Why POTS Misdiagnosis as Functional Neurological Disorder is Destroying Lives

In this episode of the My POTS Podcast, Two veteran functional neurologists expose the dangerous trend of POTS misdiagnosis as functional neurological disorder (FND) that's leaving patients without proper treatment. Medical research on Frontiers, confirms that many patients with autonomic disorders are frequently misdiagnosed with FND, making it difficult to obtain further diagnostic and therapeutic care. Dr. Joseph Schneider and Dr. Adam Klotzek reveals why POTS patients are being labeled with psychological disorders when they actually have measurable neurological dysfunction from brain injuries. They discuss shocking cases, including a 26-year-old pilot whose hands leak water like faucets after car accidents, yet doctors diagnosed him with functional neurological disorder instead of treating his obvious brain trauma. The conversation exposes why traditional cardiology approaches miss the central nervous system dysfunction driving POTS symptoms and demonstrates how targeted cerebellar therapy can reduce severe autonomic symptoms by 50% in a single session. This episode challenges the psychiatric labeling of POTS patients and reveals the real neurological causes behind heat intolerance, exercise intolerance, and autonomic dysfunction. Connect with Dr. Joseph Schneider: Website: Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center; Hope Regeneration Center Podcast: MyPOTSPodcast.com LinkedIn: Joseph Schneider YouTube: HopeBrainBodyRecoveryCenter Instagram: @HopeBrainCenter_ Facebook: Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center Connect with Dr. Adam Klotzek: LinkedIn: Adam-Klotzek-DC-MS-DACNB-FICC Twitter: @AKlotzek21

0:00
0:00
Advertising will end in
play_arrow
pause
replay_10
forward_10
volume_up
volume_down
volume_off
share
speed
Skip ad
close
close
close
close
close

Description:

In this episode of the My POTS Podcast, Two veteran functional neurologists expose the dangerous trend of POTS misdiagnosis as functional neurological disorder (FND) that's leaving patients without proper treatment. Medical research on Frontiers, confirms that many patients with autonomic disorders are frequently misdiagnosed with FND, making it difficult to obtain further diagnostic and therapeutic care. Dr. Joseph Schneider and Dr. Adam Klotzek reveals why POTS patients are being labeled with psychological disorders when they actually have measurable neurological dysfunction from brain injuries. They discuss shocking cases, including a 26-year-old pilot whose hands leak water like faucets after car accidents, yet doctors diagnosed him with functional neurological disorder instead of treating his obvious brain trauma. The conversation exposes why traditional cardiology approaches miss the central nervous system dysfunction driving POTS symptoms and demonstrates how targeted cerebellar therapy can reduce severe autonomic symptoms by 50% in a single session.
This episode challenges the psychiatric labeling of POTS patients and reveals the real neurological causes behind heat intolerance, exercise intolerance, and autonomic dysfunction.

Connect with Dr. Joseph Schneider:
Website: Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center; Hope Regeneration Center

Podcast: MyPOTSPodcast.com

LinkedIn: Joseph Schneider

YouTube: HopeBrainBodyRecoveryCenter

Instagram: @HopeBrainCenter_

Facebook: Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center  

Connect with Dr. Adam Klotzek:

LinkedIn: Adam-Klotzek-DC-MS-DACNB-FICC

Twitter: @AKlotzek21

Related Podcast

The Real Reason You're Not Getting Better After Injury

Dr. Joseph Schneider reveals what actually happens inside your brain after trauma and why most people never fully recover. When your brain suffers injury, it triggers an inflammatory storm that rewires your entire nervous system, often leaving you with a "new normal" of chronic pain, cognitive issues, and fatigue. Most patients end up managing symptoms with bags of supplements or multiple medications instead of addressing the root cause. Dr. Schneider explains how brain trauma creates a cascade of dysfunction affecting everything from digestion to decision-making, and why traditional segmented care fails to restore proper function. He shares a case study of a patient who went from severe movement disorders to playing basketball again using targeted neurological rehabilitation. Instead of accepting diminished capacity, learn how precision diagnostics and brain-specific therapy can help you function at full capacity again. This episode challenges everything you think you know about brain injury recovery. Connect with Dr. Joseph Schneider: Website: Hope Brain & Body Recovery Center LinkedIn: Joseph Schneider YouTube: @hopebrainbodyrecoverycenter Instagram: @hopebraincenter_ Facebook: Hope Brain & Body Recovery Center

