FND: Weakness
Posts involving functional limb weakness, paralysis, loss of motor power, and the clinical signs or differential diagnoses used when weakness is attributed to FND.
When Hoover's Sign Suggested Conversion Disorder, but Lyme Disease Entered the Picture
FND Nope
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A 2019 case report documents a woman whose weakness, anxiety and reported positive Hoover's sign raised suspicions of conversion disorder. Further investigations uncovered objective neurological abnormalities and evidence supporting possible Lyme neuroborreliosis.
Periodic Paralysis: Another Neurological Disorder Mistaken for FND
FND Nope
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A reader highlights how children and adults with periodic paralysis, a recognised neuromuscular channelopathy, can be labelled with FND or anxiety instead. Medical literature confirms the diagnostic risk, including cases where appropriate testing identified a treatable disorder.
Two Women Diagnosed With FND Actually Had POTS — One Was Misdiagnosed Again When She Developed Paralysis
FND Nope
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A 2025 case series documents two young women whose involuntary movements were attributed to functional neurological disorder before testing confirmed POTS. One was later diagnosed with FND again after developing paralysis, only for further investigation to reveal hypokalemic periodic paralysis.
Diagnosed with FND at 13, Eight Years Later Doctors Found a Chiari Malformation and Spinal Cord Syrinx
FND Nope
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Daniele Gray lost the ability to walk at 13 and was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder. Eight years later, an MRI revealed a 20 mm Chiari I malformation and a spinal cord syrinx requiring surgery. Was the underlying neurological condition missed?
POTS Found After FND: Comorbidity, or a Common Phenotype?
FND Nope
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An FND case report found objective POTS after years of orthostatic symptoms were attributed to FND, anxiety and deconditioning. The authors call it comorbidity. But the case leaves a more important question unanswered: are the “functional signs” really evidence of a second disorder?
From PNES and Suspected FND to C1 Paralysis: Amy Wang-Hiller's Story
Facebook Stories
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Violinist Amy Wang-Hiller describes how suspected FND, a PNES diagnosis and repeated psychological attribution allegedly delayed recognition of tethered spinal cord, cervical instability and progressive paralysis.
FND Diagnostic Pitfalls: When Positive Signs Point Elsewhere
FND Nope
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A 2023 review by FND researchers acknowledges that Hoover's sign, distractibility, sensory abnormalities and other supposedly characteristic findings can occur in recognised neurological diseases. What does that mean for diagnostic certainty?
Two Years Diagnosed With FND Before Autoimmune and Genetic Findings Emerged
Reddit Stories
Social media
A Reddit user reports spending two years diagnosed with FND and anxiety before investigations reportedly identified autoimmune and genetic neurological conditions. Their experience raises questions about overlapping symptoms, diagnostic closure, and why complex presentations may be interpreted as functional.
False Positive Hoover's Sign in Apraxia: A Case of Corticobasal Syndrome
FND Nope
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A 2020 clinical case reports positive Hoover's and hip abductor signs in a woman diagnosed with corticobasal syndrome. The authors identify apraxia as an alternative explanation, exposing an important limitation in the diagnostic interpretation of signs associated with functional neurological disorder.
Pernicious Anaemia Mistaken for FND: Paralysis, Urinary Retention and a Missed Diagnosis
FND Nope
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A 29-year-old woman with progressive paralysis and severe urinary retention was discharged with suspected conversion disorder. Further investigation revealed vitamin B12 deficiency causing spinal cord damage. The case raises questions about diagnostic anchoring, negative imaging and premature closure.
