conversion disorders uk

[RKW]

I am a 46year old male very and healthy.At the end of November 2007 I was attacked which brought on chest pain and heart attack symptons within half an hour.within a few days I was admitted to hospital where i suffered chronic chest pains and fits which ended in full voluntry nervious system paralysis.After clinical investgations and MRI/CAT/XRAYS no orgnic clauses for these symtoms were found.Development of loss of use of limbs,movement memory,blindness,loss of speach,gate loss,inability to masticate,and bells pausey developed.I was referred to Atkinson Morley hospital in London in UK who carried out Abreaction,hypnotherapy,and specialist physiotherapy.In march 2008
I was reffered from Frimley Park in surrey to The National Hospital London UK for CBTtherapy as a rare serious case for further treatment.Can anyone suggest a specialist who may be interested in exchanging research information on treatments for such cases?

RKW

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Your symptoms are mostly neurological. If all the tests are normal, one does think of Conversion disorder. Have you been diagnosed with conversion disorder ?

While we are trying to consider conversion disorder, I am thinking about the Bell's Palsy part of your symptoms. This is an unusual symptom. It is difficult to have unilateral paralysis of the face in conversion disorder.

Regards

[Sammie4258]

Sure sounds like conversion disorder to me.  but I am not a physician.  However, I was diagnosed with severe conversion disorder in 2003. In fact, on my medical report from the Doctor, it said that I tested 99.6%, which was greater than thing ever studied in clinics.  Possibly indicating that I have the most severely documented case in the country.  I can tell you things about this disorder that Doctors cannot tell you. I is capable of manifesting itself in very unusual ways.  It is a viable medical problem.  However, because stressors or trauma causes it, it was kicked into the Pychiatric department.  Once you have weeded out organic abnormalities, and can still find no cause for the symptoms, it is wise to consider Conversion Disorder.  It took me two years to get 8 months to get diagnosed.  Hang in there.  any questions just ask.

[Sammie4258]

Dr. John Speed is a Conversion Disorder Specialist who did ground breaking work in this area.  He is in the University of Utah, USA.   (Physical Medicine Department).  IF he cannot fix it, no one can in my opinion.  

[Sammie4258]

Correction:  It took me 8 months to get diagnosed, not two years and 10 months to finally get help.  

[Sammie4258]

Can you tell me if conversion disorder is all over in the brain given that it is a motor sensory or central nervous sytem.  Does it all extend back to one specific location in the brain like the brain stem?

Sammie

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hi Sammie.

Conversion disorder is not considered a neurological disorder. Even though the symptoms are all neurological, it has it's origin in the psychology.

The trigger for a conversion episode is usually a period of stress and anxiety. The symptoms are very much true for the patient and he/she does not remember anything if the conversion involved unconsciousness.

Hence, there is no particular area of the brain that can be ascribed to conversion. There is research going on in this area. Some studies have come up with temporal lobe hypo perfusion theory. You might read this article.

http://pn.***.org

Regards

[Sammie4258]

I have  a dilemma.  Five years ago I was diagnosed with sever conversion disorder with psuedo seizures . My eeg was normal as well as all other tests as you know.
Lately, I my seizures are getting more frequent and breathing problems is now involved. constant pain in my head with strange visual disturbances.  sometimes my seizures are associated with pain in my stomach.
Well, last week they did an other eeg and compared it to mine from five years ago. They called me and said that it had changed from the last one where I was diagnosed with conversion disorder. my neurologist is still going to be out of town for several more days.  I am also a breast cancer patient who as far as we know is cancer free. I don't know what to think of the conversion diagnosis now. they said in my report that I scored 99.6%, which they said was greater than anything ever studied in any clinic. Now that the eeg has changed, I don't know what to think.  please shed some light on this.  thank you.