Pseudobulbar Affect
 

Anyone been through this? What were the first signs for you?

Cindy,
I actually did a study from a group here that pays medical professionals about different drugs and their uses. I don't know why or how I was chosen to be in this group, but they sent me some information and a very interesting website about pseudobulbar affect. I can get the information for you when I return to the office next week. It's very common in MS and stroke patients-much more so than most physicians are diagnosing it. There are quite a number of medications that they are testing for it at present. Most patients when asked believed that they were depressed when indeed it was not depression. These patients often have innappropriate laughing and crying spells. It was quite interesting to learn about it. Let me know if you'd like the website or any information I can send to you.

*I also got a lovely pen from the drug company that has a purple light on the end of it when you write with it*

Thanks, Marg, I'm only vaguely familiar with it from reading; I'm also interested in hearing from anyone who has actually been dx with it.

Di, darling. Is there a stroke survivor's group on here? Perhaps you can go over there and ask some of them if they've ever been diagnosed with it. From what I remember, it was more commonly diagnosed in post-stroke patients. It seemed to me also that there were more females effected than males. I would check out the post-stroke forums and see what you can seek out.

GOOD LUCK!!!:)

I've seen sparky post about this a number of times. I think she took Lexapro to modulate.

I just did a search. Now I recall, it's referred to as IEED. This seems to be the only post about it on here.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...fect#post44754

Thanks, Chris, I found some more general info on some of the more common websites. Also, some interesting professional journal articles in the databases via my regional library.

I'm boning up on my Latin and learning a lot.

Doesn't this cause dysarthria? Dysarthria is not that uncommon for many neurological conditions (disease or trauma related).

Hi, Trish. I'm a mere layperson so I won't venture to answer that. I haven't seen anything that directly gives cause/effect attributes on dysarthria. I was looking at this book, Handbook of Neuropsychology and Aging By Paul David Nussbaum, and it does show a lot of correlations with MS, stroke, ALS and others.

My medicalese is not even a little good enough to draw conclusions from my limited reading.:o

Dysarthria is a speech issue. It has to do with muscular control that has been impaired by nerve damage. A lot of ALS patients have it as that is a neuromuscular disease. (DBF's step-dad has ALS and has the dysarthria as well. He also has swallowing issues too.).

A lot of the patient's from the rehab hospital I type for have this. I also had seen it quite often in the hospital when I was working there.

IEED or Pseudobulbar Affect is typically related to mood swings. It really has nothing to do with speech patterns or word recall. People who are experiencing IEED often may go from hysterically crying one moment to laughing hysterically the next. They also may have abnormal reactions to things, i.e. bursting out laughing in the midst of a funeral. This is more typically seen in patients who have suffered strokes in certain areas of the brain as well as some patients with MS, ALS, Alzheimer's and Traumatic Brain Injuries.

I Know
 

I have Pesydobulbar Affect, want to chat?

*edit*
Here is fine but I see not many people here have it and I find there arn't many chat/support areas on the internet...

Yours in Stone,
Silver

same here as I also have PBA. While I can't "fix it" I might be able to offer some coping tips --or at least be someone else to bounce things off of :wink:

I have it as well. I was on Neudexta for it. It is specifically for PBA for ALS and MS patients.
I was taken off of it last month when I was in the hospital...they thought it caused bradycardia. When I saw my neuro the week after, he was very angry with them for taking me off, because he knows it doesn't cause this.

I saw my cardiologist today and she told me to go back on it. She was confused as to why I was taken off of it. She feels the benefits far outweigh any risks the med might cause.

I have been extremely weepy since being off of it...sobbing at the first sighting of a robin, for instance...the drug really helps, and also reduces neuropathic pain. I am going back on it.

caution to original poster- if you look this up please note the ALS w/bulbar affect & ALS w/PBA are a bit different

Please note jprinz99, the original poster made this thread in 2008, and has not posted on NeuroTalk for quite some time.

Hello all. I read about this and have experienced fits of laughter for non funny things that I have the hardest time stopping. I know "pseudo" mean false or fake as in pseudoname but I really can't stop laughing sometimes. I wanted to see if anybody has this issue too and get thoughts/ideas about it. thank you

Hi Doc..:) I have never had this, but some here have and I think there are effective meds out there for it's relief.

Welcome back..:hug:

Thank you Sally. This has only happened a few times but with the name "Pseudo" part and other readings I've done saying it is fake, I wanted to see what others had to say about it. Thank you again :)

I have had occasional episodes of this since early childhood and they are almost always when I am over tired or really fatigued. It begins as giddiness and then expands from there if someone 'feeds it' if they too start laughing.
The instant cure is to remove myself from any sort of audience.

Apparently it can be the result of brain lesions or anxiety.

Inappropriate laughter due to brain lesions:
http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/ar...ticleid=100246

Inappropriate laughter due to personality disorder/anxiety:
http://voices.yahoo.com/can-uncontro...y-4668615.html

With love, Erika

When I read in a letlter that my former husband had been murdered, I laughed uncontrollably, which was not how I really felt about this at all. I grieved for a long time about this vicious murder. Why did I laugh? Explanations of neuro impairment are probably right, although at the time I was not in bad flare.

Erica, this is exactly how it happens w me. I am tired at night and I start to smile and the feeling that something simple/ordinary is very funny builds up. I get tears in my eyes and SO says, "Oh, you are a giddy girl!" Then I can't stop laughing- it is an effort.

ANN