This medical condition stumped doctors for years
One morning, Kyla Madonna Kenney woke up and her world was turned upside down: The room was spinning, she had a splitting migraine and one side of her body was shaking. Her tremors and migraine lasted for days. And for years afterwards, doctors would ask her: Did anything upset you recently? Are you stressed? Have you talked to a therapist about your anxiety? She underwent surgeries and took medications that were, in hindsight, unnecessary. It wasn’t until seeing Dr. David Perez, a neurologist who is also a psychiatrist, that she finally got the right treatment for her medical condition, functional neurological disorder. Today, we dig into this disorder – what it is, why it’s so unknown despite being a top reason people seek out neurologists and what this condition reveals about the consequences of siloing medicine.
If you liked this episode, check out our previous one about a new approach to brain health.
Interested in more science behind medicine? Email us your questions at [email protected].
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
If you liked this episode, check out our previous one about a new approach to brain health.
Interested in more science behind medicine? Email us your questions at [email protected].
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
You May Also Like

The Grave Talks | Haunted, Paranormal & Supernatural
Ghost Stores, Haunted, Paranormal & Supernatural Stories

La Science, CQFD
France Culture

Experimental History
Adam Mastroianni

DarshanTalks Podcast
Darshan Kulkarni

La Terre au carré
France Inter

Menno en Erwin about Nature and Science
Natuur en Wetenschap door: Prof. Menno Gerkema en Erwin Balkema

Dr. Chapa’s OBGYN Clinical Pearls
Dr. Chapa’s Clinical Pearls

Real Ghost Stories Online
Real Ghost Stories Online | Paranormal, Supernatural & Horror Radio

The 365 Days of Astronomy
365DaysOfAstronomy.org

Trent Loos Podcast
Trent Loos
Community discussion