Global
Health City restores faith to live free forNiloy Haque
after many months on wheelchair

After stress leading to
a rare ‘Conversion Disorder’ in an exceptionally
intelligent 11yr old boy parents were not
very enthusiastic since the treatment were not yielding desired results in
various hospitals across the globe. Six months later, after due deliberation the
parents decided to shift their son to Global Health City for further medical
management.
Dr V
Murugan, Paediatric
Neurologist and
Dr Vijayasaravanan
Palanivel, Paediatric Neurodisability
Specialist at Global Health City who first reviewed the boy said, “He
appeared much tensed and anxious, didn’t want any eye contact and spoke in a
feeble voice. He was in his wheelchair and while we were speaking to his
parents, he suddenly started twitching his whole body.” He was admitted and
closely observed for 3 days. A thorough clinical examination revealed
inconsistent physical signs. Investigations performed at Singapore were all
reviewed and they were normal.
A psychology
assessment showed that he had “very superior
intelligence” and stress
factors in the family. He lived in a large joint family and there were conflicts
with his siblings, being teased by his cousins, overprotective mother and
authoritative father. A car in which he was traveling to school met with an
accident and it was badly damaged. That left him withdrawn for a few days after
which the neurological symptoms developed.
The doctors at
Global Health City after due consideration determined that the mysterious
illness was not epilepsy or immunologically caused, but as “conversion
disorder”.
Speaking on
conversion disorder, Dr Vijayasaravanan
Palanivel, Consultant
in Paediatric Neurodisability
& Neurorehabilitation, Global Health
City said “It is a
physical manifestation of psychological symptoms; the
disorder is thought to be driven by a subconscious attempt to ‘convert’
strong, unbearable emotional thoughts or stressors in life into something more
socially acceptable.”
Dr
Murugan, Consultant Paediatric
Neurologist, Global Health City emphasised
that it is critical to understand that victims
of conversion disorder do not fake symptoms. Their physical symptoms are true
and their suffering is genuine.
All his
medications were gradually tapered and stopped and his care was taken over
by
the Neurodisability Multidisciplinary Team
(NMDT) headed by Dr
Vijayasaravanan, consisting of physiotherapists,
occupational therapists, psychologists, creative art therapists and yoga
therapists. After two months of physical therapy, behavioral therapy, relaxation
through dance and yoga, parental counseling and coping skills training, there
was a dramatic improvement in his physical and mental abilities.
He was able to walk and run. He appeared a lot happier and
interactive. Parents were pleased that their son was “back to normal” and became
independent in all his activities of daily living after 11 months on wheel
chair.
“Everything seemed fine with him until a year ago”, said an
emotional father. “Suddenly one day, he started having involuntary twitching
body movements and started speaking to self. Things started to
deteriorate, fast; he was unable to walk and complained of loss of sensation in
his legs and arms”.
“I would like to thank the medical team at Global Health City for
adding ‘more to life’ and putting my son back on his feet” he further
added.
Conversion
disorder is a bizarre and rare condition which can strike down otherwise healthy
young people, leaving them unable to walk or talk. It is a mystery and can baffle the
doctors as physically the patients have nothing wrong with them. As a result the
diagnosis is often missed. Thorough history taking, including a psychosocial
history and examination is the key to diagnosis. Stress is the main underlying cause
of conversion disorder. The stress could be either physical or psychological,
and the level at which the disorder occurs varies in every person.
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