A woman who is 'allergic to gravity' has revealed that she spends 23 hours in bed, faints up to 10 times a day and can't stand up for more than three minutes without passing out. Watch her share her story below:
Lyndsi Johnson started suffering with abdominal and back pain in October 2015. Her symptoms gradually worsened and within a few years and she was projectile vomiting and fainting up to 10 times a day.
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After years of going back and forth to the doctors, in February 2022 the 28-year-old was diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), an abnormal increase in heart rate that occurs after sitting up or standing, which she refers to as an allergy to gravity.
Despite being on medication, the former navy aviation mechanic still faints three times a day and relies on her husband James, 30, to help her.
Lyndsi, from Bangor, Maine, said: "I’m allergic to gravity – it sounds crazy but it’s true. I can’t stand up for longer than three minutes without feeling faint, being sick or passing out.
"I feel much better if I'm laying down. I’m in bed all day – for up to 23 hours a day.
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"I never thought that at 28 that I would have to use a shower chair. I can’t leave my house anymore. There is no cure but I’m so grateful for James and what I do have."
Lyndsi explained that she first started getting unwell while she was working in the navy overseas. Her symptoms continued and she struggled with chronic pain but doctors couldn’t work out what was wrong.
In May 2018, she was medically discharged from the military due to her illnesses. Then six months later, she started getting severe abdominal pain and began projectile vomiting.
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However, doctors still couldn’t work out what was wrong, and Lyndsi continued battling her illness, and was even hospitalised several times.
She explained that in October 2020 things began to deteriorate after she passed out in a lift on her way to a hospital appointment.
From then on, she had to stop driving and struggled to even bend over without feeling light-headed.
“I’d throw up so much my heart would start having prolonged QT intervals and I’d be in hospital on cardiac monitoring,” she said.
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“I was finally able to speak to another cardiologist who recognised that I might have PoTS.”
Lyndsi had a tilt test in February 2022, which measures your heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygen, and was officially diagnosed with PoTS.
Despite being on betablockers, which has reduced her fainting to three times a day and helped with her nausea, she still has to sit with her legs crossed to stop her feeling sick and can only get up to eat or shower.
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"I still can’t really do anything," she said. "It’s really debilitating – I can’t do chores and James has to cook, clean and help me shower and wash myself.
"I’ve gone weeks without brushing my teeth because it just makes me feel awful. If I make a meal for James and I, then I’ll be in bed unable to anything for the next three days."
Lyndsi said she has ‘come to terms’ with her diagnosis and explained that mobility aids have greatly helped her quality of life.
She shared: "I’ve really had to adapt to this new life and come to terms with it. I use mobility aids and that really helps for me. I’m grateful for what I have and I’m still able to study music business which is amazing.
"The rug has been ripped from under my feet – I’ve gone [from] super active to having to lay down all day. I can't do a lot of what I used to be able to, but I've come to terms with that now."
Topics: Health
Lisa McLoughlin