Dysautonomia & Autonomic Disorders

Dysautonomia can disrupt blood pressure, heart rate, cerebral perfusion, temperature regulation, sweating, gastrointestinal function, genitourinary function, vision, cognition, exercise tolerance, and nearly every aspect of daily function. It is frequently underdiagnosed because autonomic disorders can cross neurological, cardiovascular, immune, endocrine, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and peripheral nerve systems and often produce symptoms that appear disconnected.

Dr. Funk does not stop at labeling a patient with “dysautonomia.” He diagnoses and differentiates POTS, orthostatic hypotension, neurocardiogenic syncope, autonomic neuropathy, autoimmune autonomic dysfunction including autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, post-infectious and post-traumatic dysautonomia, and other complex autonomic disorders. He uses active standing testing, orthostatic heart-rate and blood-pressure testing, advanced laboratory testing, brainstem and baroreflex assessment, neuroimaging, and other diagnostic testing when clinically indicated to define the autonomic disorder and identify the mechanisms driving it.

When POTS is present, Dr. Funk goes further by identifying the dominant phenotype—including hyperadrenergic, hypovolemic, neuropathic, autoimmune, and overlapping forms—because POTS is not one uniform disorder. He localizes dysfunction across the central and peripheral autonomic nervous system, identifying the brain regions, brainstem circuits, neural pathways, autonomic networks, peripheral nerves, and neuroimmune, biochemical, and neurochemical mechanisms involved.

That precision directly drives treatment. Dr. Funk targets the abnormalities he identifies with individualized orthostatic and tilt-table rehabilitation, transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), vestibular and neuro-optometric rehabilitation, vestibular caloric stimulation, nutraceutical and over-the-counter strategies, and recommendations for medication therapy when appropriate. The goal is not simply to manage dysautonomia—it is to identify and target the specific neurological and physiological mechanisms driving each patient’s autonomic dysfunction.