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Guess I'm nuts after all...Psychogenic Seizures

Sat, 01/27/2007 - 09:58
Now, to those of you reading this, please do not take my title to heart. I have a bachelors in psychology and I am being very flippant in my terminology, but I mean no disrespect to anyone. Anyway, after a year of searching for an answer to my various health issues, I have been given a diagnosis of Psychogenic seizures. Now, this is a two-sided issue. On the one hand, for the last two weeks I have had these jerking spells a couple of times a day, and after being admitted to the hospital for two days of EEG video monitoring they decided the episodes were Psychogenic. As difficult as it was for me to accept that, I did, and the episodes have not occurred in the two days since I was released from the hospital. On the other hand, I don't believe that everything that I have experienced in the past year is due to mental disorder. I have had issues like phlebitis (recurrent inflammation of various veins in my arm and leg) and anemia, been diagnosed with carpal tunnel and plantar fascitis (foot problem that I believe was accompanied by nerve pain due to the type of pain and existing altered sensation in one toe), found to have nystagmus (sign of possible neurological dysfunction), and I have had neurological episodes that did not feature jerking, only this strange buzzing sensation in my head. During these times I cannot talk very well (it is difficult for me to concentrate on speaking) or move very well, and they have featured strange things like nausea, a feeling of being paralyzed in my legs, increased respiration, blah blah blah. Right now I feel like I have been kicked in the gut. I feel like all of my work toward a diagnosis has been sabatoged by the label "Psychogenic". I am afraid that no doctor will ever take me seriously again. My cognitive functioning is going downhill, but the neuropsychologist has been working with the epilepsy center and because of my education is assuming that I have the knowledge to fake all of this and actually stated that he probably couldn't test me because I would know the testing material. Nevermind that I reassured him that I didn't get to take the class on psychological evalution and testing. This is yet another low point for me, and I could really use some advice... Sam

Comments

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Guess I'm nuts after all...Psychogen

Submitted by MikeyM on Sun, 2007-04-01 - 14:06
I've had a similar experience and I have frontal lobe seizures. U might want to look that up. I found good info on the mayo clinic website. Good luck

Re: Guess I'm nuts after all...Psychogenic Seizures

Submitted by MikeyM on Sun, 2007-04-01 - 14:02
I'm so sorry you're going through this. I, too, was diagnosed with psychogenic seizures but it was a misdiagnosis. I have frontal lobe seizures and they often don't show up on veeg. I had a 4 day veeg and that's when they gave the psychogenic seizure dx. You might want to look up frontal lobe szr and see if your symptoms match. one of the first things it says is that they are most often misdiagnosed as psychogenic! If I were you, I'd find a new neurologist. It seems like female neuros are less arogant and egotistical. Anyway, good luck and I hope u find out what's really going on soon.

Re: Guess I'm nuts after all...Psychogenic Seizures

Submitted by sarah copeland on Wed, 2007-04-04 - 19:59
I know exactly how you feel. I am a student currently studying psychology and I feel like the doctors thought that I knew too much and I was trying to 'fit' myself into the epilepsy category. I was diagnosed with non-epileptic seizures and it felt awful because of the stigma that goes with any mental disorder (and nobody wants to think that they've lost it!). After thinking hard about it though, I realised that the diagnosis that was given was the better option, as the treatment did not involve being on drugs for the rest of my life, and when it's gone, it's gone. So I was referred from a neurologist to a neuropsychiatrist. He really listened to what I said and he didn't seem to take any notice of my education either which was excellent. It just so happened that he was not only a specialist in psychogenic seizures but also in epilepsy, and he told me straight away from one consultation that I have epilepsy. My advise is this; get another consultant to assess you - a second opinion was needed in my case. You Also, if it does turn out to be non-epileptic seizures, excellent! although I know that it's very difficult to accept you won't have to be on medication for the rest of your life and it can be 'cured' with therapy that does not involve taking nasty drugs forever. Sarah

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