Final Discussion

          After exploring conversion disorder, I have concluded that there is a desperate need for more research into this terrible disorder. There is a sense that since it is a mental illness that it does not deserve the attention and monetary backing that it needs. The research is starting to show that there are problems within the brain that make people more likely to have conversion reactions. I believe that there needs to be some public education especially for our medical providers that mental illnesses are problems within the patient’s brain. These are not to be looked at in a bad light. These patients are sick just like any other disease, and they need to be treated as such.  My sources may have all been about conversion disorder, but I saw many different sides to it. I see how people look at conversion disorder and think that a person can just fix it since it is in their head.  It does seem that my husband’s case is typical because his was brought on by a mood disorder; he is in the fifty to ninety percent that have recovered .  I have also learned that we are getting close to finding out where in the brain the problem is.

As I continue to research and help my family cope, I am not sure what the direct cause of the disorder. I still want to keep up on the research on conversion disorder and be a part of the move to educate others on mental illness. I haven’t found an agreed upon reason for conversion disorder.

 As I look toward the argument essay, I’m still thinking about how my essay should be about mental illnesses and why we should view patients as sick not crazy. Mentally ill patients are not cared for as though they are sick. The very same doctors that we go to in order to feel better make us feel ashamed at our illnesses. This is not acceptable. These people are their patients and are sick. They need the same medical attention you would give to someone who was not suffering from a mental illness.

Answers and Hope

My main original question was why does Conversion disorder affect people differently? I think I may have the answer! The May 17, 2011 article Conversion Disorder: Advances in Our Understanding in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reports “results suggest that patients with conversion disorder have an abnormal pattern of cerebral activation in which limbic areas (or areas richly connected to the limbic system) override the activation of the motor and sensory cortices.” Wow!

Let me break this down. The limbic system is the part of our brain that controls our emotions.  So the limbic system overrides the parts of the brain that we use to move and sense things. Depending on which part of the brain is overridden is what symptoms are experienced by the patient. Totally makes sense!

Those results are from different studies that were performed with MRI and SPECT scans. The article does state that there needs to be more clinical trials done, but they did research several different studies that have been done.

So let’s move on to my next question. Why is it so hard to diagnose? The answer is that until there is more research done there will be no test for conversion disorder. Studies are starting to show what is happening in the brain, but there is no full explanation for it and no one thing that stands out in all cases. Since the symptoms can easily be something else you can only test for everything possible and then when you find nothing go for the conversion disorder.

Before I go on I think I should explain that conversion disorder is categorized in a group of mental disorders called somatoform disorders. Upon further research I found an article in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry that was insightful. In the March 2004 article Somatization and Conversion Disorder Dr. Trevor Hurwitz wrote “conversion reactions represent a somatic defense against threats to mental stability that are most commonly attributable to an underlying mood disorder.”  I must say that I get angry when I read this. It is commonly known that conversion disorder is due to mood disorders? We went months with the diagnosis of conversion disorder and nobody even thinking of a mood disorder! My husband got better as soon as he was diagnosed bipolar and treated for it. We wasted months of pain, suffering, and piling up the medical bills when this is common. This makes me furious!

Dr. Hurwitz continues on to say that “physicians are usually baffled and annoyed by patients with conversion disorders and remain too quick to dismiss any new somatic symptom as ‘more of the same’ to the patients’ great detriment.” So basically, I can expect this kind of treatment to continue throughout my husband’s life. Any time he gets sick I can expect to have to convince the doctor that he is sick. This is going to be a fun ride. 

While one of the studies focuses on why conversion disorder happens the other was more focused on past beliefs. I am so glad that we finally have evidence that there is something going on within the brain. It adds more to our argument that this is not "faked" and there is something wrong. At the same time, Dr. Hurwitz hit my experience on the head with the mood disorder. Even so, I feel like he is still looking for a mentally ill patient to be unconciously faking it. He thinks they are looking for attention. He is wrong. My husband and others like him are ashamed for their condition.


Since I refuse to end this on a negative note I wanted to include something that made me feel inspired. It may not add to the research, but those who have struggled with this nasty disorder will feel every bit the way I did.

Image by fndhope.org

I am still left to wonder so much. Why mental illness is not considered the same as a physical illness? How can a doctor see a patient convusing in his examination room and tell him it is all in his head? It may be in my head, but that does not mean it does not need to be corrected! According to my psychologist one out of four people suffers from mental illness. I will find out my mental status next week. All of my family is being tested since it is in our genes. My husband has it from both parents side, and I have an aunt with bipolar. Both of my kids were tested and my daughter is bipolar. I went through the test and will recieve results next week. 

Works Cited

Feinstein, Anthony. "Conversion Disorder: Advances In Our Understanding." CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal 183.8 (2011): 915-920. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 July 2012.


Hurwitz, Trevor A. "Somatization And Conversion Disorder." Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry 49.3 (2004): 172-178. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 July 2012.

Mental Illnesses

There seems to be a common problem with mental illness. That problem is that people either think that you are crazy or that you are faking it. Neither of these are true. Mental illnesses are just illnesses only they affect your brain and who you are.  The causes are different for each disease/disorder and they can be the hardest to deal with.

Since there seems to be some confusion I went directly to the source that doctors use for mental illnesses. This source is the same one that our psychologist called the bible for mental health. It is the DSM, and otherwise known as the Diagnostic and StatisticalManual of Mental Disorders. I think it is an eye opening experience to read some of what the DSM has to say about conversion disorder.

