Conversion Disorder

[darie73]

What are the chances of fraternal twin sisters both being diagnosed with Conversion Disorder? I was diagnosed as Bipolar and having Conversion Disorder. It started with hand tremors then stuttering to the point of not being understood. I also have Celiac Disease. My sister has Celiac also but no mental health issues. She started having Partial Complex Seizures. With Celiac you can develop speach problems, tremors, and seizures. I find it hard to believe that both of us would have it. Also being Bipolar I remember every horrible thing said and in my life. It plays like a movie in my head.My Dr. was excited and wanted to video tape me to show to colleagues. He was smiling and rubbing his hands together while I sat there unable to speak. My sister was there and yelled at him that I wasn't a circus freak & we were leavin. Now it's her turn & her Dr. is in the middle of writing a book on Conversion Disorder. I find it odd.

[essdipity]

That guy has a  !!!PLAN!!!  and wants to shove anyone in sight into it, regardless of the fit. I agree--run!

ess

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome,

Conversion disorder is suppose to be one of the 'rare' mental health condition, and if memory serves, its around a third that are misdiagnosis with CD, and later correctly dx with a neurological condition. Health anxiety I would of thought, would be more closely related to conversion disorder but bipolar, to me they are chalk and cheese, so totally different that to be dx with both is what's questionable.

There is suppose to be a genetic predisposition towards mental health conditions, so theoretically siblings could easily be dx with the same  psychological condition but i think the elephant in the room is the rarity of conversion disorder and the high rates of misdiagnosis, not only for CD but for psychological conditions in general.

Unfortunately it's not uncommon for people dx with a mental health condition,  to have their physical sx dismissed as mental health and no other health condition even investigated. It's only been in recent years that heart conditions were found to be connected to some psychological conditions eg bipolar, anxiety disorders, depression etc

My mother is dx with bipolar and it's been a common theme through out her life...........my point is that it's wise to thoroughly test the idea of mental health as the explanation for physical and or speech issues, seek a second un-bias opinions, one from a psychiatrist regarding the dx of CD and the other from a gastroenterologist to answer the question on if the Celiac could of caused your tremor and speech issues.

Cheers............JJ

PS i also recommend your sister run far and fast, and preferably gets the opinion of someone who isn't currently writing a book on Conversion Disorder!  

[immisceo]

It's sounds like this doctor is fishing for case-studies. Run far and fast would be my advice. I wouldn't guess that fraternal twins were any more likely than separately gestated siblings, and I'm not even sure that's been established.

Conversion disorder is a condition with ever-moving goal posts. Really, it just depends on the doctor and the DSM 5 (which is written by mere mortals, and isn't the result of objective science for the most part). This means it can be slapped onto the files of people who a doctor finds difficult to diagnose, just as likely as someone who would truly benefit from psychiatric support.

I'd find a new doctor.

(Just FYI, this landed in the Multiple Sclerosis community, but we do hear mention of conversion disorder from posters with some regularity, so you'll find some good feed-back here on the subject. Alternatively, MedHelp also has communities for various other conditions.)

[Poppy7402]

My uneducated guess would be 'unusual'.  Celiac disease is well recognised as being responsible for a range of neurological issues in people, and could be behind the current issues.   Prof Marios Hadjivassiliou has written extensively on these.

If you go to a headache specialist you'll probably get diagnosed with headaches, a stroke specialist, with strokes, so the fact your doctor has diagnosed conversion disorder doesn't surprise me given that it's obviously his 'pet' subject.  

I'd be thinking it's time for a new doctor :-)

Best wishes


Poppy