The Hysteria Over Conversion Disorder

my god daughter E.V.P.age 31 was just dignosed with cd on 1-10-12 after several episodes since feb 2010 in which she was thought to have had a stroke but all test states she didnt this is the first i ve ever heard of cd an i have been the the nursing field for 17 years. after watching my Goddaughter suffer the lose of usage of her right side ,in a wheel chair, then after speech and ot,pt then progressing to a walker with a brace and having to wear adult pull ups.all i want is for it to stop and to have her primary doc to say its all in your head stap out of it makes me ill. waiting to schedule our first appt with the psychaistrist cause the neurelogist who saw her in the er states thats who she needs to see,we applied for disablity from the first episode thinking it was a stroke but not medical backing to determine that we were denied got a lawyer now just called them today with the NEW DIAGNOSIS CONVERSION DISORDER wondering what will her /our future hold i need financial assitance to help care for the young adult who obviously cant work.HELP!!!

yesr and a half agoi got diagnosed with cd was learning from crawling to alk with walker ... about 6 month ago i fall and made mine life a living hell now am bed ridden with cd and no1 can explain why i cant rcover from it i cant even sit up i am suprised how many strugguling with cd and recoverd almost to a full exent ..am happy for u guys ...for now am looking to struggle to OTT ,PT therapy so on but am loosing so much faith in recovery since am stuck more now then before i was ok with wheelchair and walker ..but now cant live mine bed i like to find other ppl whit this similar situation like me ty .ps i want me life back :)

