Can this be normal?

[seamuspg]

Hi All-

I have posted here before regarding the vastness of symptoms and the speed to which they come. Still so confused and wonder what is I could be dealing with. The foot / sweaty and burning feeling is now engulfing both feet, it extends up shins when wearing pants (hence shorts all the time), burning /rawness now into my hands, extremely sensitive to temperature changes (not painful, just so pronounced), what feels like water trickles on legs or feet, pain sensations that last 1-2 seconds in feet or hands, upper body tremors/shaking shoulders making it difficult to reach for things or hold/text w phone, and now what feels like momentary headaches (never had headaches). My sleep is broken and filled with tremor and muscle jerks that are often extensions of my dreams. How is ALL this possible? I have tried desperately to pick up triggers or patterns...nothing. It just comes back with a vengeance every 7-10 days. I get a few days of slight relief, then back into it.

I must say, when I have experienced relief (couple days of dampened symptoms), its almost I can feel a change in my brain? How can that be? Something FEELS different. It makes sense that my symptoms are less somehow, if that makes sense.

So lost. Whatever it is, it seems to come and go, every 7-10 days, with varying degrees of severity, and new symptoms added each time. But the list is growing, which OBVIOUSLY has me so anxious and feeling disconnected from my body. "Disowning" me come to mind. If anyone has some thoughts on this sort of presentation and whether or not i should be exploring other factors, I am all ears. For what its worth, I have had psychological trauma in my life.

Thanks for listening.

[210272]

Hi seamuspg,

Thanks for reaching out - in my book that's a sign of good mental health.

In the migraine world there is a lot of discussion about searching for triggers. Some people find it really helpful so they can monitor their thresholds and make sure they avoid things that can tip them over. For others, tracking triggers can cause introspection which isn't always helpful, especially if doing so links back to old trauma.

If you can, it might be worth talking to a counsellor who is familiar with FND to get some help with the normal human response to new symptoms, ie a feeling of uncalm. I am lucky that I didn't get the anxious gene but for those who did, making sure it isn't expressing more than necessary (IE as an early warning system) can be crucial. If we're constantly in freeze/flight/fight/fright mode it's harder for our systems to get good rest etc. So developing life hacks to get a balance between this system and the rest/digest/repair mode may be worth a go

Also I think what you may feel in your brain when you feel better is part of neuroplasticity (ie our brains adapt rather than being hardwired) so anything you can do to boost that could help too. We're all different in that respect but if you can find something fun to do that stretches your mind/brain a bit, but not too much to start with, that may help.

I'm not totally sure what you mean about 'disowning me' although it did resonate with me. If you are having even a minor suicide ideation then it is crucial to seek professional help. You are not alone in this and help is out there.

[seamuspg in reply to 210272]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. By “disowning” I simply mean it seems foreign to me now, doing its own thing, something I can’t trust. No ideation here.

I guess I’m just wondering if the limitless symptoms, and speed at which they come (and sometimes go) can be a sign of something else at play. I have recently started on an SSRi to try and combat my emotional response( for now)…

There is an FND specialist where I live, but you need to jump through the basic hoops to see him. I will push forward with the process, though I’m not sure how much diagnosis or specialists can offer?

[210272 in reply to seamuspg]

Oh, that's healthy disowning, in my not remotely humble blah blah blah. I hear you about the toxic admin of having to jump through hoops and in many ways, we are the experts/specialists because we have the lived experience. Could be that taking time out from the whacky world of medicine (my Dad worked in it and diagnosed it as 'not always healthy') might be just what you need. You can always cancel if you don't need the appointment.This will sound glib but if you can focus on the good days and go 'oh, gimme a break' on days when symptoms are brain/body/bitinbetween storming at you, that might help.

I'm not sure what the list of commonly observed co-conditions is with FND but that's certainly something the specialist should be able to tell you, so you're not left trying to figure it all out for yourself. And he may be willing to do that via email, to help set your mind at rest. Good healers do stuff like that

[seamuspg]

I also hate to push the vaccine fears, but my symptoms began 3 weeks after my jab.

[DogPurple]

Nothing consistent is what makes it hard to plan anything. Will I walk today? Can I talk today? So so hard to plan anything now due to the unknown. I am sending you good thoughts.

[Brokendeer]

Hi there is a condition brought on by Thyroid levels being out of balance that affects muscles and movement and metabolic rates and sort of fits within your 7-10 day cycle.

Have you had your Thyroid Levels tested or seen an Endocrinologist, because that would be a good place to start ruling out other causes than FND, because frankly these symptoms you describe are to me not typical of just an FND diagnosis.

Look for the calm in the Storm!