Therapy for Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) in Malaysia

What is PoTS?

• Postural          position of the body
• Tachycardia   increased heart rate
• Syndrome     a combination of symptoms

Postural tachycardia syndrome is an abnormality of the functioning of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system. To be diagnosed with PoTS, an individual must experience a group of symptoms in the upright position (usually standing) that are relieved by lying down. A persistent increase in heart rate of 30 beats per minute (40 bpm if under 19 years of age) should be recorded within ten minutes of standing. Blood pressure (BP) does not always drop in PoTS.

Patients can be very disabled by their symptoms.  Fortunately, for many patients, symptoms will improve with a combination of life style changes and medication.  However some will have problems over many years.

Many health care professionals do not know that PoTS exists and so may not think of the diagnosis.  If you think you may have this condition, it may help to take a printout of information from this website to your appointment.

The Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) is an abnormality of the autonomic nervous system (sometimes called ‘dysautonomia’). The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is in charge of all bodily functions that we don’t have to think about, such as:

• Heart rate and blood pressure regulation
• Digestion
• Bladder control
• Sweating
• Stress response

The sympathetic nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system. It produces the ‘fight or flight’ or ‘stress’ response. When activated, a chemical called norepinephrine is released. Amongst other things, this causes an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.

Treatment for PoTs  in Malaysia?
The Autonomic Nervous System has two branches, the Sympathetic and the Parasympathetic, which regulate the involuntary processes of the body, the viscera, and sense organs, glands and blood vessels. In evolutionary terms it is older than the CNS and its anatomical circuitry is broadly dispersed, creating a general response, quite unlike the highly specific pathways and response of the CNS. This generalised, widely distributed structure enables it to mediate overall changes in state; it is part of the limbic system which has also been known as the mammalian or emotional brain.

When a person looks at the world, he or she is confronted with an overwhelming amount of sensory information—sights, sounds, smells, and so on. After being processed in the brain's sensory areas, the information is relayed to the amygdala, which acts as a portal to the emotion-regulating limbic system. Using input from the individual's stored knowledge, the amygdala determines how the person should respond emotionally—for example, with fear (at the sight of a burglar), lust (on seeing a lover) or indifference (when facing something trivial). Messages cascade from the amygdala to the rest of the limbic system and eventually reach the autonomic nervous system, which prepares the body for action. If the person is confronting a burglar, for example, his heart rate will rise and his body will sweat to dissipate the heat from muscular exertion. The autonomic arousal, in turn, feeds back into the brain, amplifying the emotional response. Over time, the amygdala creates a salience landscape, a map that details the emotional significance of everything in the individual's environment.

Recent brain research indicates that it is possible to talk to the amygdala, a key part of the brain that deals with certain emotions. The inner mind is concerned with emotion, imagination and memory as well as the autonomic nervous system which automatically controls our internal organs. By talking to the amygdala, an experienced clinical hypnotherapist can relax the autonomic nervous system shutting down, or curtailing the trigger that sets off secretion of the adrenal and pituitary glands. This gives the body an opportunity to rebuild its immune system in many chronic illnesses. 
By using the technique of neuro-hypnotherapy Malaysia, we can peek into the brain region which associated with the regulation of amygdala now. It is safe, painless, non-invasive and no side effect.

"The mind is like an onion. The outer layer, or conscious mind, deals with intelligence, reality, and logic. The inner mind is concerned with emotion, imagination, and memory, as well as the autonomic nervous system which automatically controls our internal organs (i.e., how we breathe, send oxygen to our blood cells, or walk without using the conscious mind.) The internal mind is on autopilot, reacting to the dictates of the pleasure principle. It seeks pleasure and avoids pain" (Warren, 2003, pp. 175-6).

It is these characteristics that make hypnosis a highly effective therapeutic tool in dealing with a wide spectrum of mental and physical disorders. When a clinical hypnotherapist is doing hypnosis, the amygdala is turned down. The clinical hypnotherapist can actually relax the autonomic nervous system, shutting down the usual "fight, flight, or freeze" response and curtailing the trigger that sets off secretion of the pituitary and adrenal glands. This gives the body a chance to build up its immune system and reduce trauma (Frank and Mooney, 2002) in many chronic illnesses (i.e., irritable syndrome, bulimia, cancer, high blood pressure, and Parkinson's disease.) Even the Wall Street Journal (Friedman, 2003) has documented how hypnosis has entered the mainstream and is using trance states for fractures, cancer, and burns and speeding recovery time.

Source：
http://www.thinkbody.co.uk/papers/autonomic-nervous-system.htm
http://mybrainnotes.com/memory-brain-stress.html
http://www.hypnosisnetwork.com/articles/talking-to-the-amygdala-expanding-the-science-of-hypnosis
http://www.potsuk.org/what_is_pots2

Therapy for Autonomic Dysfunction | dysautonomia in Malaysia

Overview
Your autonomic nervous system is made up of nerves that control those “automatic” things you need to do to survive. A few of those necessary things include blood pressure, heart rate, sweating, and digestion of your food. Autonomic dysfunction or dysautonomia refers to problems with this autonomic nervous system.

