Content

Vegetovascular dystonia (VSD) is a condition associated with changes in the functioning of the autonomic system, which manifests itself in the form of a complex of symptoms. Patients rarely understand the full danger of the disease, demanding from the doctor an accurate diagnosis, in their opinion. But the condition requires careful diagnosis, and treatment for vegetative-vascular dystonia should be selected taking into account many health indicators. What is important to pay attention to for effective treatment of dystonia?

What is VSD?

Vegetovascular dystonia, or, as it is also called, neurocirculatory dystonia, is a pathology that is perceived as another disease. Vegetative-vascular dystonia can occur with symptoms of a gynecological, neurological, or any other disease. Thanks to the work of the autonomic system, the body is able to adapt to environmental changes.

As a result of vegetative-vascular dystonia, an imbalance of the autonomic system occurs, which leads to changes in the functioning of one or another organ. The causes of the disease are considered to be heredity, constitutional features, frequent stress, environmental features, and family environment. People of all ages are prone to pathology.

Signs and symptoms of VSD

A disease with vegetative-vascular syndrome can occur in different types, based on which area is affected. Thus, there are forms with syndromes affecting the central nervous system (dizziness, nausea, headaches), the cardiovascular system (shortness of breath, pain in the heart), and the digestive system (manifests in the form of epigastric pain, nausea, diarrhea or vomiting).

Often with vegetative-vascular dystonia, the patient experiences:

• Neuromuscular syndrome - weakness, rolling of the eyes, lack of coordination, numbness of the fingers.
• Mental syndrome – depression, decreased performance, aggression.
• Cognitive syndrome – memory loss, inability to concentrate.
• Vascular syndrome - poor circulation, cold extremities, weakness, convulsions.

The condition of vegetative-vascular dystonia itself occurs either hypotonic or hypertonic, that is, with a decrease or increase in blood pressure. Also likely mixed type course of the disease. Children have their own characteristics of the condition. Let us consider the signs of each variant of the development of the disease separately.

Dystonia in children

What complicates the diagnosis of vegetative-vascular dystonia is that the child’s pulse rate is much higher than that of an adult. For this reason, this indicator should not be used as a sign of pathology.

When the disease occurs, the skin of children becomes a different color, a rash, dryness, and swelling appear. Changes in the functioning of the endocrine organs are especially indicative: in boys, puberty is delayed, but in girls, on the contrary, it accelerates.

Body temperature changes with vegetative-vascular dystonia for no particular reason, which is not accompanied by a runny nose or other respiratory symptoms. Children experience drowsiness, panic for no reason, or constant anxiety. When the heart is damaged, a change in the nature of breathing is observed: it either becomes too frequent or slows down. Often, with vegetative-vascular syndrome, shortness of breath appears.

Such children suffer from decreased appetite, they are bothered by nausea, sometimes vomiting, and diarrhea. By the age of 12-15, all this leads to gastritis or duodenitis.

Against the background of VSD, other diseases may develop. These are heart defects, arrhythmia, pathologies of the heart muscle, Itsenko-Cushing syndrome. If such deviations exist, a thorough examination is required to determine the cause of the condition. Not only pediatricians are involved in the treatment of vegetative-vascular dystonia. A psychiatrist, gynecologist, neurologist, and cardiologist should be involved.

VSD of hypotonic type

The main symptom that accompanies vegetative-vascular syndrome of the hypotonic type is considered to be a decrease in blood pressure. As the disease worsens, crises appear. Patients complain of increased weakness, rapid heartbeat, panic, neurosis, shortness of breath, interruptions in cardiac activity, sweating, decreased blood pressure (BP), and fainting.

VSD of the hypertensive type

This form is characterized by increased blood pressure with periods of crises. In patients with vegetative-vascular dystonia rapid heartbeat, overexcitation, panic, hypertension, cold extremities, frequent periods of chills are noted. During crises with vegetative-vascular dystonia, a sharp increase in blood pressure, trembling of the limbs, discomfort in the heart area, anxiety, sweating, loss of sensation in the limbs.

Doctors sometimes make a diagnosis of sympathicotonia, that is, the predominance of the sympathetic system over the parasympathetic. In other words, with vegetative-vascular disease, regulation between the centers that activate all organs and those that slow down their work is disrupted, and the amount of adrenaline in the blood increases.

If the parasympathetic system predominates over the sympathetic system, the patient is concerned about slow heart rate, sweating, polyuria, severe weakness, dizziness, and drowsiness.

When treating vegetative-vascular dystonia, it is important to take into account the form of the pathology and, based on the symptoms, select drugs and remedies.

Treatment of the disease

If a malfunction of the autonomic system occurs, you must first conduct a thorough examination of the entire body. If vegetative-vascular dystonia is suspected, attention is paid to the condition of the skin, blood vessels, capillaries, and the functioning of organs and systems. If there is a systolic murmur or significant surges in blood pressure, it is necessary to carry out additional examination for the presence of defects and associated pathologies.

For vegetative-vascular diseases, specialists prescribe such studies as ECG of the heart, MRI of the brain, chest x-ray, FGS of the stomach and duodenum, as well as ultrasound of vital organs. Based on the results of the examination, as well as from ultrasound or radiography photos, the doctor assesses the condition, as well as the degree of changes in the body.

In order for the treatment of vegetative-vascular dystonia to give the desired result, lifestyle changes are required. The correct combination of work and rest regimes ensures the normal functioning of the autonomic system. An active lifestyle is encouraged, that is, morning jogging, swimming, fitness, aerobics, but all this is at the level of an amateur, not a professional.

Also, vegetative-vascular dystonia requires a change in diet. You need to sleep at least eight hours a day. It will be useful to visit a sanatorium or health resort with a neurological profile of patients. Doctors recommend periodically conducting a course of exercise therapy and massage. Hydrotherapy of all types has a pronounced effect.

How to cope with vegetative-vascular disease and what to do to improve the condition? You can get answers to these questions by watching the video. It describes in detail what VSD is and how to deal with it.

Drug treatment of VSD

Treatment of vegetative-vascular dystonia is carried out mainly according to symptoms. It is impossible to say exactly what drugs will be prescribed for treatment; it depends on the characteristics of the case, they are selected only after examining the patient.

First of all, for vegetative-vascular dystonia, antidepressants and tranquilizers are prescribed. The dosage is selected based on the severity of symptoms. In addition to them, antihypertensive drugs are prescribed or, on the contrary, caffeine to raise blood pressure. B vitamins, ginseng and beta blockers are considered mandatory.

If venous insufficiency is observed, Vasoket and Detralex are prescribed. They relieve heaviness in the head, pain and throbbing. The course for vegetative-vascular dystonia should be long - at least a month.

If, with dystonia, the arteries are tense and the pressure is high, Cavinton, Oxybral, Sermion, Ginkgo Biloba or Memoplant are suitable. Betaserc will help get rid of noise, but afobazole will help relieve anxiety. Antidepressants must be taken for six months. Only then does a tangible effect appear.

A simple smile can activate the brain. Therefore, patients prone to vegetative-vascular dystonia should smile more often, and also simply enjoy life. A change in attitude towards the outside world significantly affects the patient’s condition. Only if a person takes charge of himself, that is, tries to find a way out of the problem himself, will he be able to get rid of the pathology, and the drugs will help him achieve the desired effect in a short time.

Traditional medicine for VSD

Taking into account the patient’s condition, sedatives are selected for the treatment of VSD. Herbs with an antidepressant effect, as well as those that help get rid of agitation, anxiety or stress, will be useful.

Melissa has a pronounced effect on vegetative-vascular dystonia. In addition to the sedative effect, it has an antispasmodic and antidepressant effect. In the process of taking lemon balm tincture, heart function improves, stress is relieved, and perception of the world improves. You can use lemon balm both in the form of tea and in the form of infusion (decoction).

St. John's wort for vegetative-vascular diseases improves internal condition, relieves anxiety, normalizes sleep and increases tone. Use herbs in the form of infusions or teas. For ease of use, tablets containing St. John's wort extract or dry extract are suitable for busy patients.

Hops will help relieve heart pain in vegetative-vascular dystonia and will calm you down after a working day. Hawthorn will relieve palpitations, normalize blood pressure and calm the nerves.

With the help of mint, you will be able to relieve spasms from blood vessels, improve sleep, calm down and get rid of the tension that arises from vegetative-vascular syndrome. Valerian is used to normalize sleep and restore a normal psycho-emotional state.

All of the herbs listed are used for dystonia, both in pure form(infusions, tinctures, balms, tea, decoction), and in the form of tablet preparations sold in the pharmacy chain.

Some herbs are used depending on the blood pressure level. For the hypertensive type of vegetative-vascular dystonia, it is recommended to use plants such as rose hips, dioscorea, motherwort, hawthorn, cudweed, and sophora. In parallel with this, if you have vegetative-vascular syndrome, you need to diversify your diet with apples, pears, grapefruits, garlic, chocolate, and vegetables.

Avoid alcohol, caffeine, salt and fatty foods. Be sure to take a walk in the fresh air and choose simple fitness classes for yourself.

For the hypotonic type of vegetative-vascular dystonia, it is recommended to use ginseng, propolis, eleutherococcus and other herbs that increase tone and also force receptors to respond correctly to environmental factors.

