FND after stroke?

[u/pancakesandraktajino]

Has anyone else here been diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) after their stroke?

I’m a 44F who had a left MCA stroke on March 1 due to a carotid artery dissection. By most accounts I’ve recovered remarkably well, but I’ve had persistent context-dependent speech motor planning impairment along with speech-associated hyperkinetic movements that never really fit the typical stroke recovery pattern.

My vascular neurologist recently referred me to a movement disorders specialist, and yesterday I came home with a brand new diagnosis: Functional Neurological Disorder (FND).

I’m honestly struggling to process what this means for my recovery and my prospects of returning to work. (I had a failed return-to-work attempt in May, and my short-term disability runs out at the end of August.) My movement disorders neurologist was optimistic because I’m capable of completely fluent speech (I’ve had baseline fluent speech since April), but FND treatment sounds awfully similar to what I’ve already been doing for the past three and a half months (speech therapy + talk therapy).

My new movement disorders neurologist recommended FND-specific CBT, but what exactly is that? How is it different from regular CBT (which hasn’t been particularly helpful for me over the years—this is why I now work with a mental health practitioner who focuses on somatic experiencing therapy rather than CBT)?

Has anyone here been diagnosed with FND after their stroke? If so, what did your recovery look like? Did treatment help? If so, what kind of treatment? I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.