FND Diagnosis Followed by Multiple System Atrophy
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A Reddit user, u/Najat00, documented a rapidly progressive neurological illness that was initially diagnosed as Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). The patient questioned that diagnosis publicly and specifically raised multiple system atrophy (MSA) as one of the conditions they feared could explain their deterioration.
Approximately six months later, they returned to the same post with a stark update: they reported that further investigation by other doctors had resulted in a diagnosis of MSA.
The account is the patient's own description of events and has not been independently verified through medical records. However, the original post predates the reported MSA diagnosis, providing a contemporaneous record of the patient's concerns while they were still diagnosed with FND.
Rapid deterioration before the FND diagnosis
In October 2024, the patient posted in r/FND under the title "I disagree with the diagnosis".
They described having been healthy and physically active before becoming ill, including being able to run 10 kilometres. Their condition then deteriorated dramatically over a period of months.
The symptoms they reported included progressive muscle weakness, neuropathic symptoms throughout the body, generalised dystonia, POTS and other autonomic symptoms, gastrointestinal problems, severe pressure sensations affecting the head and face, abnormal sensations of heat and profound insomnia.
Eventually, the patient required a wheelchair and became largely bedbound.
Diagnosed with FND
The patient reported undergoing neurological investigations including MRI and EMG testing. When these investigations did not provide an explanation for the severity of their symptoms, they reported that neurologists diagnosed FND.
The patient was not convinced.
Importantly, their disagreement was recorded before the reported MSA diagnosis. They questioned whether the progressive weakness and rapidly increasing disability could really be explained by FND.
They wrote that while they could potentially accept some symptoms as functional, they believed that the progressive weakness and severe physical disability had an organic cause.
At the time, the patient specifically raised both ALS and multiple system atrophy as possibilities they feared could explain what was happening.
Six months later
Approximately six months after making the original post, the patient returned and edited it with an update.
They reported that additional doctors had continued investigating their condition and that they had eventually been diagnosed with multiple system atrophy (MSA).
By this point, according to the patient, their condition had deteriorated considerably further. They described themselves as completely bedridden and reported complete anhidrosis, meaning they were no longer able to sweat.
The patient wrote:
"EDIT: this is now 6 months later and I am indeed dying from MSA."
They continued:
"It took many other doctors to finally get a diagnosis. I am now back to my home country Morocco for my final days."
Why this story is notable
This account differs from many retrospective reports of FND misdiagnosis because the patient's concerns were documented publicly before the reported alternative diagnosis.
The October 2024 post captures a patient saying that the FND diagnosis did not adequately explain their progressive deterioration. They specifically questioned whether MSA could be responsible. Approximately six months later, they returned to that same post and reported that further investigation had resulted in an MSA diagnosis.
The chronology therefore does not depend entirely upon someone's later recollection of having previously doubted their diagnosis. The concern was documented in real time, before the reported MSA diagnosis.
Previously physically active -> rapidly progressive neurological and autonomic symptoms -> wheelchair and bedbound -> investigations including MRI and EMG -> FND diagnosis -> patient publicly questions FND and raises MSA -> further medical investigation -> patient reports MSA diagnosis -> completely bedridden with anhidrosis.
The significance of the case is therefore not merely that a different diagnosis was reported later. It is that the patient was already arguing that their progressive deterioration was not adequately explained by the FND diagnosis, specifically raised the condition they would later report being diagnosed with, and continued seeking investigation.
What can be established
FND Nope has not reviewed the patient's medical records and cannot independently confirm the reported diagnoses or determine the clinical evidence on which they were made.
What the public record does document is the chronology of the patient's account: severe progressive neurological and autonomic symptoms, an FND diagnosis, the patient's contemporaneous disagreement with that diagnosis, their specific concern about MSA, continued investigation by other doctors, and their later report that they had been diagnosed with MSA.
Whatever additional clinical details may exist outside the public record, that sequence is precisely why the case is worth documenting. A patient's concern that a diagnosis was failing to account for continuing deterioration was followed by further investigation and, according to the patient, the identification of a serious progressive neurological disease.
Sources
October 2024 - "I disagree with the diagnosis" - original FND post and subsequent MSA update
Public Reddit history of u/Najat00
Note: This article summarises statements made publicly by the patient on Reddit. FND Nope has not reviewed their medical records and cannot independently verify the diagnoses, investigations, prognosis or other medical details described in those posts.
Please note: This post discusses an account shared publicly on social media. The person's medical history and diagnosis have not been independently verified. We report what they said and link to the original source where possible.