Just diagnosed

[Thornlee]

After some blackouts (drop attacks) and real paralysis of left side - as well as months of mind fogginess and memory issues - I was diagnosed yesterday.

A sense of relief is coupled with fear of what comes next. I am a teacher and I am concerned that employers do not see this as the disability it is. Are (local authority) employers understanding?

I want to hear other peoples stories. I feel that some do not believe how debilitating this can be.

Thank you

[Shimmyaway]

Wondering what is going to come next is really the scary part of the diagnosis. Having recently retired, I was only doing voluntary teaching at the time of my diagnosis in Jan '22, and the symptoms were not as severe as now, but nevertheless had to give up ..so you must be strong if you are still in there with the kids, who are not always forgiving. It is the unpredictability of FND that has H &S implications in a school environment.

As you rightly assume, the local authority will not have much of a clue about FND .. did we ?? It will be up to you to educate them .. and some of the medical profession will need pointing in the right direction too..as you will find. The link below to the BMJ article of 2022 gives a good outline of FND, and will provide a professional objective point of view, when it is needed for those who are unaware of its disabling effects.

KInd regards, and sympathy at this unsettling time.

BMJ 2022; 376 doi: doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o64 (Published 24 January 2022)Cite this as: BMJ 2022;376:o64

[Thornlee in reply to Shimmyaway]

Thank you! Your reply means a lot. I’m just going to read the link. Thank you, great to hear from an educator, you understand it totally. Cheers!

[Thornlee in reply to Shimmyaway]

Yes! I’ve read the article and it’s provided a deeper understanding. Thank you again, all the best!

[Lady4]

Hi, there are a lot of good resources, I found the "not there" graphic book good and maybe a simple way of explaining it to others. With seizures there are usually "subtle" warnings and if you can gwt to recognise these and learn to nuture your nervous system by taking yourself away from the environment briefly, like they sometimes offer SEN children, think that would help massively.

[Thornlee in reply to Lady4]

Thank you . I will look up the book. Cheers.

[Lady4 in reply to Thornlee]

Heres a link from another post (pretty sure its on my posts too):

healthunlocked.com/fndhope/...