Functional and Dissociative Neurological Symptoms : a patient's guide
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This website is about symptoms which are: • neurological (such as weakness, numbness or blackouts) • real (and not imagined) • but not due to neurological disease. These symptoms have many names (including dissociative symptoms and conversion symptoms) but are often described as "functional symptoms". Symptoms like these are surprisingly common but can be difficult for patients and health professionals to understand. This website, written by a neurologist with a special interest in these problems, aims to give you a better understanding of these symptoms. It has no advertising and does not make any money for the author.
Symptoms ...
How to use this website ...
Most people with functional or dissociative neurological symptoms have a combination of symptoms like "weakness, numbness and fatigue" or "blackouts and sleep problems"
Click on a symptom on the right or use the menu above to explore the symptoms that are relevant to you.
Click on ‘Causes’ to discover what is known about....
• what is going wrong in the body when they do happen.(Mechanisms) and
• why people become vulnerable to these symptoms (Causes)
Click on ‘Misdiagnosis’ to find out how likely it is that your diagnosis is wrong
Click on 'In the mind?’ for some answers to this question
Click on ‘Treatment’ for discussion of what treatments may help
Click on ‘Stories' for some real patient stories
Downloads and Links ...
Click on Links and Downloads tab on the menu above to access a wide range of leaflets, booklets and internet links
FUNDING: I'm grateful to the Neurology Research Fund of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh for funding this website. The cost for the website for the first two years was less than £200. I'm especially grateful to Ian Laverty for raising money with this website in mind.
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DISCLAIMER: Please do not attempt to diagnose yourself or others using this website. The diagnosis of functional and dissociative neurological symptoms can be difficult and depends on having experience and knowledge of different neurological problems. The views of this website are those of the author alone and not those of NHS Lothian or the University of Edinburgh. I’m sorry but I cannot undertake email correspondence with patients, I do not accept referrals from outside South East Scotland and do not carry out private work. I do hope that the information in this website might be useful to you. Dr Jon Stone, Consultant Neurologist, Edinburgh
Neurosymptoms in other languages
I am very honoured that neurology, medical and nursing colleagues in a wide range of countries have contacted me to arrange a translation of neurosymptoms.org in to other languages. Words and meanings change in different cultures and so it was important that these sites were adapted by professionals familiar with the topic. Some of these sites are complete. Others are in development
DUTCH Translation in progress by Prof Rien Vermeulen, Neurologist, Amsterdam and Jeannette Gelauff
functionelesymptomen.moonfruit.com
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CZECH Translation by Dr Tereza Serranova, Neurologist, Prague
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