Listen Now
The Marathon of Recovery: Rebuilding Your Body's Control Systems

Delve into the fascinating world of POTS and dysautonomia as Dr. Joseph Schneider explores the intricate relationship between muscle control, sensory systems, and the body's energy management. In this episode of My POTS Podcast, Dr. Schneider and his co-host Joseph Quirk unpack how your spinal system acts as the foundation for autonomic function, revealing why treating POTS requires an all-inclusive approach beyond just managing heart rate. Through vivid analogies and real patient experiences, they explain how everything from exercise to blood flow is interconnected through a critical but rarely discussed component: the intermediolateral cell nucleus. Learn why recovery is truly a marathon, not a sprint, and discover how rebuilding your body's regulatory systems requires a careful balance of exercise, rest, and proper nutrition. If you’re dealing with POTS, facing unexplained symptoms, or simply curious about how your body maintains its complex balance, this episode offers invaluable insights into the journey of neurological recovery. Connect with Dr. Joseph Schneider: Website: Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center LinkedIn: Joseph Schneider YouTube: hopebrainbodyrecoverycenter Instagram: @hopebraincenter_ Facebook: Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center

Listen Now
Autophagy and Sleep: How Your Brain Repairs Itself Overnight

In this episode, Dr. Joseph Schneider and Joseph Quirk dive into the vital connection between sleep and autophagy—the brain's natural cleanup system. Dr. Schneider shares his personal journey with stroke recovery, explaining how autophagy helped heal his damaged basal ganglion and thalamus. The hosts explore how proper sleep cycles activate the brain's maintenance mechanisms, allowing microglia to remove cellular damage while the default network resolves emotional stress. They discuss practical strategies for optimizing sleep—from maintaining consistent circadian rhythms to creating ideal sleeping environments—and reveal why shift workers often face significant health challenges. Through a success story of a patient who recovered from severe brain trauma, they illustrate how comprehensive treatment approaches focusing on sleep quality can restore not just work capacity but complete life satisfaction. Connect with Dr. Joseph Schneider: Website: Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center LinkedIn: Joseph Schneider YouTube: hopebrainbodyrecoverycenter Instagram: @hopebraincenter_ Facebook: Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center

Listen Now
The Muscle Brain Connection Missing From Most POTS Treatment

Back-to-school season brings a surge of students struggling with concussions, POTS, and chronic fatigue that's keeping them out of classrooms and off sports fields. In this episode of My POTS Podcast, host Dr. Schneider reveals why muscle weakness isn't just a symptom but the key to understanding why recovery stalls for so many patients with dysautonomia and brain injuries. Your musculoskeletal system is actually your body's largest organ system, producing powerful signaling molecules called myokines that communicate directly with your brain, immune system, and every major organ. When muscles stop working properly due to chronic fatigue or injury, this entire communication network breaks down, creating a cascade of dysfunction affecting memory, metabolism, and healing capacity. Students and athletes who maintain even basic exercise routines recover faster and more completely than those who become sedentary. This episode explains how targeted movement therapy can double the size of your hippocampus, stimulate brain-derived neurotrophic factors, and restart the natural healing processes that medications alone cannot achieve. Connect with Dr. Joseph Schneider: Website: Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center; Hope Regeneration Center Podcast: MyPOTSPodcast.com LinkedIn: Joseph Schneider YouTube: HopeBrainBodyRecoveryCenter Instagram: @HopeBrainCenter_ Facebook: Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center

Listen Now
View All

Comments