‘I was having up to 1500 spasms a day’: What it’s like to live with functional neurological disorder

New Zealand Herald · Paulette Crowley · 2026-11-04 17:06 UTC

The little-known condition that may affect more NZers than Parkinson's disease and MS.

Functional neurological disorder is a condition where people who suffer from its debilitating symptoms are often left untreated, unsupported and not believed. FND Aotearoa advocate Mel Grace spoke to Paulette Crowley about what it’s like to live with this disorder.

Most people have experienced a mild form of myoclonus of the diaphragm known as hiccups. You can get these involuntary spasms throughout your body, too. That’s what happened to me close to five years ago. It began as a reaction to a medication.

The reaction progressed quickly. Twitching legs turned into full-body spasms and within two days I knew I needed to go to hospital. Doctors told me I was having non-epileptic seizures, but they didn’t know why. I was told there was nothing they could do for me; I was sent home and told not to come back.

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