A 28-year-old woman named Lyndsi Johnson from the United States claims that she is allergic to gravity due to the rare condition. She spends 23 hours in bed and faints up to 10 times a day. Moreover, she can’t stand for more than three minutes without passing out.
Johnson, a former aviation diesel mechanic for the US Navy, claims she suffers from one of the world’s least understood illnesses, which sometimes even forces her to sit with her legs crossed in order to stop feeling sick.
“I’m allergic to gravity — it sounds crazy but it’s true”
Ms. Johnson said that she started suffering from abdominal and back pain in 2015. Over the years, her symptoms worsened to the point that she started projectile vomiting and fainting up to 10 times a day. She was eventually released from the military on medical grounds in 2018.
“I’m allergic to gravity — it sounds crazy but it’s true,” Johnson told the Independent. “I can’t stand up for longer than three minutes without feeling faint, being sick or passing out. I feel much better if I’m lying down.”
“I’m in bed all day — for up to 23 hours a day. I never thought that at 28, I would have to use a shower chair. I can’t leave my house anymore. There is no cure but I’m so grateful for what I do have,” she added. “It was so bad, I was screaming in pain and the vomiting was ‘The Exorcist; style,” Johnson said.
After years of going back and forth to the doctors, Johnson was then diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) in February 2022. It is a condition that creates reduced blood volume and an abnormal increase in heart rate when a person stands or sits up.