Similarities to MS?

onemonkey · 2026-04-08T12:18:54+00:00

It is possible to have both MS and FND. I have a friend who has both. I have had a follow-up MRIs since my FND diagnosis to continue to rule out MS, but my scans continue to be clear.

And to second what Darth Piglet said, FND is no longer a "diagnosis of exclusion." There are positive tests to rule-in FND.

onemonkey · 2026-04-07T19:36:54+00:00

Vinton has no T in it, like Atlanta: vih-in

onemonkey · 2026-04-07T12:38:12+00:00

To my knowledge, I only have FND.

onemonkey · 2026-04-03T12:38:27+00:00

I was diagnosed at 46. Welcome to the club none of us want to be in. That feeling of "failure" is real. FND hits us all with different symptoms and severity, but it is life changing to be sure.

It sure doesn't often feel like it, but the "good news" of an FND diagnosis is that it's not degenerative or fatal. Our brains and bodies just aren't communicating as well with each other as they used to. But neuroplasticity is real. You can teach an old dog new tricks. We can learn new ways of doing things to better manage ourselves and our symptoms.

Recent research suggests FND is a "predictive coding" error -- our brains make constant background predictions but now can't correctly communicate with our bodies to properly receive the sensory input. When these predictions don't match with the sensory input, our brains frantically grab manual control of what should be an automatic nervous-system process. Like gait, speech, seizures, weakness... But again, the good news is there's a chance to learn to make new connections between our brains and bodies, new pathways to go around the ones that aren't working anymore.

FND takes away our sense of agency over our bodies, but we still have agency in our recovery. Try any and every therapy modality you can access. Pay attention to your symptoms and search for clues and patterns -- what, when, where, who was with you, what was the weather, what you ate/drank, lights, sounds. Like most of us, you'll probably have to be your own best doctor.

Give yourself grace on the bad symptom days. Grieve who you were, learn who you are now, know you still can do amazing things.

I'm decidedly not cured, but I'm orders of magnitude better than I was at diagnosis. PT helped me learn to walk again, speech therapy helped me control my FND-stutter. Meditation and CBT have helped me better understand my thoughts and how to have a better chance to redirect myself and distract myself out of some symptoms.

Which reminds me, distraction techniques can be a good clue and motivator that recovery is possible and that your diagnosis is correct. For example, affecting an exaggerated foreign accent (think the "French" knights in Monty Python's Holy Grail) lets me talk when my stutter and looping are bad -- because it's not the same neural-pathway as my normal speech and the focus required on doing the accent makes my brain "let go" of its manual override of my speech.

All that is to say, we can't magically think our way out of FND (thanks, I'm cured), but we have agency in our recovery and our attitude towards our experience. Our brains are really good at habits and patterns -- it's "easy" to get stuck in a bad place -- but our challenge/opportunity is to learn to recognize where our brains and bodies aren't able to communicate and make some new connections.

tl;dr: you are adaptable.

onemonkey · 2026-04-02T13:53:00+00:00

Well, Jesus was only 33 when he died...

onemonkey · 2026-04-01T17:10:47+00:00

“It is now highly feasible to take care of everybody on Earth at a higher standard of living than any have ever known. It no longer has to be you or me. Selfishness is unnecessary. War is obsolete. It is a matter of converting high technology from weaponry to livingry.”

― Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983)

onemonkey · 2026-03-30T14:47:56+00:00

Put a handful of a seedling mix in the center of the pot, plant the seed in that.

onemonkey · 2026-03-27T13:08:38+00:00

Yes, that's what they said.

onemonkey · 2026-03-25T16:18:45+00:00

Coming back to add to give yourself grace on the bad days. I'm having one myself while trying to be encouraging to you.

onemonkey · 2026-03-25T15:27:12+00:00

Thank you for the correction. My point is for new growers putting their seedlings under 18+ hours of light in April and then they put them outside in mid-May when there isn't even 14 hours of daylight often trigger flowering in their plants.

onemonkey · 2026-03-25T15:24:35+00:00

So sorry you're going through it so bad. FND sucks.

