Functional cognitive disorder. Has anyone heard of this?

My mother was a ICU/PCU&CCU nurse for 35+ years. Wouldn't someone with a true dementia be showing some mental decline instead of improving? I agree, there are many cognitive disorders and lots of or or or..

We aren't even on the cusp of what there is to know about both dementias and about mental illness. The manuals and books are rewritten so quickly that by the time you get one in print it's out of date. As my oncologist said "Medicine is anything but an exact science."

I sometimes thing FCD is something that they throw at a thing they cannot diagnose. In talking at length with the neurologists about my brother's diagnosis of "Probably Early Lewy's Dementia" I learned that they diagnosed him ONLY by his own subjective and descriptive symptoms. No loss of white matter. No loss of grey. Just what he described.

Having mental illness in the extended family that is my experience with mental illness as well. When they trust that they can be honest with you (say you are in medical field ) they say things like "Welp. Here's how we diagnose bipolar. If lithium helps, it is. If it doesn't it isn't". Hee hee.

You have to love it. With Functional Cognitive I think you are coming down to "If the glove fits......" sort of thinking at times.

At 80 I realize just how long we have known of so many different kinds of dementia. We used to be down to just "senile". Then we got "Alzheimer's". And THEN, within only about a decade we got at least five or six distinctly different dementias related to small strokes or loss of white matter or loss of grey matter or or or or.

Both social workers at the senior center mom attends said she's high functioning .I googled it and FCD popped up. I'm a research junkie, always been interested in trying to figure things out. When I worked for the school the youth relations deputy called me MacGyver lol.

I read that article also. This is what I found interesting
'Functional cognitive disorder (FCD) is an under-recognised condition that is different from dementia. In FCD, cognitive difficulties with memory and thinking – particularly when the person can't maintain attention – are down to a problem with how the brain is working, rather than to loss of brain cells'

"Functional neurologic disorder — a newer and broader term that includes what some people call conversion disorder — features nervous system (neurological) symptoms that can't be explained by a neurological disease or other medical condition. However, the symptoms are real and cause significant distress or problems functioning.

Signs and symptoms vary, depending on the type of functional neurologic disorder, and may include specific patterns. Typically, this disorder affects your movement or your senses, such as the ability to walk, swallow, see or hear. Symptoms can vary in severity and may come and go or be persistent. However, you can't intentionally produce or control your symptoms.

The cause of functional neurologic disorder is unknown. The condition may be triggered by a neurological disorder or by a reaction to stress or psychological or physical trauma, but that's not always the case. Functional neurologic disorder is related to how the brain functions, rather than damage to the brain's structure (such as from a stroke, multiple sclerosis, infection or injury).Functional neurologic disorder — a newer and broader term that includes what some people call conversion disorder — features nervous system (neurological) symptoms that can't be explained by a neurological disease or other medical condition. However, the symptoms are real and cause significant distress or problems functioning.
Signs and symptoms vary, depending on the type of functional neurologic disorder, and may include specific patterns. Typically, this disorder affects your movement or your senses, such as the ability to walk, swallow, see or hear. Symptoms can vary in severity and may come and go or be persistent. However, you can't intentionally produce or control your symptoms.

The cause of functional neurologic disorder is unknown. The condition may be triggered by a neurological disorder or by a reaction to stress or psychological or physical trauma, but that's not always the case. Functional neurologic disorder is related to how the brain functions, rather than damage to the brain's structure (such as from a stroke, multiple sclerosis, infection or injury)."

Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/conversion-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355197