Complications and prevention of VSD

To prevent the condition from worsening in case of vegetative-vascular dystonia internal organs, in addition to normalizing your daily routine, follow all doctor’s recommendations. Pay close attention to VSD in children. They often develop diseases that negatively affect the general condition of the baby.

Prevention of VSD should begin in childhood. It is especially important to avoid stress and nervous overexcitation. When you are sick, you need to ensure the correct balance of work and rest. A child with vegetative-vascular dystonia should sleep at least eight hours a day. Sports clubs, dancing, running, swimming, skiing or cycling will bring benefits. Yoga, auto-training, breathing exercises are suitable.

The diet of patients with vegetative-vascular dystonia should include foods such as potatoes, cabbage, apricots, raisins, figs, prunes, beans, tomatoes, peas, and dill. If you notice that when measuring the pulse at the wrist joint the blood vessels are tense, make an incline towards buckwheat porridge, carrots, nuts, soy, rose hips.

If our information helped you in the treatment of vegetative-vascular dystonia, or you have your own proven methods and recipes for eliminating this disease, share your feedback in the comments.

Attention! The information presented in the article is for informational purposes only. The materials of the article do not call for self-treatment. Only a qualified doctor can make a diagnosis and make treatment recommendations based on individual characteristics specific patient.

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Treatment of vegetative-vascular dystonia

A common neurological disorder that affects both the human psyche and autonomics is vegetative-vascular dystonia. For many decades, experts have been looking for an answer to the question of how to treat VSD in order not only to prevent its consequences, but also to get rid of unpleasant symptoms forever. A unified treatment regimen has not been developed, but complex treatment allows patients to improve their quality of life.

Since the autonomic nervous system consists of two departments - the sympathetic and also the parasympathetic, the development of VSD is based on the discord between these structures. Therefore, the symptoms may be dominated by pressure surges, tachycardia, or increased digestive juices, bradycardia, and dizziness.

In case of disturbances in the functioning of the autonomic nervous system suffers emotional sphere people – anxiety, suspiciousness, fear of death at the time of crisis. Convince a person that he does not have severe internal diseases difficult - after all, he feels various pathological changes in himself.

The following factors can provoke attacks of VSD:

• intrauterine fetal hypoxia;
• severe stress;
• excessive physical/intellectual overload;
• previous neuroinfections/traumatic brain injuries;
• hormonal disorders;
• hereditary predisposition;
• abuse of alcohol and tobacco products;
• features of the human constitution.

If the true cause of VSD cannot be established, then experts speak of the pathology as an idiopathic disorder.

Types of dystonia

The variety of symptoms of VSD does not allow for a timely correct diagnosis. In addition, people themselves, in an effort to get the necessary answer, visit different doctors who prescribe them a variety of examinations.

Directly depending on the predominance of the disorder in one or another part of the autonomic system, it is customary to distinguish the following types of dystonia:

1. The hypertensive variant is characterized by excessive vascular tone, as well as sharp increases in blood pressure. People complain of constant headaches, rapid heartbeat, as well as increased fatigue and hot flashes. Changes in the color of the integumentary tissues are observed - their hyperemia, or marbling, excessive sweating. There may be episodes of fluctuations in body temperature.
2. According to the hypotonic variant, symptoms of vascular insufficiency predominate, since their tone is significantly reduced. Characteristic is a persistent decrease in tonometry numbers - below 100/60 mmHg. Symptoms of circulatory disorders such as weakness, fatigue, dizziness and fainting predominate. In addition, people are bothered by cold extremities, bluish skin on distant parts of the body, and excessive sweating.
3. Manifestations of VSD of the cardiac type are heart pain. They don't have a clear pronounced signs– can occur in different parts of the chest and vary in intensity and duration. Often complaints are described as burning, unbearable pain throughout the heart in combination with interruptions in its functioning. At the same time, objective examinations, for example, an ECG, do not reveal any abnormalities. During treatment, relief comes from taking sedative drops - Corvalol, Valerian.

However, most often, people experience a mixed version of VSD - a failure of both the sympathetic and parasympathetic departments, with many symptoms of their damage. Therefore, experts cannot definitively answer whether vegetative-vascular dystonia can be treated. Much depends on the timeliness of seeking medical help and the severity of clinical signs.

Pharmacotherapy

There is no single standard for how to treat vegetative-vascular dystonia. Most neurologists are of the opinion that taking medications only aggravates the situation - a person needs to radically reconsider his lifestyle. If you find and eliminate the provoking factors, you will be able to cure VSD without pharmaceutical drugs.

However, in order to make the patient feel better, symptomatic therapy is carried out. So, with high blood pressure, antihypertensive drugs are prescribed. Or, on the contrary, if a person is prone to hypotension, tonic medications are recommended. Sedatives help eliminate nervous excitability, preferably using plant materials - valerian, hawthorn, or motherwort, lemon balm.

Most often, not a single doctor will tell you how to cure VSD once and for all. In severe cases of pathology, they resort to the help of anxiolytics, antidepressants, and psychocorrectors. In order to improve blood circulation in the brain and in the area of ​​internal organs, courses of medications such as those that expand and accelerate blood flow can be prescribed.

All medications are prescribed for VSD in individually, after careful analysis of information from diagnostic procedures and excluding other causes of deterioration in well-being. Whether it is possible to cure VSD forever, the doctor explains to the patient in a personal conversation, after the basic treatment measures have been completed.

Non-drug therapy

In order to mitigate the negative symptoms of VSD, a person should resort to the help of alternative medicine. First of all, we are talking about nutrition correction. The diet involves excluding semi-finished products from the diet, as well as canned food and coffee-containing drinks and products. You will have to limit fatty and heavy foods, smoked foods and seasonings - all of them have a stimulating effect on the vegetative-vascular system.

Moderate physical activity strengthens the body - it trains the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, improves the flow of oxygen to tissues. Doctors call suitable sports for VSD such as swimming, running, or cycling. You can resort to home gymnastics with the basics of yoga.

In case of VSD, acupuncture courses are relevant. The impact on energy meridians will improve blood microcirculation and calm vegetation. However, acupuncture should only be performed by an experienced specialist. While physiotherapy methods have become widespread. Traditionally used physical factors light, heat, water. Methods such as electrosleep, magnetic therapy, electrophoresis with medicinal solutions of bromine and potassium have proven themselves to be excellent. A massage will improve your well-being - attention is paid to the cervical spine and collar area.

Prevention

Many people know that preventing a disease is much easier than getting rid of it later. Therefore, in order not to treat VSD, you should take care of its prevention in advance. Especially if there have already been cases of such a disorder in the family, for example, on the female side of the mother or grandmother.

You can overcome VSD by following simple rules:

• adjust physical/intellectual stress;
• introduce more vegetables and various fruits into the diet;
• observe drinking regime;
• take an annual vacation - go on vacation, travel out of town;
• ensure a good night's rest - in a ventilated, cool room;
• avoid stressful situations.

Of course, autonomic dysfunction, if it has formed, can remain with a person for life. However, it is better to ask your doctor in advance how to get rid of VSD and whether it can be defeated.

How to cure VSD. This question is asked by every person with this disease. insidious disease. It has many names: Vegetovascular dystonia (VSD), Neurocirculatory dystonia (NCD), sometimes called neurosis, in ICD-10 it is designated by code F45.3. A person who is sick does not care what it is called, the main thing is how to cure it.

It took me exactly three years to recover. In this article, in the form of a diary, I will detail what symptoms I had and what I did to become healthy again.

Now that the disease is behind me, I see what caused it. You need to understand what caused VSD in order to prevent its occurrence in the future.

Oddly enough, the cause of my illness was a healthy lifestyle (HLS). I began to worship him too much, exploiting my body.

Friends, everything you learn here comes from my personal experience and my opinion regarding the treatment of VSD. My story is the naked truth and not everyone will like it.

There will be no information here on how to quickly get rid of VSD. I am not a storyteller and I will not deceive you. Here you won’t read about a life-saving pill. I don't know this one.

In order to cure VSD, your efforts and time are needed so that the body can restore itself after the illness. If you are not ready to work with yourself to cure yourself, and trust only allopathic medicine, then I cannot help you with this.

My story is for those who have been in the hands of modern medicine and have not received any real help. For those who have not given up and who are looking for ways to get rid of the disease.

I hope my experience will support you during a difficult period in your life and give you strength to get rid of the scourge called VSD.

Nothing in life foreshadowed trouble. I lived a healthy lifestyle, stopped drinking, normalized my weight and just got married. Everything went according to my life plan. I was not at all prepared for what would happen to me. There seemed to be no prerequisites for this.

Coming from the south honeymoon, my wife and I got sick somehow viral infection. It was July, it was hot, and our temperature was 37.5. For the first time in my life I caught an infection in the summer; it was a novelty for me.

Just think, some kind of temperature, I didn’t feel it at all. I’ve been running for a year now, and I didn’t want to miss training because of some nonsense. Waiting for it to pass; training is no more important.

This southern infection was persistent; the temperature lasted for a month and a half. In order not to lose shape all this time I ran, ignoring it. At the end of August she was sleeping, and I even managed to set a personal record in a 10 km race. True, because of the intense physical exertion, I then went off for two weeks.

