Being able to stand for no more than three minutes, lie in bed 23 hours a day and faint dozens of times a day: For most people, it sounds like a real nightmare, but for 28-year-old Lindy Johnson, it’s a reality. The American woman suffers from a severe form of the syndrome, which she describes herself as “gravity sensitivity.”
The number of times Lindsay Johnson stands per day can be counted on one hand: American women get out of bed only to shower and eat. Lindsey, who shares the course of her illness on social media, suffers from a severe form of “Positional Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome” (POTS). This is a condition in which the heart beats at an abnormal speed when moving from a lying to a standing position.
In the United States, approximately 500,000 people are said to have this syndrome. The average age at which POTS develops is 20 years. This disease is more common in women. Treatment is successful in about 90 percent of patients. The patient should then take in more salt and fluids, for example, wear compression stockings, follow exercise therapy and take medications. In extreme cases, as with Lyndsi, the patient is no longer able to perform daily activities.
Lindsay had her first complaint in 2015. At the time, she was experiencing severe pain in the lower abdomen and back. Symptoms continued to worsen. For example, after a while Lindsay vomited several times a day and fainted up to ten times. The lady had consulted many doctors over the years, but they had repeatedly convinced her that her fear of failure was the cause of her symptoms. Lindsey was diagnosed with POTS in February 2022. “I was so grateful to finally know what was wrong with me so that I could be treated.”
“allergic to gravity”
Lindsay describes her illness: “I’m allergic to gravity.” Although she is now taking medication, she still faints daily and can barely leave her house. So Lindsay relies heavily on her husband James (30). “I lie in bed all day, up to 23 hours a day, and he does everything for me.”
Twenty people were in the Navy in the past, but they had to give up this job. She can no longer drive a car. “I really had to adjust to this new lifestyle,” Lindsey says. “I used to be very active and now I have to lie down all day, but I’ve learned to accept that,” it seems.
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