A letter from Derek Thompson (alias Charlie Fairhead from the BBC One medical series ‘Casualty’), sent to over 700 media outlets in the UK
My name is Derek Thompson. You probably know me better as Charlie Fairhead from the BBC medical series ‘Casualty’. What you may not realise is that I have a neurological movement disorder, called dystonia, that affects at least 40,000 other people in the United Kingdom. The condition is characterised by involuntary and sustained muscle spasms, which can be very painful. These spasms cause abnormal movements and postures. For some people this involves involuntary closing of the eyelids or a loss of function of speech muscles. For me the twisting and shaking in my neck was painful and made my filming assignments so difficult.
Thankfully there is a treatment which helps enormously to relieve the painful muscle movements. But this can only be prescribed if the condition is recognised in the first place. Sadly there is considerable ignorance and misunderstanding about dystonia amongst some health professionals. It is still too common for patients with symptoms of dystonia to be referred at first to a psychiatrist, instead of a neurologist. Only now is it becoming widely understood as a neurological condition.
Dystonia Week runs from May 6th until May 13th. If you would like more support or information about this distressing condition, then please contact the Dystonia Society on its helpline number, 0845 458 6322, or visit its website. I am sure the Society will help callers as much as it did when I first called two years ago.