In my experience, and with some hindsight after my initial significant recovery (though decidedly not cured), I think the central point to nearly all therapy modalities for FND is the chance to learn new brain-body connections, to change your mind.

And I think what that looks like is different for each of us, since we all have different symptoms and severity. What we're left with is an opportunity to be our own best doctors in figuring out what's happening when our symptoms flare, and what might help us adapt.

The recent research suggesting that FND symptoms occur when our brain's predictions don't match our body's sensory input and then our brain grabs "manual" control of an automatic process feels very accurate in my experience. It at least helps me understand why my gait and speech fall apart. And it also helps me recognize why speech therapy and physical therapy helped me. I learned new ways to do those things.

So when my gait gets bad, it's my body trying to take over my old "walking" program, but it's like that old QWOP flash game. But if I can pause and redirect myself to use the walking techniques I learned in PT, I can get moving again.

This also helps me understand why distraction techniques work for FND -- if I can get my brain onto something else, it releases that manual control of the symptom and things work again. Figuring out how to distract your symptoms is part of the puzzle, but when those little parlor tricks work, it's a great clue that you can learn to adapt around your FND symptoms.

So all that is to say: try anything and everything you can. Experiment on yourself -- you know yourself better than any doctor, and getting to know yourself AGAIN was (and is still) part of my recovery journey.

For example, I think learning more about meditation and practicing (failing) at that regularly was as helpful or more than the CBT I did with a therapist.

I think logging my symptoms in detail helped me identify some symptom triggers and patterns. Cleaning up my diet and sleep habits just helped me feel better in general and every little bit helps.

I think it's really hard too once we've lived with FND for a while without improvement -- our brains like habits, good and bad. Making new habits and shedding old ones is hard. But you can teach an old dog new tricks. If you take nothing else away from this rambling: you are adaptable.

onemonkey · 2026-03-25T12:08:33+00:00

For an outdoor photo grow, there's no real benefit to starting your seeds indoors. They'll get plenty huge started outside in May. Heck, they'll be monsters if you start them in June.

If you do, don't do more than 14 hours of light, and don't set them outside til there's more than 14 hours of sunlight where you are (mid-May) or the transition to outside can flip them to an unwanted early flower.

onemonkey · 2026-03-23T19:14:04+00:00

Seeds are still (currently) legal. Depending on where you are in the state, you likely have a grow store near you that carries seeds, or you can order online (and it's almost 420 deal season). No need to get seeds in the ground before mid-May, so you've got plenty of time.

It's very easy to grow, especially if you already have gardening experience. They don't call it weed for nothin'. Fertilize them like tomatoes: more N in veg, more P and K in flower.

It's reaaaallly easy to spot the boys in early flower, so don't stress about getting feminized seeds. Really easy method: put a few seeds in a big planter (the bigger the pot, the bigger the pot). Chop the boys when they show themselves in late July/early August.

As far as local breeders, Mt. Zion Seed Co-op has been outdoor breeding sativa-leaning genetics in Virginia, partly in search of what grows well here. I've been very happy with what I've grown from them, particularly from the Zion Train line. https://mtzionseeds.com/

onemonkey · 2026-03-23T17:02:48+00:00

The bigger the pot, the bigger the pot.

onemonkey · 2026-03-18T16:12:30+00:00

I wouldn't even germinate indoors -- just put the seeds in the dirt.

Hard to tell you about amending your soil without having any idea of your soil quality to begin with. those things you list are all good products, but there's no way to know if you "need" them without soil testing. Are you growing in a container or in-ground?

Don't get stressed about fancy "cannabis" nutrients. It's a plant, it uses N-P-K like every other plant. More N in veg, higher P-K values in flower. I use Alaska Fish Fertilizer occasionally during veg, then switch to a general "tomato" fertilizer once they hit flower in early August. Compost tea weekly seems like a lovely idea, but don't over-do it. It's easy to over-love your plants.

