Dr. Kathy Van Zeyl, ND - The Running Naturopath

06/19/2024

🥵 HEATWAVE SURVIVAL 🥵

Hey friends. Been thinking of you. It’s a bajillion degrees outside. For many of us, this is a pretty darn rough time.

Heat is a trigger for:
- Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) 🦓 🤕
- Dysautonomia & POTS 🩸🫀
- Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) 🤧 🦠 🫁

🦓 EDS factors - It loosens our already fragile & unstable connective tissues, making injuries more common, balance issues, and more pain.

🩸POTS factors - Heat causes dehydration, blood pooling in the legs, tissue swelling, tachycardia, fatigue and brain fog in people with dysautonomia. That > 100bpm heart rate on my Garmin is me just sitting at my desk and trying to exist. Hearts have to work harder when blood can’t get where it needs to go.

🦠 Mast Cells release histamine, prostaglandins, cytokines, heparin and other inflammatory/immune mediators. Heat can be a trigger for many, so watch for heat rashes, hives, increased allergies and immune responses.

All this stuff makes a heat wave more of a “survive” instead of “thrive” situation for both myself and my patients who have the “trifecta” (EDS, POTS & MCAS). But here’s a short list of things I do:

💦 fluids - tons!!! 2.5-3L/day, caution with diuretics (coffee, black tea, alcohol) and add a pinch of salt to drinking water to help hold the fluids where you need them!
🧂 Electrolytes - I have ‘em all!!! Range in sodium concentration goes from Salt Stick Fast chews (50mg per tab) to Vitassium (250mg per cap) to Liquid IV (500mg per dose) to Organika Extra Stength (1000mg per dose - on par w LMNT but cheaper!!!!)
🧊 Ice socks 🧦 (by Natracare) and cold water foot soaks (I keep it under my desk while I’m on with virtual patients) can help prevent leg swelling & brain fog. If you can’t put your feet up, stick them in something cold! 🥶 (I add frozen water bottles to the foot soak through the day to keep it cold)

Also purchased a cooling vest for my old man baby doggo Buggsly 🐕 and a neck fan pour moi (by Galecki) to keep cool when I don’t have a choice.

Limiting outdoor exposure to verrrrry small bouts, and keeping myself hydrated and cool by whatever means possible.

Stay hydrated, cooled & salted my p*eps!!! 🐥

02/08/2024

Clinician-associated trauma: 👩‍⚕️ 😣 🤦‍♀️

It’s a real thing. Many of my EDS patients have experienced this for decades, searching for someone who knows what’s going on while having their symptoms dismissed, ignored, or downplayed while they go untreated. This is so frequent that a number of docs working with the Ehlers Danlos Society got together and published a paper on it. So if you feel this, you are not alone!! 💙🤗💙

Although I appreciate that EDS is still a poorly understood condition and many doctors don’t know how to recognize the signs, diagnose or treat it... the outright dismissal and undermining of patients is associated with poor health outcomes, increased prevalence of cPTSD and degrades a patient’s trust in the healthcare system. Which is especially not good in times of emergencies!🚨

This should not happen. Your concerns are valid. I truly believe that doctors and healthcare practitioners go into this field to help patients. Many of them may not know what we’re talking about when we say we have chronic pain and that our joints are unstable & slipping out of place, even though we *look* fine. I hope in future more practitioners will stop, listen and think before they speak... because often there are concrete answers (i.e. EDS) to explain this phenomenon.

As someone who both lives with and treats hEDS, I know there is so much we can do to help hypermobile patients who are struggling just to get through their day. So although I’m in a mini-vent mode (I’m seeing so many patients this week who’ve experienced this!), I will always be here with open ears, an inquisitive mind, and will work my tail off to help you through this. There are some absolutely brilliant practitioners out there and I’ve spent years amassing a referral team of trusted partners. If your practitioner makes you feel worse than you did before you went in (i.e. gaslit), just hang in there and trust that there are other medically-trained professionals who can and want to help!

With love,
Dr. Kathy 💙🦓💙

02/08/2024

Clinician-associated trauma.

It's a real thing. Many of my EDS patients have experienced this for decades, searching for someone who knows what's going on while having their symptoms dismissed, ignored, or downplayed while they go untreated. This is so frequent that a number of docs working with the Ehlers Danlos Society got together and published a paper on it. So if you feel this, you are not alone!!

