Misdiagnosis
Posts discussing cases, patterns, or concerns where Functional Neurological Disorder may have been applied incorrectly, prematurely, or in place of another diagnosis.
State Rep. Tricia Byrnes Is Looking for the Filmmaker Who’ll Investigate FND
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Missouri State Rep. Tricia Byrnes is seeking a filmmaker to investigate Functional Neurological Disorder. She says hundreds of families report children were labeled with FND before doctors fully checked seizures and loss of mobility, and that second opinions were blocked.
Maddie Aumann: From an FND Diagnosis to Maddie’s Law
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Maddie Aumann was diagnosed with FND before genetic testing identified a rare SCN9A disorder. Her mother, Christine Aumann, describes how the FND label continued to affect Maddie’s care even after that discovery, ultimately helping inspire Maddie’s Law.
“FND Fundamentalists”: New Study Exposes Deep Divisions Over Functional Neurological Diagnoses
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An international study involving 1,853 patients and 400 clinicians reveals profound disagreements over FND diagnoses in autoimmune disease, reports of diagnostic overshadowing, and clinical reasoning that raises important questions about whether neurological symptoms attributed to FND may have different underlying causes.
Marion Brown: Challenging the Misdiagnosis of Antidepressant Withdrawal as FND
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Marion Brown, a retired Scottish psychotherapist and friend of this website, has spent years exposing how antidepressant withdrawal and adverse drug reactions can be overlooked, dismissed, or misdiagnosed as Functional Neurological Disorder and medically unexplained symptoms. We examine her research, parliamentary advocacy, and the patient experiences behind her work.
When Drug-Induced Neurological Damage Gets Labelled FND
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Psychiatrist David Healy challenges the use of FND diagnoses in patients experiencing persistent medication-related neurological symptoms, warning that drug toxicity can be overlooked, patients dismissed and potentially harmful treatments repeated.
Periodic Paralysis: Another Neurological Disorder Mistaken for FND
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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.
19-Year-Old Diagnosed With Conversion Disorder Actually Had Rare Autoimmune Encephalitis
FND Nope
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A 19-year-old woman with anxiety, trembling legs and balance problems was diagnosed with conversion disorder. Further testing revealed rare autoimmune encephalitis. Following immunotherapy, she recovered completely. Her case raises serious questions about premature psychiatric diagnoses and overlooked neurological disease.
Diagnosed With FND After Negative Genetic Tests. The Patient Actually Had Spinocerebellar Ataxia.
FND Nope
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A patient spent years with neurological symptoms, repeated falls and fractures while doctors attributed his condition to FND and other functional diagnoses. New genetic testing eventually identified SCA27B. A published three-patient case series exposes the dangers of negative investigations, diagnostic confirmation bias and assuming neurological presentations must fit existing expectations.
Diagnosed With Functional Seizures After Bereavement. It Was Autoimmune Encephalitis.
FND Nope
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A woman in her 40s was treated for functional neurological disorder and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures after a family bereavement. Her worsening symptoms were eventually traced to anti-LGI1 autoimmune encephalitis, a treatable neurological disease confirmed through MRI and antibody testing.
17 Patients Diagnosed With Psychogenic Seizures. All 17 Had Evidence of Autonomic Dysfunction
FND Nope
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A September 2026 study examined 17 patients diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. All had abnormal orthostatic findings, and 10 of 14 patients receiving medication improved after treatment for autonomic dysfunction. Some had visited emergency departments up to seven times before further neurological assessment. The findings raise serious questions about premature PNES diagnoses and missed physiological causes of seizure-like movements.
Diagnosed With FND, Her Tilt-Table Test Was Cancelled. Doctors Later Discovered Severe Autonomic Dysfunction
FND Nope
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A 43-year-old woman became unable to stand during a COVID-19 infection. Doctors diagnosed FND and cancelled her scheduled tilt-table test. Twelve days later, testing revealed her blood pressure collapsing to 66/52 mmHg. Further investigations identified evidence of immune-mediated autonomic dysfunction, and she eventually recovered following treatment.