What Is Autonomic Dysfunction?

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls several basic bodily functions. These include heart rate, body temperature, breathing rate, digestion, and many other systems as well. You don’t have to consciously think about these systems in order for them to work. The ANS provides the connection between your brain and your internal organs. For instance, it connects to the heart, liver, sweat glands, and even the interior muscles of your eye.

The ANS is made up of two subsystems: the sympathetic autonomic nervous system (SANS) and the parasympathetic autonomic nervous system (PANS). Most organs have nerves from both the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

The SANS usually stimulates organs. For instance, it increases heart rate and blood pressure when necessary. The PANS, on the other hand usually slows down bodily processes. For example, it reduces heart rate and blood pressure. There are certainly exceptions. Digestion and urination, for instance are stimulated by the PANS and slowed by the SANS.

The general responsibility of the SANS is to trigger emergency responses when required. These “fight or flight” responses get you ready to respond to stressful situations. The PANS, on the other hand, conserves your energy and restores tissues for ordinary functions.

Problems with the ANS can range from mild to life threatening. Sometimes only one part of the nervous system is affected. In other cases, the entire ANS is affected. Some conditions are temporary and can be reversed, while others are chronic and will continue to worsen over time. Diseases such as diabetes or Parkinson’s disease can cause irregularities with the ANS. Problems with ANS regulation often involve organ failure, or the failure of the nerves to transmit a necessary signal.

Symptoms of Autonomic Dysfunction

Effects of autonomic dysfunction can include just a small part of the ANS, or the entire ANS. Some symptoms that may indicate the presence of an autonomic nerve disorder include:

• dizziness and fainting upon standing up (orthostatic hypotension)
• inability to alter heart rate with exercise (exercise intolerance)
• sweating abnormalities, which could alternately be too much sweat or insufficient sweat
• digestion difficulties due to slow digestion. Resulting symptoms could include loss of appetite, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, and difficulty swallowing.
• urinary problems. These can include difficulty starting urination, incontinence, and incomplete emptying of the bladder
• sexual problems. In men, this could be difficulty with ejaculation and/or maintaining an erection. In women, this could be vaginal dryness and/or difficulty with orgasm
• vision problems. This could be blurry vision, or the failure of the pupils to react quickly enough to changes in light.

Any or all of these symptoms may be present, and effects may be mild to severe.

Orthostatic hypotension or orthostatic intolerance (a milder form of orthostatic hypotension) are two of the most common conditions resulting from ANS disorders. Orthostatic intolerance, which results in low blood pressure on standing, causes alarming symptoms. These include lightheadedness, fainting, and heart palpitations.

Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms, such as tremor and muscle weakness, may also result from certain forms of autonomic dysfunction.

Causes of dysautonomia include:

• Heavy metal poisoning (You can do the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis in our centre to detect the heavy metal poisoning)
• Autoimmune disorders including Sjögren's syndrome, lupus, sarcoidosis, Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis
• Parkinson's disease (in advanced parkinsonism or early in multiple system atrophy)
• HIV and AIDS
• Hereditary disorders including familial dysautonomia and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
• Chronic alcohol misuse
• Some bacterial infections: (Lyme disease, tuberculosis, and Helicobacter pylori)
• Spinal cord injury
• Surgery or injury involving the nerves
• Physical trauma or injury
• Closed brain injury caused by asphyxiation, poisoning or encephalitis
• Pure autonomic failure 
• Amyloidosis 
• Botulism
• Diabetes mellitus 
• Multiple sclerosis

Sympathetic nervous system-predominant dysautonomia is common in fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and interstitial cystitis, raising the possibility that such dysautonomia could be their common clustering underlying pathogenesis.

Therapy for Autonomic Dysfunction | dysautonomia in Malaysia

1. Neuro-hypnotherapy 
Talking to the Amygdala: Expanding the Science of Psychological Hypnosis.

Recent brain research indicates that it is possible to talk to the amygdala, a key part of the brain that deals with certain emotions. The inner mind is concerned with emotion, imagination and memory as well as the autonomic nervous system which automatically controls our internal organs. By talking to the amygdala, an experienced clinical hypnotherapist can relax the autonomic nervous system shutting down, or curtailing the trigger that sets off secretion of the adrenal and pituitary glands. This gives the body an opportunity to rebuild its immune system in many chronic illnesses.

When a patient is in a hypnotic trance the amygdala automatically shuts down the rapid alert system and turns off the stress hormones epinephrine, cortocotropin, and glucocorticoids. The technique of relaxation through hypnosis has proven a highly effective tool in giving the body a chance to heal itself through its own inherent wisdom system. This is the part of the mind that knows how to make you breathe and send oxygen to your blood cells.

2. Biofeedback

The autonomic nervous system has two divisions which are the sympathetic and the parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system gets you up, gets you ready and gets you going, and regulates the flight/fight response. It gets you on the freeway, keeps you thinking about going to the doctor's office, or what kind of presentation you are going to make. The parasympathetic nervous system calms and relaxes you (when you lie down, take your break, go to sleep etc.), and manages body functions like digestion. The two work in tandem with each other in a reciprocal relationship. It was Canon and Selye, researchers in the body response to stress, who increased general awareness of the role of stress in physical diseases and mental disorders. Many of these manifested in disregulations of autonomic response.