Then some strange things started happening to my body. If before after running I felt a rush of energy that lasted a couple of days, now there was nothing but fatigue. So September passed, the “swallow” arrived in October.

It all started while I was sleeping. Waking up in the middle of the night, at first I did not understand what was happening to me. This was my first panic attack (PA), but I didn’t know it at the time. What I had to experience is difficult to put into words; probably something similar is experienced by a person before execution. The panic attack was severe, I did not know what to do or how to survive it. It seemed that the body was not mine and there was a strong desire to jump out of it.

During my entire illness I had three of them, all at night. Then I learned to deal with them. The worst thing is that this happened during sleep, when you are defenseless.

Panic attacks are not the worst thing that happens on VSD; they do not last long. The worst thing is that your health is constantly getting worse until it reaches the extreme point. Only then will the pendulum of the disease swing in the opposite direction and recovery will begin.

However, I was still very far from that. Everything was just beginning...

I slept on my side all my life, and only after losing weight did my body begin to roll over onto its back. I couldn’t fall asleep on my back, it always happened on my side, and I woke up on my back.

I woke up in a strange position - my body was lying on my back and my head was on its side. For some reason my head didn’t want to turn. I woke up in this position very often.

At VSD it played a cruel joke on me...

This happened a month later, in November, after the first panic attack. I woke up in the middle of the night with terrible dizziness, something I had never experienced before in my life. It seemed as if the brain was about to fly out of my head and away from my body. The feeling was simply terrible. Having not yet fully come to my senses, I managed to stop the dizziness by an effort of will. Opening my eyes, I again saw myself in a position with my head on my side and my body on my back. I don’t know how, but I managed to come to my senses and fall asleep. After this incident, dizziness began when turning my head.

In the morning I got on my bike and went to the sea. I had a planned workout - a 10 km run.

belief physical exercise at the beginning of the illness it was strong in me. At that time, I was doing: running, weights, doing pull-ups at home on the bar, doing abs, doing push-ups, and also doing hatha yoga exercises for two to three hours.

After my run, I sat down to breakfast with my favorite pasta and cheese. Having eaten half the usual portion, I was surprised to notice that the second half simply did not fit into me. From that time on, I lost my appetite, and every meal began to cause an exacerbation in the form of a deterioration in my condition and increased heart rate.

I still didn’t know what was happening to me; it seemed like a temporary body malfunction that should end soon. The temperature began to always stay at 37. At first I measured it, but then I gave it up. At night my face and neck began to sweat. I often woke up on a wet pillow. But all these were trifles; the hardest thing lay ahead of me.

To speed up the recovery process from an unknown illness, I began to do more exercise, especially yoga. At first I thought it was helping, but that was a misconception. A week later, my health began to deteriorate.

The exercises only made things worse, and I gradually began to give them up. The first thing I stopped doing was hatha yoga. Various asanas and stretches caused aggravation.

I didn’t want to give up physical activity completely. I still had faith that she would be the one who would help me regain my health.

Then I had anxiety, it came from the solar plexus area. To get rid of it, I had to walk outside for a long time. Sometimes after three hours I was released. I remember one autumn evening I walked with this anxiety, not knowing how to get rid of it. And then the street lights were turned on, the alarm passed and I was released.

Often after this, in the evenings, I began to light a candle near me, its light somehow helped me.

If there is damage in the world, then this is probably how a person feels. With VSD, you begin to believe in anything, this state is so disgusting to life. But I still didn’t know the name of my “enemy,” it seemed like another week and everything would be the same.

I have been meditating for many years. Due to the onset of illness, I had to give up spiritual practice. If before, when I relaxed, I slowly sank into a trance, now I began to develop anxiety that did not allow me to relax. The more I relaxed, the stronger she became. The practice of meditation had to be stopped before remission began.

I started looking for information about my illness. Unfortunately, I was taken to the wrong place. The first thing that fit my case was the syndrome vertebral artery(SPA). I began to look for any information and everything connected with it.

SPA is a consequence, not the main cause. My problem was VSD, but I didn't know it yet.

After the New Year, my heart suddenly began to hurt. A person who has been running for a year and a half! I just couldn't believe it. This finally pushed me to see a doctor.

The last time I was in the clinic was 15 years ago, when I received a complication from the flu in the form of a dull pain in my side. Medicine didn't help me then. I solved my problem myself when I reset excess weight. But now I had no choice, a healthy lifestyle did not help me and I did not know what was happening to me.

The doctor, after listening to my complaints, sent me for examination. There was everything there, from all sorts of blood tests to various examinations, including a CT scan to check the cervical spine.

As it turned out later, they were all unnecessary. Almost all tests were normal. But now I’m so smart. I didn’t know this then and believed that one more analysis, one more examination, and I would know the name of my “enemy”. Then the doctor will give me medicine and I will be healthy again, like before. Holy naivety...

Now that we live in times of capitalism, there is a long queue for many examinations. In order for medicine to make money on us, you can get to the doctors without going through it, you just need to pay more. Since I was short on money, I had to wait in the general queue. To get a CT scan you had to wait three months. Only then should I be referred to the next doctor.

Wait three months when you get “sausage” every day! When you feel bad day and night. Waiting for an examination that I simply did not need. My intuition told me that this would do nothing.

The only medications I was prescribed were vitamins B and D. Also B12, a blood test showed that it was slightly below normal. That's all. Then wait for the examination and then I will be prescribed some kind of treatment.

“No, sorry,” I said to myself, “I need to heal myself somehow.” There was no desire to wait and suffer. Since I didn’t know my diagnosis, I had to act “blindly.”

Internet searches led me to the book « Your body is asking for water » . While practicing a healthy lifestyle, I drank very little liquid, only a liter a day, because I didn’t feel the need for it. After reading the book, I increased the amount of water to two liters.

This is the first technique that brought me at least some help. Unfortunately, water cannot cure VSD. It can only contribute to healing, and this is one of the factors. Water acts as a placebo. Every time there was an exacerbation, my body always wanted to drink more fluid.

At VSD, you begin to believe in all kinds of treatments, which specialists of all stripes readily use - you go to them yourself, no one forces you. One chiropractor was recommended to me. I decided to go, in the hope that it would help.

It would be better not to go, the butcher turned out to be the same. The whole method involved pressing hard on your back until you screamed in pain. If you endure it, it presses even harder. This is “progressive” treatment.

A couple of days later I decided to train with weights (16kg). First, I usually warmed up the muscles of one, holding it in two hands. Before I had time to lift it even twice, my vertebra was pinched in thoracic region. I had to forget about exercises with weights, push-ups and abs.

It’s good that the “handler” didn’t injure me too much; with VSD, this is easy to do. I later read about cases where people suffered severe exacerbations, even to the point of fatal outcome. About the dangers of manual therapy -

In March I give up running completely. It was a hard decision because I was very addicted to it. Running regularly, I felt like I hadn’t felt in my twenties. But now it was not there, only fatigue. Every time after a run there was a feeling that the spine was “sagging”. I had to stretch him, which was never required before.

Then a new attack began, ten minutes after walking my back began to hurt. I read somewhere about impulse massage. I began to periodically tense my back muscles, then relax them, and so on throughout the entire walk. This distracted me for a while, but my back did not go away.

I read about the benefits of a contrast shower for restoring the body. I decided to try it. During the third procedure, the neck muscles became very sore and spasmed. If you touch it with your hands, it feels like armor. A contrast shower was not suitable for my VSD.

I still don't use it.

I found a good solution for spasming muscles. In the evenings, my wife and I watched the series « Stay alive » (USA) this film greatly distracted me from my painful state. I put an electric heating pad on the chair and a rubber one wrapped in a towel on my neck. The heat relaxed the muscles and relieved pain. After just half an hour of warming up, I began to feel that the disease was receding. Eating 2-3 oranges in the evening also helped me; my condition improved literally after 10 minutes. All this did not last long and did not always help. But these moments of health are needed with VSD.

The worst began later, when after the film I had to go to bed. It was as if I was descending from heaven to earth. My nervous system started acting up, the alarm went off - I didn’t know how to survive the night. Lying in bed, I listened to myself, what other surprises to expect from my body. The hardest thing was to somehow fall asleep.

Finally I found out my diagnosis - VSD!

At the beginning of May, after doing pull-ups on the home horizontal bar, I again injured myself in the cervical spine.

At night I wake up with severe dizziness on my back with my head turned to the side. This causes me a new aggravation.

It was necessary to get rid of the head turned to the side. It took me a whole month to wean my body from turning over on the other side, not through my back, but through my stomach. Every time I woke up, I caught myself at the moment when my body wanted to turn and turned it through my stomach. This skill has stayed with me to this day.

The last thing I stop doing is pull-ups on the horizontal bar.

(If you have problems with the neck (dizziness or spasm), pull-ups should definitely be avoided)!

All the exercises that I did when I was healthy now only cause aggravation. All that remains is walking.

Finally, I find out the name of my “enemy”. It turns out that this three-letter word is VSD. Do you think I learned this from my doctor, who was simply annoying with his constant visits? No. Thanks to the Internet! Now I knew where to “dig” and where to look for answers to my questions about treatment and recovery.