Although I appreciate that EDS is still a poorly understood condition and many doctors don't know how to recognize the signs, diagnose or treat it... the outright dismissal and undermining of patients is associated with poor health outcomes, increased prevalence of cPTSD and degrades a patient's trust in the healthcare system.

This should not happen. Your concerns are valid. I truly believe that doctors and healthcare practitioners go into this field to help patients. Many of them may not know what we're talking about when we say we have chronic pain and that our joints are unstable & slipping out of place, even though we *look* fine. I hope in future more practitioners will stop, listen and think before they speak... because often there are concrete answers (i.e. EDS) to explain this phenomenon.

As someone who both lives with and treats hEDS, I know there is so much we can do to help hypermobile patients who are struggling just to get through their day. So although I'm in a mini-vent mode (I'm seeing so many patients this week who've experienced this!), I will always be here with open ears, an inquisitive mind, and will work my tail off to help you through this. There are some absolutely brilliant practitioners out there and I've spent years amassing a referral team of trusted partners. If your practitioner makes you feel worse than you did before you went in (i.e. gaslit), just hang in there and trust that there are other medically-trained professionals who can and want to help!

With love,
Dr. Kathy

Patients with hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome often experience psychological distress resulting from the perceived hostility and disinterest of the…

01/16/2024

💪 ❤️‍🩹 ✨ Bodies are strong. Bodies are resilient. Bodies can heal if you give them the right kind of love ✨❤️‍🩹💪

Ahoy there and happy 2024 to my fellow EDS zebras 🦓 , bendy p*eps, sports fans (TBT for anybody who loves re-runs of Scrubs and just wants to call ppl “sports fans” like JD) and people who are otherwise tolerant of puns and medical ramblings 😉

So the short story is that last week I forgot to check myself before I wrecked myself 🤕.

Living in Ottawa where our weather is menopausal, Mother Nature threw down some ice 🧊 (we gotta be better to that gal! 🌱) and I got up close and personal with a slippery sidewalk.

Fortunately or not, I’ve never broken a bone ( ✊ 🪵) but I’ve got ligaments that really streeeetch until they can’t take it any more and just rip. So have been nursing a left-sided ( phew 😅) elbow & wrist sprain for the last week, and am praising whoever invented kin tape. That stuff has saved my hide countless times and holds my joints together when the muscles and soft tissues are still in recovery mode.

So a minute on why I love kin tape:
1) easy to use. You can put it just about anywhere and often do it on yourself 👍
2) gives stability to joints while they’re healing… also if they’re loose and struggling to find support (heyo hypermobile p*eps!) 🦴
3) as opposed to a brace, it doesn’t reduce mobility and works alongside your muscles & tendons to control smooth motion 💪
4) supports the brain’s proprioceptive channel help with balance and joint position sense 🧠
5) apparently makes you look like you’re rehashing 90’s colour block fashion trends 💁‍♀️

So although I had a minor freak out on how long this may take to recover as I’ve been relying on rowing 🚣 for cardio & stress relief while I’m still kneehabbing and can’t run…. I’m back to the rower today with my trusty tape. A lot of rest. A few extra tissue supports. And a belief in my body’s ability to heal with the right kinda love ❤️

Many of my hypermobile/Ehlers Danlos patients get sad & frustrated knowing that we got a raw deal with weak collagen, and that we may break more easily than others 💔

I know it sucks. And it’s also a gift. More in caption…

08/01/2023

The great “Kneehab” journey returns. Trying to find a face that represents how I feel about this 😜

It’s been 3.5 years since my first big ACL boo-boo playing soccer (officially retired! ⚽️). Then this past Saturday had an unexpected bike 🚴 accident that left me on the ground in the mud after hearing/feeling two big crunches in the same knee 😣😣

So in Dec 2020 (when everyone else was going crazy during the pandemic 😷) I had a reconstruction surgery riddled with complications that led to my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome diagnosis. 1 year later a paper came out citing the abysmal outcomes for orthopaedic surgeries in EDS patients. 33-91% complication rate for us. The normal rate is

06/02/2023

My hot weather “outside the box” POTS hack! 🥵

We’ve got a heat wave happening right now… pretty much everywhere!

Heat can be one of the most common and uncomfortable triggers for patients with POTS & orthostatic intolerance.

