The Dysautonomia Dish is a recipe and resource site geared toward people managing autoimmune and autonomic disorders. Medications alleviate some symptoms, but they rarely eliminate them; diet and hydration strategies can close part of that gap. This site translates current research and personal trial-and-error into practical cooking guidance for everyday life, especially the days when dizziness, joint pain, or light sensitivity make ordinary food preparation difficult.

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I’m Devon Tonneson, a Duke student who spent my first three undergraduate years collapsing in lecture halls and cycling through misdiagnoses before a cardiologist, a rheumatologist, and a neurologist finally connected the dots. I battle symptoms from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), systemic lupus, and vestibular migraines everyday. Medication has reduced—not erased—my symptoms. During the summer before senior year, I reviewed clinical nutrition papers, kept detailed food-symptom logs, and methodically adjusted my meals. A consistent pattern emerged: balanced sodium and fluid intake moderated orthostatic episodes, low-histamine and magnesium-rich dishes shortened migraine duration, and an anti-inflammatory focus eased lupus flares. By the following semester, the number of debilitating days each month had fallen to a manageable handful. Everything on the site grows out of that process.

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Recipes are arranged by the primary problem they address. “Orthostatic support” meals emphasize electrolyte balance and can be prepared while seated; “anti-inflammatory” dishes highlight omega-3 fats, antioxidants, and minimal added sugar; “migraine-conscious” options keep histamine low and incorporate ingredients such as ginger and magnesium-dense greens. Each recipe page lists preparation time, estimated standing time, key nutrient ratios (for example, sodium-to-potassium), and suggested substitutions for common dietary restrictions.

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Supplementing the recipes is a set of concise reference articles that distill evidence on topics such as effective sodium targets for POTS, cost-conscious anti-inflammatory shopping, and practical strategies for navigating a university dining hall when you cannot predict a flare. A short personal blog tracks what I am testing in real time—sometimes successful, sometimes not—because individual responses vary and transparent data helps everyone calibrate their own plan.

A simple filter lets visitors sort recipes by symptom focus or preparation effort and record symptom responses for future comparison.

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The ultimate aim is twofold: to give patients and caregivers concrete tools that make daily life easier, and to encourage clinicians and researchers to take nutrition more seriously in the management of autonomic disorders. I welcome comments, additional recipes, and critiques—better data and broader experience will improve the resource for all of us.