Today I was released from the hospital. I've been diagnosed for a few years with Fibro and work very much to be as aware as possible to my symptoms and all that jazz. Well, this flare up caught me completely off guard. Suddenly I was shaking uncontrollably. Nothing worked just like you. Then I had seizure like episodes after that while I was in the hospital. They tested and here's the findings. I hope it helps. You're definitely not alone. This disease likes to do things even someone with fibro for years is just now discovering.
Another cool site too: http://www.fms-help.com/signs.htm
Diagnosis:
I have been diagnosed with Pseudo-seizures. These seizures are commonly associated with anxiety and other similar disorders like PTSD, which is why they were examining the possibility of it being that.
In my particular case, the findings indicate it is not due to PTSD or anxiety or any mental type or mood disorder. It is related to the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia.
In fibromyalgia, the widespread pain and multiple other systems and body sections effected are not fully understood at the time. However some of the most recent research actually conducted last year now tells us that many patients with fibromyalgia suffer from a type of pseudo seizure called PNES. PNES is a Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizure.
This type of seizure occurs generally as a manifestation of psychological stress. These seizures will look identical to a tonic-clonic (also called Myoclonic) seizure with flailing, choking, unresponsiveness, etc. They may also be in the form of what looks like Absence seizures. In theses, a person may appear to be staring off into the distance, and temporary loss of attention and trouble recalling information for some time after it has passed. Short term memory is highly effected.
If a Pseudo-seizure were caused by a stressing event or by something such as anxiety or PTSD, it is classified under Somatoform Disorder PNES.
However, in other forms of PNES, it is found that the event was not actually brought on by a somatoform disorder idealization or lack of coping skills or life events, etc.
These other forms of PNES are brought on by the body's habit to compensate and to endure daily life when one has a chronic illness. These are unconscious non intentional responses of the body's psychological centers to the physical stimulus surround them. Recently confirmed within the last year, these PNES seizures are true seizures however not epileptic seizures. They do not harm the brain or its functions. What occurs can be seen especially in fibromyalgia patients.
New research shows that as a fibromyalgia patient reaches their window of tolerance and is experiencing a flare up of symptoms or sudden onset of symptoms (this occurs when there is no traceable way to notice an upcoming flare up), they can often have PNES Seizures. This happens because the body's fight or flight system is seemingly caught off guard or overloaded. The body due to wide spread pain overload as well as overload of other multiple symptoms that come with fibromyalgia, reacts in a manifestation of PNES.
In all of these patients it will be found that EEG, MRI, CT, Blood work, and all other vital signs are safe if not exceptional. However, they still have seizure episodes classified as PNES seizures.
It is now found that patients with widespread pain without a diagnosis of fibromyalgia are found to have a 75% chance of having PNES seizure events.
It is also found that patients who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia have a 99% chance of having these events rather often.
Below is the summary of the study that had been completed:
Benbadis and colleagues examined the relationship between chronic pain or fibromyalgia and psychogenic seizures. They designated two groups: (1) patients who had been diagnosed with fibrolyalgia or chronic pain, and (2) patients who had a seizure during their visit, either in the waiting room or in the examining room. Benbadis et al. derived their data from the records of all patients evaluated over 5 years in a single epilepsy clinic for refractory seizures as well as through EEG/video monitoring. In the first group they identified 28 patients with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia and 8 with a diagnosis of chronic pain. After EEG/video monitoring 27 were diagnosed with PNES. In the second group they identified 13 patients who had a “seizure” during their clinic visit. after EEG/video monitoring, 10 were diagnosed with PNES. “These findings suggest that a history of fibromyalgia or chronic pain” and the occurrence of an episode during the visit both have a high predictive value (75% each) and a very high specificity (99%) for an eventual diagnosis of PNES,” said Benbadis. He speculates that the association between chronic pain and PNES may be “because chronic discomfort can cause psychological distress, which may result in PNES.”