You may have orthostatic intolerance if:
- you get dizzy when you go from sitting to standing 😵‍💫
- your heart rate spikes randomly, even standing in line at the grocery store 🫀
- you’re always tired 😪
- you get brain fog regularly 😶‍🌫️
- you never feel hydrated 💦
- you also p*e constantly
- hot showers make you feel like you’re going to pass out 🚿 😵

Why?
🩸 we often have low blood volume. When it’s hot, your peripheral blood vessels dilate to diffuse heat, but this may take critical blood flow & oxygen away from your brain & core organs. So your brain makes you wanna lie down (or pass out) to get that blood flow back!
🩸 a taxed dysautonomic nervous system doesn’t always follow orders. If your nerves don’t tell your lower body blood vessels to constrict, you’ll get blood & fluid pooling in your lower body. Not getting back to your brain & heart means: 1) tachycardia (aka POTS) or 2) dizziness & (pre) syncope
🩸 gravity. Not our friends sometimes! When you sit to stand, 750mL of blood shifts into your lower body. Under the aforementioned conditions… it stays there.

Wearing compression socks 🧦 helps, but in the summer socks can feel awful. Which is why when working from home I have my ice foot bucket 🪣 under my desk and always keep frozen water bottles in my freezer 😉

Also:
- hydrate like heck! 2.5-3L/day, + more if you drink ☕️ or 🍻
- electrolytes! I always salt 🧂 my water, but take extra capsules to get my BP up above 100/60 (warning: don’t do this if yours is high!)
- move regularly. Muscle contractions (esp in legs 🦵) help with venous return

To all my fellow POTSies, keep cool, get hydrated & stay salty! 😎 💦🧂

05/05/2023

HISTAMINE & ALLERGY SEASON! 🤧🌳🥵

If the histamine is hitting hard right now, know that you’re not alone!

These pretty little purple clusters are mast cells… the increasingly infamous immune cell that either keeps histamine contained, or busts it out randomly at the drop of a hat (for triggers & what all “hats” can be dropped, see slide 4 🎩).

It’s been a rough start to allergy season already. The snow mould came out fast and furious ❄️ 🦠 (thanks to that thaw/freeze/thaw/repeat - hello global warming! 🥵🌍).

Now birch 🌳 is joining the party, one of the most prominent spring allergens around town. The triggers are getting worse, and for many of us our reactions to triggers are becoming more sensitive.

So what to do? 🤷‍♀️

1) Reduce/remove the triggers (where possible!)
- use a HEPA air filter to remove aerated allergens 🌬️. Especially in your bedroom while you’re sleeping
- clean your home, bedding, clothing & textiles regularly. If you have environmental allergies compounded by dust & mould spores, it’s gonna be worse
- limit high histamine foods. This includes alcohol 🍷 🍺, aged cheeses 🧀, cured meats 🥩 and fermented foods (sorry sauerkraut, I love you otherwise!!!)
- you can (and should!) still go outside, but be cautious and take breaks during hot and windy days when that stuff is all over

2) Stabilize those mast cells
- Vitamin C is my fav (found in dark berries 🫐& leafy greens 🥬)
- Quercetin is my runner up (found in onions, garlic and apples 🧅 🧄 🍎)
With reinforcement mast cells become more stable and less likely to release histamine and other mediators.

3) Take micronutrients & DAO for histamine breakdown
- B vitamins, magnesium, and copper are all used to break down and eliminate histamine once it’s been released. In this area, a good multi can go a long way
- DAO enzyme helps to break down both histamine and biogenic amines that interfere with his elimination. You’ll find this naturally in olive oil 🫒 & pea shoots 🫛 🌱, many will also benefit from green tea for both mast cell stabilizing and DAO activities 🍵

Note that there are many other mast cell mediated symptoms that can occur, so if you need help reach out!

05/01/2023

Happy Hypermobility & Ehlers Danlos Awareness Month!! 🦓

I don’t post often, but figure this is a good time for a brief re-intro.

My patients call me Dr. Kathy 👋

When I’m in doctor mode, I help detect, connect, and educate 👩‍⚕️. Have learned “if you can’t connect the issues, think connective tissues.”

Many of my patients come to see me because they have chronic pain, fatigue, weird injuries & bruises, and what seems like excessive and abnormal reactions to foods, the environment, medications, exercise. They have lived their lives with no answers nor solutions for their struggles.

Removing the “Dr” hat, I am one of them and have lived a life very similar to my patients. So I became a zebra doc 🦓

I can bust a ligament like nobody’s business! Ankles? Sacrificed those puppies to soccer ⚽️. Knees? They’ve always bent backward, I said bye bye to my ACL also after soccer ✌️. Neck? Sprained it during university midterms 🤦‍♀️. Hips? They either sublux or lock up.

