she should avoid--caffeine, some meds,even OTC like benadryl--antyhing affecting the cholinergic/anticholinergic path actually-- etc --can all make this worse)