Organic Clues
A tag exploring clinical findings, objective abnormalities, and alternative disease processes that may point toward biological causes or warrant further investigation in cases labelled as FND.
Dismantling FND: When ME/CFS Starts Trespassing on Functional Neurology's Territory
FND Nope
Moderator
Dr. Brayden Yellman and Paige Zuckerman challenge FND, its diagnostic assumptions, and its overlap with ME/CFS. From seizure-like episodes explained by orthostatic intolerance to patients receiving alternative diagnoses, the question is simple: what happens when medicine starts explaining symptoms previously called functional?
Diagnosed With FND After Her Son’s Suicide. It Was Fatal Frontotemporal Dementia
FND Nope
Moderator
A 47-year-old woman’s progressive neurological deterioration was attributed to conversion disorder after her son’s suicide. Despite abnormal findings and failed psychiatric treatments, the diagnosis persisted. Genetic testing eventually confirmed frontotemporal dementia. Her doctors later acknowledged the cognitive biases behind their diagnostic failure.
Diagnosed With FND After Losing Her Daughter. Years Later, Elly Had 15 Brain Lesions and Multiple Sclerosis
FND Nope
Moderator
Elly Littlejohn was diagnosed with FND after losing her daughter to a drunk driver, despite abnormal MRI findings. Years of worsening symptoms, additional brain lesions and abnormal spinal fluid results eventually led to an MS diagnosis. Her story raises serious questions about diagnostic anchoring, trauma-based assumptions and delayed treatment.
Diagnosed With MS, Then Misdiagnosed With FND. It Was Parkinson’s.
FND Nope
Moderator
Emma Tinkler already had multiple sclerosis when worsening neurological symptoms were labelled FND. After two years of deteriorating mobility, a second neurologist diagnosed Parkinson’s disease. Six weeks after starting medication, she was walking normally again.
Four Years Diagnosed With FND Before a DaTscan and Parkinson's Diagnosis
Reddit Stories
Social media
A Reddit user reports spending four years diagnosed with FND before receiving a Parkinson's disease diagnosis following a DaTscan. They say appropriate medication improved their condition, raising questions about the original diagnosis and the consequences of delayed investigation.
When a Genetic Neurological Disorder Was Considered Functional: The FLVCR1 Case
FND Nope
Moderator
A woman with progressive neurological symptoms and documented FLVCR1 variants repeatedly had her symptoms considered functional. A 2026 case report exposes a failure to connect neurological findings with an existing genetic disorder.
FND, Until It Was Inoperable Tongue Cancer
FND Nope
Moderator
A 58-year-old woman with progressive swallowing and speech problems was diagnosed with functional movement disorder. Eleven months after onset, repeat imaging found advanced squamous-cell carcinoma. The authors say diagnostic bias from the FMD diagnosis even caused abnormal swallowing findings to be misinterpreted.
POTS Found After FND: Comorbidity, or a Common Phenotype?
FND Nope
Moderator
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
Social media
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
Moderator
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?
