Autonomic Nervous System Dysregulation
 

I have been struggling with chronic stress for 2-4 years already. But i've started to become aware since late year 2023. I've only started piecing them together recently after a few visits to some doctors.

(Late 2023)

• Went to a Dermatologist for my seborrheic dermatitis) - Caused by stress and was told to manage it better
  
• Went to an endocrinologist to test for thyroid related concerns. TH3 and TH4 came back normal

[*]Complete blood tests are fine no anemia and others
[*]Consulted several ENTs for reactive lymph nodes which had no cause which is still present today. Could be related to chronic inflammation but could be anything.

(Late 2024 - recently

• Went to consult two psychiatrists and said I had MDD w/ anxiety disorder. However the 2nd consult maybe respected the first psychiatrist's diagnosis after I did mention I had a previous consult. Was prescribed Vortioxetine 10mg daily which I haven't taken yet since I wanted to look into it a bit more. Started to recently think it may not be depression necessarily but ANS dysregulation. I read that anti-depressants does not resolve this dysregulation but help with anxiety/mood related matters.

My main symptoms:

• Constant stress even during "relaxing" activities
• Always feeling on edge (I feel like my eyes are always wide open)
• Tinnitus (Potentially vertigo depending how fatigued I feel)
• Cognitive difficulties
• Poor memory
• Irritability
• No dream recall (suggests possible poor quality REM sleep)
• Vision/attention issues
• Mental fatigue
• Task organization difficulties

What I think is happening:

• Your nervous system may be "stuck" in sympathetic dominance
• Not entering proper "rest and digest" (parasympathetic) state
• Poor sleep quality despite sleeping
• Possible adrenal fatigue from prolonged stress response
• Potential HPA axis dysfunction (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal)

What i'm here for is to ask for any advice regarding the matter. I've been stuck with chronic stress for a long time and i'm not sure how to get back to a relaxed state. Was planning to test for cortisol at different times in the day to confirm as well as do a DHEA-S test for adrenal function.