It's been suggested that I could have PTSD .

[Littlecook]

It's been suggested that I could possibly have PTSD as well as all my over problems going back to my childhood days , I've got to say I never gave it a thought before a doctor suggested it the other day when the doctor and nurses played me a visit, what do you think ?

[Crystallmatters]

Hi , It is apparently a fact that something that has gone on in your past can affect you even subconsciously, again it is all about the brain only the brain can process everything , where ever pain is in the body / Skin little toe hurting , the pain can on,y come from the brain , which is why after some time of panicking or rightfully stressing anxiety this massively increases the problems ,

I can tell you in answer to a few of your questions for me , everyday now includes lots of pain , various pain levels including crippling, with FND chiming in , I just never know when FND is going to happen and I don’t worry anymore if I wake up in intensive care or hospital . So many times now I have had terrible attacks of Electric shock that can even bonce me up and down off the floor , or my body will shake until the ambulance arrives , I get to low on oxygen when I am having a bad attack.

Pain in my case definitely brings on FND linked to my thought processes. If I let the anxiety get hold , then I am in real trouble . So a typical day is reckoning I am no longer the same person as I was . I looked in the mirror and did not know who I was looking at , then I knew it is now I am a person with multiple failed lower back surgeries resulting in Pain -Pain of all horrible levels , why can I see this now but not before, because I am coming out of deep depression, another thing that drives me to be unwell . Who would not be depressed, I, We have a right to have many feelings , the brain , the complexity of the brain is doing all this an how we get fed up sad lonely, isolated, feel really crap , get anxiety- stress -pain drives for me FND and more Pain , it increases the pain to the point it attacks me every where in the fingers the hands , arms , body legs, feels like a club hammer smashing me all over , on other times pick axes, or my blood is running with poison hurting , burning, massive exhaustion. Well no wonder we want answers.

Um the problem is the complexity of what is going on in our brain driven in the first place by what , or maybe a few things , the experts , specialists after over twenty five years of working on FND do have some answers, but they are stl learning.

I hope what I have written, shows you are not alone and I to get some comfort from you everyone to know we are all trying are best to get answers and help.

The main thing is to know that for me , to a degree a small amount I can help the pain and FND if I Recognise it , with compassion, try to stay calm and use many techniques, that I have talked about in some of my other replies.

Don’t worry , you are doing well even by being on this site, I am so sorry you suffer and I hope it calms down a little for you. David x

[Shimmyaway]

Whilst I can't give you an opinion, for lack of knowledge, I do know that some years ago a big study was done on 'Adverse childhood experiences' ..the ACE STUDY .you can look it up. I also heard on a BBC4 FND programme about 2 FND patients, both of whom had had terrifying experiences, and on being more open, much improved their condition. Gabor Mate, a psychiatrist , who has 'done' a lot of books and podcasts , has a lot to say about childhood and mental health .. ,, not read them myself...but he has experienced the consequences of a difficult childhood.

If suspected PTSD leads to more investigation, revelation and maybe even some resolution, embrace it ..you don't know where it may lead ..can it be worse than the unenviable place you are now? only you can know. Best wishes

[Van604 in reply to Shimmyaway]

I went to a lecture some years ago given by Gabor Mate and he is a believer in generational trauma, where trauma is passed down through the genes. His parents were in a concentration camp. It's an interesting concept in the context of FND because it could explain why our bodies react in a PTSD-like way, even if we haven't experienced trauma ourselves. My mother's house was bombed and my father fought in WW2, and they were both extremely traumatized. Maybe that affected their genes, which were passed down to us?

[Shimmyaway in reply to Van604]

From what I remember of Gabor Mate's story, he himself was in distress, because as a child he could not comprehend why he had been 'given' to an aunt (maybe outside Hungary )to be looked after .. a precaution taken by his parents which probably saved his life...but which left him with unresolved questions .. esp relating to his own role in what he saw as parental abandonment. I am sure you have given much thought as to what extent your parents' distress affected you as a child, whether you perceived yourself as having contributed to it, and whether you interpreted the family situation as 'the norm', which would have evoked some fear of the future. What role all that has in triggering FND remains a question mark, as we are all individuals and react to and interpret events differently.

[Van604 in reply to Shimmyaway]

I read "When the Body Says No" years ago and I thought he subscribed to the epigenetic strand of generational trauma theory, but I'm probably misremembering. I just find it interesting because, when I was first diagnosed with FND, the doctors were adamant that it was psychological. So I did 2 years of intense psychoanalysis and therapy with both a neuropsychiatrist and a psychologist and, at the end of that, the neuropsychiatrist basically gave up, because he couldn't find anything, and the psychologist told me my problem wasn't psychological and I should find a good neurologist! Unfortunately, that meant I missed the crucial early window of opportunity for specialised FND physio, so it's now unlikely that I can improve. It's frustrating, but I'm learning to adapt to my new normal.

[Lady4]

I really don't know, sometimes a combination of events can trigger FND and probably the smallest thing is the final straw and sometimes we just don't know, its can be deep in our subconsciousness.

The past doesn't define our future, although it can have an effect on our reactions/thought process and bring back memories.

I think talk it over with your dearest and dearest, the ones that know you best.