Naples woman with same condition as Celine Dion shares story of Stiff Person diagnosis

It's a shame that doctors keep prescribing antidepressants to women and tell them symptoms are all in their head, even when this woman clearly could not even get up out of her chair. Ridiculous! I was told my symptoms of POTS was just anxiety and mental illness, this has got to stop.

Being dismissed by a medical professional is GROSSLY NEGLIGENT! How could you think this is all in her head? Hearing her cry on the floor was really hard - and she said it can last for hours. My heart goes out to you and your family.

Doctors who refuse to believe their patients should be restricted to lab work. No patient contact. As a chronic pain patient I really feel for her. The DEA limiting how much pain medication people can have has limited me to the couch and my bed and effectively taken 1O years of my life. I’m tired of ignorance causing others pain. May their Karma find them. May that poor woman have peace and be pain free.

And this is why celebrities being open and honest about their conditions is so important. They can talk to millions and talk FOR millions. For every celebrity...there are THOUSANDS of unnamed people with that SAME condition.

So fed up with doctors dismissing what they cannot understand by saying "it is all in your head." Thank you Celine for being such an open and empathic person... She has brought awareness to a condition that truly, truly needs it. ❤️

Prayers for this woman. She has a lot of courage to share her story.

Not a whole lot has changed when it comes to helping women with health issues . Physicians often see women as histrionic & just want to throw a tranquilizer their way, rather than taking time to get to the bottom of the illness. This needs to change . I am glad this dear lady has gotten help & has hope for a better outcome & future. She is an advocate for others ! Bless her!

This is why I absolutely love residents and new doctors! They're excited to help, they're more willing to listen and investigate.

When you have your health you don't realize how fortunate you are. I hope both ladies can recover and resume their life's passion.

Nothing triggers me more when I hear a doctor tell a patient it's all in their head. They said the same to my mother when she was in so much pain. They finally diagnosed her with lung cancer and she died soon after. How HORRIBLE it must have been not to be believed.

My mother lived with Stiff Man's Syndrome which is now called Stiff Person Syndrome. These people are telling the TRUTH!! ABSOLUTELY THE TRUTH!!!. My Mom was a very thin person and short. We lived with this condition for 45 years or longer. There were times she would pray to die because the pain was unbearable. You could visually see the muscle spasms as the turn as hard as rock in the body. She would often be dehydrated due to all of the sweating during the episodes. Cold, water, pain, or stress would bring on an attack. Often times the spasms would have her bending backwards, which we later name the "Duck Sway Back". My brother, sister, son, and nieces would have to pull her fingers apart because she would be screaming with pain. She would be exhausted afterwards and want nothing but quit. However, she didn't allow this condition to stop her as it often did; she kept on going. Always finding something to do or someone to help or somewhere to prepare a meal. When my mother was diagnosed there was only one (1) other person in the whole universe with it as well. We were given this information by her doctor at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio.

I pray for all those people in pain! 🙏🏽

I have fibromyalgia syndrome and it took me years to get anyone to listen to me. My condition is nowhere near as horrible as hers. You are in my prayers sweet lady. No one can understand how horrible it is when you are in pain and struggling and no one believes you. God bless you❤

My heart goes out to anyone going through this. Much healing prayers

Hello my name is Erica, I was recently diagnosed with Stiff Person Sysmdrum and It is so challenging that getting out of bed makes me cry most days because it's painful. I have difficulty holding a pencil or pen , picking up things, and WALKING OMG I have fallen more than a few times. I have been a preschool teacher for 35 + years and at the end of January I have to retire and give up what I LOVED MOST AND THAT WAS WATCHING THE BABY grow and watching their little brain expand with knowledge. I understand your pain with the spasms and I pray they find something that can better our lives. Praying for all

I suffer from dysautonomia since I was very young but it took 15 years to be diagnosed. I cannot say how often doctors told me it was in my head. My luck was this particular doctor who was familiar with my syndrome and I took the related tests to be confirmed. Being diagnosed feels like the start of a long journey because it never goes away but I am grateful for Celine and this woman, who share their pain and raise awareness. It is so important for so many of us.

As a nurse, I to have experienced being told by stupid doctors that it's just stress.Basically as a woman it's all in my head. No, it's not. I am actually feeling this going on. When a doctor doesn't listen to you, walk out and tell him you are fired! After all, you are the one that hires him.

This is responsible journalism. This needs to be shown. Any chronic pain disease is very cruel and many suffer beyond belief just performing a simple task like sitting up. As a nurse, I’ve seen a lot of this and also how such patients are dismissed as having a psychological issue when the disease itself is worsened by the stress of not receiving the medical care they deserved and not being believed. My heart goes out to all of you who have to suffer chronic pain daily. Those of us who do not suffer, let’s hope we don’t have to in the future. ❤🙏

Wow! This woman is a hero to me! So positive in the face of such adversity.

I’ve had seizures for 28 years and it took 28 years for me to get an official diagnosis. I’ve been on seizure meds for 28 years only to be told though that it was psycho genic meeting it’s in my head Well, I found out through reading on my own that cortisol, which is produced by stress can cause seizures. I’ve had a very stressful life. Progressively the seizures have become worse and worse and worse I’ve been unable to work for over 20 years. Now, for the first time I have medication that is controlling my seizures appropriately. And I am interviewing for jobs. In fact, I had a job interview today. Don’t know if I get it but I know that least I can do a job.