Autonomic Dysreflexia

Dear Ask The Doctor: I am getting ready to be sent to a neurologist for something called autonomic dysrequlation. Could you please tell me what this is and how someone gets this

Dear Century: Autonomic dysregulation or Autonomic Dysreflexia is just the malfunctioning of the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic) which controls blood vessels, gland secretions, body temperature, heart, intestinal movements and other body functions that we do not control voluntarily as the reflexes. It may occur after spinal cord injury, severe head trauma and brain injuries, associated to certain diseases (Multiple Sclerosis, Guillain-Barre), medications side effects (cocaine, amphetamines and psychotropic-psychoactive drugs) and for unknown causes.Then autonomic issues may present as: variations in heart rate and blood pressure (dizziness, palpitations), heat or cold intolerance, inappropriate sweating, difficulty to control body temperature, pallor, flushing of the skin, urinary retention, incontinence, and problems with the bowel movements.