> The things I am confused about are, there seemed to be no way my doctor
> could tell me for certain if this is TM or MS (even though he did give me a
> diagnosis). Could anyone explain it to me better? Also, I have a 6 month
> old daughter and was hoping to have one more child. Has anyone heard about
> pregnancy effects on TM? My Doc says it is uncertain whether women improve
> after pregnancy or go on to MS. Any help appreciated. Best wishes, Jaid
>
>
Hello Jaid~
We're glad you found us, though sorry you have TM.
One book I have on MS says it is hard to diagnose because there is no one
definitive test for it (that applies to TM as well). There are many things
that can cause some of the same symptoms. In my case, a TM diagnosis was made
after mutltiudes of other tests ruling out other possible causes. This book
also said there are three categories of MS diagnosis: definite MS, in which
the patient has had more than one attack and the MRI shows lesions in more
than one location (optic nerve, brain stem, spinal cord, or cerebrum), and all
other reasonable possibilities are excluded and other lab tests indicate MS;
probable MS, in which there may be attacks and recovery, but they may be all
in one area, or there is one spot with no recovery or remission, or the lab
tests or MRI findings are negative, not uncommon in the early stages; and then
possible MS, in which the lab tests are inconclusive but MS is still a
possibility. There may be only one attack, or symptoms in only one spot, or a
slowly progressive illness without the more common attacks and remission.
(This info. comes from Multiple Scerosis: New Hope and Practical Advice for
People with MS and Their Families by Louis J. Rosner and Shelley Ross. I've
found it very helpful since TM and MS have similarities and since I was told
TM "might turn into MS. It is a little bit older book; there is another newer
one listed, I think, on the TMIC web site at www.myelitis.org/tmic. If you are
interested, I think Jim said if you click on the link to Amazon.com and order
the books from there, the TMA gets a portion of the proceeds.)
A number of people on the list have mentioned having babies after TM. I don't
think I've heard anyone say their TM symptoms increased or worsened during or
after pregnancy. I just read the other day of a woman whose MS symptoms got
better while she was pregnant but returned after delivery. The theory was that
MS is thought to be an auto-immune problem, and a woman's auto-immune
functions change somewhat during pregnancy so her body doesn't reject the new
baby. When I asked my neurlogist about the possibility of getting pregnant
after TM, he didn't indicate that things might worsen, but he said that since
my gait and balance are wobbly, I'd have to be extra careful about preventing
falls during pregnancy, since a pregnant lady's center of gravity and balance
are affected anyway.
I hope some of this has been helpful: one of the most frustrating things about
TM is the lack of definiteness about so much of it -- a lot of it is iffy and
a matter of waiting and seeing. :-)
Barbara H.