FND: Gait
Posts involving gait or walking abnormalities specifically interpreted or discussed as functional neurological presentations.
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.
Diagnosed With FND After Negative Genetic Tests. The Patient Actually Had Spinocerebellar Ataxia.
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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 FND at 13, Eight Years Later Doctors Found a Chiari Malformation and Spinal Cord Syrinx
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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?
Diagnosed With FND. It Was Buerger's Disease. She Lost Her Leg
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Danielle Thomas reported numbness, worsening walking difficulties and legs that felt like they were dying. Doctors diagnosed FND. Months later, vascular investigations revealed blocked arteries, gangrene and Buerger's disease. She eventually underwent a below-knee amputation.
10 Suspicious Things You Apparently Shouldn't Do Around an FND Specialist
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Sunglasses, wheelchairs, handwritten notes, music and even office chairs have all found their way into medical discussions of functional neurological symptoms. The real problem isn't that these observations necessarily diagnose FND, but that they can influence the wider clinical picture. A sarcastic, referenced tour of ten examples where ordinary behaviour risks becoming suspicious.
Diagnosed With MS, Then Misdiagnosed With FND. It Was Parkinson’s.
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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.
POTS Found After FND: Comorbidity, or a Common Phenotype?
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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?
Pernicious Anaemia Mistaken for FND: Paralysis, Urinary Retention and a Missed Diagnosis
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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.
When Stress-Sensitive Stiffness Was Diagnosed as Conversion Disorder
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A 52-year-old woman developed progressive leg stiffness, spasms and severe gait impairment that worsened with stress and fatigue. After multiple evaluations, she was diagnosed with conversion disorder. A year later, markedly elevated anti-GAD antibodies and characteristic EMG abnormalities supported stiff-person syndrome, with significant improvement following IVIG.
When “Functional” Signs Mislead: GSS Misdiagnosed as Conversion Disorder
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A man whose variable, distractible and inconsistent neurological findings contributed to a diagnosis of conversion disorder continued to deteriorate for years. After his death, neuropathology and genetic testing confirmed Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome, showing how genuine clinical observations can support the wrong diagnostic interpretation.
A Case Report of Headache and Weakness Diagnosed as Functional Neurological Disorder
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A 26-year-old postpartum woman presenting with headache and neurological symptoms was discharged with anxiety and possible conversion disorder. She returned the following morning unable to walk. MRI revealed a thalamic infarction caused by cerebral venous thrombosis. The case also raises a broader question: if later disease does not necessarily invalidate an FND diagnosis, how is FND misdiagnosis actually identified and counted?
