For all of you who think 'conversion disorder', 'hysteria' etc are a thing of the past ...

[210272]

... here's what Jon Stone lists as his areas of expertise:

Research expertiseFunctional Disorders, Hysteria, Conversion Disorder, Psychogenic Disorders

[Hidden]

I’m not sure what you are saying? My understanding of that is that he lists all the names FND is currently known as and has been known as in the past. FND was known as hysteria in the past, MS was also? Doesn’t make it any less real.

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A distinguished old endocrinologist once told me to beware of “functional” as a term. He pointed out that Ulcerative Colitis was presumed to be “functional” / IBS in the recent past but is now known to be an autoimmune IBD.

How is an FND diagnosis any better than “hysteria”, conversion disorder or other names from the past for medically unexplained neuro symptoms? Does it help the majority who are diagnosed with “functional” disorders to access targeted therapies or allow for further investigations? Or do most who are diagnosed find the opposite to be true in reality?

Hope versus despair? Which do the majority diagnosed with FND find this diagnosis leads them to? It would be useful if a university psychology department could run this as a research project perhaps? So far all of the data I’ve come across is coming from those in neurology departments already researching FND, so is not impartial/ objectively acquired data

Of course the symptoms are real - everything that takes place in body and mind is real/ organic. Mental health symptoms are real too. So why do we need to be told “it’s real” all the time?!

Have neurologists not got enough of a work load with MS, MND, MG, MdDS, SFN, Myositis, CNS Lupus, Sjogren’s and Vasculitis, Altzheimer’s and PD plus brain injuries, tumours, spinal injuries etc etc to focus on without straying into psychiatry and psychology?

[210272 in reply to Hidden]

I'd like to see an economic and social audit done on "FND"

[CRPSplus in reply to Hidden]

A doctor once told me be wary of anyone medical saying they find your condition "fascinating" as it was usually an indication thay lacked knowledge or expertise in your presentation of symptoms. How true it turned out to be!

[Hidden in reply to CRPSplus]

Yes!!!

The first time I met my GP a few years ago, whom I do really like, she claimed to be fascinated by the tests my rheumatologist was running on me. When I was given my medical notes a few weeks later (by accident as the secretary got in a muddle) I discovered she had referred me to a sleep specialist saying I had Sjögren’s and Fibromyalgia. In all these years under rheumatology, until “FND”, I’ve never been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia??!

If someone wants to call my personality or my artwork fascinating then that’s great but not my health conditions please!

[AjaStar in reply to CRPSplus]

That has been said to me too many times and it pissed me off. I don’t want to fascinate you I want you to tell me what’s wrong and help me dammit. I don’t trust doctors like I used to.