What would you do if Princess Leia suddenly went pale and passed out right in front of your eyes? Well, Crystal Caldwell’s mother had that experience years ago while taking her daughter to a Star Wars-themed birthday party. All of a sudden, Princess Leia was down for the count, and nobody knew what caused her to faint, or why she continued to faint throughout her childhood.
It would be more than a decade before Caldwell was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, an autosomal disorder that falls under the dysautonomia umbrella.
It usually affects people when they stand up and, most commonly, they suffer a sudden drop in blood pressure. Patients become light-headed, dizzy, and sometimes they will faint. Other symptoms include headache, heart palpitations, nausea, and fatigue.
Caldwell would like to raise awareness about POTS because she said many doctors didn’t believe her when she told them something was wrong.
Between one and three million Americans have POTS, and that number whittles down to one in 100 teenagers, and yet the healthcare world seems to know very little about it. Naturally, this is a source of frustration to people who are in search of treatment. Currently, there is no cure for POTS, but for some, a change in diet has been an effective way of treating symptoms.
