Stress-induced neurological symptoms
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Anonymous
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Anyone here have stressed induce neurological symptoms?
Until yesterday, I had no idea this was a thing. It started with being unable to speak, then unable to write, then inability to stop nodding, then rapid eye blinking while in a catatonic state. The symptoms would stop or reduce if I did meditative breathing or tried to nap and they would escalate under additional stress (like the catatonia happened while checking in, stopped when I got calm, and returned while the examining physician was talking about my symptoms.) Just to rule things out, they did various neurological exams which were all clear, thank goodness I had no idea anxiety / extreme insomnia could do this. I’d been seeing a psychiatrist / was being monitored because I new things weren’t good, but they escalated rapidly. |
Anonymous
| Conversion syndrome? |
Anonymous
| So sorry you are going through this. Something similar happened to my fil. Dr thought he had a stroke and sent him straight to ER. For about 24 hours he could not even remember who he was etc. Extensive testing could not find a clear cause for it. He recovered fairly quickly and drs said it was a condition induced by extreme stress. Wishing you a prompt recovery |
Anonymous
| Just coincidentally, I saw a medical mysteries show this week on Familial Insomnia. I’m no doctor so not saying that’s what you are experiencing (it’s a very rare genetic condition), but one takeaway from that program is that if a person has extreme insomnia it can lead to build up of something called prion proteins in the thalamus, which apparently can cause the types of symptoms you’re describing. Perhaps if your doctor can help you to get more restful sleep it could help. |
Anonymous
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Op here. I knew who I was and where I was etc the whole time, though in the 2 really bad cases I felt foggy.
It feels very similar now that I can speak etc, to when I had a concussion 5 years ago. We haven’t found pharmacy that has the sleep medication that I was prescribed - they have to order it - but they said it’s similar to Benadryl. The night I got home from the hospital the Valium was still in my system. I slept about 10 hrs. Yesterday I was telling someone what had happened and a profound exhaustion came over me and I went and slept 2 hrs. Last night I took half a dose of Benadryl and some melatonin (er said both were good) and went to sleep at 8:30. I woke up around 1 am with slightly spinning thoughts, so I took the other half dose of Benadryl. I slept until 9:30 in the morning!! |
Anonymous
Op here - I love medical mystery shows and they disturb my husband. Even at the hospital (since I was quite sure something like stroke symptoms wouldn’t go away with meditation) I said to my husband “I would definitely watch my case if it were on medical mysteries” 😆 |
Anonymous
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Op again- I forgot to say that it turns out a woman that mentors me had something like this happen about 20 years ago! After a few nights of insomnia when she had an infant, she wasn’t able to speak.
And a Japanese friend told me there’s a word in Japanese that basically means “brain shutdown work stress.” |
Anonymous
| What are the sources of stress for you, and can you reduce those stressors? |
Anonymous
| Also, did they do a scan of your brain, not just functional tests? |
Anonymous
An insane perfect storm - I had a surgery so I couldn’t take baths or do yoga or any exercise and I was working alone during shutdown so I had none of my usual supports there. Not a full list, but a teacher physically hurt my child, we got termites in our apartment, I was pressured to do something I thought was illegal, and good friends who are older came to visit - they arrived earlier than they told us and then couldn’t remember where they parked there car and we had to search for it. I couldn’t ask for a break from the project because the person who was supposed to help me - and did for a few days - had to leave when her father had something happen and was in icu. So I was alone and didn’t feel I could seek her guidance. I really can’t imagine being in a situation again where two or more things like this happen let alone all of them in 3.5 weeks. |
Anonymous
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Op - I’ll add to the above, if somehow I were in that situation again I would ask for leave to take care of things, but since I was required to work during the shutdown I couldn’t do that.
Going into shutdown I had an illness (now correctly diagnosed) that was making it hard to sleep and even before the stressors it was hard mentally to be alone and to know I was one of very few people at my level - maybe the only one - who was still working. |
Anonymous
| Op one more time - I also started having compulsions that were my normal behavior in overdrive. Like I had edited something and I’m usually a careful editor, but then felt compelled each night to make sure I hadn’t missed any commas or periods. I told my doctor and she said we should check in the next week. I now know if weird compulsions start I need help sooner. |
Anonymous
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Sorry just saw other questions above:
I had a CT and 2 hrs of monitoring my brain’s electrical activity. Both were normal. I had Valium at the hospital and dozed in and out there, came home and ate, and went to sleep for 10 hrs. Yesterday I took a 2 hr nap and last night I took some melatonin and Benadryl to help me sleep (both ER approved) and slept for 13 hrs! (Forget if I’d said that up thread). |
Anonymous
| Op one more time. They also did blood and urine analysis. There were a few changes in certain things in my blood compared with my draw a month ago before my surgery. When I looked them up, they all appear to have stress as a cause. |
Anonymous
| My MIL thought she had had a stroke. Eventually turned out to be this. Much more treatable than a stroke! |