My Beighton Score (hypermobility eval) fluxes between a 7/9 and a 9/9 (positive for hypermob starts at 5/9).

I never understood why other people couldn’t touch their toes!

My blood pressure fluxes from 115/75 to 90/50mmHg.

My heart rate can go from 70 to 115bpm from sitting to standing (POTS diagnoses = 30+ point increase).

I tried to donate blood once. I was fine until I sat up. I went white and was put on oxygen and told its not “in me to give.”

Many POTS patients have hypovolemia, i.e low blood volume. If an avg person has 5L of blood 🩸, we may only have 4.5L.

If I don’t drink 3L/day of fluids with salt 🧂, I’m exhausted, tachycardic and brain foggy. Coffee and alcohol do bad things for me. I’m off the sauce 🍷 but still have a hankering for the beans ☕️

I used to run 🏃‍♀️ a LOT!!! Now I run a little and am just grateful that I can. It can make me tired and tachycardic if I’m not careful. I had COVID in Dec and it took 3 mos to recover. My knee is always kin taped🦵

If my body says “no,” then I listen… I love… and I learn 🩷💜🩷

I founded the 9 years ago (our anniversary is May 3rd! 🥳) and am still out with them every Saturday, even if it’s just for a walk or bike. I’m an introvert but they are the social joys of my life ❤️

01/15/2023

❤️ A love note from Dr. Kathy ❤️

To all of my patients:

💙 Thank you for choosing me. Each and every connection I have with my patients is a special one.

💚 Thank you for trusting me. It is my duty and honour to always do my best in helping get you toward your goals.

💛 Thank you for opening up to me. It is often this key piece that helps us find both the answers and solutions we’ve been seeking.

🧡 And above all thank you for the great honour it is to not only be with you on your health journey, but get to know, see and be inspired by you as we go through this together.

It’s a challenging but rewarding thing this Naturopathic Doctor gig… It can be exhausting and all-consuming at times, but there are so many days I sit and think how lucky I am to get to meet some of the most amazing and inspiring people. My patients are truly the best! 💜

So thank you from the bottom of my heart for once again nominating me for as your favourite Naturopathic Doctor through Faces Magazine] . I’m not looking to win (I still need to find space for all my EDS & dysautonomia patients to book in with me!), but it’s a special thing nonetheless and I will keep doing my best for you all ❤️

Faces Magazine] ❤️

09/28/2022

For any of you that “crave the ‘kraut” and are looking for a good way to love up on your gut microbes, check out Amy’s online sauerkraut workshop this Thursday! Amy Longard is THE most plant passionate gal I know, she’s also a chef and holistic nutritionist so knows what to do with some cabbage 😉.

More info here:

I’ve been teaching people how to make sauerkraut for over 8 years and am excited to bring this class to you virtually on Thursday, September 29 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time . In this interactive online workshop, you’ll learn how to make your own homemade sauerkraut along with me in a step-by-step p...

05/17/2022

Hearts are the coolest 🫀❤️

Spent the morning at the Ottawa Cardiovascular Centre getting an echocardiogram to check in on all the chambers and valves. Since discovering my own Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, checking on other systems has become more important.

Thus far I’ve been all clear, but it’s extremely common to see cardiac abnormalities in Ehlers Danlos Syndrome patients since surprise surprise, collagen makes up way more tissue than just joints and ligaments (and EDS is a genetic condition that leads to faulty collagen)🦵💪🫀🧠 🩸

EDS is still a poorly recognized and relatively unknown condition in the healthcare world and it takes an average of 13 years to get a diagnosis (!!!). The hallmark symptoms are hypermobile joints and chronic pain, but it’s also extremely common to see issues with skin, digestion, chronic fatigue, brain fog, poor circulation, mitral valve prolapse, aortic dilation, digestive issues, skin issues, more severe allergies & chemical sensitivities, even neurological issues like CSF leaks and chiari malformation that can be life threatening.

For now, I’m mainly just bendy, tired, POTSY, hivey, brain foggy, bruisey and my guts and immune system are my warning signs that something is off. Could be a heck of a lot worse so I’m grateful to still be able to do things I love, and that gives me incentive to keep taking good care of this ticker 🫀 and everything else surrounding it!