Having learned that I have VSD, I discovered Strelnikova’s breathing exercises (DGS). I found comments online from people whom she helped with vegetative-vascular dystonia. I start training in mid-May. It was gymnastics that helped me the most. She greatly contributed to my recovery. During exercise, approximately 50 percent of the anxiety goes away and your well-being improves. When you finish the workout (it lasts about half an hour - you don’t have the strength for more), all the symptoms come back again. But these half an hour are worth a lot, you feel like a human again! I started doing DHS twice a day.

At first I studied with a video recording. I got so carried away during the first training session that I almost injured myself. When I was doing exercises for the neck, the cervical spine shifted to the side, and I automatically put it back in place with my hand. I never thought that this could happen, I didn’t even have time to get scared. Since then, I began to lock my neck with my hands and limited my range of movements.

Then I read that I was not alone, this happens to others too. During VSD, the muscles hold the spine very weakly. You need to be very careful not to injure yourself.

Sometimes, I had to cancel the DGS training due to strong heart palpitations and poor health. Then I went outside, walked for about half an hour, came home, went to bed unable to do anything. I lay there and listened to my heart beat. He often fell asleep for a short time, but always woke up in a broken state. This daytime rest lasted for about six months until the remission gained momentum.

Before the summer, I went to the sea a couple of times, on a bicycle. The journey took about half an hour there and back. After that my back hurt a lot. I had to sell the bike. The worst thing is when you have to give up simple basic things for which you are not healthy.

I can no longer sit on public transport; every slight shaking causes pain in my spine. I have to either stand, then I don’t feel the shaking, or strain my back muscles, catching the moments when the wheel hits something.

The “funny thing” is that my body became sensitive like the princess and the pea. I can't sleep on the bed anymore. At night I wake up and start tossing and turning, the bed seems so hard that I can’t relax and fall asleep. I solve this problem simply by folding four blankets in half and placing them under the sheet. After this you can sleep normally.

Having sorted out the bed, I had to decide new problem. Now I can't sleep on my pillow. At night my neck starts to hurt. There are two orthopedic pillows at home, I’m trying to sleep on them. But they are even worse than the one I sleep on. The problem was solved by purchasing a small down and feather pillow.

(The main thing is, if there is a problem with the neck, the pillow should be such that the spine and neck are in line during sleep. The head should not be higher or lower than the spine).

At the end of May, it was finally my turn for a computed tomography (CT) scan. Three days in advance they called from the reception and warned that the price would be three times more expensive than it was when registering. It turns out that the country's budget has run out of money for the sick.

Hello capitalism, how we missed you.

At first I thought about refusing, but still decided to go. An x-ray showed that my cervical discs were not in very good condition. And the incident during breathing exercises brought up sad thoughts.

I come to the medical center, go up to the reception desk, pay, sit and wait. A man approaches the reception desk and asks about making an appointment for a CT scan. They are starting to put lies on his ears that the CP is now paid for the most part state and they name the price that was originally mine too. He happily signs up. And what is it called?

One word - capitalism.

As summer approaches, my condition worsens even more. It would seem that summer is blooming all around, the sun, nature is coming to life and rejoicing. But I feel even worse.

Morning comes, and I don’t know what to do, how to live the day, I feel so bad. Then night comes, and again I don’t know how to survive it.

During the day I constantly feel anxious and depressed. I can't get rid of him in any way. At night, in addition to anxiety, I began to experience tachycardia, which prevents me from sleeping. For my heart, I began to brew and drink hawthorn fruits. Honestly, I don’t know if it was necessary to do this. But I needed to treat myself with at least something. The help was more like a placebo, but the more such placebos, the better the VSD. The main thing is that this does not cause aggravation.

My wife is pregnant and we will have a long-awaited child in the fall. But I'm starting to doubt that I'll live to see that day. I had to get so sick when I was about to become a father for the first time. What help can there be from a person who does not know how to get through the day?

Anxious and suicidal thoughts constantly creep into my head. I just can't get rid of them. It feels like my brain has been connected to the lower astral plane and everything negative there wants to settle in my head. After two weeks, negative thoughts go away on their own, as if someone turned them off.

I often dream that I am wandering around the cemetery, looking at the graves, trying to read the inscriptions on the monuments. One day, an ex-girlfriend comes to me in a dream and says that my father and mother live together in spiritual world(in real life they were divorced). I try to catch up with her to question her, but she eludes me...

My sleep becomes superficial, its usual depth disappears.

After receiving the results of the CT scan, my family doctor refers me to a neurologist. After I contacted him four months ago. Our clinic sometimes sees a good specialist in this field. Everyone wants to get to him. I decided to sign up too. We have to wait almost two months...

In order to somehow reduce the waiting period, I am still trying to do something with my health. It's summer, it's sunny. I can’t stay at home for long; the walls make me feel sick. I’m going to nature, to the sea, since it’s nearby. I feel like a complete wreck, as if I’m over a hundred years old (may the centenarians forgive me). This feeling, along with anxiety, has not left me almost all summer.

I go to the sea like I’m going to hard labor. I find a secluded place and try to sunbathe. If before it was a pleasure, now it feels like torture. But I have to do something, I have to somehow get out of the disease. The first time I’m on the beach I can barely stand it for half an hour, on other days I try to be there for an hour. All the time, it seems when you are in the sun that you will stay here forever. I try to be closer to people, so that if anything happens, they can find me...

If I go near water, I feel even worse. It feels like your heart will fly out of your chest, it starts beating so hard. I can’t go further than my feet into the water.

New problems began with my spine. Having to give up the shoes I used to wear. Every step hurts your back. At sea I walk on loose sand, walking on hard sand is no longer for me. It’s the same with house slippers; it hurts to step on the floor.

I can’t buy “normal” shoes for the street anywhere. Everything I try on makes me feel like I’m walking barefoot on asphalt. The only thing I can wear are sneakers with treads, bought for running. So I wear them all the time.

I'm going to the dentist in June. The journey takes about forty minutes, but it becomes a real challenge. I feel so bad all the way that I want to call ambulance. People of retirement age are sitting nearby, I look at them and force myself to endure.

In the summer I find another way to improve my condition before bed is half a kilogram of strawberries. For some time this relieves the symptoms of VSD.

It's July, it's my wife's birthday, we're going to the sea. Health allows me to quickly plunge into the first time. I come out of the sea and for a whole minute I feel healthy. Unforgettable feelings! Then all the symptoms of VSD return again.

At the very end of July I began to see the first signs of remission. All the symptoms of VSD are still with me, but I am starting to experience less depression and anxiety. This gives me hope that recovery is due.

Some of the improvements in my condition are quite funny, I start sneezing and yawning! I can't remember having this in the past year. Appetite appears. On the street, sometimes I feel as if my lungs are breathing again. All this lasts several days and instills confidence in regaining health.

Note. If you adhere to any diet during VSD, I advise you to read the material - "The energy body and our nutrition"(sections “To eat meat or not to eat” and “B12 and health physical body"). The first signs of remission began for me when I stopped dieting and restored the level of B12 in my body.

At the beginning of August I finally see a neurologist. Six months after the first visit to the doctor. The neurologist, an older woman, immediately diagnoses me after two minutes of my story about the disease. That’s what he says, you have VSD.

(This is why it is important to get to the right doctor in time to find out your correct diagnosis - vegetative-vascular dystonia, and not go to various and unnecessary examinations).

The most interesting thing was when she looked at the results of the CT scan. She said that the symptoms that I have cannot be due to the cervical spine.

Then she asked if I needed to be prescribed any medications, meaning antidepressants and tranquilizers. I refused because I saw what these pills do to a person.

I don’t want to be a hero and blame anyone, but if the anxiety-depressive state had dragged on for a long time, I would have had to take these medications.

I was prescribed B vitamins and ten ampoules of Actovegin and Cerebrolysin injections. I didn’t expect anything special from them, except maybe a placebo effect. However, the reality turned out to be completely different.

The first days nothing happened, then my remission that had begun began to disappear somewhere. What happened next was a complete surprise to me. On the fifth day after the injections, I woke up in the middle of the night with terrible tachycardia. The one I had before seemed simply “childish.” My heart wanted to jump out of my chest. I have never experienced anything like this in my life, even when I was running fast. It was necessary to call an ambulance. I've never had to do this for myself before. My pregnant wife was sleeping nearby; this would have been an unwanted stress for her. I lay there half the night and didn’t know what to do, then I passed out, and woke up in the morning.

Several days passed like this. During the day I was in an excited state, like after several cups of coffee. At night, the pounding in my chest kept me from sleeping. I lay there and thought that I needed to call an ambulance, but I endured and lived until the morning.

After the ninth injection it finally dawned on me who was to blame for the terrible exacerbation! I couldn't believe that these little ampoules did me so much harm.

These drugs (Actovegin and Cerebrolysin) are used even for children. Wikipedia says that one is made from calf blood, the other uses pig brain. Banned in the USA and Canada, but widely used in the post-Soviet space. Apparently, special people live here...

