A woman who feels 'allergic to gravity' can't stand for more than 3 minutes without passing out, vomiting or feeling faint

• A 28-year-old woman vomits, passes out or feels faint if she stands for more than three minutes.
• Lyndsi Johnson, who spends up to 23 hours a day in bed, told SWNS that she feels "allergic to gravity."

A 28-year-old woman who says she feels "allergic to gravity" spends up to 23 hours a day in bed and can't stand for longer than three minutes without vomiting, passing out, or feeling faint.

Lyndsi Johnson, a former aviation diesel mechanic for the US Navy from Maine, has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). The poorly understood disorder affects the part of the nervous system that regulates functions which aren't consciously controlled, such as blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature.

Around 1 to 3 million Americans are estimated to have the condition, which is more common in women than men, according to Dysautonomia International. Symptoms of POTS often start during puberty and can include: lightheadedness, brain fog, fatigue, exercise intolerance, headache, blurry vision, palpitations, tremors, and nausea.

POTS has been linked with inherited conditions, like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, but we don't know what causes it and there's no cure.

Johnson told the news agency SWNS that POTS makes her feel like she's "allergic to gravity."

"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," Johnson said.

"I'm in bed all day, for up to 23 hours a day. I never thought that at 28 that I would have to use a shower chair. I can't leave my house anymore," she said.

Johnson used to faint up to 10 times a day

Johnson was diagnosed with POTS in February of this year, almost seven years after her symptoms first started, during which time she was hospitalized several times and doctors were unable to work out what was wrong.

She first experienced abdominal and back pain in October 2015. By October 2018, she was medically discharged from the military, though doctors didn't know what was causing her symptoms at the time. Six months later, she developed severe abdominal pain and started projectile vomiting.

Over the next two years, she started fainting. When her condition was at its worst, Johnson fainted up to 10 times a day, forcing her to stop driving.

"I was passing out everywhere – I would be shopping at the supermarket and I had to sit down because I felt faint or at the gym. I've even passed out after my dog has barked," she said.

POTS symptoms can be treated with diet, drugs, and physical therapy

Most patients with POTS are treated with medications, diet, and exercise. For example, people with POTS are encouraged to drink fluids frequently throughout the day and to add salt to their diet.

After being diagnosed, Johnson now takes beta blockers that reduce her heart rate, which have eased her nausea and mean she now faints three times a day.

However, Johnson said that the condition remains "really debilitating," and her husband James, 30, has to cook, clean, and help her shower.

"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 do anything for the next three days," she said.

Johnson said that she's had to adapt to a new life, but she is studying music business, which is "amazing."

"I can't do a lot of what I used to be able to do, but I've come to terms with that now," she said.