Diagnosed as conversion disorder but could it be autoimmune?

[lcm]

My daughter was diagnosed with conversion disorder about five years ago. She lost her ability to swallow, has a feeding tube, lost her ability to walk, is in a wheel chair, has neuropathy, pseudoseizures. She is on lot's of psych meds now but the more I read about SS, the more I wonder about having her tested as well. (I am newly diagnosed and have family history of autoimmune arthritis. Anyone ever heard of someone being diagnosed with conversion and having it later found to be SS or similar? I have read that conversion disorder in 25% of cases ends up being diagnosed as a neurological disorder but she has not had any test results yet to support anything. Thanks

[irish]

lcm, I have no idea about this but anything is possible. The neuro disorder of some kind is very possible. Have they done antibody testing on your daughter??? A conversion disorder that is so all encompassing is really something. Wondering if you have had many second, third, etc opinions. With your family history of autoimmune issues this is certainly worth pursuing. There are so many diseases out there that haven't even got names yet.

I am truly sorry for what you have been going through. Hopefully you have enough support to help you deal with this situation. Feel free to come back and visit. The coffee is always on. Irish

[lcm]

thanks Irish, I did have her doc run an autoimmune panel and all was normal so I feel like I looked at the possiblity and pretty much ruled it out for  now. It has been tough, especially when my sjogren's is acting up, but she is such a neat kid - I'm very lucky to have her!

[lymeabean]

Icm,

I sent you a private message about this.  I don't know how people know when they get a message so i just wanted to tell you. 

sincerely,
Dawn :-)

[Gerri]

I was diagnosed with conversion disorder, in November 2005.  I believe I was going through a flair.  I have lesions on my brain.  I have been diagnosed with MS, then told I didn't have MS, to be told again I had MS, and now I sit not knowing for sure.

I have autoimmune disease diagnosed (AS, Sjogren's, Vitiligo, Celiac, FM), and my medical history gets bigger.  I still have neurological stuff going on, and it's not getting any better.  I haven't had a major flair since 2005.  I still have to live without pain medication because of severe allergies.  I have major Lupus symptoms, diagnosed with severe auditory processing disorder (neurological), celiac disease, and it looks like I may have possible connective tissue disorder.  At the time my severe sleep apnea (neurological), was not controlled and severely out of control, which caused some of the problems at the time.  Conversion disorder is a name they give when your not able to handle the pain you dealing with, and it shows with psychological issues, in my case they believed it was showing up as paralysis of my legs.  The doctor's misunderstood what I was trying to say.   I tried to tell them I was in so much pain I couldn't move my legs, because my back hurt so much.  They took it to mean I was paralyzed, so the diagnoses of conversion disorder.  I felt the doctor abused me by twisting my toes around a metal bar (I had bruises for many months after).(I nearly passed out because of the pain).  Because of my learning disability, I couldn't explain myself properly.   I believe they felt this gave them the right to abuse me.  I will never go back to that hospital again, for any reason.

I live in another city now, and I am still looking for answers.  I see a new Rheumy in August who is very knowledgeable in Lupus, psoriasis, and connective tissue disorders, I am hoping I will finally get answers. 

I hope with your help your daughter will finally get answers. 

Hugs

Gerri

[lcm]

Good luck, I hope the new doctor is more intelligent and actually listens! We have sure suffered at the hands of people like that through the years. It is so easy for medical folk to blow off things they can't explain to conversion reaction. I know that sometimes it nee ds to be considered but what concerns me is it then becomes a reason for them to turn their backs, almost like 'oh, it's only conversion reaction, we don't need to bother wasting our time'. Some people are actually angry. What they seem to forget is that even when there are psych problems causing the physical , even when they have a patient that is suspected of seeking attention, they still need compassionate care.  People who don't know the patient who write them off because someone says conversion reaction or hypocondria etc can cause so much harm. They should ask themselves- what if it isn't that, what if the care I give today really makes a difference in this persons life. Well, I'll stop ranting, you know what I'm talking about. I send you my love and hope you find helpful people, and don't let the one's who don't get it make you doubt yourself. You deserve as much quality healthcare as anyone else!

[Rostradamus]

 so computer ignorant I hit a wrong button and lost a page. Breif WEbsites ,Wrong Diagnosis.com has a  symptom cheker  OF 6TO 7 SYMPTOM AT ONCE REALLY NARROWS possibities (sorry crhonic pain, loosing it ) check them many just won't fit. It will also list common misdiagnosises., test and their reliability, down load and you have some thing a doctor should pay attention to.  Web site  NINDS.nih.gov  National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. National Organization for Rare Diorders (NORD)  a start.