A few days after these “miracle” injections, I began to gradually recover. The family doctor was very surprised to learn what the neurologist prescribed for me when I came to him with my new exacerbation. He said that I should not have been given such injections. Modern medicine is like a lottery, you don’t know whether you will be lucky or not.

The neurologist told me that if my condition worsens, the family may admit me to the hospital. I'm interested in him about this. He says we'll think about it. Family doctors now have quotas; you have to be really bad to be admitted to a hospital. And here I am walking on my own two feet.

How grateful I am that I missed out due to quotas! Then I had to read what was happening to our brother at the VSD in the hospital.

I come across information about horse balm. The product is widely advertised as natural and effective. I decide to try it for my neck. I buy German ointment to be sure of the quality of the product. On the third day, when I started applying it, my neck started to hurt a lot. At night, sweat pours down it in streams, the body expels everything foreign from itself. In the morning the pillow is all wet. The experiment with the ointment has to be stopped.

I find a good remedy for my neck. This is iodine diluted half with lemon juice. In the evening I drip it onto cotton wool and rub it into my neck. This helps relieve pain. If you also use a warm heating pad, the effect becomes stronger.

In September, my family doctor goes on vacation, and, as luck would have it, my tachycardia worsens. Another doctor sees him instead. I go to see him, I can’t stand it anymore. I want to be prescribed pills so I can sleep at night. He easily prescribes two medications for my heart, which I tell him. For some reason, mine first wanted to refer me to a cardiologist so that he could prescribe them for me himself. To do this, you need to undergo a cardio test on a bicycle or Holter monitoring, but there is also a queue, you have to wait.

After a few days, the tachycardia at night goes away, arrhythmia begins, but I can already live with it. I save recipes for a rainy day. In my spare time, I read about how difficult it is to get off heart pills. All the symptoms come back when you stop taking the medication.

As a result, I never used the recipes. ().

Nervous disorders: causes, symptoms and therapy

The constant stress that modern man experiences can not only mobilize all his abilities to solve complex tasks, but also lead to nervous breakdown. Unfortunately, with chronic stress, people rarely realize this.

Prerequisites for the development of nervous system disorders

The continuous increase in the incidence of diseases of the nervous system makes us talk about the epidemic scale of the problem. Young, able-bodied people of both sexes are increasingly suffering from such disorders. Doctors believe that the cause is the negative influence of the modern lifestyle, even if the patient has never received serious injuries or suffered serious illnesses that could provoke disorders of the central nervous system. Mental, physical and emotional stress is the daily reality of a metropolitan resident, almost inevitably leading to various nervous disorders. Up to 3% of the planet's population suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder alone, and these are diagnosed cases. The actual figure will be 2–3 times higher.

Types of Nervous System Disorders

Despite the wide variety of nervous disorders, they can be divided into two large groups - neuroses and autonomic dysfunction.

Neuroses

These are functional disorders of the central nervous system, which can be provoked and aggravated by emotional, mental and physical overload, and psychological trauma.

• Obsessive states. Another name is obsessive-compulsive disorder. They can be episodic, chronic or progressive. Most often they affect people with high intelligence. The essence of the disorder is the appearance of painful thoughts, memories, actions, emotional states, uncontrollable and capturing all the patient’s attention. As a result, he constantly experiences a feeling of anxiety, which he tries to get rid of using some of his own methods, which most often aggravate the situation. An example is an obsessive fear of contracting infectious diseases, when a person by possible means tries to disinfect surrounding objects. The causes of obsessive states may be heredity, past infectious diseases or their exacerbation, hormonal imbalance, sleep and wakefulness. Changes in atmospheric pressure and changes in seasons contribute to the development of obsessive states.
• Neurasthenia. Pathological conditions in which increased irritability, fatigue, and the inability to engage in mental or physical activity for a long time are observed. All this is due to general depression of the nervous system. Typically, neurasthenia develops after mental trauma, accompanied by hard work, disturbances in sleep and nutrition. Contributing factors in the development of neurasthenia are infections, hormonal disorders, and bad habits.
• Hysteria. A type of neurosis in which demonstrative manifestations of certain emotions do not correspond to their real depth and are intended to attract attention. The causes of hysteria are the tendency to self-hypnosis and suggestion, the inability to consciously control one’s behavior. According to clinical signs, hysterical behavior and hysterical seizures are distinguished. Behavioral hysteria manifests itself in constant desire the patient is in the center of attention, prone to affective actions and manifestations. A hysterical attack is a short-term condition during which the patient remains fully conscious, but may cry, laugh, fall and convulse. The duration of a seizure depends on the impression it makes on others: it will last longer, the more people around you are worried. Hysteria develops after mental trauma; seizures can be triggered by any stressful influence.

Neuroses respond well to treatment, as patients retain critical thinking and realize that they need help. Personality disorders are not observed in neuroses.

Autonomic dysfunction

This type of nervous disorder is often confused with vegetative-vascular dystonia, but the latter is only one of the manifestations of a nervous disease. Autonomic dysfunction occurs when the internal organs receive incorrect or irregular signals from the autonomic nervous system. This reduces the body’s protective functions, leads to a general deterioration in well-being, and disrupts the functioning of internal organs. Symptoms may be similar to migraines, myocardial infarction, osteochondrosis and a number of other pathologies. Autonomic dysfunction develops due to constant stress or is provoked by it, arising for some other reason. Vegetative nervous disorders may be part of functional or organic lesions of the entire nervous system.

Symptoms of the condition

The main signs of a nervous disorder are increased anxiety, tension, decreased performance, problems concentrating, alternating lethargy and irritability, and sudden pain of unknown origin. If you constantly observe such manifestations in yourself, you need to at least reduce your stress level, and it is best to consult a specialist.

Where to go if you have a nervous disorder?

Treatment of nervous disorders requires the help of a specialist: psychologist, neurologist, neurologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist. Therapy should be comprehensive, including drug and non-drug methods. It is necessary to treat first of all the cause of the nervous disorder, only in this case the therapy will be successful. For any clinical picture the patient is shown calm.

Non-drug therapy

Unfortunately, magic pills for the treatment of nervous disorders have not yet been invented, and the patient has to reconsider his lifestyle for the success of treatment.

• Breathing exercises and health fitness. Methods of health-improving fitness for patients with nervous disorders include yoga, swimming, and callanetics. All these types of fitness help you gain peace of mind. Breathing exercises are distinguished by their accessibility at any time; they can be practiced even during the working day. Diaphragmatic breathing makes it possible to achieve calm and concentration, helps saturate the brain with oxygen, and promotes the normal functioning of all body systems.
• Physiotherapy and relaxation techniques (massage, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, etc.). These therapeutic measures are aimed at relieving muscle spasms, improving blood circulation and lymph outflow, activating digestive processes, and stimulating the immune system. During the procedures, the effects of stress are relieved.
• Changing lifestyle and nutrition. Sleep and wakefulness, walks in the fresh air, food rich in protein and vitamins - all this has a beneficial effect on a depleted nervous system. With constant stress, the body experiences a severe deficiency of vitamins, which can be replenished by paying attention to your diet.

Nervous disorders are characterized by the patient’s desire to be cured as quickly as possible, but this only increases anxiety. Drug therapy will help you find the strength for long-term treatment.

Pharmacological approach

Despite the fact that there are over-the-counter medications on the list of medications for patients with nervous disorders, self-medication can only worsen the situation. Therefore, you can start taking them only in consultation with your doctor.

Drugs with a partial sedative effect. Increased anxiety is caused by the release of adrenaline into the blood. Drugs such as Valocordin or Corvalol, which relieve anxiety and thereby reduce the load on the cardiovascular system, help to cope with this.

Vitamin complexes, dietary supplements and homeopathy. Patients with nervous disorders need to take vitamins C and E, B vitamins, potassium, calcium and magnesium supplements. Without them, the cells do not produce enough energy, the functions of the cardiovascular system decrease, and it is difficult to achieve concentration. The drugs Asparkam and Magnelis are often prescribed. Homeopathic medicines "Tenoten", Arsenicum Album, Aurum Metallic, Gelsemium, "Stress-Gran", bioactive additives “Mystic”, “Hyper”, “Passilat”, “Revien” and many others act without side effects and are known agents for relieving the effects of stress among easily suggestible populations, although their therapeutic effects have never been confirmed by any research.

Herbal medicines. ethnoscience has her own recipes for dealing with stress. One of them is soothing herbal teas made from chamomile, motherwort, St. John's wort, passionflower, and valerian root. The properties of various herbs were also used to create such drugs as Novo-Passit, Persen and many others. It should be remembered that these drugs may have contraindications and side effects (for example, cause drowsiness).

Prescription drugs. In severe cases of nervous disorders, potent drugs are prescribed, which are available only by prescription. These are tranquilizers and antidepressants. They have a number of side effects (for example, extreme addiction) and contraindications, so they are selected individually and taken strictly under the supervision of a doctor.

Over-the-counter drugs with a complex therapeutic effect. An example of such a drug is Afobazol. It not only reduces the level of anxiety, tension, and irritability, but helps eliminate vegetative and somatic manifestations of stress, and also has a slight stimulating effect on the nervous system, resulting in improved mood. Taking the drug does not cause drowsiness, weakness, or reduce concentration.