The description of the disorder was “Conversion disorder is characterized by the occurrence of certain signs or symptoms that are clearly inconsistent with what is known about anatomy and pathophysiology.” So yes it is physical symptoms appearing for no physical reason. It goes on to say “Patients who find themselves with such symptoms, however, are not to be confused with malingerers or those with factitious illness. Patients who suffer conversion symptoms do not intentionally feign such symptoms, as malingerers do; they experience them as genuine, and their distress over them may be as genuine as that of the patient whose unsteadiness is produced by a midline cerebellar tumor.” So they are not faking it. If someone has lost feeling in their toe you can poke them with a needle and they will not feel it. This is happening even though there is no physical reasoning for it.

I also want to impose the person impact that this devastating disorder and have. I went to the facebook page that the Conversion Disorder Foundation is using while they set up their webpage.  One quote took my breath away. Tom posted “Why do the people that are meant to help me, the so called "professionals" always abandon me.” I can tell you this is exactly how I felt when my husband was sent away from doctor after doctor with no explanation. One doctor actually told him 

“I do not want to tell you this is all in your head, but . . .” That is exactly how he said it and left the room. I wanted to scream. He say my husband on his examination table convulsing and that was all he could say. It took us 2 months to get into a neurologist, and the psychiatrist did nothing other then try to push medications that did nothing. It wasn’t until we sat down with the psychologist that things changed. After three visits we finally moved into a better place. Dr. Stambaugh cared. He listened and he actually cared! He went above and beyond to get my husband back to work before his time to keep his job was up.

So not a whole lot of research this time on why it affects people differently, but I think it is important to point out how difficult mental illnesses are. 

Interesting Research

Image from Discovery Education

This week’s research proved to be interesting.  It turns out that as my husband started seeing his first symptoms that sixteen high scholars in Le Roy, New York were showing signs as well.  According to the article “Conversion Disorder: An Epidemic Spread by Sight” that was published in The Week on March 23 2012 it was not the first time there has been an outbreak. There have been outbreaks in 2007 in Florida and Mexico, and in 2010 there was an episode in a school in Brunei. They go as far back as 1789 when a woman who was working in a textile factory started convulsing.

That last one made me wonder what happened to her. Did someone decide that woman was possessed by the devil? Did they put her through an exorcism?  I know that sounds crazy if you have never seen an episode, but I found a video of an episode for you. My husband did resemble something like this on a bad day. Her name is Leah and she is trying to set up a foundation for people with Conversion disorder. After watching you should be able to understand how someone could think she was possessed by an evil spirit.

Image captured by Youtube.

PschiatryOnline presented a well laid out description of Conversion Disorder.  After presenting a case of “Mrs. A: who is a fifty-three year old woman who suffered through four months of non epileptic seizures. After tests were run she was diagnosed with Conversion Disorder and put on medications for depression and anxiety, as well as taught self-hypnosis.

The article then explains that patients with non epileptic seizures tend to suffer from depression, anxiety, and other dissociative disorders. Patients also commonly had suffered through childhood abuse.

Treatment is typically therapy, hypnosis, medications, and/or trans cranial magnetic stimulation. Fifty to ninety percent of patients have short term recovery, but twenty-five percent have a relapse.

It was scary how much my husband’s case reflected Mrs. A’s case. With the help of our psychologist he is meditating and they are connecting that to self-hypnosis. He is on anti-anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder medication. Once these measures were put into place my husband was able to return to work. He has not recovered fully, but he is able to function.

I still haven't found any answers on why it effects people differently. I am finding myself more curious about the history of the disorder. I find my atheist self drawn to wonder if people were put through unnecessary exorcisms because they suffered with Conversion disorder. 

Why?

The scariest day of my life was in March when my perfectly healthy husband started convulsing. Thankfully both of my children were fast asleep. He refused to go to the hospital since his vitals were stable, so I held him in my arms and just did what I could to keep both of us calm and rational. This led to months of doctors, tests, and incorrect diagnosis which included a Huntington's Disease scare. My husband is the love of my life and my best friend which made this was the hardest road I have ever had to walk. Finally we found psychologist Dr. Stambaugh and he found the right treatment plan for my husband.

Conversion Disorder is a mental disorder where the body will put physical form to any strong emotion, especially stress. It can take different forms for different people. There have been reports of blindness, convulsions, and paralysis, and inability to speak. It can come and go throughout a patient's life, or go away permanently. Each case is different, and so is the treatment.

Image from photobucket.

I have so many questions. Why does Conversion Disorder effect people differently? My hypothesis is that since each of our brains are different we react differently. Why it is so hard to diagnose? Right now it is a diagnosis of exclusion, which means that you are diagnosed with Conversion Disorder when everything else is ruled out. My guess is that there has been very little research on it because there is much we still do not understand about the human brain. Finally, what percentage of people diagnosed with Conversion Disorder and fully recover do not experience the symptoms returning? I plan on using medical pages like Mayo Clinic and scientific papers to try and find the answers. 

This blog is here to explore Conversion Disorder and why it effects people differently. I am excited to explore this with my classmates and anyone else who is curious. This mysterious disorder has turned my world upside down, and I want to know as much as possible about it.

Introduction

My name is Trish, and this blog is for my English 121 class for Front Range Community College. My husband was diagnosed with Conversion Disorder in March after he started having convulsions. My blog will explore Conversion Disorder, and why it effects people differently.