Dissociative attack apparently?

That being said, it's rare for hyperventilation to produce an attack as serious as yours sounds - I certainly never had anything as bad. I'm a former neuro-trained nurse, and I don't think the neurologist should have dismissed this as a dissociative attack without ordering tests. It is true that dissociative attacks - and even hyperventilation - can mimick much more serious conditions, but in my experience it's normal to eliminate any real neurological defects before handing out this diagnosis.

I think you should go to your GP and insist on being referred to a neurologist - preferably a different one - for a second opinion, just for reassurance.

I've been unwell for several months with itching nerve pain & stiffness in my neck & skull, since then ive had dizziness, nausea, rapid weight loss despite eating more than normal, hearing loss, numbness, severely impaired cognition, extreme weakness & other stuff. Just seem to be getting worse.

Neurologists do t seem to take it seriously. I had an MRI & lumbar puncture in March which were ok but they've done no more despite me getting worse. Its strange as I was sent to a dermatologist recently due to a rash & getting tons of new moles. He wanted to hear of my sickness as well & was amazed neurologists didn't do a muscle & nerve biopsy.....something like that. Its just odd that a dermatologist is more interested & seems to know more than the neuros.

No one on here can diagnose you, of course, but I have to say that in the absence of any signs of neurological damage, many of the symptoms you describe could be down to stress, or a condition like ME.

There is just one thing in the back of my mind, though it's a long shot. 30 years ago a friend became seriously ill with all kinds of neurological and rheumatic symptoms. She went through whole batteries of tests, all of which came back negative, and was even hospitalised at one point. She too ended up with a diagnosis of ME, but finally went to another GP after nearly a year of being ill. (We live in a country where it's easy to do this.) He diagnosed Lyme disease and rapidly cured it with a prolonged course of antibiotics. She's in her 70s now and in perfect health. At the time of diagnosis, she had no signs of a tick bite, nor any recollection of ever having had one, but her doctor had the sense to take in the whole picture.

I have to say I don't think Lyme disease is a very likely diagnosis, as it's pretty rare. I also realise you're going to have a hard time getting any doctor to even consider it as a diagnosis, especially if you're in the UK, but it might just be worth a try.

I do hope you can find a diagnosis soon. Even if turns out to be ME or a stress-related condition, it will still be reassuring to know what it is.

I was recently tested for Lyme's & it was OK.

Can anxiety attacks dilate your eyes & almost paralyse you? I wondered if it could cause hearing loss too.

I've had two hearing tests recentky, the first showed moderate hearing loss. They wanted to see me again last week as it got worse & they confirmed my hearing had dropped even further. I don't like it as normally I have excellent hearing. I did tell the neuro doc this when I was hospitalised at the weekend but he wasn't interested.

A&E staff kept saying it seemed like an allergic reaction as my eyes were very dilated & my throat swollen but they didn't know to what as its been going on months. Starting to keep w diary of stuff I eat & use.

Someone else suggested hormone problems so gonna see what doc says.

I can't wait to find the cause so I can finally get treatment and get my life back.

Anyway thanks!

The throat swelling doesn't really fit in with stress either (or with a neurological condition, for that matter). I don't want to insult you, but the obvious question - which I suspect you've been asked before - is whether you'd taken any recreational drugs, including legal highs.

Once again, no one here can diagnose you. I'm afraid you may face a long road to getting a diagnosis. However, I like the idea of your keeping a food and products diary. You might be able to pinpoint the cause. Even if it doesn't help identify the cause, just taking charge of our own health can sometimes produce miraculous results. The mind has more power over the body than many people realise. And that includes most doctors in my experience!

Some people suffer from mysterious illnesses that are never diagnosed but from which they eventually make a spontaneous recovery. This is particularly true of young people. It may well be that you're one of them.

All the same, I think you should follow up periodically on the hearing tests, as they might indicate that there's something going on. If your hearing continues to fail, you'll have something more solid with which to confront the neurologists.

Stay positive!

I actually saw my gp today in a mess and he was very co cerned & is referring me back to neurology. Hopefully I'll see a more helpful Dr. Also referred to pain clinic. My muscles are getting so weak, its hard to lift my arms, often hard to speak, chew & impossible to sing anymore.

An interesting point is when in A&E I seemed to start to stabilise, get sensation back, able to speak, less confused & more conscious after they gave me oramorph. Maybe a coincidence. But that makes me wonder if anxiety was a factor as oramorph calms u. It would've been a very severe anxiety attack tho to cause all of that.

Hopefully I'll miraculously recover! Its all very strange. The worse it gets the more I'm concerned I have some degenerative nerve or muscle disorder but I'm trying to stay positive. Its just hard as its affecting my cognition so not my usual self.

Have a great day & thanks again, its useful to hear others thoughts even tho no one can diagnose.