The action of "Afobazole" is aimed at restoring normal operation nervous system. As a result of clinical studies, it was revealed that while taking Afobazol, 78% of patients showed a decrease in irritability and an increase in mood, 70% felt less tired and more productive. In general, taking the drug helps reduce anxiety levels, normalize emotional background. Strength and self-confidence appear again. Afobazole does not produce significant side effects. The therapeutic effect develops from 5–7 days of administration. At the end of therapy, there is no withdrawal syndrome - this is very important. is an inexpensive, popular over-the-counter remedy.

Although taking medications often has a positive effect and is not difficult therapeutic measure, you shouldn’t get carried away with it. Resuming a course of medication on your own can be harmful to your health. It is better to devote time to competent prevention.

Restoration of the nervous system and prevention of disorders

A well-thought-out treatment strategy and precise execution of doctor’s instructions, as a rule, give positive results. The patient not only improves his well-being, but also his overall quality of life. For further prevention, it is recommended to maintain a healthy diet, combat stress, healthy sleep and sufficient physical activity.

For example, a disorder of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) causes dysfunction in the body associated with the functioning of internal organs, especially in cardiovascular system. This process contributes to the development of neurosis and persistent hypertension, that is, constantly elevated blood pressure, and this interferes with the normal rhythm of life. The main factor influencing a person’s well-being is the lack of normal reaction vessels. After all, vegetative disorders cause them to narrow or expand beyond normal.

According to statistics, such a problem often occurs in a child during adolescence, and children at this age almost always suffer from ANS dysfunction. In adults, it is not so pronounced, and the symptoms of a disorder of the autonomic nervous system are attributed to fatigue and stress. Unlike the older generation, in children this problem goes away on its own over time and only in isolated cases remains.

The most dangerous pathology is between the ages of 20 and 40, since it must be treated, because at this age it will not go away on its own and will get worse.

This dysfunction occurs especially often in women due to their hormonal changes and less stable psyche.

The autonomic nervous system is an autonomous part of the CNS (central nervous system) that is responsible for regulating internal systems person. It is not possible to consciously influence this process and with its help the body is able to adapt to changes at any time. This section of the central nervous system is divided into 2 parts, each of which performs opposite functions, for example, one constricts the pupils, and the other dilates.

One of these subsystems is called sympathetic and it is responsible for the following processes:

• Increased pressure;
• Pupil dilation;
• Strengthening the work of the heart muscle;
• Weakening of gastrointestinal motility;
• Strengthening the work of the sebaceous glands;
• Vasoconstriction.

The second subsystem is called parasympathetic and it performs opposite functions:

• Decreased pressure;
• Constriction of the pupils;
• Weakening of the heart muscle;
• Increased motility of the gastrointestinal tract;
• Slowing down the work of the sebaceous glands;
• Vasodilation.

Diseases of the autonomic nervous system affect the balance of these subsystems. This is why disruptions occur in the body. In medicine, there is a name for a condition in which a person has no damage, but there are disturbances in the functioning of internal systems. Doctors call it somatomorphic dysfunction of the ANS.

Patients with such a pathological process go to doctors with whole sets of symptoms, but they are not confirmed. Disorders of the autonomic nervous system are quite difficult to diagnose, but it is necessary to do so, because otherwise the patient will continue to suffer from this disorder.

Causes

According to experts, disruption of the functioning of human internal systems occurs due to failures in the process of nervous regulation. The following reasons can cause them:

• Disorders in the endocrine system caused by excess weight, diabetes, etc.;
• Hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy, the menstrual cycle, menopause and during puberty;
• Hereditary predisposition;
• Suspiciousness and anxiety;
• Smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs;
• Failure to follow proper nutrition rules;
• Chronic infections such as caries and tonsillitis;
• Allergic reaction;
• Head injury;
• Intoxication;
• Damage caused to the body due to human activity (vibration, radiation, etc.).

In babies, diseases of the autonomic nervous system arise due to fetal hypoxia (lack of oxygen during intrauterine development), as well as due to stress. Children's mental health is not as stable as that of adults, so for them any problem can cause mental trauma.

Signs of illness

Autonomic disorders manifest themselves in large quantities symptoms that you will need to tell your doctor about to simplify diagnosis. At an early stage of development of the pathological process, neurosis of the ANS is observed. It is characterized by the development of problems with intestinal motility and nutrition muscle tissue, and also the sensitivity of the skin is impaired and signs of allergies appear. Its initial signs are considered to be symptoms of neurasthenia. A person gets angry for any reason, gets tired quickly and is inactive.

For convenience, all symptoms of ANS disorders are grouped into syndromes. One of them includes mental disorders, namely:

• Irritability;
• Excessive impressionability;
• Slow reactions;
• Inactive life position;
• Outbursts of emotions (tears, melancholy, sentimentality, desire to blame oneself for everything, etc.);
• Insomnia;
• Reluctance to make decisions on your own;
• Sense of anxiety.

The most common set of symptoms is cardiac. He is characterized by pain in the heart, of different nature(aching, stabbing, etc.). It occurs mainly due to fatigue or stressful situations.

There is also astheno-neurotic syndrome, which is characterized by the following disorders:

• Constant general weakness;
• Fast fatiguability;
• Low level of performance;
• Sensitivity to weather changes;
• General exhaustion of the body;
• Increased sensitivity to loud sounds;
• Adaptation disorder, which is an overly emotional reaction to any changes.

Respiratory syndrome arising from ANS disorders is manifested by the following symptoms:

• Shortness of breath at the slightest physical or mental stress;
• Feeling short of breath, especially during times of stress;
• Feeling of chest squeezing;
• Cough;
• Suffocation.

In disorders of the autonomic system, signs of neurogastric syndrome are often observed:

• Stool disorder (constipation, diarrhea);
• Spasms in the esophagus;
• Excessive swallowing of air during meals, manifested by belching;
• Hiccups;
• Bloating;
• Heartburn;
• Problems with swallowing food;
• Pain in the stomach and chest area.

Cardiovascular syndrome is characterized by the following symptoms:

• Pain in the heart area, especially after stress;
• Pressure surges;
• Unsteady pulse.

With disorders of the ANS, cerebrovascular syndrome often occurs, which manifests itself as follows:

• Pain similar in nature to migraine;
• Decreased intellectual abilities;
• Irritability;
• Poor circulation and, in rare cases, stroke.

Sometimes, with disorders in the autonomic nervous system, a syndrome of peripheral disorders occurs. It is associated with disruptions in vascular tone, as well as due to impaired permeability of their walls. It is characterized by the following symptoms:

• Blood overflow in the lower extremities and their swelling;
• Severe muscle pain;
• Cramps.

ANS dysfunction often affects children during adolescence due to strong surges of hormones coupled with constant physical and mental fatigue. The child may complain of regular migraines and lack of strength, especially during weather changes. After hormonal changes slows down, and the psyche becomes more stable, the problem often goes away on its own, but not always. In such a situation, you need to find out how to treat it and this can be done by visiting a doctor.

He will identify a group of symptoms and tell you about the form of pathology that worries the child. There are three types in total, and the first of which is called cardiac. It manifests itself with the following symptoms:

• Panic state;
• Rapid pulse;
• High pressure;
• Weak gastric motility;
• Pale skin;
• Fever;
• Overexcitement;
• Motor failures.

The second type is called hypotonic and is characterized by the following symptoms:

• A sharp decrease in pressure;
• Redness of the skin;
• Blueness of limbs;
• Increased work of the sebaceous glands;
• Acne;
• Dizziness;
• General weakness;
• Slow heart rate;
• Shortness of breath;
• Digestive problems;
• Loss of consciousness;
• Involuntary trips to the toilet;
• Allergic reactions.

The last form of ANS disorder is called mixed and it manifests itself as a combination of 2 types of disease. Often people suffering from this type of dysfunction experience the following symptoms:

• Trembling in hands;
• Overflow of blood vessels of the head and chest;
• Increased sweating;
• Blueness of limbs;
• Symptoms of fever.

To diagnose a disease, the doctor must listen to the patient and examine him. Next, you will need to perform many examinations aimed at differentiating the diagnosis among other pathologies, for example, MRI, CT, X-ray FGDS, ECG, etc.

Non-drug course of therapy

Treatment for ANS disorders should take place at home in a comfortable environment. His course includes not only medications, but also lifestyle changes. Doctors advise doing sports, eating right, getting enough sleep, walking more in the fresh air, starting to toughen up and giving up bad habits. It doesn’t hurt to make a schedule for the day so that all actions are carried out at the same time, especially when it comes to sleeping, eating and resting.

Sick people need to take care to avoid the emergence of new stress. To do this, you should improve things at home and at work and try not to get involved in conflict situations. It is better to go to the sea or another place with clean air and a calm environment during treatment. At home, you need to relax more often, listening to relaxing music and watching your favorite movies. Among the films, it is better to choose good comedies.

If you have disorders of the autonomic nervous system, you should eat right. Meals should be taken at least 4-5 times in small portions. You need to remove alcoholic drinks, coffee, strong tea, fast food, as well as spicy and salty foods from your diet. Other spices should also be limited.