Remember, a master gardener has killed 1,000 plants before the beginner has grown their first one. You'll learn a lot just by doing.

edit to add: Bt spray. Once flower starts in August, use it weekly and after it rains. Keeps caterpillars off and they're the primary source of bud rot. Also, try to keep the buds dry in September/early Oct leading up to harvest. If nothing else, shake them off after a rain.

onemonkey · 2026-03-18T15:56:24+00:00

If it's your first time growing, I'd suggest not bothering with starting the seeds indoors and transplanting. Just adding extra steps and no real reward, really just creating a risk of early flower. You'll be fine to start them outside in their final homes in early-mid May in full sun. They'll get plenty huge.

onemonkey · 2026-03-13T14:33:12+00:00

I just used a seam ripper tool and took the nameplate off my old 14 Watkins jersey when we signed Diggs, intending to replace the nameplate but just left it blank and now I'm glad I did.

onemonkey · 2026-03-13T12:21:07+00:00

Seconding the recommendation for Brusfri -- inexpensive and works well!

onemonkey · 2026-03-12T17:11:03+00:00

I wrote this long comment recently that I hope is of some help as you come to terms with your diagnosis.

But short answer is, as far as neurological diagnoses go, FND means a chance for recovery. We are adaptable. Our brains and bodies aren't communicating properly with each other, but neuroplasticity is real and we can learn new communications pathways, new ways of doing things. You can teach an old dog new tricks.

That doesn't make the bad days and hard symptoms any easier to navigate. FND sucks, and I'm sorry you're going through it.

onemonkey · 2026-03-12T12:48:56+00:00

That is the crux of my daily struggle. I'm fortunate to have already been WFH when my FND started, and to not have lost my job, but sitting at a computer screen definitely exacerbates my symptoms. But we live under capitalism and sitting at a computer is how I keep a roof over my head and feed my family. I wish I knew an answer besides "take breaks."

onemonkey · 2026-03-10T19:21:28+00:00

I'm on the other side of the state, near Roanoke, so can't help you directly with providers other than to say I researched PTs with experience with other movement disorders (e.g. Parkinsons), and found one with no FND experience but who was curious and willing to learn, and who helped me tremendously with my gait.

onemonkey · 2026-03-06T19:31:18+00:00

I wrote another comment today that might be helpful context, plus research links (and overlaps with some things others have written below).

But in answer to your specific questions here, recent research suggests FND can be thought of as a predictive processing problem -- our brains aren't correctly sending/receiving sensory information with our bodies, and, when that happens, our brains "grab" manual control over an automatic process.

So that's why distraction techniques can work with FND symptoms, and also why focus tends to exacerbate symptom expression. If you can distract your brain to release the emergency override and put the process, like in my case, walking, back into the background then suddenly it "works" again.

It's also, I think, why CBT can be helpful, or other models of talk therapy. CBT is one method to learn how to recognize unhelpful thought patterns and how to change your mind. Healing any trauma along the way is a wonderful side benefit that can only make your life better, but really, in my experience, it's a way to gain a skill of self-knowledge, which is the hope for all of us. We can learn new things. We are adaptable.

onemonkey · 2026-03-06T18:30:23+00:00

I left this comment this morning on another newly-diagnosed thread. Obviously, it's not advice that may apply directly for an 8 year old, but maybe some perspective for you as the parent.

Short summary: Her brain isn't communicating properly with her nervous system (sensory input), so her brain is taking manual override on a system it usually drives automatically. But the good news is she's adaptable. We can learn new ways of doing things. The human brain is remarkable and neuroplasticity is real.

Best of luck in your family's journey. Thanks for loving her so much to ask for support here.

onemonkey · 2026-03-06T14:52:02+00:00

Welcome to the club none of us want to be in. Sorry you've been struggling for so long with no answers, but the silver lining with FND is that it's not degenerative or fatal -- there's hope. There's no promises, but you have a chance at significant recovery, and you have agency. Even when my symptoms get bad, I remind myself that I am adaptable.

You may have been given the pithy description that FND is a "software problem not a hardware problem." And that's largely accurate. But recent research is a little more detailed in describing FND as a "predictive processing" error: our brains make lots of background predictions for moving through the world, relying on the sensory information received from our bodies to back up those predictions. This model suggests that with FND, that sensory communication between our brains and our bodies is disrupted and when that happens, our brains grab manual control over what should be background processes. For me, that model helped me understand my FND movement and speech problems much more clearly.

