Anyone else experienced reduced or totally symptom free during a very stressful time?

[CreativeCraftyCats]

Recently my work and home life were extremely stressful and I was totally symptom free except the pins and needles in my feet but they were slightly less. I could even dance again Yey.

I’m a veterinary nurse a stressful job at best of times but short staffed and increased workload and management ignoring staffs concerns created a toxically stressful work environment. Then at home my granny died kind of suddenly well as suddenly as a 99 year old can bless her. I also had my drink spiked without my friends I would have been a lot worse than just having my drink spiked. During all of this nothing I could dance run cycle nothing seemed to trigger my gait problems or other symptoms.

I even joked with my neuro physio that I need to be super stressed or high on adrenaline to be ok.

Then when everything was going well work calmed down I found a new job where my family and friends would see me more as the rota was less gruelling and it was a good step in my nursing career. Grandad was getting over loosing granny and starting to go out on day trips with care home. All was looking good my 5 year work plan was going in the right direction.

Then 2 weeks before I leave my job bang it all comes back and worse than ever with a new symptom that means bye bye to my vet nursing career vertigo and vet nursing just don’t work well together.

I am staying positive and creating a business so I can use my skills in Feline Nursing and Behaviour to help others understand these often misunderstood animals. This way I am not feeling like I am letting friends and colleagues down when I can’t work and I’m making a positive out of having FND.

I usually end up with symptoms during bad time lasting 3-4 months then I have a month if lucky this last time 4 whole months I even dared to think that was it no more issues.

[thinkin]

Hi,

No, I did have my symptoms resolve after about a year, but on going back to work I soon became worse again. I find that outside emotional stress didn't impact significantly, but I tended to feel more stress when my FND was worse - if that makes any sense. Doing too much can bring back on symptoms again. Although I did get away with it for a while, when it hit me again my FND came back worse than ever. Remember FND is biology and not psychology.

FND motor symptoms are caused by a build up of glutamate/glutamine in the lymbic system. So be careful when you feel like pushing yourself as these neurotransmitters can excite cells to death when it builds up. Even when symptoms resolved you have to wait 6 months and only then gradually increase your physical activity. So frustrating as we tend to want to do too much, catch up with stuff we've missed.

If you want to do some researching of your own into any other medical conditions you have then do - optimising other conditions can help with symptoms. I found looking into nutrition helped me - especially as I had vitamin deficiencies. That was where the biggest change came from for me. I found that it was a marked sulfite intolerance that was driving mine. It's common in asthmatics. I'm trying not to do too much, too soon.

Good luck and take care. x

[CreativeCraftyCats in reply to thinkin]

Thank you that’s super helpful. I did resist going all out crazy but sometimes couldn’t resist a cheeky dance.

I’m very nutrition conscious and will look to check intolerance that may cause reduced absorption thank you.

Take care and thank you again x

[AjaStar]

I remember once I was screaming and arguing with my husband and I was stronger and able to lift things I couldn’t before. I guess it was the adrenaline, I haven’t gotten into another intense argument like that day but I wonder if I’ll get strong again if I do. It’s like a distraction, that’s one of the tools FND sufferers do to help lessen symptoms, distract distract distract.

[CreativeCraftyCats in reply to AjaStar]

In the nicest way I hope you don’t have another argument like that. Hmmmm yes distraction hadn’t thought of it like that.

[shali_queen in reply to AjaStar]

Could you explain the sense of power one gets with FND if you know about it? I often have strength I didn’t know I had sometimes when I grabbed things with stronger emotions?

[AjaStar in reply to shali_queen]

The power is the adrenaline. It’s like when you physically fight and don’t feel the pain of the hit because of the adrenaline but then you feel the soreness later. It’s like that. A couple times when I’m super angry or if there is an emergency like my kid is sick and needs me the symptoms go away and the strength comes back to my limbs for a few minutes, but like I said it’s only happened a couple times. It hasn’t been tested recently.