Biofeedback is based on a principle known as “operant conditioning,” specifically positive reinforcement. Research has shown positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior and when a behavior is reinforced repeatedly and consistently over time, the behavior can be learned and retained. This is why the biofeedback treatment gains typically endure even after treatment ends. Biofeedback is frequently used to treat stress-related conditions, including high blood pressure, eating disorders, some anxiety disorders and certain types of headaches. It’s also used to help people learn how to relax more deeply. It’s most often performed by physicians, physiologists, kinesiologists (movement specialist) and psychologists, but it may also be done by other health-care workers

Contact me for more information regarding the Autonomic Dysfunction Analysis and Assessment in Malaysia.

Source:

http://www.hypnosisnetwork.com/articles/talking-to-the-amygdala-expanding-the-science-of-hypnosis#sthash.DYid9Ksv.dpuf

http://www.cbtinthecity.com/CBTblog/fibromyalgia-treatments-biofeedback-hypnotherapy-and-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-as-fibromyalgia-treatments/

http://www.healthline.com/health/autonomic-dysfunction#Overview1

http://www.christopherfisherphd.com/psychological-services/biofeedback/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysautonomia#Signs_and_symptoms

自律神经失调成因？

何謂自律神經失調

自律神經失調是用來形容一群難以用生理的原因去解釋的身體症狀。在精神科裡面，它與下列診斷相關：身體化疾患、未分化型身體疾患、疼痛疾患、恐慌症、廣泛性焦慮症、轉化症、解離症、慮病症、強迫症、心理因素影響或造成的醫學狀況、戲劇性人格、強迫性人格等。典型的症狀包括：頭痛、頭暈、胸悶、心悸、腸胃道不適、呼吸急促、冒汗、手腳發抖、肩頸肌肉酸緊、耳鳴、手腳發麻。症狀各式各樣，但這些診斷的共同特點是個案患有一些很困擾的非特異性身體的症狀，不斷地去做檢查都找不出病因。但是找不出病因，並不代表沒有原因，而是這些症狀大都跟心理壓力有關。

甚至有些生理的疾病，現在都已被認為跟心理因素是密切相關的：包括高血壓、氣喘、胃潰瘍、異位性皮膚炎、發炎性腸炎、甲狀腺機能亢進、風濕性關節炎、腸躁症等。

自律神經失調的成因

生理會影響心理，當然心理也會影響生理。很多疾病的產生，除了先天體質跟環境的交互作用之外，心理其實扮演很大的角色。首先我們要先瞭解壓力反應。當我們遇到急性壓力時，我們的大腦的杏仁核會先偵測到危險的刺激，透過交感神經系統發射訊號給我們的腎上腺髓質系統，因此腎上腺就會分泌腎上腺素及正腎上腺素，讓我們的血壓上升、心跳加快、肌肉收縮、腸胃道蠕動變慢，產生打或跑的反應，以應付外來的壓力。這是生物體求生存的一種本能及保護的機制。但是，一旦大腦不斷地偵測到壓力，就會進入慢性壓力的模式。這時候，我們的腎上腺皮質就會接手，分泌體內壓力荷爾蒙，就是所謂類固醇。類固醇會降低免疫力。因此當我們壓力大時，比較容易感冒。另外壓力荷爾蒙會不斷告訴大腦，現在還是處在危險的狀態。因此大腦會通知身體儲存脂肪以備不時之需。難怪，長期在慢性壓力之下的人，常會有厚厚一層的腰圍脂肪。特別是內臟脂肪跟心血管疾病及糖尿病相關。另外，大腦長期在壓力荷爾蒙的作用下，神經細胞會受損。一旦大腦生病了，我們的自律神經系統就會失調，憂鬱、焦慮及身體其他的疾病就會隨之而來。自律神經系統分為交感神經及副交感神經，交感神經會讓我們處在亢奮的狀態，好讓我們應付壓力；副交感神經則讓我們處在放鬆的狀態，可以讓細胞休息獲得養分。這套神經系統不是我們意識可以控制的，但它主管我們的呼吸、心跳及腸胃道蠕動。因此自律神經失調，最常見的症狀都跟這幾個器官系統有關。

除了外在壓力之外，另一種叫做內在壓力。每個人都會有內在的心理衝突，我們會有憤怒及性的慾望，這些都來自本我（Id）。但是自我（Ego）常常必須壓抑這樣的慾望，因為我們內在的超我（Superego）常不允許這樣的慾望出來。壓抑成功的話，就不會有症狀，但是如果壓抑失敗的話，就會出現症狀。這叫做內在衝突，既想要滿足慾望，但是又害怕實現自己慾望，因此就卡住了。A型人格，事事要求完美的人，就常讓自己處在高度壓力的狀態以及高度壓抑的人格，比如說敢怒不敢言、忍氣吞聲的人，都比較會產生所謂的內在壓力。



资料来源：http://www.tahsda.org.tw/newsletters/?p=76