A person with autonomic dysfunctions should have adequate sleep. This condition can be met if you sleep at least 8 hours every day. The place to sleep should be warm and cozy, and the room should be regularly ventilated. It is advisable to select a medium-hard bed so that it is comfortable to sleep on.

The first results should be expected no earlier than after 1-2 months of such treatment. After all, the psyche has been weakened for many years, so it will have to be restored gradually.

Treatment with medications, physiotherapy and herbal medicine

Medicines are divided into groups and the most popular drugs are:

• Vitamin complexes – “Neurobeks”;
• Funds for high blood pressure– “Anaprilin”;
• Tranquilizers – “Phenozepam”, “Relanium”;
• Drugs for the treatment of mental disorders (neuroleptics) - Sonapax, Seduxen;
• Medicines to improve memory (nootropic) - Piracetam;
• Sleeping pills - Flurazepam;
• Drugs to improve heart function – “Digitoxin”;
• Antidepressants - Azafen;
• Medicines to improve vascular conductivity - Cavinton;
• Drugs with a sedative (calming) effect - “Validol”, “Corvalol”.

The drugs mentioned above, as well as their analogues, are used in the treatment of ANS disorders. In addition to medications, it is recommended to use physical therapy. For general relaxation, you should try therapeutic massage, exercise therapy and acupuncture. Exercises in the pool and physiotherapy, as well as special baths and Charcot showers.

Preparations consisting of natural ingredients perfectly help calm the nervous system. Among all the means of herbal medicine, the most relevant ones can be identified:

• Melissa, hops, mint. These herbs go well together and can reduce pain and calm the nervous system. Attacks of symptoms after taking medications based on these components occur much less frequently;
• Hawthorn. Its fruits are added to many sedatives. Hawthorn helps remove cholesterol from the blood, regulates heart function and improves blood circulation;
• Adaptogens. These include tinctures prepared with ginseng, lemongrass and eleutherococcus. Adaptogens can improve metabolic processes and calm the nervous system.

Prevention

The problem can be avoided if you know the preventive measures:

• Undergo a full examination at least 1-2 times a year;
• Timely detect and treat diseases, especially those caused by infections;
• Get proper rest and sleep;
• Take breaks occasionally while working;
• Drink vitamin complexes, especially in autumn and spring;
• Exercise;
• Do not abuse bad habits;
• Avoid stressful situations.

Disorders that arise in the autonomic part of the nervous system have their own causes associated with overload and stress. It is better to avoid them, because such dysfunctions can affect the normal rhythm of life.

The information on the site is provided solely for popular informational purposes, does not claim to be reference or medical accuracy, and is not a guide to action. Do not self-medicate. Consult your healthcare provider.

Autonomic dysfunction: symptoms of disorders, treatment, forms of dystonia

Autonomic dysfunction is a complex of functional disorders caused by impaired regulation of vascular tone and leading to the development of neuroses, arterial hypertension and deterioration in quality of life. This condition is characterized by the loss of the normal response of blood vessels to various stimuli: they either strongly narrow or dilate. Such processes disrupt a person’s general well-being.

Autonomic dysfunction is a fairly common phenomenon, occurring in 15% of children, 80% of adults and 100% of adolescents. The first manifestations of dystonia are observed in childhood and adolescence, the peak incidence occurs in the age range. Women suffer from vegetative dystonia several times more often than men.

The autonomic nervous system regulates the functions of organs and systems in accordance with exogenous and endogenous irritating factors. It functions unconsciously, helps maintain homeostasis and adapts the body to changing environmental conditions. The autonomic nervous system is divided into two subsystems - sympathetic and parasympathetic, which work in opposite directions.

• The sympathetic nervous system weakens intestinal motility, increases sweating, increases heart rate and strengthens heart function, dilates pupils, constricts blood vessels, and increases blood pressure.
• The parasympathetic department contracts muscles and enhances gastrointestinal motility, stimulates the body’s glands, dilates blood vessels, slows down the heart, lowers blood pressure, and constricts the pupil.

Both of these departments are in a state of balance and are activated only as needed. If one of the systems begins to dominate, the functioning of internal organs and the body as a whole is disrupted. This is manifested by corresponding clinical signs, as well as the development of cardioneurosis, neurocirculatory dystonia, psychovegetative syndrome, and vegetopathy.

Somatoform dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system is a psychogenic condition accompanied by symptoms of somatic diseases in the absence of organic lesions. The symptoms of such patients are very varied and inconsistent. They visit different doctors and present vague complaints that are not confirmed during examination. Many experts believe that these symptoms are fictitious, but in fact they cause patients a lot of suffering and are exclusively psychogenic in nature.

Etiology

Violation of nervous regulation is the basic cause of autonomic dystonia and leads to disorders of the activity of various organs and systems.

Factors contributing to the development of autonomic disorders:

1. Endocrine diseases - diabetes, obesity, hypothyroidism, adrenal dysfunction,
2. Hormonal changes - menopause, pregnancy, puberty,
3. Heredity,
4. Increased suspiciousness and anxiety of the patient,
5. Bad habits,
6. Poor nutrition
7. Foci present in the body chronic infection- caries, sinusitis, rhinitis, tonsillitis,
8. Allergy,
9. Traumatic brain injury,
10. Intoxication,
11. Occupational hazards - radiation, vibration.

The causes of pathology in children are fetal hypoxia during pregnancy, birth injuries, diseases during the newborn period, unfavorable climate in the family, overwork at school, stressful situations.

Symptoms

Autonomic dysfunction manifests itself in many ways different symptoms and signs: asthenia of the body, palpitations, insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, shortness of breath, obsessive phobias, sudden changes in fever and chills, numbness of the extremities, tremors of the hands, myalgia and arthralgia, heart pain, low-grade fever, dysuria, biliary dyskinesia, fainting, hyperhidrosis and hypersalivation, dyspepsia, incoordination of movements, pressure fluctuations.

The initial stage of the pathology is characterized by autonomic neurosis. This conditional term is synonymous autonomic dysfunction, but at the same time spreads beyond its limits and provokes further development diseases. Autonomic neurosis characterized by vasomotor changes, impaired skin sensitivity and muscle trophism, visceral disorders and allergic manifestations. At the beginning of the disease, signs of neurasthenia come to the fore, and then other symptoms join.

Main syndromes of autonomic dysfunction:

• The syndrome of mental disorders is manifested by low mood, impressionability, sentimentality, tearfulness, lethargy, melancholy, insomnia, a tendency to self-blame, indecisiveness, hypochondria, and decreased motor activity. Patients develop uncontrollable anxiety, regardless of a specific life event.
• Cardialgic syndrome is manifested by cardiac pain of various types: aching, paroxysmal, pinching, burning, short-term, constant. It occurs during or after physical activity, stress, or emotional distress.
• Astheno-vegetative syndrome is characterized by increased fatigue, decreased performance, exhaustion of the body, intolerance loud sounds, weather sensitivity. Adaptation disorder is manifested by an excessive pain reaction to any event.
• Respiratory syndrome occurs with somatoform autonomic dysfunction respiratory system. It is based on the following clinical signs: the appearance of shortness of breath at the moment of stress, a subjective feeling of lack of air, compression of the chest, difficulty in breathing, choking. Acute course This syndrome is accompanied by severe shortness of breath and can result in suffocation.
• Neurogastric syndrome is manifested by aerophagia, spasm of the esophagus, duodenostasis, heartburn, frequent belching, the appearance of hiccups in in public places, flatulence, constipation. Immediately after stress, patients experience impaired swallowing and pain in the chest. Solid food becomes much easier to swallow than liquid food. Stomach pain is usually not associated with eating.
• Symptoms of cardiovascular syndrome are heart pain that occurs after stress and is not relieved by taking coronal drugs. The pulse becomes labile, blood pressure fluctuates, and the heartbeat quickens.
• Cerebrovascular syndrome is manifested by migraine headaches, impaired intelligence, increased irritability, and in severe cases, ischemic attacks and the development of stroke.
• The syndrome of peripheral vascular disorders is characterized by the appearance of swelling and hyperemia of the extremities, myalgia, and convulsions. These signs are caused by disturbances in vascular tone and permeability of the vascular wall.

Autonomic dysfunction begins to manifest itself in childhood. Children with such problems often get sick, complaining of headaches and general malaise when there is a sudden change in weather. As people grow older, autonomic dysfunctions often go away on their own. But this doesn't always happen. Some children, upon the onset of puberty, become emotionally labile, often cry, withdraw into seclusion, or, conversely, become irritable and hot-tempered. If autonomic disorders disrupt a child’s life, it is necessary to consult a doctor.

Select 3 clinical forms pathologies:

1. Excessive activity of the sympathetic nervous system leads to the development of autonomic dysfunction of the cardiac or cardiac type. It is manifested by increased heart rate, attacks of fear, anxiety and fear of death. In patients, blood pressure increases, intestinal motility is weakened, the face becomes pale, pink dermographism appears, a tendency to increase body temperature, agitation and motor restlessness.
2. Autonomic dysfunction can occur in a hypotonic manner with excessive activity of the parasympathetic nervous system. In patients, blood pressure drops sharply, the skin turns red, cyanosis of the extremities, greasy skin and acne appear. Dizziness is usually accompanied by severe weakness, bradycardia, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, dyspepsia, fainting, and in severe cases, involuntary urination and defecation, and abdominal discomfort. There is a tendency to allergies.
3. The mixed form of autonomic dysfunction is manifested by a combination or alternation of symptoms of the first two forms: activation of the parasympathetic nervous system often ends in a sympathetic crisis. Patients develop red dermographism, hyperemia of the chest and head, hyperhidrosis and acrocyanosis, tremor of the hands, and low-grade fever.