My husband was injured at work. He fell through a chassis of a tractor trailer truck, while falling he put his hand out to try to catch himself, and a bungee cord hook "S" type hook went through the palm of his hand and his initial reaction when he felt resistance on his hand (without knowing his hand was hooked), was to pull, and therefore the hook wripped through his palm (kinda like a fish hook), initially after it happened, his thumb and pointer finger became paralized...we saw an orthopedic hand surgeon who performed an exploration surgery on his hand to see if there were any torn tendons/nerves. The doctor said everything was fine...now mind you, this was a workman's comp doctor. Two weeks after surgery, while he was stretching his fingers out like the doctor wanted him to do to prevent the joints/ligaments from getting stiff, he had a terrible "tearing" pain in the palm of his hand, and then after that happened, all 5 of his fingers were unable to move. The dr said this could be due to inflamation and scar tissue... now my husband also started experiencing pain/weakness going all the way up his arm, and extreme pain in the shoulder/neck area..his range of motion was limited in his arm and well as his hand paralized. An EMG and nerve test were done and stated that there was denervation in C6, c7, c8, T1 nerve roots and well as all 3 periphial nerves (ulnar, median, radial). The test suggested that he could have a brachial plexus injury or a pinched nerve in the neck area. The doctor did nothing with these test results, basically was not concerned at all. Over time, symptoms got worse, his muscles in his hand/arm was rapidly weakening, his hand went through a period of extreme skin peeling of (like extreme dry skin that would just peel right off), his nails were cracking/peeling as well, other tests were performed including many different MRI's testing his hand/wrist area, brachial plexus area, his brain/spine area.. cat scans were also done, xrays were done, and besides the results from the EMG, the only other problem that showed on any of these tests showed that he had some bulging discs in his neck area...but the doctor also ignored this as well. We saw the orthopedic hand surgeon, neuroligists, pain management specialists, and the basic gist of things to make this story shorter is that my husband was being brushed off from dr to dr because they did not want to be involved in this case, getting any kind of answers from these drs was like pulling teeth,(trust me, we asked lots of questions, did research, etc..so its not like we didn't try) they thought maybe he was developing RSD, and wanted to do a nerve block, (which at the time of this, the pain had gone away,, so this was pointless and we refused this procedure), we had a second opinion pain specialist that also agreed that he did not need this since my husband was only showing "some" signs of having RSD, not a definite diagnosis. We had to beg the orthopedic dr, (that workman's comp was counting as the main dr in lead of his treatment) to do further tests, months after the "tearing pain" feeling that my husband had in his palm, we finally got the dr to agree to do an mri, but as he was agreeing, he said that he didn't think it would help...and it turned out that it did show he had a torn tendon, which in turn, the dr said did not have anything to do with the fact that my husband's hand was paralized...then months later, the dr thinks maybe he has MS, so then we get referred to another neurologist that takes a look at the initial EMG/nerve test that suggested possible brachial plexus injury...she wanted to do another EMG/nerve test, we get approval for the test to be done, then the day of the test, she says she only had approval to test from his elbow to his fingers...which in order to test for a brachial plexus injury, you must test from the neck area down to the fingers...which she did not do, at this point my husband has very bad muscle atrophy (waisting), and she said that the muscles were fine, which was a red flag for us....after the test, we call the insurance agent which told us that the dr did in fact have full approval to fully complete the test...so the neurologist lied to us....we were then told to call the dr back and ask why she didn't go all the way up to the neck, and they had the nerve to tell us that we have no right questioning the dr and that she did go all the way up. So at this point the neurologist is being fraudulent with the medical records and is lying about what was actually done. So then we find out that she is saying that from a neurologic perspective, nothing is wrong. They then tried to say that it must be an autoimmune disorder (such as MS)From there workman's comp care was ended. They at no point, proved that it was an autoimmune disorder, just kind of ended treatment. From that point, I have begun to seek care from my own personal doctors through my private insurance carrier. my regular primary doctor based on my symptoms thought it could be a brachial plexus injury, so she orders another EMG test, which does show nerve problems. Then we go to a nerve surgeon specialist that wants us to have an EMG done by their neurologist...so the test is done, and low and behold, they do not go all the way up to the neck area...and the results show no nerve problems...we were also told that they did contact workman's comp, but they would not tell us the reason for this. We feel that maybe this neurologist was covering up the workman's comp doctors (this may not be able to be proved, but I am sure many of you will admit that a doctor will agree with another collegue that they may have worked with or know)...trust me it does happen....its just hard to prove. The reason I feel this way is because if the dr would have done the test the right way, it would have shown the true results of the nerve problem... (if you don't test the possible problem area...then you will not find out what the injury is) so this dr has suggested that my husband has conversion disorder based on all the emotional stress that he has been through with all of the workman's comp drs brushing us off and ignoring symptoms, etc, also says he could have trauma from the actual accident of falling through the truck and having his hand injured from the bungee cord hook. Which how we feel about this is the fact that it could be a reasonable explanation since this whole ordeal has caused a huge amount of frustration and stress over the past 9 months with trying to get some kind of a diagnosis...not to mention, his job and workman's comp has broke several laws to try to force him back to work when he is physically not sble to perform his job duties...he can't even drive. they have even threatened to fire him...so that tops the stress as well. they are even trying to say that his injuries were not from the accident (hence their drs saying an autoimmune disorder). He was perfectly healthy before the day he fell. Now he goes to physical therapy, which for the most part, since he is still paralized in his hand, they mainly do electrotherapy, which is when they give electrical shocks to stimulate the muscles to help prevent muscle wasting (atrophy). he is at a very high level of 30, which is very abnormal. at this level, he should feel extreme pain from the electrical shocks, and his hand should respond to it (this is a thing that if his hand/arm was normal with no problems, then he would not be able to control what this electrotherapy does to him...his hand would automatically move upwards/downwards with the electric shocks, but at this high level, there is no response from his hand at all, nor does he feel any of the pain. There are other tests that the physical therapist does that there would be no way for my husband to "fake" the problem. he has also taken measurements from the very beginning when my husband first started therapy 9 months ago, and has compared to recent measurements, which show that his muscles have wasted a tremendous amount. At this point, his right leg is also being affected to the point his is physically unable to walk normally straight on that leg, he can only walk on the side of his foot, otherwise if he tried to walk with his foot flat, then his leg is distorted. his right leg muscles are also weakened. Some other symptoms that my husband has is part of his face feels numb, his neck hurts a lot, he can not straighten his arm completely, he can't lift his arm up that well either, since 2 weeks after the exploratory surgery in the way beginning, all of his fingers have been paralized and his hand has gone through several different skin changes, from excessive skin peeling, to major wrinkling/pruning after a minute of being in water, his hand is shiny and the skin is very silky feeling, it has a very bad smell to it (even with regular cleaning and normal hygene), it completely closes on its own, like it is balled up into a fist, and that is the natural resting stage for it when he doesn't manually try to open his fingers using his other hand. There are also sensation problems, where certain areas on the hand has less feeling that other parts. He is also very sensitive to hots/colds on this hand compared to his other hand. He also sometimes experiences electrical shock zapping feelings going up his arm when that particular area is touched. in a 9 month period, he has had 4 EMG/nerve tests. 2 of those tests suggested the same nerve problems, with the latter one suggesting the problems were worsened, and during the emg parts of the test, there was no active recruitment in his hand at all and parts of his forearm as well(these 2 nerve tests were from his neck down to his fingers), and then the other 2 tests showed no nerve problems at all (which these nerve tests were only done from his elbow down to his fingers) we feel that these two tests were conducted by neurologists that were trying to benefit the workman's comp case (and trying to avoid the truth of the actual problem to surface). Out of these two last tests that show no problems, the one neurologist that physically lied to us (as mentioned above) stated that there was nothing wrong at all, and then this last neurologist that we saw said the nerve part was fine, but the emg part was abnormal, but said he didn't think it was related to whats going on. he is the one who suggested the conversion disorder. We do have a lawyer and we do feel at this point that my husband's employer (which is a local government that he works for) is trying to avoid being liable for my husband's injury. Now first I want to say sorry for how long this comment is, but I wanted to try to eplain the situation so you will understand better as to what is going on and why we are kind of skeptical of it actually being a conversion disorder compared to an actual medical problem. We are not completely convinced because 2 of the emgs did show an actual nerve problem, and then 2 did not..and plus, my husbands hand has been paralized for 9 months straight now, there hasn't been at any point where the symptoms would go away. We have had doctors say they think it is a brachial plexus injury, and some say it is an autoimmune disorder. we have had workman's comp doctors ignore the symptoms, brush off actual medical proof from the tests, we have had them out right lie to us, some things just don't make sense to me as to why the emg/nerve test that went all the way up to his neck show nerve problems, but the 2 drs that only went from his elbow to his fingers show no problems... if anyone has dealt with workman's comp, you will know that these doctor are there for the interests of the employer not the employee, they try to force you back to work well before you are capable of returning, they basically brush you off. (we even had the one orthopedic doctor plain out tell us that his job was on his back to get him back to work...he is the same doctor that released him back to work without even seeing him first and giving him a doctors note..the last visit he had with this dr, he had him out of work, and then it was well over 2 months since he saw him, and we get a phone call from his job saying that he had to return to work...they did this behind our back and by braking the law. they got the dr to give unrealistic restrictions that my husband was unable to do, then we had the job harrassing him, threatening to fire him, etc. so we have been through a lot...and 9 months later, we do have our own drs stating that his current medical condition is from the accident at work, but even within our own drs, we have the one neurologist that we feel is tainted from the workman's comp doctors (since he did state that they were in contact), so we feel that is the reason why he didn't do the test completely accurate and that they are trying to cover up the liability of the employer.

