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~♥~ADDYSON~♥~ · 05-03-2008, 09:12 PM

Hi Everyone~

This is my first post here. I'm so glad to have stumbled upon this site! I'm 39 years old and I have a multitude of issues going on right now. Things are quite difficult to handle to say the least. My story is so crazy that many doctors have a hard time believing me! My friends call me 'Murphy'!

I was diagnosed with RSD in 1999 after a major car accident in which I fractured my left upper arm and injured my left brachial plexus (this is a major nerve branch that runs from the neck (C-Spine) through the shoulder and down the entire arm). I was blessed to find an awesome pain management doctor for this back in '99. I had several stellate ganglion blocks and also radio frequency lesioning. I was then put on Topamax and that has really helped with my pain from that injury.

In 2002, I got Salmonella poisoning with subsequent Reiter's Syndrome (or reactive arthritis) afterwards. I am still dealing with the terrible symptoms of that terrible illness to this day.

But what ultimately lead me to this website is that I was just recently diagnosed with Dysautonomia with Reflex Syncope. Last year after some significant oral surgery, I developed Pericarditis. After the acute phase of this illness I continued to have shortness of breath, chest pain, rapid pulse and low blood pressure when standing and even passing out if I would stand too long. At that time my PCP sent me to a cardiologist who in turn scheduled me for a ton of tests. I was eventually sent to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville -- one of the leading research facilities in the country for this disease. I am currently under their care for this illness. They are awesome!

Since August of last year I have passed out approximately 30 times. When I stand, sometimes only for a few seconds, I get very dizzy, my pulse rate goes up very high, my blood pressure drops very low and I lose consciousness. I have been in the hospital multiple times for this.

I have a lot of other symptoms that go along with this illness and I am interested in talking to others who might suffer from this or a similar disease. The last time I was in the hospital, a neurologist was asked to consult on my case and he mentioned that he thought I might possibly have Shy-Drager Syndrome. I did not know much about it, I was on a lot of meds at the hospital, and he didn't go into a lot of details. But when I got home and started researching it, I was really taken aback! The prognosis for this is really bad. So now I am left really wondering about my future.

I look forward to talking to others. Sorry to get so long.