The Functional patient - Breaking bad news/Management

If you think their symptoms are real then but there is no biological explanation it is functional.

These real functional symptoms can also be classified somatisation (sensory symptoms in response to mental health) or conversion (neurological sx like weakness of limbs in response to mental health). I think this may be a bit outdated.

If you think they are faking or exaggerating for tangible rewards like drugs then it's malingering.

If they are faking it, or actively self harming (injecting faeces into their skin to form abscesses etc.) in order to assume the sick role it is factitious (aka Munchausen).

So if you think the patient here is actually having those symptoms then yes it is probably functional, from your above comment it made me think they were seeking medical attention as a primary motive. But if it is factitious you can't really get through to them, it carries a shit prognosis and belongs to the psychiatrists.

/r/JuniorDoctorsUK Thread Parent