And the main reason why I feel that he may be misdiagnosed with conversion disorder is because the main thing for this disorder is the fact that it can't be explained by an actual medical "organic" problem, and we do have 2 medical tests that state nerve injury. we have also done a lot of research on nerve injuries (especially brachial plexus injuries), and my husband just about fits all of the symptoms exactly. So as of right now, we were told we should at least give this perspective a try, since it won't hurt to at least rule conversion disorder out. so we are going to give it a try, but in the mean time, we will also try for another opinion, whether we have to pay out of pocket for testing to help keep the doctor from being biased. we just hope that we will eventually get the answer to what is wrong. If anyone has any thoughts, please feel free to email us at dsj312@aol.com. We are also currently looking for a specialist that deals with conversion disorder...which we are having no luck with.

Wow!I'm not sure to be happy or sad to hear that someone else is going through what I've been going through for yrs.This disorder has me completely confused.I have been dx w/seizures and countless more.Then last may I was hospitalized for a week for a stroke that wasn't a stroke at all after the proper testing,but here I am laying there with all the characteristics of one.Was home with my children and had chest pains that led to my left arm numbness followed by a seizure and passing out.When I woke up in the ER I couldn't move my left side at all,face,arm,leg.Could'nt talk.This was by far the scariest episode yet,and since they couldn't find out why I was dx with Conversion Disorder.My doctor actually had the nerve to tell me it was all in my head.Like I can just pass out , have a seizure or a stroke on que.WTF! This is so frustrating, no I see a therapist and Pysch and still don't understand thing mess,and instead of helping the think it's best to medicate me,which pisses me off because they don't understand as well as I don't but yet the wanna keep me drug up. This is BS..AND NOBODY SEEMS TO KNOW ANYTHING! I am 28 yrs old with small children and is very frustrated is there someone that could help other than books or meds.Which cannot help me at this point.I have lost my job,and feel like this thing is trying to take over me. Help please!!!!!

my wife had near on complete memory loss, a homeopathic remedy called Circuta 6C brought her memory back within several seconds of not knowing me or remembering where we lived or who she was. This changed our lives. you can buy this homeopathy. we went to nelsons homeopathy clinic in London UK. There are many other ways which we found to understand and find helpful solutions, it would be good to share with other people.

