Conversion Disorder

Hello @sherwood, welcome to Connect. If you don't mind I would like to clarify what conversion disorder is for myself and the other members.

This is what Mayo Clinic has to say about the condition, "Conversion disorder, also called functional neurological symptom disorder, is a condition in which you show psychological stress in physical ways. For example, in conversion disorder, your leg may become paralyzed after you fall from a horse, even though you weren't physically injured."

A few members posted about conversion disorder in the past. I would like to invite back @pattis, @es6903, and @soitis4590, as they all discussed having or knowing someone who has suffered from conversion disorder.

@sherwood, if my understanding is correct from the above Mayo Clinic definition, what way has conversion disorder manifested for you? What symptoms are you dealing with? Have you been diagnosed?

Hi I am I've been dealing with it for quite a few years I start to think I was the only one out there and has it

Welcome Kristen. You're definitely not alone.
What symptoms do you have related to living with conversion disorder? When did it start?

I was told l.have conversion disorder just to find out a lot of my problems are my immune system and also allergic reaction to meds. Sometimes we are to quick to diagnosis and not to try and figure out the cause and affect.

How did you find that out? My mom is on a lot of medicine and she was diagnosed with FND... I'm thinking its medicine related though. But, cant find anyone to look over her meds..

My daughter has been experiencing paralysis of her right leg. it comes and goes. recently she has complete
paralysis of arms and legs. She has had multiple tests all wnl. would this show up in a MRI?

@katherynsmith
I don’t know about the MRI but if it was me I would certainly want one with and without contrast. My niece demanded that her son have an MRI both with and without contrast and they found a brain tumor which all the doctor said he didn’t have although none of them could diagnose his illness.
Has she had any sort of
fall, accident or injury even if she thinks was insignificant? If it’s not caused by any physical problems that they can figure out, perhaps it’s caused by some type of emotional issue.
I wish you you & your daughter the best.
My dad was paralyzed from the neck down.
Jake

no trauma. has severe anxiety but has had that most of her life. actually everything is going so well. she has had multiple MRI's with and without

Hello @katherynsmith and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I see that @jakedduck1 has offered you some good ideas for tracking down this problem your daughter is having with paralysis. This must be very frightening for her.

I'm thinking that she has probably had a full neurological work-up with an EMG (nerve conduction tests) lumbar puncture, etc.? If not, I would highly recommend an appointment for a second opinion. There are so many problems that can influence the way our body functions.

You mentioned that your daughter has a history of anxiety. If you are comfortable sharing more, how has she treated the anxiety before this paralysis became apparent? Was she dependent on anti-anxiety meds? Does she have a therapist? Did she have an exercise routine like walking, yoga, etc.? Does she have friends she talks to or any hobbies that she enjoys?

I can certainly understand your concern for your daughter. Will you post again?

Yes. I have a conversion diagnosis. Since 2016. I lost everything from the waist down and had to learn to walk again. It was horrible.

I then totally lost my vision for 3 months and learned I can not navigate my house at all .

Ask her a series of questions and redirect all her focus....watch her pupils.

Does anything hurt and if it does what kind of hurt (sharp,sore,etc?)

Has she had her appendix checked?

Mine is triggered by things failing or hurting inside of my body. May be worth exploring.
Also: if her pupils are different sizes and you run out of tests: chiropractor adjustment is worth a shot!
My pupils were different sizes, pressures in each eye different..bp each side of body different....chiro adjustment brought vision back and regained all feeling in body by that evening.