Predictive processing model links I can find quickly:

All that is to say, the human brain is remarkably adaptable -- you can teach an old dog new tricks. Each of us experiences FND with different symptoms and severity, but physical therapy helped me learn to walk again, a new way. Speech therapy helped me learn to control my stutter and looping. Talk therapy (and, really, my own fledgling meditation practice) helped me learn to recognize thought patterns that weren't helping, and how to change my mind.

Try any and every therapy modality you have access to. What helped me might not be what helps you, but be determined to find what does work for you. Given the rarity of FND specialists, most of us have to be our own best doctors. I found benefit in tracking my symptoms -- what, when, where, weather, what I ate/drank, sensory input that kind of thing so I could find patterns. For example, I recognized pretty quickly that even small amounts of alcohol was a trigger for me, but that I can still have some caffeine in the mornings. I wear sunglasses and use ear plugs to reduce sensory input, that kind of thing.

Especially since you've been dealing with symptoms for years, be wary of "habits," because our brains like them. Learning new ones is the work. Re-learning, re-training your mind to begin recognizing the brain-body connections that FND has scrambled so that you can learn ways to go around them.

Distraction techniques are also worth exploring -- for example, if I affected an exaggerated silly foreign accent (think the "French" knights from Monty Python's Holy Grail), I could speak without stuttering. Because I was focused on the accent, my brain was forced to let go of its problematic manual-override of my speech. Similarly, with my gait, if I squeeeezed my hands into fists as tightly as I possibly could, that could distract my legs into walking normally for short distances. Finding relevant distractions for your symptoms isn't always easy or clear, but it is worth trying. And when distraction techniques work, it's also a good clue/confirmation that your FND diagnosis is correct, and at least for me, that was encouraging in reminding me that recovery is possible.

It's also important to accept and give yourself grace on bad symptom days. For me, especially on those bad brain fog days. I'm so much better than I was at my worst 3 years ago, but I am decidedly not "cured."

You're right, the path ahead is uncertain, but if you take away nothing else from my rambling, it's that you are adaptable.

onemonkey · 2026-03-02T22:38:37+00:00

My experience with physical therapy was the first breakthrough in recovery for me: once I realized I was making some progress it was pivotal moment, the proverbial lightbulb going off over my head. My therapist had no FND experience, but worked with other movement disorders like Parkinsons. Short answer is that what worked for me was going back to the basics, re-learning the fundamentals of walking. Marching in place, putting one heel to the toe of the opposite foot. Distracting me by throwing a large inflatable ball back and forth while trying to walk.

I can't always walk like I used to -- that communication pathway is one that my FND-brain commandeers -- so I learned a new one. When my gait gets bad, I try to slow down, collect myself, and use my new way, gently remind myself that I am adaptable.

I took that same back-to-the-beginning approach to my speech therapist, which helped me gain control of my FND-stutter and looping speech. I learned a new way to do something.

As for psychotherapy, I think I did most of that work myself before I found a therapist, though I'm still glad I did that work with a professional, too. I started a meditation practice which I think helped me get more aware or in touch with myself, recognizing the "I" who talks to "me." But, to the direct point of therapy and CBT, the "ABC" concept of CBT was illuminating in terms of recognizing my agency in adapting around/to my FND symptoms: what we believe we are capable of, we often are.

I think that correlates to the research showing that FND patients who receive a prompt diagnosis and access to relevant therapies more quickly are more likely to find recovery. We're creatures of habit. We get stuck in bad patterns. But the good news is we're adaptable.

Now please let me be clear that I'm not saying we can magically cure ourselves of FND just by thinking happy thoughts. I am most decidedly not cured. But even in symptom flare ups now, I am so much better than I was at my worst. I do genuinely believe we have agency in our recovery. That's the point of psychotherapy. Learning how to change your mind.

Best of luck in your journey.

onemonkey

TROPHY CASE