Featured Image Credit: TikTok/missnevvy
Topics: Health, Mental Health, TikTok, Social Media
Joe Yates
You hear stories of people dying of a broken heart but they are usually pensioners whose life partners of 60 plus years have passed away.
But a 20-year-old has shared how her traumatic breakup with a partner left her 'physically paralyzed' from heartache and unable to walk.
Just over six weeks ago, TikToker Miss Nevvy was diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND) with doctors telling her they aren't sure if she'll 'ever regain the ability to walk again'.
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On her TikTok account, she has shared her journey with her followers, with one post in particular detailing what had happened to her through writing over a series of photos.
It read: "Waking up on a Monday morning after being broken up with and feeling me legs tingling. Not thinking too much of it and standing up, feeling a bit unsteady but going to class anyways.
"Getting back from class feeling a bit more unsteady than I was in the morning, laughing about wobbling a bit but still not thinking too much of it. It gets worse... so much worse, it hurts, I can barely feel my legs, I try to stand up and almost fall over. mum takes me to the emergency GP [doctor].
"Doctor looks at us and said 'if this is my child I'd pick her up and bring her to A&E [UK version of the ER in US] immediately.' I'm worried. I get to A&E, they do a CT scan of my spine. it's clear, there's nothing to see. I get admitted anyways because I can barely stand or walk."
It continued: "I wake up completely unable to move my legs or stand. I'm really freaking out right about now, it's no longer funny. I get sent home because nothing is wrong with me except for the fact that I can't walk. I cry.
"I go to my gp again because I still can't walk, she refers me to hospital again. I get admitted again but on the neurology ward now. I am still freaking out, unable to walk or stand, 2 weeks has gone by since that monday now. They test everything, nothing is wrong but I still can't walk.
"The doctor sits me down and tells me that I got so heartbroken that I developed a neurological condition which is causing this."
The college student then goes on to make jest of her situation, saying she looked like Pepe the King Prawn 'when I get told my breakup left me paralysed', and 'when the doctor tells me he isn't sure if I'll ever regain the ability to walk again'.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, FND refers to a "neurological condition caused by changes in how brain networks work, rather than changes in the structure of the brain itself, as seen in many other neurological disorders."
Adding: "Physical symptoms of FND are genuine but cannot be explained by changes in the brain structure. The exact cause of FND is unknown."