Diagnostic measures for autonomic dysfunction include studying the patient’s complaints, a comprehensive examination and conducting a number of diagnostic tests: electroencephalography, electrocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, FGDS, blood and urine tests.

Treatment

Non-drug treatment

It is necessary to eliminate sources of stress: normalize family and household relations, prevent conflicts at work, in children's and school groups. Patients should not be nervous and should avoid stressful situations. Positive emotions are simply necessary for patients with vegetative dystonia. It is useful to listen to pleasant music, watch only good films, and receive positive information.

Meals should be balanced, small and frequent. Patients are advised to limit the consumption of salty and spicy foods, and in case of sympathicotonia, to completely eliminate strong tea and coffee.

Insufficient and inadequate sleep disrupts the functioning of the nervous system. You need to sleep at least 8 hours a day in a warm, well-ventilated area, on a comfortable bed. The nervous system has been weakened for years. To restore it requires persistent and long-term treatment.

Medications

They switch to individually selected drug therapy only if general strengthening and physiotherapeutic measures are insufficient:

• Tranquilizers - “Seduxen”, “Phenazepam”, “Relanium”.
• Neuroleptics - "Frenolon", "Sonapax".
• Nootropic drugs - “Pantogam”, “Piracetam”.
• Sleeping pills - Temazepam, Flurazepam.
• Heart medications - “Korglikon”, “Digitoxin”.
• Antidepressants - Trimipramine, Azafen.
• Vascular agents - Cavinton, Trental.
• Sedatives - Corvalol, Valocordin, Validol.
• Autonomic dysfunction of the hypertensive type requires the use of hypotensive drugs - Egilok, Tenormin, Anaprilin.
• Vitamins.

Physiotherapy and balneotherapy provide a good therapeutic effect. Patients are recommended to undergo a course of general and acupressure massage, acupuncture, visit the pool, engage in exercise therapy and breathing exercises.

Among the physiotherapeutic procedures, the most effective in the fight against autonomic dysfunction are electrosleep, galvanization, electrophoresis with antidepressants and tranquilizers, water procedures - medicinal baths, Charcot's shower.

Phytotherapy

In addition to the main medicines Herbal medicines are used to treat autonomic dysfunction:

1. Hawthorn fruits normalize heart function, reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood and have a cardiotonic effect. Preparations with hawthorn strengthen the heart muscle and improve its blood supply.
2. Adaptogens tone the nervous system, improve metabolic processes and stimulate the immune system - tincture of ginseng, eleutherococcus, lemongrass. They restore the body’s bioenergy and increase the body’s overall resistance.
3. Valerian, St. John's wort, yarrow, wormwood, thyme and motherwort reduce excitability, restore sleep and psycho-emotional balance, normalize heart rhythm, without causing damage to the body.
4. Melissa, hops and mint reduce the strength and frequency of attacks of autonomic dysfunction, ease headaches, and have a calming and analgesic effect.

Prevention

To avoid the development of autonomic dysfunction in children and adults, the following measures must be taken:

• Carry out regular clinical monitoring of patients - once every six months,
• Timely identify and sanitize foci of infection in the body,
• Treat concomitant endocrine and somatic diseases,
• Optimize sleep and rest patterns,
• Normalize working conditions,
• Take multivitamins in the fall and spring,
• Take a course of physiotherapy during exacerbations,
• Do physical therapy,
• Fight smoking and alcoholism,
• Reduce stress on the nervous system.

Video: vegetative-vascular dystonia - Dr. Komarovsky

My son is 14 years old, he was diagnosed with VSD, I’m kind of panicking, is this very scary?

Hello! VSD does not pose a threat to life or a serious health problem; it is a dysfunction in the activity of parts of the autonomic nervous system, which will most likely go away with age. Provide your son good dream and rest, adequate amount physical activity, walks.

How to treat a disorder of the autonomic nervous system? This question interests many people now.

Everyone knows the situation when:

• weakness;
• insomnia;
• headache;
• excessive sweating;
• lack of air;
• panic fear.

Many people are probably familiar with these symptoms, but not everyone has experienced this. Such symptoms characterize nervous disorders (disorder of the autonomic nervous system, or mixed type vegetative-vascular dystonia).

Such a manifestation of the body cannot be called a disease, since in this state a person can feel sick, but not a single analysis will show serious abnormalities. But if this type of disease is not treated, it will lead to serious health problems.

Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system

The human body is regulated by the nervous system, which is represented by two components: central and autonomic. The autonomic nervous system is responsible for the functioning of all organs.

It should be noted that the autonomic nervous system consists of 2 main sections that are interconnected. These divisions include the sympathetic and parasympathetic. If one of them fails, then dysfunction occurs in the body.

Signs of diseases of the autonomic nervous system

The question often arises: why does this process of nervous system disruption occur? There is only one answer: it all depends on which part of the nervous system was involved in the pathological process.

The main signs of VSD are:

• frequent headaches;
• increased fatigue;
• dizziness, which is accompanied by high blood pressure;
• sweating of the hands or feet occurs;
• the skin becomes cold.

The thermoregulation process is disrupted due to the disruption of the diencephalic function, which is responsible for thermoregulation of the body. If your temperature rises for no reason, then this particular function has been disrupted.

Another manifestation of a disease of the autonomic nervous system is memory impairment. For example, if you are sure that you know the person’s phone number and name, but you can’t remember them.

Perhaps you are unable to learn new material during the school year. These are the first signs of the development of disorders of the autonomic system.

Often, with diseases of the autonomic nervous system, including in children, hand tremors occur and shortness of breath occurs, dry mouth occurs, and blood pressure worries. Signs of anxiety and insomnia may appear.

All these signs should make you think about your health. These disorders mainly affect women. Often this disease causes gastritis, toxicosis, allergies and neurasthenia.

Symptoms of autonomic nervous system disorder and causes of its occurrence

The main reason for the development of the disease is a violation of the regulation of the autonomic nervous system, that is, improper performance of the functions of all internal organs and the body as a whole.

Why does the regulation of nerve fiber activity occur? The cause of the disease may be heredity, that is, these are families where symptoms of the disease may be present in each family member. Do not forget about the endocrine system of the body, especially during menopause in women, pregnancy and puberty.

We cannot exclude people who lead a sedentary lifestyle, consume fatty foods, and alcoholic beverages. The causes of the disorder can be infectious diseases, allergies, stroke and injury.

Autonomic dysfunction occurs in different ways. In some cases, the disease develops and the sympathetic nervous system is strongly activated.

At the time of the attack, the patient begins to complain of a rapid heartbeat, fear and fear of death arise. The patient's blood pressure rises sharply, the face becomes pale, and the feeling of anxiety worsens. A hypertensive crisis may develop.

The main symptoms of a hypertensive crisis include:

1. A sharp decrease in blood pressure.
2. The skin turns pale and becomes cold.
3. The body becomes covered with sticky sweat.
4. A person may fall, as severe weakness develops throughout the body.
5. The heart begins to work harder.
6. Sharp pain in the abdomen, lower back.

Treatment of autonomic nervous system disorders

Mostly, patients go to see a doctor more than once with certain complaints, but the doctor cannot make a diagnosis. Initially, patients visit a general practitioner, and then are referred to a cardiologist. After this, all doctors are examined, starting with a gastroenterologist, surgeon, neurologist and ending with a psychologist.

The therapist prescribes such types of research as:

• electrocardiogram;
• CT scan;
• electroencephalogram;
• daily monitoring;
• fibrogastroduodenoscopy;
• various laboratory tests.

After such studies, the doctor will be able to study the overall picture of the disease and prescribe the correct and high-quality treatment. If you think that quit smoking for a while, maintain a diet, and the problem will disappear, then you are mistaken.

This disease must be treated for a long time.

It is necessary to adhere to a healthy lifestyle, that is, completely give up bad habits, play sports, and also ensure proper nutrition. The menu should include a complex of vitamins and minerals.

Taking medications normalizes the proper functioning of the entire body. It is necessary to use daytime tranquilizers, sleeping pills at night, and vascular drugs. A complex of vitamins, massage courses and physiotherapy help effectively, and don’t forget about swimming in the pool.

Do not forget that when feeling unwell you need to spend some time in silence. Sit down and relax.

Autonomic dysfunction is a rather insidious disease. It often occurs in children, and then accompanies a person throughout his life. If you don't carry out preventive actions, then it will lead you to permanent blood pressure, which will cause a change in the structure of all organs.

It is a consequence of changes in the digestive system. That’s why try to conduct seasonal preventive courses, that is, massage sessions, physical therapy, and physiotherapeutic procedures. Drink herbal teas, take a complex of vitamins. Spa treatment will be beneficial.

For home prevention, yoga classes and relaxation sessions are suitable. Do breathing exercises.

• Recovery

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