Read a book by Dr. John Sarno. His latest is The Divided Mind.

His book and working with one of his therapists Arlene Feinblatt cured me. I was in a wheelchair for two years. You have to go to a therapist who understands the conversion process and helps you get deep enough into the feelings you are repressing or denying. The symptoms will go away. It's worked for thousands of people just like me and you.

My mother was recently found passed out on her living room floor after numerous testing the doctors cannot find any medical causes to her condition. She has been hospitalized for a week now with these passing out spells and spikes in her blood pressure. The doctors are telling us that she may be suffering from a pyschological disorder. Does anyone know if conversion disorder make you actually pass out.

My daughter was diagnosed with conversion disorder a year ago. She would have up to 3 episodes in one day. She was hospitalized at Primary Children's Hospital for 3 days when she was diagnosed. We got her right in to counseling and her therapist gave some great tips about how to get out of an episode quicker and overcome the weakness faster. When she would have an episode she would tighten all her muscles as best as she could being that she was completely paralyzed and this focus would help her get out of it faster and not be as weak for so long. I had a 6-year stalker which stressed everyone out but she understood better than the other kids what was going on so she was affected more. We moved away after taking the guy to court and winning a stalking injunction and her episodes went away. She had one small episode a few months later but it was short and didn't affect her. It's been over a year since we moved away from the stalker, have not seen a sign of him but she is having episodes on a very regular basis and has missed a lot of school. She's been using a wheelchair for a week now because her legs are so weak she can't use them. Whenever she feels like she wants to walk to use her legs it stresses her body out and she has another episode which puts her back into the chair. She has become EXTREMELY depressed and embarrassed and does not want to return to 6th grade because of the embarrassment. Just thinking about going back to school makes her have another episode...this is a girl who has LOVED school from the very beginning and is a straight A student. Oh gosh what I would give to have this taken from her!!! Not for my sake but for hers. It is breaking my mommy heart. I curse the man who stalked me and did this to her! I want to forgive but it's hard right now.

In 1989 I had a "stroke" at the age of 46. Again this year 2008 I had the same type of "stroke". I had am MRI. The neurologist came to see me. He told me that according to all his findings I had not had a stroke, nor at anytime in my life had I had a stroke. That my brain looked like that of a 30 year old. I am now 65 years old. He also mention "Conversion Disorder" and said that at my age the true cause of my stress or stressors may be difficult to uncover. He told me that the ball was in my court and I would be the one to decide what I should do. Well, I chose Physotherapy. I am now regularly seeing a psychotherapist. At first I thought I must be mentally insane to produce the signs and symptoms of a "stroke" and not actually have one. I did not consciously desire to be ill. But I am looking at stress in a much different light. I have all my life supressed much of my emotions and true feelings. Feeling that I did not have the right or to be selfish enought to verbally or physically express myself. Who cared how I really felt. Everyone else has enought problems of their own to be burdened with mine. So here I am. Making an effort to find out just who I am and what makes me tick and why is it that I am now included in the diagnosis of Conversion Disorder.

Hi. I haven't actually been diagnosed with conversion disorder, more somatization disorder. I am being treated for anxiety for last 6 years and am on Xanax 2mg per day and Mirtazapine, an anti-depressent. I started getting some weired symptoms about six months ago. I had 3 episodes of distorted vision which lasted just a few minutes, electric shock sensations up the side of my head, I have a numb left hand but can work it perfectly and can feel everything!! I sometimes feel that my legs dont want to work but they do. Recently I have found "fine details" with my left hand a little funny but can still do them. Its all a mystery. I also get quite a bit of chest tightness which has been checked by masses of EKG's recently. I'm hoping my symptoms will not progress any further as I am pretty normal physically at the moment. I do worry a lot and have separation anxiety disorder caused by something in my childhood. I am trying to work through things with a CBT therapist but it is very hard when you think you are doing fine for a while, and then you get another setback, usually caused by something I cannot deal with emotionally. It is a frightening condition. I sometimes am afraid to open my eyes or move in the morning when I wake up in case there is something else wrong !!!. I dont know who I am sending this to but hopefully someone will read my comments.