This Teen Faints Over 6 Times A Day And Makes Vlogs About It, And It's An Eye-Opening Look Into The Life Of Someone With Multiple Chronic Illnesses
This is Kaya. She is 19 years old, and has multiple chronic illnesses which cause her to faint over six times a day, every day.
You may recognize Kaya from TikTok, where she documents her fainting spells in various "Day in My Life" vlogs. Her followers have even nicknamed her "Sleeping Beauty."
In one clip that has over 7 million views, she shows just how often her fainting spells occur:
"Mini day in the life of a person who faints over 6 times a day, everyday, for over 3 years now," she says in the clip. "Believe me, I wish I was joking, but this is just my life."
"I started filming this at noon, so I already had a few fainting spells that morning."
"This is me completely zoning out, which means I'm probably [going to faint] soon."
"And there I go."
"A lot of times I faint back-to-back."
"Here was me trying to get downstairs, but I fainted. When I woke up from this spell, I tried to get up from my bedroom floor but fainted again."
"If you're wondering why this happens to me, I still don't have a definitive answer, but basically, I have multiple chronic illnesses that manage to manifest and culminate into me fainting like an absolute maniac."
"I honestly don't know how I'm even slightly functioning at this point, but I'm just going to keep moving forward and coping with sarcasm."
Kaya has Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), which is when there is an abnormality in how the brain sends and receives signals. She told BuzzFeed that this was diagnosed as the main cause of her fainting spells.
"An analogy commonly used to explain FND is the 'hardware' analogy," Kaya told BuzzFeed. "The hardware (i.e. brain) does not have any structural abnormalities; however, the software (i.e. how the brain works) has a glitch that manifests into functional neurological symptoms like the fainting spells.
"So if my body is feeling that it’s overwhelmed or in danger by my symptoms, it has learned to just shut down (faint) to protect itself."
Although FND is a major contributor to her fainting spells, Kaya explained that she has been diagnosed with other illnesses that overlap with and exacerbate her symptoms.
She has also been diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Hashimoto's Disease, Raynaud's Disease, and Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome.
"My health issues started off as stomach issues when I was around 9 years old," she said. "FAPS (Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome) kicked into high gear at 12 years of age, and I was severely ill for 6 months. The other issues like the fainting started when I was 15. The first time I ever fainted was September 28, 2018, and I haven’t gone a day without fainting since."
Kaya shared the above picture which shows her during a fainting spell.
"After that day, my disorders started to increase — visual and vestibular issues, dizziness and balance, migraines. It took about a year to figure out a lot of my diagnoses, so I didn’t get a formal diagnosis of the major disorders until I was 16 years old."
Most of Kaya's conditions can be categorized as dysautonomia, which is an umbrella term for conditions that cause a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system affects all the non-voluntary functions of your body like heart rate, blood pressure, temperature control, digestion, and more.
In addition to daily fainting spells, Kaya also experiences non-epileptic seizures, heat and cold intolerance, blood pooling, lightheadedness, chronic migraines, visual issues (auras and disturbances), light sensitivity, constant dizziness, brain fog, memory loss, sensory issues, anxiety and depression, nausea and digestive issues, tremors and tics, overall weakness, chronic pain, cramping, paralysis of limbs and joints, movement issues, and chronic fatigue.
Kaya shared the above picture which shows her during a non-epilectic seizure.
Because of the frequency of her fainting spells and other symptoms, Kaya does not drive and has even taken a break from school. And although she does faint regularly, Kaya has fortunately avoided many major injuries.
"Luckily, I don’t usually full on collapse; most of the time I crumple slowly to the ground," she said.
"Sometimes, I will feel a spell coming on or get a few seconds of warning, but over half are unexpected. I’ve fainted while standing, sitting, or laying down, even in the middle of conversations. Each spell can vary drastically, which makes finding a pattern to them really difficult."
She also explained that preventing a spell from happening once it starts is nearly impossible. "Sometimes, I can hold on, and it may pass, but I really have no control over them. In certain circumstances, I can push myself and be 'on' when in certain circumstances (i.e. when family and friends visit) and can hold off fainting for a while, but as soon as I relax and let my guard down, I will have a spell. I have literally fainted the second the front door closes behind our guests numerous times.
"Pushing through the spells is only a temporary fix — it never means I dodged the spell completely, and there is a high cost. The energy required to stay conscious completely drains my few reserves, and fallout is inevitable — it usually results in numerous and more severe spells, further draining my nonexistent energy. Exerting myself beyond my limits can set me back for days or longer if I overdo it."
Kaya revealed that receiving treatment for her conditions has been a challenge, because of how little is known about a lot of her illnesses.
"There is no set treatment plan for my kind of situation, and no single doctor who has expertise in all my conditions," Kaya said.
"My conditions are also very complex, and the symptoms and what can help vary drastically from day to day and person to person. Rarely is anything straightforward in terms of testing, diagnosis, and treatment — many of my disorders were only diagnosed after ruling out everything else with testing. It is really frustrating, as all the symptoms are real!"
"All the pressure to figure out how to balance the information and treatments from multiple providers and manage each day is really on me," she continued. "My Mom and I have had to basically become experts in trying out what the doctors suggest, while also researching and testing out tools, tips, and treatments on our own in hopes of getting some additional relief."
And since many of her conditions affect multiple body systems, there are few medications that can easily alleviate her symptoms.
"Many medications, in fact, make things worse," she said. "There is a lot of trial and error involved, and as my symptoms can vary wildly even in the course of a day, the efficacy of treatments can vary greatly as well."
Despite the difficulties she's experienced with regards to testing and treatment, Kaya does remain hopeful and believes there will be a shift in how chronic diseases are addressed by medical professionals.
"Interestingly enough, I have noticed that people suffering from Long COVID have many symptoms similar to mine," she said. "Perhaps, with a greater population experiencing the same symptoms, some progress will be made in diagnoses and treatment that may benefit me in the near future. I hope so!"
